Haute Cuisine

Did Prez Bush get it right,I wondered. That was my first reaction when I read about the banquet he hosted for our PM and his wife during their recent visit. Was he under the impression that MS belongs to the BJP?. The silk table-clothes were saffron coloured and chocolate lotus blossoms were on the platter.The food appeared to be vegetarian,though Manmhoan Singh is not. Dubya is known for his faux-pas and I thought this was yet another one! Apparently not.Halibut is a flat fish and these are normally eaten on holy days.(I had to check this out on the net.) And Dubya had done his homework. Manmohan Singh has a weakness for fishes like Vajpayee has for chicken.

It was a four course dinner.The menu card read as under:

1)Chilled Asparagus Soup and Lemon Creme

2)Pan-roasted Halibut and Ginger Carrot Butter

3)Basmati Rice with Pistacchio Nuts and Currants and Herbed Summer Vegetables.

4) Salad of Bibb lettuces and Citrus Vinaigrette.

5)Chocolate Lotus Blossoms With Mango,Chocolate-Cardamom and Cashew Ice-creams.

In all there were 134 guests and a Jazz band was in attendance.

They hit off well. Unlike our ex PM's name which Prez Bush always forgot,this was an easy one. He had to just sing(h) a song and dance. Which he did well and the two built up a good rapport.

But then everything is not hunky dory.While the father praised Prez Bush for improving the relations between our two countries,the daughter was giving the US government sleepless nights on the inhuman treatment of Iraqi prisoners.