Author: Aditi Malhotra
Marketing & Social Media Consultant | Content Writer & Columnist | Events & Wedding Planner | Award Winning Home Chef | Home Baker | Artist | Photography Enthusiast

Wet Brush- A new revolution for hair care system

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

How many of us fear shampooing our hair just because of the tangles that it invites.. isnt it true, every time you shampoo your hair, you dread passing a comb or brush through them because of the tangles. Tangles are painful and the worst part is the hair breakage that it generally results in. But worry no more, Wet Brush a revolutionary product from USA is now here to shoo away your hair problems.

Recently Looks Salon, at GK 2, organised a session for hair care where in they showcased Olaplex. Hollywood’s most sought after hair product and treatment that repairs damaged hair and takes it back to its virgin state. Olaplex with its range of 5 revolutionary treatments have reached various top line salons across the country.

After a hair care treatment of Olaplex, followed by a shampoo, came the time to experience the use of Wet Brush. I normally fear someone else removing my tangles as I feel that I know my hair the best, and untangling them with minimal pain is something I can do with much more care. But hold on, with the Wet Brush, even if someone else is detangling your hair, you won’t event come to know. This is exactly what happened with me, as I settled on my chair after the shampoo, I was dreading the detangle, but within seconds, my hair was tangle free and I didn’t even come to know of it. The Wet Brush just glided smoothly through my hair and I was astonished with the result.

Wet Brush – Wet Brush is the #1 selling professional brush in the USA.
The Wet Brush glides effortlessly through wet or dry hair for healthy detangling and eliminates all tugging, tearing, pulling or ripping. Perfect for all hair types, it will give you gorgeous, healthy, tangle-free locks in minutes.

This is one product that you must have and all I can say is that even the other Olaplex treatments and products are totally worth it. Do try at a salon near you. Its available across all Looks Salons in the country along with some other reputed salon chains. Strongly recommended.

Happy Hair = Happy Me

SoulKonnection Presents Soul 108

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

SoulKonnection is an organization that is a celebration of conscious life through various wellness events of Self Transformation and Uplifting Programs. On 8th April 2017, Soul 108 by SoulKonnection is a one day festival in Andheri, Mumbai inviting people to experience a holistic healing experience. It is a one of a kind festival that gives a platform for participants to engage in a wide array of traditional and non-traditional activities including Yoga, Meditation, Dance Movement Therapy, SoulKonnect Self – Healing, Lifecoaching – Secrets of Time Management, Sound Healing and Art Therapy.

Soul 108 is designed for all age group including kids, adults and seniors. There are special Art Therapy and Etiquette classes for children to experience, while their parents can attend workshops simultaneously. Besides this, an array of food stalls will ensure a guilt-free, healthy experience with fresh produce, organic food and drinks. The workshops aimed towards self- exploration and self – discovery will take place through the day while the evening will include live singing and stand – up comedy act.

The event is designed and curated by the Founder of SoulKonnection, the celebrated Life Coach, Amit Bhandari who is an ex-captain of the Merchant Navy. His award-winning methods have helped clients across India and Australia.

For Adults –

Time Hall 1 Hall 2
9 – 11 am Yoga & Meditation SK – Self Healing
11:30 -1:30 am Dance Movement Therapy Secrets of Time Management
1:30 – 2 pm Break Break
2:30 – 40:30 pm Yoga & Meditation SK – Self Healing
5 – 7 pm Dance Movement Therapy Secrets of Time Management

 

For Kids –

Time slots for Art Therapy –10 to 11 am, 12 noon to 1pm, 3 to 4 pm, 5 to 6pm

Time slots for table décor & etiquettes – 11am to 12 noon, 2 to 3pm, 4 to 5pm, 6 to 7pm

Evening entertainment Segment –

Time Activity
7:30pm Panel discussion with faculty
8:30pm Stand Up Comedy Act
9pm Live singer with acoustic guitarist

 

New Summer Menu at the Civil House, Khan Market

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

A place that is bustling with people on a weekday afternoon, speaks volume about its popularity anyway and trust me when I stepped into Civil House around 1PM on a weekday, I was taken by a surprise with so much of crowd.

