When Physics and Chemistry meets Food

Located in the hustling and bustling location of Park Street, SpiceKlub is a welcome change from our classic Indian dishes. After establishing a name in Mumbai SpiceKlub wanted Kolkata to experience The Modern Indian Cuisine with a molecular twist. With more than 100 items in its menu SpiceKlub whips a scrumptious range of delicacies from different parts of the country. Introducing all the foodies to a stunning range of molecular cuisine is a style which embraces sensory and food science borrowing tools from the science lab and ingredients from the food industry. Street foods, mocktails and Indian sweets are served and plated like a piece of art, which is carefully worked upon by the chefs.

Although Molecular Gastronomy has found its ways to Kolkata but “Molecular Gastronomy” has not got justice. SpiceKlub offers arguably one of the most creative styles of cooking. The place serves North Indian food with a twist to it. The everyday recipes and the street food renditions are presented in a completely distinctive style making it look all the more attractive. The menu includes reinvention of old-school dishes like Pav Bhaji, Chaat, Dhokla, Vada Pav etc that will blow your mind. Be it the Bombay Pav Bhaji Fondue, the Gujarati Deconstructed Dhokla, the Delhi Papdi Chaat or the Nothern Chole Kulcha, each creation is a masterpiece created to delight your taste buds. Not to miss out on the sinful desserts that come in never seen before avatars – Gulab Jamun Tart – All the goodness of your Gulab Jamun baked to perfection in a tart, Bubbling Kulfi - served in an open mouth jar with a dry ice bottom along with the number of toppings such as blueberry, chocolate and caramel and Chocolate Soap Bar – Your favourite chocolate ganache to name a few! The dishes are presented in an extra-ordinary fashion that involves test-tubes, syringes, beakers, dry ice and several other unusual vessels and elements.

With this unique take on a confluence of traditional favourites SpiceKlub has made its mark in Mumbai and it has now set its foot in Kolkata – the foodie’s haven, to serve quality modern Indian cuisine. Manjari Basotia brings SpiceKlub to the City of Joy. “Kolkata loves food and we wanted to get the best in molecular gastronomy for them and who better than SpiceKlub. There is a huge vegetarian population in the city and SpiceKlub sees it as a big opportunity,” said Manjari Basotia, Kolkata franchise owner, SpiceKlub.

Festive Collection launch of Cocoon Fine Rugs

Aradhana Dalmia and Ayush Choudhary at Cocoon Fine Rugs' festive collection laucnch

Cocoon Fine Rugs launched its new festive collection at Cocoon Gallery, Pretoria Street on 25^th October. It was an evening with a mix of art, fashion and free flowing conversations hosted by Aradhana Dalmia of The Artemist. Ayush Choudhary, Creative Director and MD of Cocoon Fine Rugs was also present for the unveiling of the festive collection. “Art leaves an impact and legacy behind. Art comes in many forms, one of the unique forms being carpets. There are so many ways to display a carpet. From traditional hand weaves to modern and abstract, every carpet can be a masterpiece!” said Aradhana Dalmia, who is also an artist and an art consultant. Artist Sumanta Dey of The Artemist was also at the launch creating sample designs for customized carpets for the guests to choose and order. 

When someone thinks of design, one has traditionally always thought of couture, art and its likes. Ayush can be attributed to changing that perception drastically and ensuring that handmade rugs intricately weave their way into the sphere of high design. “Cocoon Fine Rugs today has become the most renowned rug brands catering to the design community in India. Cocoon has also collaborated with celebrated fashion designer Varun Bahl and multiple award winner interior and product designer Rooshad Shroff to come up with limited-edition collections of rugs. This festive season we bring to you a whole new range of Cocoon Fine Rugs, thus ensuring that Cocoon continues to push the envelope when it comes to rug design,” said Ayush Choudhary, Creative Director and MD of Cocoon Fine Rugs. 

Artist Sumanta Dey of The Artemist at the launch creating sample designs for customized carpets for the guests to choose and order

Cocoon Fine Rugs teamed up with Varun Bahl, to bring the ‘Baroque Garden’ collection. The Collection is inspired from the Baroque period and reflects unmistakable splendour and flamboyance. It is crafted with finesse bringing out the sensual drama of the baroque era. Universal in nature, it is beautiful and rich in both - appearance and quality. Using and breaking the rule of classical design-making, Baroque was the explicit state of Varun Bahl’s mind while designing this collection.

Rooshad Shroff’s ‘Tessellations’ Collection was inspired by the traditional Indian flooring patterns of Heritage Bungalows. Rooshad, a trendsetter in the industry, noticed that people are more open to having heavily patterned floorings which form the main focus within the interiors these days.  Adding an interesting modern twist to it, he morphed these traditional patterns from one shape to another and infused the designs with a burst of bright colours making them ideal for adding additional colour within a space. The result of which is a range of unmatched rugs which would be a perfect fit for traditional and modern houses.

Calcutta Meri Jaan

Ten years sounds too serious when you mention it as a decade. And that is for how long I know this city that is known for its yellow taxis, rosogolla, phuchka, Victoria Memorial and Bandhs. I can vividly remember how petrified I was while leaving home. But that was my ticket to what one could call it at that age 'freedom'. Coming from a small town in Jharkhand I am very proud of my roots. Initially it is difficult for all to adjust in a new place where people don't speak your language. And I faced similar problems. My parents can speak a li'l bit of Bengali and I read in a school where 70 per cent of the teachers were Bong so you can say I was accustomed to the language but that myth was busted the day I boarded the wrong bus. I was tensed and when you are tensed, all your language skills goes for a toss, I was trying to figure out where was the bus taking me and I asked few ladies and everyone answered in Bengali, maybe I panicked and that made the situation worse but then now when I look at it, I kind of laugh at myself.

