4 Practical Ways to Prepare For Your New Baby
, especially if this is your first time being pregnant. Preparing to welcome a new life into the world can herald the start of changes in your life and is a big responsibility.
Category: Uncategorized
Finding The Motivation To Prepare Homemade Meals
You’re more likely to order a takeout meal if you haven’t got any plans as to what you’re going to eat. Instead of waiting until that evening to decide what you’re having to eat, try planning your meals in advance.
Which Are Truly The Healthiest Diets?
If you are keen to try and make sure that you are as healthy as possible, your diet is always one of the most important things to think about. As long as you eat well, in general you will feel well, and you’ll just be a lot healthier on the whole. A good diet can often be the difference between general overall health and wellbeing, and the complete opposite of that.
A Launch that was Tailor Made… Darzi Bar & Kitchen!
Normally restaurant launches are all about hundred of people rumbling and tumbling against each other, having drinks, hunting for food like scavengers and dancing to a loud music till wee hours and forgetting all about it the next day! But as the name suggests the launch at Darzi Bar & Kitchen was as tailor made as they claim their theme to be. Very well managed, controlled and with right dose of entertainment, endless supply of food and drinks and a very warm and personalised hospitality were the key highlights of the launch.
The ambience is cosy, comfortable and just like a place where you would want to spend long hours enjoying some lip smacking food and drinks with your family and friends.
The Darzi Bar and Kitchen, located in the heart of New Delhi, Connaught Place, was launched on Saturday, 14th of January, bringing in a completely fresh view to the whole dining experience. The restaurant offers a lavish selection of Indian Fusion, Progressive Indian and European Cuisine, making the whole “love for food” journey turn into a classic with Master Chef Shipra Khanna. Meeting her once again has been my pleasure and loved the feeling that she remembered me too. Shipra’s journey as a master chef has been an inspiration for many and her strength is commendable.
The whole idea of The Darzi Bar and Kitchen was born to provide a new and improved way to set a mood for an all round tailored experience. Mr. Manuj M Gupta, the Founder and Partner of The Darzi Bar and Kitchen says, “The words tailor-made summarize my entire vision for The Darzi Bar and Kitchen as it is a unique concept, catering to everyone with options made especially for them, highlighted in overall interiors, food and drinks. Everything has been set keeping this vision at power, with options that have been invented to suit the customer’s fits and misfits so that when they leave they are a lot happier than when they entered.” Mr. Abhishek Trehan, Partner of The Darzi Bar and Kitchen mentions, “6 months ago, I had a dream to bring a warm and cozy place to New Delhi which explores tailor made cocktails and handcrafted gourmet food. A place, which was idle for having conversations while enjoying some of the best concoctions and bites, this city has to offer. Hence, The Darzi Bar and Kitchen came into being.”
It was this dream for The Darzi Bar and Kitchen, which led to a new and improved way to provide a made to measure experience, making sure that the whole idea catered to an exclusive tailor-made selection for each customer by measuring their likes and dislikes. Master Chef Shipra Khanna says, “Tailor-made food and beverages are for your belly as clothes are tailor-made for the body. This is the essence of The Darzi Bar and Kitchen. Of course not to miss out on the whole ambience which too is tailor made!!”
The Launch was one of its kind, I mean I haven’t seen a launch where everything is so perfect. Everything had a personal touch, with Shipra, Abhishek and Manuj interacting with each guests, and being so warm and hospitable, it almost felt like a personal house party.
The food served was delectable and the cocktails and drinks were amazing.
The entertainment was top class, with some live singing and dances thrown in and then a master stroke performance by none other than Jasbir Jassi himself.
He brought the house on fire as audience started dancing on his high energy numbers. Watch a glimpse here..Shipra too sing and dance along with him and that added a lot more fun to the whole performance.
Bollywood actor Chandrachur Singh also made his way to the stage and enthralled the audience by singing ‘Rang Barse’ in his deep sensuous voice.
A special mention for the DJ, he really knew the pulse of the people and totally rocked the music scene, commendable!
Many known personalities also witnessed the launch and enjoyed the food and ambience including Raja Randhir Singh, Anupama Verma, Shikha Swaroop and a few others.
