Hey Reader!

It's been a while since I wrote to you.

I've been working through some stuff in terms of a reality check - and I've made some headway. I'm in a better place now.

So I was finally able to overcome that awkwardness of reopening a conversation that had petered away.

That said, omakase.

Yesterday, to celebrate valentine's day without the crowds of lovesick couples, my waifu (who's my laifu! 😂) and my daughter went to a posh Japanese restaurant we were meaning to try.

From the menu, we picked the omakase experience.

It literally means 'I leave it up to you' - the chef selects and serves the dishes they pick.

At this black, red and mood-lighting-filled restaurant, everything was perfect.

The lighting left a lot to the imagination, the smells whetted our appetite while the shamisen took us to Japan.

Everything was perfectly designed to add more oomph.

But, still, it was the second best meal I've ever had.

The best meal?

It was a greasy takeaway plate of mushroom masala and garlic naan in Curry street in Manchester after a night about town.

In the dingy, steel and tile cladded hole in the wall, the naans oozed butter, the mushrooms were of dubious origin and the white fluorescent lights would burn images onto our retinas.

But hands down, they had the best meal I've ever had.

Here's the take-away (ha! whattey pun!)

If you're serving a starving market, you can make money with anything.

If you're serving a more refined clientele, you're gonna need to bring in the big guns.

Either way, you gotta make what people want.​

Talk tmrw.

With love from Bengaluru, this is Arvindh saying over and out.