They are in process of launching a summer special menu and I settled down to explore the same with some of my foodie friends. We tried the following dishes from the new menu:

Stuffed Mushrooms with Quinoa Salad with Cheddar- a beautiful preparation, the crunchy quinoa filling in the mushrooms, made them taste so different and nice and topped with cheese, this dish definitely needs a place in their permanent menu.

 

Crispy Fried Quinoa Cake with Hot & Spicy Tomato Dip- I think the more I try quinoa is different avatars, the more I fall in love with it. Its healthy for sure and its so adaptive that one can really play with flavours and spices to make it taste different each time This fried quinoa cutlet was extremely delicious and I loved it.

Harissa Marinated Chicken with Root Vegetables and Salad- The glaze on top of the chicken is reason enough to make your mouth water and it tastes as awesome as it looks. This surely is a must try. For me it was one of the best dishes of my lunch that day.

Vegetable Timbale- A very authentic French dish, this had mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese in creamed tomato sauce wrapped in layers of green and yellow zucchini. Taking a full bite of it gives you foodie experience that you cant afford to miss.

Homemade Spinach and Broccoli Fettuccini with Bell Pepper Cream Sauce- This dish is definitely a must try and you just cant miss it. The green coloured spinach fettuccini not just looked amazing but tasted amazing too and the bell pepper cream sauce enhanced the taste so much, that its worth drooling.

Raw mango Risotto with Pine Nuts- Truly a summer special, the taste of raw mango chunks mixed with Risotto is an innovative and delectable dish and highly recommended. Its an outstanding combination of flavours.

Homemade Chilli Linguini with Minced Lamb- This was another delectable preparation, though after trying the other dishes from new menu, my expectation of innovation was raised and hence found this dish as a regular one, but no compromise taste wise, the taste and flavours were more than perfect.

Quinoa and Fresh Avocado Burger- A delightful preparation and surely a must try, I can easily say that one of the best burger that I have eaten in recent times.

From the existing menu I tried another two dishes which were awesome, and I regret not trying them earlier.

Beetroot, Feta and Walnuty Burger with Homemade Hummus, trust me when I say you would have not eaten anything like this before, because the beetroot cutlet is just marvellous. It looks appetising and tempting and tastes equally good. I could have gorged on and on, it was so delicious.

Pan Seared Sea Bass, Mixed Greens Risotto with Fennel Butter, another winner dish and words cant really explain this entire foodie experience. Each and every dish was commendable and one really needs to visit this place soon and try them all.

For desserts we tried the Vanilla Panacotta, Orange and Pink Pepper Corn Gastrique and OMG, this was an out of the world experience, I mean seriously, such a summery and refreshing dish that you must must try it out. I have never been fond of Panacottas but this truly changed my mind forever. This was one indulgence that I cant get over and I am going to go after this one every now and then. There was Dark Chocolate Fondant with Ice Cream as well, but for me the Panacotta’s taste lingered on.

As part of the summer menu, there are some amazing drinks too on the offer and the best part about these drinks is that they do not contain any added sugar or artificial flavours, thus making them a healthy option too.

Avocado and Chocolate Smoothie, Guava Mary, Orange Cinnamon Ice Tea, Strawberry Coconut Mojito, Green Vegetable Juice(spinach, brocolli, apple), Pineapple Strawberry Smoothie, Oatmeal and Almond Milk Smoothie(vegan) and Homemade Ginger Ale . Out of these Avocado and Chocolate Smoothie was awesome, and the taste was simply unmatchable. Next I loved the Green Vegetable Juice, which was so so refreshing and is perfect for summers. The other drinks were good too and I am sure will be loved by all.

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This summer menu at Civil House is available from 1st April onwards and this is one thing that you should definitely be trying this summer, because even I didn’t know that summers could be so cool.