The Darzi Bar and Kitchen team comprises of Chef Umesh Kapoor who is the concept & hospitality consultant, Saniya Sharad Sahai who has tailor-made all the artifacts and wall arts and Mr. Prantap Trikha, the interior and architecture consultant. The Darzi Bar and Kitchen inspires a tailor made experience whether it’s in food or interiors, to create and complement individual tastes, focusing on the exclusivity provided to everyone.
I am now looking forward to have a nice evening spent there just enjoying their Tailor Made Food & Drinks.. hope I am able to make it soon..! Here is wishing Shipra and the team all the very best for their new venture and hope it reaches new heights of success!
The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali, the amalgamation of street foods of India
Kolkata Ke Puchkas, Bombay Ki Pav Bhaji, Mysore Ka Vada, Chennai Ka Masala Dosa, Delhi Ki Chaat, we all are well aware of these amazing street foods we get across the length and breadth of our country and sometimes we just wait for our travel plans to materialise so that we can savour these delicacies in their whole authenticity. Because sometimes we don’t get everything in our own cities or even if we get most of the times the authentic flavours are missing. But not anymore because Osama Jalali along with Keventers brings The Masala Trail to Delhi which not only boasts of street and regional foods from across regions under one roof but also infuse complete authenticity in the tastes.
To begin with we were served Tower Chaat, layers and layers of yummy dilli ki chaat presented in a tall glass. This one is surely a must have. Pakora Basket and Samosa Chaat were served next. The pakora basket had assorted pakoras and is totally worth it. Crunchy & crispy pakoras with green chutney make for a perfect evening snack. The samosa chaat too was good to taste. Banarasi Tamatar Chaat was something I had not tried before and hence found it very different, but could not acquire the taste for the same.
Moving on from North, we tasted some Western delicacies, Panki, a Gujarati snack prepared with rice flour between banana leaves was served first. Though it tasted nice, but it wasn’t something that I would fancy much otherwise. Dabeli Pav, again a traditional Gujarati dish, it is made with mashed potatoes tossed in masala toppings and sandwiched between grilled pav. This was definitely worth trying and I am sure you will like it. Mumbaiya Pizza Dosa and Chowpaty Pav Bhaji was something we tried next and both of these things were simply outstanding. I have always found a challenge with restaurants serving pav bhaji without the authentic taste, but here it was exactly the way its found in Mumbai and the same was with Pizza Dosa, it reminded me of the famous stalls near Mithibai College in Mumbai that serve these dosas. Even the Vada Pav was as authentic as it could be, retaining the original taste, your search for vada pavs could definitely end here.
Mysore Vada from the south and Kolkata Puchkas from the east were next, the vadas were nice and crispy but because I am not basically fond of South Indian food, I just tried these for namesake. Though the Masala Dosa looked tempting enough.The Kolkata puchkas were a bit of disappointment because I found them to be a little dry, the filling could have been better and even the masala water.
For mains we settled for Amristsari Kulchas and Dal Makhani with Naan. The Amritsari Kulchas were simply amazing, I loved them and one must surely try them. The Dal Makhani was easily one of the best I had eaten in recent times and you cant afford to miss it.
Another thing that you shouldn’t be missing is the Kesari Lassi and Matka Kulfi to complete your meal and it will be one soulful journey of food that you will end up experiencing at this place. I am very sure that this restaurant is going to give all vegetarian restaurants a run for their money, so don’t think much and visit asap.
Ardor 2.1- Restaurant Review
I was recently invited by a blogger friend Vibhav Dwivedi to review this restaurant & bar which has undergone a complete revamping and hence its now called ARDOR 2.1, the next level of food, drinks and even hookah.
The place is spread across two floors, the lower floor being more like a fine dining place and apt for families and bigger groups, also Sheesha is not allowed on this floor. The upper floor that also has a balcony is more like a lounge where one can sit back, relax and chill with friends. This place is ideal for the youngsters. Music, Hookah, Drinks, Awesome Food, what else does one need and hence its just perfect.
