Yummmpop Quotables

While in India, I found some notable quotes, food quotes. A devout foodie, I will live by these religiously. Humor yourself, tickle your insides with these playful words of wisdom.

All Spice/Supreme Bakery

One of my top picks for dessert and tasty old-fashioned American food, be it cake, mousse, ice cream, burgers, pizza, or sandwiches. The best twist to food in India, no matter how Americanized it truly is, is chicken and mutton. No pork. Minimal beef. Just the things that go “Cluck Cluck” and “Baa Bahh.” Healthier and in smaller portions, chicken and lamb are widespread and delectable. Clean and retro, with modern American music playing in the background, All Spice was the place to sit back and dine comfortably. Add to that, several clever insights on food:

• “Love and Food are best when they are fresh.” ~ Love can be everlasting, but not food… Food has a finite lifetime, but love can be forever, like diamonds. Food can be promiscuous, but love? Sure thing, take a look at American reality TV and now-trashy MTV … But then again, I wouldn’t call that junk love either. One-night stands and hook-ups (whatever that means, I still don’t understand) – seriously, that’s not love. That’s just pure stupidity, desperation, and trash. There are many combinations, spices, methods of preparation, ethnic culinary flares for food, but how about love? You can find one true love, perhaps after some boyfriend/girlfriend hopping or interracial mingling, but you can’t settle on one favorite food, or can you? I know I can’t. I still can’t decide on whether my favorite should be sushi & sashimi, ddukboke, bibimbap, omelets, dumplings, gelato, pho, pesto alfredo pasta, veggie supreme pizza, pineapple cakes, almond tofu, etc… my list can go on.

• “I asked the waiter, ‘Is this milk fresh?’ He said, ‘3 hours ago it was grass.'” – Phyllis Diller ~ Million dollar answer!

• “Spice is life. It depends upon what you like… Have fun with it. Yes food is serious, but you should have fun with it.”

• “Diet is a selection of food that makes other people lose weight.” ~ROFL

Yea... No Diet Here: Sloppy Joe Burger... Kind of Clean and Healthy =)

Indian style pizza: Chicken Murgh Makhni; Some Angry Italians in the House?

Tropical Sundae Swirl: Psychedelic!

Cafe Coffee Day

Word That Brother...

Conveniently located down the street from the Medical College junction, Cafe Coffee Day made me appreciate cocoa beans and caffeine. Tell me the decorative quotes on the violet walls don’t sway you one bit?!

• “Chat, Drink, & Be Merry!”
• “Great Minds Drink Alike”
• “Spill the Details”
• “Perfect”
• “A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee”

Indeed…

I like to equate Cafe Coffee Day with Starbucks, but with several added features: chicken tikka and paneer tikka sandwiches plus other Indian-inspired add-ons, iced or hot coffee decorated with whip and plenty of sugar, and much much more. Tell me you’re not in love with coffee after hearing these titillating titles: Kaapi Nirvana, Devil’s Own, Mochachillo, Iced Eskimo, Chill-O-Coffee, Tropical Iceberg, Cold Sparkle, and Choco Frappe.

The sweet menu

As nice as Starbucks

Choco-Delight Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream, plus Iced Kaapi Nirvana and Devil's Own

Hungry for Chicken Tikka Sandwich? Oh and have a Hearty Latte too!

Regional Cancer Centre

India was not a free expedition without purpose. Of course, I had a mighty mission in India. Unfortunately, I was not there to cure cancer, as my title may have alluded. Instead, I was there as a rookie medical intern to roam the wards and ORs and see clinical oncology at its finest. Well, not finest; the worst. Cancer is an enigmatic monster yet to be tamed. Lucky for me, I had my first clinical exposure abroad in tropical India. Everything I learned from first year textbooks and lectures has new meaning, something more tangible and practical. It’s one thing to digest mere medical terms and enunciate convoluted anatomical vocabulary. However, it’s a whole new world when I see the melon-sized single lymph node in the neck, the white and warty oral verrucous carcinoma, the blood and gore of surgical dissections, and the hideously painful process behind tumor excision. I had a pumping good time at the medical institution, whether it was watching surgery shows at the head of the table with the anesthesiologists, palpating neck nodes, or simply listening to the doctors teach me. I learn best by hands-on experience, and thanks to my first medical mission abroad, I have returned home with two journals filled with colorful diagrams, clinical notes, and many candid vacation pictures.