Civil House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

California Boulevard- Restaurant Review

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

California Boulevard is a hollywood themed restaurant situated in sector 29 of Gurgaon, but please mind it, its not in the popular sector 29 market of Gurgaon thats flooded with restaurants and bars, instead, its situated near the IFFCO Chowk Metro Station and is away from that hustle bustle. So if you wanna spend some quality time enjoying good food in a great ambience, this is the place. The ambience is very premium and classy and of course very English, with hollywood movie posters and name stickers of famous movie stars placed on the floor. The huge red coloured tram looking bar is definitely a highlight.

Coming to food, all I can say is that each and every dish was awesome and this place is highly recommended. Some of the dishes that I tried and loved included Khumb and Singhade is Galauti, trust me you won’t even know its veg, there is just no difference in the taste, it was so awesome. Then I had Mutton Kakori Kebabs, soft, succulent and very tender, this again is a must have. Cottage Cheese Tai Chi, Crispy Nachos and Peshawari Boti Kebab, Kafir Lime Chicken Tikka are another set of recommended dishes. With all these appetisers I was so full, that I skipped the main course completely. My son for sure tried the Dal Makhani with Butter Naan and was extremely happy with it. For dessert we tried the new entrant in the menu, the Bolivian Cocoa Walnut Pudding and it too was amazing. It was a sinful indulgence for sure, but totally worth it.

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Tasty Thursdays…Select Recipes from Indo-Japan Food Forum

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Recently the first ever Indo- Japan Food Forum took place at the Assocham where in collaboration of Japanese food in India was the highlight. As everyone cant be a part of such events, we bring to you some of the selected recipes that were created specially for the event which have an essence of both Indian and Japanese Food. Enjoy

And here is a little about the people behind these amazing recipes..

Zariya Fest, Select City Walk

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Elite Delhi schools have a general perception of creating spoilt children who dwell in mal-influence. However, who go unnoticed, are the children who use their resources to bring change. Rajavi Mishra, Hanssa Jain, and Sharanya Khemka, students of Step by Step School, founded ‘Zariya’ in 2016. In collaboration with the NGO ‘Samarpan’, an initiative to provide a caring home for orphaned children, Zariya aims to fight child abuse and neglect that takes place in New Delhi. Its first ever endeavour was to develop a sense of achievement among such children. This was done by organizing an 8 month long vocational skill building programme: Kala Ki Pehchaan.

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To showcase their progress and raise funds for the cause, Zariya organized a fest on 20th March at Select CityWalk, which featured performance by the children of Samarpan NGO, concerts, stalls and fashion show. www.foodcloud.in had signed on as the official food partner for the event. They intended to come forward with other inspiring projects to serve the cause. Many home chefs who are associated with food cloud showcased their culinary skills at the event and sold their deletable food. From Thai to Lebanese, Continental and some amazing desserts, there was something for every tastebud to savour. Akanksha Goel, Arsh Khetan, Soven Soni, Ranveer Singh Aujla,Malika Thakur, Shivank Sareen, Sachi Sinha, Utsav Maheshwari,and Dhruv Narula, students from Step By Step School and Sanskriti School played a crucial role in making this show a success. It was a great event and I had a lot fun visiting the same.

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MAFF, JETRO and ASSOCHAM host India’s first Indo-Japan Food Forum

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Ministry of Agriculture Forestry And Fisheries,Japan,(MAFF) held its First Indo-Japan Food Forum in Association with Jetro and Assocham at Assocham House, Delhi, on the 16th of March, 2017.


The main focus of the Forum was to promote Japanese food and it’s favourable food preparation methods and techniques effectively in India.
The theme of the Forum was ‘Food and Health’
The Forum saw high ranking officials from the Ministry of Agriculture from Japan and India, Jetro and Assocham address the issues of creating awareness of Japanese food and food processing technologies in India.


Leading producers of Miso, Marukome Co Ltd, Kagome Co Ltd, and other food processing companies graced the occasion and their representatives explained in detail about the company background and their future plans to invest and produce in India.