Time flew and how. In these ten years things that hasn't changed is the essence and the pace of this city. I have changed, my likes, dislikes and my way of looking at things. I value my mother more. When you stay with someone for too long, you start taking them for granted but staying away makes you realise their importance. Life has its own ways of teaching you things.
I come from Jharia, a small town known for its coal mines, where everybody knows everybody. So when living there, I had to face all kinds of issues; pesky neighbours, interfering relatives and curfew hours. And the much needed thing that Calcutta provided me was FREEDOM...my first tryst with freedom and how can I not be grateful for it.
Aaj ke samaachar samapt. Baki baatein peene baad.

When a nutritionist serves you food...it's got to be Good!!

Calcutta is known for its laid back attitude and staying for the last ten years has rubbed off on me as well. So here I am after a long time with another post and what could you expect out of a foodie like me but endless talk about food and mind you, it's not just any food but Good Food.

Nutritionist Hena Nafis' Eat Good Food doesn't disappoint a bit. But what amazed me was the place, it was done up so well that you would fall in love with the place. A friend made a sudden plan to meet (read EAT!) and  as she had a meeting at Eat Good Food, we decided to give it a try. the entrance is nicely lit up with soft lights and you might feel that it's a tiny place but is quite huge and can fit in quite a many people.

Each section is named after a herb like Thyme, Mint and Basil. They have private dining areas with an impressive Japanese seating arrangement. Located at Tarak Dutta Road this place is quite near to Quest and has quite an extensive menu that offers High Protein, Low Calorie and Low Glycaemic meals. 

Although I was not quite hungry probably kind of ended having an early dinner. We didn't order much.We ordered Cinnamon Burst, Apple Lemon and Ginger Smoothie, Roasted Pepper and Feta Stuffed Chicken and Stir Fried Chicken. The Cinnamon Burst was simple amazing and if this is something that cuts down belly fat that I thing every nutritionist should prescribe it to their doctors. We also took a tip to prepare this amazingly refreshing drink at home. The Apple Lemon and Ginger Smoothie was grainy, sugarless and light on stomach. Either the chicken was too delicious or we super hungry, we forgot to take the pictures and just polished off the bowl of chicken. Our second dish took a little extra time for preparation but nonetheless was worth the wait. The Feta Stuffed Chicken had a balanced taste and is something you should try out at this place. 

With subtle interiors, the place has a rich feel to it, something I haven't experience in other cafes in Calcutta. I am surely visiting again and so should you.After all healthy eating should be a way of life!

Stop Over at Mumbai Local in Calcutta

Stop Over at Mumbai Local in Calcutta

At our office we have this pact of trying out a new eating joint every month. So today we thought of trying out a new place that's just two days old and actually quite near to office called Mumbai Local. As soon as we left the office, it started drizzling and soon it turned to heavy rain. But ek baar jo humne commitment kar di toh hum baarish ki bhi nahi sunte. The weather seemed to be influenced by the name of the place,  reminded me of the crazy Mumbai rains. All three of us wanted to try out this place because of its name, as we kind of love the Maximum City.

We were greeted by the manager and few smiling attendants. Smiling staff is half the battle won - not always but we appreciate their effort to make us feel comfortable. What caught our attention was the really thought after interiors. Har khopche mein Bombay se judi kuch baat hai. The whole place is quite interestingly done up. The walls have tried to capture the essence of Bombay with Marine Drive to Bollywood everything illustrated on its walls. Their hanging fire hydrant lights gives it an interesting look and feel.

When you talk of Mumbai, how can you stay away from Bollywood. You have all your favourite Bhais sitting on  tetrapod shaped rocks. There is Amitabh Bachchan from Sarkar, Sanjay Dutt from Vaastav, Ajay Devgn from Once Upon A Time and Salman Khan, the eternal bhai.

We couldn't even sing Imtihaan ho gyi intezaar ki while were waiting for the food as soon we were served Kala Khatta, Strawberry and Mint popsicles. We simply loved it!!

While browsing through the menu we wanted to stick to the appetizers...no wait they were the Faadu items, as the main course did not sound too interesting with Naan and Dal Makhani on board. So we got ourselves Taka-Tak Aloo, which was yumm and as the name suggests taka-tak spicy.

Main toh raste se jaa raha tha...main toh bhelpuri khaa raha tha. 
You'll miss a major part of Mumbai if you don't have Bhel at Chowpatty, so how could we. So we got Molecular Bhel that had chilled Bhel served with Molecular Mint Chutney. Next we girls went deewani over Bhaaji Pao Mastaani. Interesting, isn't it.

Mamaji's Grill and Pizza in Tardeo one of the must haves for the food lovers. And that's what made us order the double layered Mumbaiya special Mamaji's Grill Sandwich, which was topped with dry sev and served with potato wafers. Quite a mouthful I must say. But the list doesn't end here. Next up was Mushroom fried with salt and pepper...nom nom.

There's something for everyone here. How can the dosa lovers forget the dosas opposite MithiBai college. The Maggi and the dosa lovers inside us got tempted and could not resist ourselves from ordering the 2-minute Dosa. Maggi Love Zindabad!! But the Maggi Dosa was a bit of disappointment as I thought a lot could have been done with it to make it more appetizing and interesting. But I think they wanted to stick to the authentic taste of Maggi. After having so much of food, we had no place to try out the dessert but then what came as a surprise was Cotton Candy in Paan flavour and the kid in us was oh! so happy!!
A Raapchik place to visit and must try out their Faadu items. 

Oh! Yes. After stuffing ourselves with so much of food Vaat toh lagni he thi...

स्थळ: Mumbai Local

हे कुठे आहे: 19 Ballygunge Park Road

वेळ: 12:30pm - 23:30pm