For starters we ordered some French Fries, Chicken Caesar Salad, Chatpata Peanuts and Chilly Paneer to begin with. Caesar Salad was nice and crunchy with the lettuce leaves, perfect dressing and big chunks of chicken. Loved the chilly paneer as well, perfectly spiced with big pieces of cottage cheese, this is an all time favourite. And of course needless to say that the peanuts and french fries were good too, though there is hardly any bad that can be done to them. There was a wide variety of mocktails and cocktails to choose from to go along with the array of starters.
Dahi Bhalla Papdi, Non-Veg & Veg Kebab Platter, Crunchy Baby Corn & Mushroom with Dry Chilli, Dragon Chicken, Paneer Tikka, Loaded Nachos, Chilly Chicken Dry and Sesame Fried Fish made for our next set of appetisers. The Crunchy Baby Corn & Mushrooms turned out to be really good. The platters were both good and truly a delight whether for vegetarians or the non-vegetarians. I had more than everything one can ask for. The non-veg platter had an assortment of Ajwaini Machhi Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, Murg Ghazab Ka Seena, Ghosth Seekh Kebab, Murg Tikka Punjabi, Murg Malai Kebab, Murg Reshmi Kebab and Dhaniya Mirch Ka Machhi Tikka.. isn’t that just wow..I mean what more really would you need. Similarly the veg platter had an assortment of Paneer Tikka Ajwaini, Khumb Achari, Bharwa Chutney Wale Aaloo, Hara Bhara Kebab, Dahi Ke Kebab, Tandoori Soya Chaap Punjabi, Paneer Mirch Ke Seekh, Makkai Te Pudine Di Tikki and Tandoori Rani. These platters were sure shot winners and each item of the platter was delectable. All the kebabs and tikkas were very tender and delectable.
Nachos were loaded with beans and salsa and tasted really nice, the sesame fried fish was good too. The dragon chilly chicken was pieces of fried chicken with oodles of black bean sauce. I loved the taste and concept of this dish, but I wish the chicken wasn’t so stretchy. It could surely have been better, because wherever there was less sauce, the chicken appeared too dry to eat. I am sure they can work around this one.Chilly Chicken and Paneer Tikka were great to taste.
Coming to mains, I tried the Pastas, both in Red and White Sauce and they were really done well and I loved it. I also tried the loaded veggie pizza and it too tasted great. I was so full with all this that I had no space to try the Indian mains but going with the overall quality of food I am sure that the Indian main course would be as great and you must definitely try it. I have heard that their Dal Makhani is exceptionally good. For me, I just settled for a Match Kulfi to bring my culinary exploration to a sweet end.
I recommend this place highly and you must give it a try really soon you won’t be disappointed.
Relish the Goodness of Winter Veggies at Plaza Premium Lounge!
As the temperature is gradually getting colder and one can feel the chill in the air, Plaza Premium Lounge unveils its new Winter Special Menu. A wide array of dishes with healthy food that are loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, and immune-boosting powers, which your body requires to get through the chilly weather.
The new menu offers seasonally inspired dishes, thoughtfully prepared by Executive Chef Ankit Mangla and his team of culinary experts who only work with the highest quality of fresh ingredients available in the local market.
In winters our body craves for high energy and protein rich foods which provide warmth along with nutrition. The menu uses fresh seasonal vegetables like carrots, radish, yams, garlic, spinach, mustard leaves, goose berries, oranges and guava. A lot of protein rich foods such as paneer, ghee, butter, cheese and khoya are also used. The menu also has some healthy items made of whole grains like millet and corn and whole spices with anti-microbial properties.
Some exciting dishes includes Pasta with Assorted Winter Vegetables, Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna, Falafel with Assorted Winter Vegetables, Methi Murgh Masala, Gajar Mutter Gobhi masala, Corn Spinach & Mushroom Fondue, Vegetable Cannelloni, Thai Veg Green Curry, Ratatouille, Assorted Vegetables in Sichuan Sauce, Murgh Saagwala to name a few. Guests may also enjoy variety of salads and dessert options such as Gajar Ka Halwa, Gulkand Phirni, Carrot Olive Mint Salad, Banana and Honey French Toast etc.
“The new menu went through a lot of thought and considerations before the final list of dishes were set. We wanted to make sure that each and every item reminds the guests of the beautiful season ahead and that they enjoy a flavorful meal before their travel”, said Ankit Mangla, Executive Chef, Plaza Premium Lounge.