Mr Tejima, Founder of Sushi Junction, and online Sushi store took us through their process of opening an online food delivery store to its present day success in this niche segment. He laid emphasis on the quality of food served by them and the growing awareness in the Indian consumers towards Japanese food.

The Forum also saw the presence of some distinguished Indian Chefs who prepared some very innovative Indian Dishes using authentic Japanese ingredients.

Here is a glimpse..

All in a all an exciting time ahead for Indian foodaholics to get a taste of multiple Japanese food products and More Japanese Cuisine to be made easily available for food lovers.

Hoping and Wishing great success to this exciting new phase.

Power Woman- Gita Gopinath, the woman behind Sundri, a world class salon!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

When we talk about unisex salons, most of us end up thinking it as a new age funda, but not many know that there are women who have been ahead of times, and they did this some 27 odd years ago, yes 27..

Gita Gopinath is one such woman, who not only dared to dream but also fulfilled and nurtured her dream to the extent that today she boasts of a salon that is 27 years old. Gita was married back then when she started all this, she faced some resistance from her family, more so from the husband and in-laws side, but she did not give up. She was one amongst the first batch who was trained by Blossom Kochar, back then. Once she enrolled for the program with Blossom Kochar, there was no looking back. Starting with a small salon, today she has a multistories building to call of her own. Situated in sector 14 market of Faridabad, Sundri by Gita Gopinath is one of the most reputed salons in the city. Here is Gita Gopinath at her salon..

Gita at work

Equipped with the latest technologies and trends, today Sundri is a perfect mix of modern methods and age old experience. The place is a beautiful one indeed and Gita’s personality reflects in each corner of the place. I was so surprised to find a floor place dedicated to a small library having philosophical books, on positive mindset and lifestyle, exclusively for the members of the salon, where in they can sit in peace, read, relax and unwind. Its such a beautiful thought I must say and the credit goes to Gita for thinking and planning all this along with her designer Deepa Devarajan, who helped bringing that serenity to the place. Deepa not only helped on designing this floor, but she is responsible for the overall design of the salon and its a perfect example of one power woman meeting and collaborating with the other.

Gita Gopinath with Tamanna Sing and Deepa Devarajan

Coming back to Gita, she has not just successfully taken Sundri to newer heights, but also passed on the legacy to her younger son. Karthik Gopinath, Gita’s son was a step ahead of his mother, as he not just got inclined to this business of styling at a much younger age, but also added feathers to his cap by winning prestigious competitions into hair styling in his teens itself. He is a shy dude who knows his work well and lets his work speak instead of himself. With the mother son duo putting in all their efforts at the right place, I see the future of Sundri stronger than ever. It was a pleasure meeting both of them and learning so much about their life, their struggles, their perseveration and their devotion towards their work. Its truly inspiring to meet such people who are so clear of their dreams and leave no stone unturned to follow and realise them.

Gita with her team..

I wish them both a great deal of luck, and for all of my readers, all I urge is that do visit Sundri once, get yourself pampered with their services and you will know how different your experience will be.

Yin and Yang Food Festival at Empress of China, Eros Hotel

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Yin and Yang theory is based on viewing things in a relation to its whole.The theory is based on two basic components: yin and yang, which combine in a complementary manner and form a method for explaining relationships between objects. Yin and yang are represented by many tangible dualities, such as male and female, light and dark, fire and water. It is believed that everything has both yin and yang aspects, every object, every person has both these attributes of positive and negative, its just that which of the attributes manifests more strongly than the other. Yin is represented as the feminine, passive, dark, cold, while yang is represented as masculine, active, light, warm.

This philosophy plays a very significant role in the Chinese culture and especially in the Chinese Medicine and Food. Chinese people believe that the balance of Yin and Yang food can really help a person’s physical health to remain fit. Most foods are either predominantly Yin or predominantly Yang and sometimes the combination of Yin and Yang also helps creating a balanced food. Foods with higher water content are usually Yin, as they are cooler and those with high energy or fat are Yang. Most Fruits and Vegetables thus are Yin and Duck, Beef, Alcohol and Warm Spices are Yang.

