July 2014 | Branded Bawi's Biography

Aboard the Bombay Local

July 29, 2014 1 Comment

I love how food connects us. You could be a banker, a doctor, or a stay at home mom but still pursue cooking and be a masterchef of your own kitchen. And then there are those few who take their hobbies forward and become home chefs and bakers. And honestly, it is these home chefs who whip up the tastiest, heartiest food.

I have so many of my favorites who I always turn to when I want my share of home made desserts, dips and more. Most of which I have met at Small Fry Co.’s curated events. They manage to source the most talented home grown, foodie talent and present them to us via pop-ups and exhibitions. More about them on their Facebook page here.

This Sunday I popped into another pop-up exhibition named ‘Bombay Local’ at The Easel in Juhu. This quaint art hub metamorphosed into this buzzing space packed with stalls exhibiting wares from restaurants, home chefs, bakers, artists, and designers. I skipped all the apparel and beauty products stalls – purely for fear of being tempted, and stuck to what I enjoy the most- Food! I fluttered from one stall to the next, tasting and sampling what was put out, and chatting up some lovely home entrepreneurs. I came home with some interesting stuff, and hence this blog post about my experience- something that I should have done earlier. Read on for my top three picks at this edition of Bombay Local.

Food

Konichiwa Mumbai!

July 28, 2014 1 Comment

Nowadays, everyone seems to be a fan of Japanese cuisine. Every restaurant is serving sushi and sake. But there is more to a Japanese meal than just that. Mumbai Food Lovers were invited to a preview of the latest Japanese food menu at Spices, J.W.Marriott, Juhu and yours truly was there to report. Chef Emmel Muya recently got on board the restaurant and has some delicious food up his sleeve. We lucky few got a chance to taste the new menu, and here is what I thought.

Spices at the J.W.Marriott is one of the lesser known restaurants at the hotel. Mezzo Mezzo and Lotus Café are far more popular. I wonder why the discrepancy since Spices wowed me with the décor and food. Done up in red and black, with sparkling, dim lights this is such a ‘date place’. Also they have a ‘Teppanyaki’ counter where you can see the chef preparing the food on the grill and sit around it and have your meal. I don’t know where else in the city do you get to see that.

We were all seated on a large table with fellow foodies and bloggers with sparkling wine to keep us company before the food arrived.

Food

A Parcel from Peroni

July 21, 2014 No Comments

What is better than receiving a surprise? Receiving a surprise at the end of a long, harrowing, tired day where you want nothing more to curl up in front of the television with a bottle of beer. The wonderful folks at Peroni, India made that come true. I came home to find the most wonderful parcel waiting for me.

Food

Invincible Vodka Fest at C’est La Vie

July 19, 2014 2 Comments

Mid-week spontaneous plans involving alcohol are always the best. One such plan happened recently where a bunch of us bloggers met up to review the Invincible Vodka Festival. Invincible Vodka is an Indian brand making their presence felt in the market. They recently launched a vodka festival at Ground Zero which is Bandra based club C’est La Vie’s bar. As a part of the festival one can try out some signature cocktails and a few savory items created specially with Invincible Vodka.

About Invincible Vodka:

Indian based brand- Invincible sources the finest grains from the Himalayas and passes it through an 8 step distillation process to acquire the vodka. It recently bagged two awards at Spirits International Prestige (SIP) awards. The brand received Gold medal for slick packaging design and Silver medal in vodka tasting. (Source: www.invinciblevodka.com).

Food, Travel

Dining at The Deltin, Daman

July 16, 2014 No Comments

Being so used to writing about food, and enjoying sharing what’s on my plate I decided to do a separate blog post on my dining experience at The Deltin, Daman. Read on for a foodie journey across The Deltin’s three functional restaurants, and see what all we stuffed our mouths with.

Vegas Cafe:

Aptly named and aptly situated at the hotel’s casino entrance, Vegas Cafe is a multi-cuisine restaurant. They serve a la carte and buffet meals, and are open 24 hours daily. We had two lunches and breakfast at our stay there.

In lieu of our arrival they had prepared an extensive set lunch menu for us. The food was average and nothing exceptional to write home about. Multi-cuisine restaurants fall into the ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ trap in my opinion. They try to do too much, and end up not excelling at any specific thing.

I enjoyed the succulent and Masaledar Gosht Seekh. The Chicken Hariyali Kabab had a moist chicken filling and went well with the green chutney. The Kandahari Paneer Tikka needed more seasoning. Garlic, Pepper & Butter Tossed Potatoes made for a decent snack which I would want to eat at a bar with my beer.