The new winter menu will emphasize on the best of Plaza Premium Lounge while showcasing an irresistible range of newly curated dishes that will give our guests a wider variety of options to choose from. These new menu items are sure to impress and please any palate with a fusion of flavors.
No more worrying about the boring food at airport, head to Plaza Premium Lounge to indulge in a wonderful winter meal
What: Winter Special Menu
Where: Plaza Premium Lounge at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports
When: December till February
Price: Lounge access starts at Rs.1200 plus taxes
*This promotion is limited to select lounges across Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports.
About Plaza Premium Lounge
Plaza Premium Lounge, the world’s largest independent airport lounge network, gives travellers a haven away from the hustle and bustle of the airport, a home away from home, by providing a space with top-notch services and facilities for travellers departing, transiting and arriving at major international airports including Abu Dhabi, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Toronto and Vancouver.
Comfortable seating, enticing food and beverage selection, showers with amenities, private resting suites, VIP rooms, recharging stations, Wi-Fi, computer workstations are but a few of the services offered to enhance the airport experience.
As the first airport lounge network to achieve ISO 9001:2008 certification and the World’s Best Independent Airport Lounge by Skytrax, we are committed to consistently providing quality services and continual improvement for valued customers. By putting into action, the best ideas and practices from across the network and around the world, we focus on innovative and quality products and services.
Add Some Raftaar To Your Food Scene…!!
Raftaar Lounge and Bar located at Club Road, Punjabi Bagh held a Blogger’s meet over lunch recently and I was glad to be a part of it.
First things first, its a huge property spread across three floors and ample parking space, and you don’t even have to bother for parking your car as they offer valet service as well. As the name suggests, the whole concept of the lounge and bar relies on speed. It has a high on energy and power packed ambience, the place is a complete gear of fine dining and clubbing with family and friends. The place is meant to indulge you into delicious food and drinks and makes you party all night with electronic dance music.
This luxury lounge and bar is designed for an evolved nightlife experience. From the very boulevard it looks like an edifice of energy. Eerie from the first step and it gets a whole lot interesting as you walk up the stairway of the Raftaar, a nightclub/lounge that’s not just on the fringe, it’s completely detached from the real world, bringing back the treasured world of dance and entertainment with lifestyle experience.
With the expanse at three levels, each with different experience of its own like Sophisticated Car lounge, Rustic Bikers Place and first ever Private Pool Dining at Open Terrace, this place is just worth the visit.
Raftaar has exactly what you need for a bull blown party and it comes bigger, bolder and stronger with its state of the art sound walls, fantastic lighting and sound system reverberating with gut – busting music ranging from national and international top charts, house, electronic and percussion. The staple entertainment also boasts of Live Acts – concerts and live bands that are edgy, raw and play with bone – jarring enthusiasm promising a night that’s erotic and high profile.
The food menu is set as per the tastes and preferences of the Delhiites. With wide varieties serving the customers with their vegetarian as well as non – vegetarian menu, it has something to suit every taste bud. To start with they have Caesar Cardin Salad, Hawaiian Boat, and Oia Greek Salad with Feta en-routing with Dahi ke Kebabs, Malai Soya Chaap, Murg Tikka and Amritsari fish with Prawn Recheado and Finding Nemo. On your way to final destination with NH – 1 burger get fuelled up with energizing appetizers and drinks. Paneer Bemisaal, Dil Khush Malai Kofta, Pindi Chana, Murg Lahori with Amritsari Kulcha and Pesto Naan will be greeting you at the table. Special appearances of Parmesan Chicken, Kerala Prawn Curry and Grilled Chimichurri Fish will make the journey more lip smacking. Highway Glory and Alive by Brownie Sundae will be waiting for you at the finishing line before you get indulged into a sweet affair.
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Our culinary journey started with Nachos Crusted Fish Fingers, which were nice but slightly overcooked, they could have been crispier.
The Mogewala Tangri Kebab was a real treat. It was really properly cooked with meat melting in your mouth.
The Nimbu Adraki Murgi was another delicious dish made to perfection.The flavours of Nimbu and Adrak blending perfectly.
Their chilly chicken was yet another well made preparation nice n soft with the right amount of chillies.
The cocktails n mocktails to go along were equally presentable and mouthwatering.
The main course had the Dal Makhni,Gosht Nihari and Methi Murg Lahori n must mention all three dishes were simply superb, easy on the palate with very subtle flavours.
To round up this mouth watering journey of a scrumptious spread was the Dessert Sunday. It was like heaven for chocolate lovers, don’t miss it.
All in all a great place to spend some cool time with your friends and family.Strongly recommended.
Beautiful Breakfast Mornings at Chatter House
Breakfast, they say is the most important meal of the day and one should never skip it. I have been though skipping it most of the days, but recently on a bright Sunday morning, my breakfast story became very very beautiful and it was really hard to skip this one. Now who can skip a breakfast when it contains variety of things like, different egg preparations, fresh fruit salad, cold cuts, sandwiches, pancakes, waffles and even paranthas and that too under one roof. At least I could not, because just reading these items on the newly launched breakfast menu of Chatter House made me hungry.
Called for a special bloggers table on a Sunday morning, gave me the chance to explore this wonderful culinary delight. We began by ordering Fresh Fruit Salad, and trust me I could just keep looking at it, it looked so so tempting and fulfilling. Well it alone was enough to fill one person’s stomach, but the advantage of a bloggers table was that we could share and enjoy more things than a person can actually finish off individually.
Next we tried the Spanish Omelette and Eggs Benedict. The Spanish Omelette that was loaded with roasted red capsicum, potatoes, paprika, olives and parmesan cheese was simply out of this world. I loved it and this is definitely one of those things in the menu that you should not miss. Eggs Benedict was another heavenly dish, poached eggs and chicken ham topped with a heavy drizzle of hollandaise sauce, made it really delectable.
Up next was Croque Madame with Salad, basically a classic chicken ham & cheese sandwich covered in cheese and becomes a madame when a fried egg is placed on top of it. Well the Spanish Omelette and Eggs Benedict had set my expectations pretty high and hence I found these a little disappointing. Not that they were bad, but in comparison, they ranked a little low and could have been better.
Making most of the given opportunity, we also tried the Indian Breakfast, for which we ordered Paneer Paranthas and Gobhi Paranthas. Served with curd and pickle, they were scrumptious.
Next we ordered Waffles and Pancakes and both of them were just amazing. The waffles topped with chocolate sauce, and maple syrup was worth indulging and so were the soft, supple and utterly delicious pancakes. You cannot miss them, these are the must tries.
My overall experience of this breakfast menu at Chatter House was great, the only disappointment were the smoothies which taste too curd like and I am sure after taking our feedback constructively, the chef has already worked on it and they are good by now, as I write about them.
So don’t wait, make your mornings beautiful with a beautiful and scrumptious breakfast at the Chatter House.
About Chatter House:
The Chatterhouse, headed by Mr. Swadeep Popli, is a perfect getaway from the mundane flow of life, bringing alive the very essence of the pub culture made famous by the typical pubs of Europe. Located at the posh locale of Khan Market and Nehru Place The Chatter House is a typical pub which becomes the centre of your social experiences, a place where you wind down your day, meet up with friends or just enjoy some fabulous spirits with comfort cuisine with a twist.
The Chatter House appeals across a diverse spectrum of guests from 15 year olds to 70 year old who all find something to entice, indulge and entertain them. The very USP of the place is that you can enjoy listening to your favourite tunes from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and also enjoy a spirited conversation at the same time. It enables you to enjoy your company and conversations along with our very popular gourmet food and drinks. As in keeping with the relaxed retro vibe of the pub, expect to hear some great tunes from those ‘golden years’. The music played is pub classics – this space is dedicated to several legends.
Keeping various needs of the guests in mind the place has bar stools, very famous booth style seating, high seating tables, lounge sections along with regular seating. It also has an al fresco seating with an open format wood fired oven at Epicuria and a full glass house smoking terrace area at Khan Market. The design of The Chatter House is a typical old style pub, spread across 2,500 sq ft of space. The Chatter House in Nehru Place is a Victorian era themed pub adorned with classic chandeliers, warm and welcoming wooden accents, old world flooring, wooden groin vaults, cheerful brick wall finishes and plush comfortable seating that will surely get you to sink in and relax. The one in Khan Market is a typical Irish themed pub with tan leather & dark wood interiors covered with iron and bricks, Irish rock bands music lyrics and specially Irish music wall art. The place also boasts of a 20th century piano especially sourced from London and the theme is typically music based in this outlet.
The kitchen at The Chatter House is run under the supervision of Head Chef Tara Chand Joshi who has years of experience in the hospitality industry. Chef Joshi believes in curating the food as much in detail and passion as he devotes to the drinks. Speaking of the gastronomic experience here, comfort is the keyword of the cuisine that The Chatterhouse entails – a heady mix of delectable delights from Europe, Italy and of course India. The emphasis is on “fresh” and “high quality” ingredients from the best of suppliers. They try and do “home-made” as much as possible. They bake their own breads, most of their sauces are made in-house with carefully drafted recipe. The basic principle considered while planning the entire menu at Chatter House was comfort, association, aspiration and regional. To break the monotony of normal casual pub they curate their food listings seasonally and menu changes every 3 months.
Prashant Rawalia announced as winner of the Monin Cup 2016!
MONIN – the world leader in gourmet syrups headquartered in France, announced the champion of the MONIN CUP 2016.
In its 4th edition, this biannual contest continued to celebrate the young talent in the field of bartending. After a nationwide search to find top bartenders across India Prashant Rawalia won the MONIN CUP 2016.
Prashant Rawalia gets a chance to showcase his talent & represent India in International bartending challenge scheduled on the 5th of December in Paris, France. He will compete with 80 other national champions , drawn after a thorough search for young talent in each of these countries .
In a nail-biting finale, 12 finalists from 4 cities (3 from Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai & Pune each) competed neck to neck at Hard Rock Cafe in Gurgaon on 7th Oct to confer the winner title. All the cocktails prepared by finalist bartenders were put through both technical and sensory evaluations .The event was judged by a panel of the industry’s elite experts including Master Mixologist, Andrea Fidora, Yandup Lama, Food Critic, Sourish Bhattacharya,Shalini Kumar and Pawan Soni.
The finalists were challenged on their full range of skills as hospitality professionals. Prashant Rawalia prevailed throughout the competition with his outstanding showmanship and innovative cocktail creation, technique and performance under pressure.
Additionally, to this, the event also showcased a master class on professional and home bartending from the master of cocktails, Andrea Fidora. He enlightened guests with some quick tips on how to prepare awesome drinks at home using MONIN products. World-class, flare champions Pankaj and Sachin rocked the highly charged crowd with their wizardry and supreme flair to bring the house down!
Mr. Ravi Kathuria – Director Business development SAARC countries said, “MONIN CUP 2016 is one of the top international competitions in India and provides a prestigious platform to the young upcoming bartending talent in our country to showcase their prowess at the global scale. The MONIN cup is part of the strategy to train , encourage and groom young talent which MONIN as a leader in beverage innovation is adopting in India and the 144 countries we operate in.”
Commenting on the occasion Mr. Ashish Dubey – Managing Director, Saksham Impex said, “We are happy and proud be associated with MONIN, and organizing this cup . In past few weeks, we have witnessed the most exquisite display of first class mixology. We believe it’s a huge opportunity for the next generation who are the future of bartending. The final 12 were exceptional and judges had a tough time to select the winner, however Prashant Rawaliacut the chase with his/her bartending skills. We also want to thank all our judges,especially Andrea who gave our guests some useful tips on creating fine drinks at home.”
About MONIN
With 100 years of experience MONIN has become a brand of choice of the gourmet flavour business with over 140 flavours in more than 145 countries. MONIN is the brand of choice of the creative beverage makers, from barista in coffee shops, to mixologists creating high-end cocktails, to operators offering simple cocktail solutions. 7 million drinks are made every day using MONIN products. MONIN is currently present in more than 145 countries. For more info, https://www.monin.com/
The brand is currently distributed in India through Saksham Group, http://www.sakshamimpex.com/