At Empress of China, Chef Nikhil Rastogi brought in this age old theory of Yin and Yang and created a beautiful food festival out of it. Two separate pantries representing and showcasing Yin and Yang foods respectively were created and one had to pick up ingredients of choice and give it to the chef behind the counter to prepare a dish out of it. Basis selection of foods the dish could be only Yin, only Yang or a combination of two.

To begin with we had Asparagus, corn and mushroom salad (YIN), five Spiced marinated asparagus and corn with sweet chilly dressing, this was a very crunchy and refreshing salad.

Crispy Noodle Salad with Spicy Tamarind Dressing was a Yin and Yang combination dish as the presence of spicy tamarind dressing added the Yang attribute to the otherwise Yin noodles. This one was a beautiful preparation indeed, the taste was perfect, I personally loved it the more than the Asparagus salad.

Lohan Dimsum and Chicken Dimsums were the next two dishes that we relished like anything. The cristal veg dumplings were so tasteful and juicy, a Yin preparation and the chicken dimsums were steamed as well a bit roasted and that itself was the highlight of the dish. I simply loved these both.

Vegetables Salt and Pepper on Skewers tossed with fresh greens and peppers was an amazing preparation. I specially liked the idea of vegetables being on skewers rather than served as a whole dish. Sichuan Chicken, going by the name sounds like a common Chinese dish, but trust me you have to try this once at Eros and you will know the difference. Such authentic pepper flavours gave completely new dimension to the dish.

Steamed Prawn brought in as individual servings were great too, I am not too fond of prawns but this one was truly amazing and its taste lingered on in my mouth for a long time.

For main course I settled for Chicken Pot Sticker, which was an amazing Yang preparation, with minced chicken on a bed on pan fried noodles, mild sauces not overly spicy, it was a perfectly balanced dish and I strongly recommend it.

The dessert which looked like the Yin and Yang symbol was a combination of dark and white chocolate mousse which was delicious. The mousse had a mild flavour of jasmine, which enhanced the overall taste.

I simply loved witnessing this festival and learning so much about the Yin and Yang theory of food from the chef. Its always a pleasure dining at Eros, the people are so warm and hospitable that what more can you ask for. Perfect food, company of Chef Nikhil and F&B Manager Umesh and Harpreet who handles the PR at the hotel, is always an added value to the whole foodie experience. I enjoyed myself completely and I am sure you too will enjoy, so don’t miss the festival, its on till 23rd, so still 2 more days to go..!!

 

Unns, The Captivation- Book Review

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

A word about the Author first.
Sapan Saxena a software engineer by profession is an Author by choice. Born in Lucknow he got his Engineering degree from MNNIT Allahabad. While coding for a complex algorithm he realized that writing fiction would make more sense.
His first book was the highly acclaimed Finders. Keepers.
Currently based in Nsshua, New Hampshire UNNS -The Captivation is his second book.


UNNS traces the journey of its main protagonist Atharva Rathod and his love Meher Qasim.
Atharva hopelessly in love with Meher from adolescence is seperated from her in a sudden change of heart and circumstances which he is totally unable to comprehend.
Time passes and fifteen years down the road he still pines for her not knowing what prompted her change of heart and subsequent disappearance.
But as destiny would have it Atharva who is now an intelligence officer with R A W is sent on a secret mission to Germany and yes runs into Meher.
A chance meeting or something planned???
Atharva’s love for Meher which was buried deep down surfaces again.
Will Meher return his love?
Is she a threat to Atharva’s mission?
Read the book to find out and watch the gripping trailer here

The author has narrated the story beautifully. It is a fast paced racy Rom-thriller. Edge of the seat excitement from cover to cover. Difficult to put down the book once you start reading.
Be prepared for a shocking end to the story.
Absolutely a must read.
Go pick your copy and enjoy the drama unfold!!!!

The book is available on Amazon for Rs 189/-

My Rating 4/5 stars