food, snakes, safety in Chennai

gkj

Amyth

There are umpteen upmarket food stores in all major cities of India- Trinethra, Food world, Spencers, Reliance to name a few. Chicken (I am not sure about the beef) can be bought on shelf in various forms (skinned, unskinned, ...) from these stores. And Cheese be it parmesian or mozzerella, everything is available. You just got to make up your mind on what you want!!


Indeed a silly one , how about a cow for some fresh milk ... just kiddin, there is no dearth of fresh eggs here, but if you love to raise a few hen, you got to settle in farm house away from the city or maybe look for a sprawling bunglaw with enough breeding space

A Mongoose is only found in Indian Zoos



Depends on what's your definition of cheap is, a good novel can cost anything between Rs.150-350. In Hyderabad, we have a well stocked British Library, I am sure there must be something in Chennai too

Yes, you'll need an adapter; the current in India is 210V.

On an average people are friendly, not as a rule. I don't see any need to have armed guards unless you are related to Bush

PS: This is a general info on any Indian Metro, I am not being specific to Chennai here

gkj

I am laughing because I seriously had considered getting a cow or goat for some fresh milk, but then realized that would not be very practical! I do however like having hens and the kids like gathering the eggs.

So only mongooses (or is it mongeese) can be found in zoos? My hubby will be dissapointed.

Thanks for the info on books, now I just need to convert rps to US$.

machadinha

Try the site's Conversion Tools, found to the left on the mainpage India can be a bookworm's delight so I wouldn't worry about it. Many big (English-language) publishers have an Indian division, besides numerous national ones. You can stock up on cheap reprints of classics and so on, aside from all the contemporary stuff of course. In a place like Chennai should be no problem, there's some excellent bookstores there, I forget the name of the one very popular one, others will know. I assume there will be libraries as well. It's not uncommon for bookstores to have a 2nd hand section where you can swap your used books (maybe more in the touristy places though, I'm not sure).

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birds

Even Rattan Tata moves around without bodyguards most of the time. Only if you are Angelina Jolie and family you may need them.

Nick-H

Wouldn't agree with everything Amyth says there, here's my slant on it...

First, I never saw a snake when living more centrally in the city, not one.

Supermarkets... Are a very easy way to shop. You don't need to speak any local language, you just look for the things you want and pick from the shelf. Reliance is new, so it is getting a bigger share of the hype at the moment, but there are several established Chennai supermarkets eg Nilgiris and Spencers that are easy to buy from.

Meat... not from supermarkets, no. You'll need to go to a butcher's. Goat (they call it mutton here) here is easily available, beef a little less so, but look for both in Christian/Muslim areas. Chicken shops are all over. You can get your chicken wrapped at the supermarket, but if you buy from the chicken shops it will be fresh. Very fresh. Killed for you to order!

Cheeses in the supermarkets? I've heard rumours but never seen any.

Our supermarkets may have somewhat westernised appearance, but the stuff in them is local.

There are heaps of churches here, of all sorts of flavour. ST. Thomas was martyred here: don't believe rumours that Christianity is imported from Europe! But you'll find the European flavours.

I buy my books --- always did, no good at remembering to return the library ones on time. But I'm thinking of investigating The British Council Library. Good London bookshops is one thing I miss.

I don't know what it is like in your home town, but I'd suspect you'd feel just as safe or even safer shopping here.

Guards? Depends where you live. Can't claim Chennai to be a crime-free city! Many of the bigger houses/richer people will have a security man --- who also doubles as fetcher/sender and odd-job man. Guns? Good grief, no!

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machadinha

ps

Higginbothams methinks, is that right? But... you go through the stocks too easily then, Nick?

shashank.aggarwal

a bit off topic..but I was just thinking about it and someone mentioned books..

if you ever happen to visit Delhi, do not miss the weekly secondhand book Bazaar of Delhi, it is 'setup' every Sunday on the footpaths of Daryaganj (near Jama Masjid) and the best time to shop is to go there in the wee hours..6-7 AM..

books are very cheap and people have claimed to found some of the rarest books at dirt cheap prices..

and while still on Delhi, there is chain of Libraries, Delhi Public Library, managed and run by government..they do have good collections and membership is very cheap..few cents for several years...

I was a member in my school days, and you can find a huge variety, from Enid Blyton to Mein Kamf...(speelings ?)..

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ISN

The new grocery stores like Reliance, are they very westernized? Can you find good meat (beef & chicken)? Can you get cheeses (like mozzerella for pizza)? Do they have lunchmeat? If fresh meat is not available at the stores I am assuming you can buy some very fresh chicken but what are the alternatives for buying beef. Someone before had told me a supplier might get it for me but how would that work? My next silly question is if we wanted to have a few hen for fresh eggs is there some grain that could be bought or do most animals just eat whatever there is?