The RCC was located less than 3 km from the apartment. Every day, my friend and I took an auto-rickshaw to work. These little taxis are what the Chinese translate to “turtle cars.” They are small, popular, convenient, and cheap gas guzzlers. Each trip was a mere 30 rupees, or less than $1!!! Compared to the NYC metro subway, which is an astonishing $2.25 a trip, it was close to nothing, a mere dent to my wallet. The rickshaw ride took less than 10 minutes, for the roads were rocky, bumpy, and dusty. I had to hang on tightly for the rickety rickshaw ride because driving and riding in India was plain chaotic. It was like China, but worse. Vehicles and motorcycles veered all over the roads, crossed lines without signaling, or cut off other drivers. The streets were sites of cacophonous, obnoxious honking. Sudden braking and lurching forward were constant occurrences, much to my heart and stomach’s dissatisfaction.

Nonetheless, I safely arrived to work and back home in one piece every day. I managed to get a couple of shots of the nearby campus and facilities. Prepare for a grand tour through the RCC and the Medical College in Trivandrum, India:

Medical College entrance: The Golden Jubilee Gate

Through the Medical College

Pretty Ponds Are Distracting

Mother and Baby statue

En route to the RCC: Very beautifully distracting!

Rocks and Rubbles

A Villa Buried Amongst Tropical Shrubbery

Destination arrived: Regional Cancer Centre. The RCC is a specialty hospital dedicated to comprehensive cancer care and clinical research. Since its inception in 1981, the RCC has provided cutting-edge facilities for cancer diagnosis, treatment, palliation, and rehabilitation through surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The Busy Street

A Field Across the Street

... Where the Stray Dogs Lounge

 A typical day around the hospital facilities… from the wards to radiation planning to food.

The entrance and hallways were crowded with patients and families. Long assembly lines and crowds of people infiltrated the units. There was very little privacy and personal space.

Pediatrics Ward... Colorful

In India, there is a greater emphasis on radiation therapy to treat cancer. Due to the high influx of patients every day, new and follow-up ones, oncologists there offset the load with quick, rigorous treatment. High-dose radiation in a short period of time is employed, for example, an intense 50 Grays for 3 weeks targeted to a very localized area. There, it is more economical and practical for doctors to deal with patients’ acute symptoms (ex. mucositis, hair loss, skin irritation) and help them manage their complications.

Linear Accelerator for Radiation Therapy

Tea break in India as compared to the luxury of Starbucks at the famed Stony Brook Medical Center. Check out the differences in the coffee shops and portion size. I actually prefer the tiny cups of lemon milk tea over astronomical grande frappaccinos. I love my milk tea, better with bubbles =)

Fuel Up With Caffeine!

Typical Breakfast in the Canteen: Vada with Lemon Milk Tea

Rice Water Soup and Pink Root Water... Hm.

The positive messages that are posted around the hospital, in English… Though South India boasts of high literacy rates, people coming in with advanced diseases are poor common people.

Lol... Cancer the Crab is the RCC Mascot

My new addiction: Milk Tea

Monkey Milk Tea

I’m studying like mad for my upcoming Anatomy midterm. It’s long, endless, complicated, and a tad fun. I like doodling and picturing the relationships. Plus, I learn the clinical applications and what can go wrong with the human body. Welcome to medical school.

So I need to kick my desperate coffee habit. I’ve replaced that with milk tea! Ah, I miss bubble tea in Chinatown with my friends. I’ve resorted to Lipton tea packets, Sweet n’ Low sugar substitutes, hot water, and milk to replace my craving and eliminate my bad caffeine need. Basically, add about 2 packets of Lipton red tea, hot water, 1 packet of sugar, and some whole milk, and you have instant bootleg milk tea. I don’t feel as guilty drinking the milk tea as I did with the sugar-laden French Vanilla cappuccino from the physician’s lounge. *Yums, I just took another sip*

Fluorescent Green Tea is so pretty

Now, I know I’ll get sick of this. I’ll have to stock up on boxes of snacks and Chinese green tea like all my friends here and stash them in my locker for late night study parties. Green tea will be healthier, since it’s jam-packed with antioxidants and relaxing herbal aroma. Or even jasmine tea =)