You can get most of the stuff you get in USA in all major Indian cities, you might not get a huge choices like different brands to choose but you can find everything you want, you have to just look in the yellow pages and make some phone calls.

Chicken and Mutton (goat meet) – you can either get fresh chicken from stores or you can buy frozen some stores will allow you to choose your

own chicken. Mutton is available in most stores that sells meet.

Beef, Pork – These meats are available but it is not widely consumed so only a handful of stores sell them if you look in the yellow pages and

make some calls you can easily find a store.

Fish – Since Chennai is a costal city you can get fresh fish right out of the boat.

Note: While in India cook your meat well, it is not safe to consume meet that is half cooked. If you like your steak half cooked then you are going to miss those juicy steak.

You can raise your own poultry if you get a house that has a huge yard. How much is your budget for housing?

Next, I am still very concerned about snakes. Does anyone ever get a mongoose to help control the snake population? We will be bringing our golden retriever but do not her to get in a tangle with a cobra! Nick, I had to laugh when you were so excited about a snake in your garden...believe me if we move and I find one you can have it

You will only find snakes in the rural areas; getting bitten by a snake in the city is a rare incident. Do all the people who live in Florida get attacked by a crocodile? I would say that the number of people who get attacked by a crocodile in Florida will be more than the people who will have an encounter with a snake in Chennai.

Also, I have tried to find some info on some churches (presbyterian or baptist) with no luck. Can anyone help me with this?

Most of the churches in Chennai are Anglican or Pentecostal, you have less choice since you have to find a church that has an English service. St.

George's Cathedral, has English service.

St. George's Cathedral http://www.thehindujobs.com/thehindu...0500090300.htm

Church of South India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_South_India

Books, I am love to read fiction but use a library in the states. What do you do over there? I know you read but do you just buy and are they cheap?

There are a couple of public library in Chennai, but most of the books there are about literature and history, the US consulate has a huge public library but they don’t have a huge collection, you can also buy used books from a lot of stores, just checkout the yellow pages.

Electronics...do US appliances run over there or do they need an adapter or voltage regulator or some sort?

US electronics will not function here you need a voltage converter that converts 220 volts to 110 Volts. You have to buy the converters based on the appliance, if you are planning to bring a washer and dryer then you have to buy a converter that can handle that load.

Safety...do you feel safe when you are out shopping? I have 3 children who will obviously not fit in will people be friendly? I know that many expats have guards, are they needed? Do they carry guns?

I am always suspired the youth in Chennai are more aware of what is happening in USA, this is due to Hollywood movies, you and your family will be absolutely safe you have to get some books on India and read about the local culture.

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mairangi_vice

You can get cheese at supermarkets, but beware, it is crap. Most places have the processed rubbish, some places have real cheese, but only in small packages. I have seen Mozzerella available, but havent tried it out yet.

There was an old security guy who used to sit outside a jewellery shop near my place in Mumbai, he had a large rifle. On closer inspection, the rifle didnt even have a bolt in it!

You can get frozen meat at supermarkets, but havent seen fresh meat in any. I wouldnt trust any form of processed lunchmeat in India.

Nick-H

Yes, I wasn't counting that cheese! I've grown to like it in omelettes! But it is rubbish.

Bank security guards often carry rifles or shotguns.

shashank.aggarwal

In Indian cheese is not used in any traditional cooking..be it from any part of this diverse country...

so you cannot expect to get the variety or stuff that matches your taste..if you look hard enough you might find products of some international brands..but mind you there would be selected store only that will be keeping them and not large chained retail outlets..

for Mozzarella you can try Amul Cheese, its a very reputed dairy products brand in India..

Nick-H

Unless they make something I haven't seen yet, Amul cheese is the usual soft processed stuff --- nothing like Mozzarella.

True... India is just not into cheese. If it was, then it has quite enough cows and goats to establish its own varieties, without importing stuff from Europe --- but it doesn't.

In fact I guess that India does not have the same sort of gourmet food culture of France, Italy, UK, etc.

Amma Naana opposite Park Sheraton, and Nuts and Spices, various locations, are good places to look for imported stuff, but the prices, even before you get used to the Indian economy may shock you!

shashank.aggarwal

I have no clue what Mozzarella is all about..for us Desis anything that comes in a packet and mentions Mozzarella is good enough..so at least Amul mentions Mozzarella on the pack and is a reputed brand...

Nick-H

Then I haven't seen that one.

I love this use of the word 'reputed'

I guess it means, has a reputation.

People tend to make the assumption that that means a good reputation! :maughty: