Vacation

I would be on vacation between 24th Dec and 5th Jan....so till then...Seasons Greetings!!

10 Downing Street, T Nagar, Chennai

This is supposed to be 'the' watering hole in Chennai. The music was supposed to be great and the experience was supposed to be something that could be remembered.

However, this is one of the most over hyped places to which I have been. To start with there is a fee of INR 700 of which INR 500 is cover charges and the balance entry fee.

Music on a Saturday night was primarily, relatively old, hip hop numbers and was quite bland.

The food - nothing much to say about the limited menu. I had to place the order with more than one waiter - as the initial waiter was pretty 'duh'! On the same note, the service was quite pathetic - a waiter spilt some drinks on a lady guest seated at a table beside mine. He was initially apolegetic as he should be, but when a couple of drunk male members at her table started to make fun of her, the waiter too joined the party and started laughing. Phew! I've never seen this before.

Continuing with the food - garlic chicken was nothing but the ready to fry chicken available off the shelf, fried and doused in garlic sauce. Boiled vegetables and boiled peanuts - as the name suggests are just that - so much so that not even salt is added to it.

Vegetarian items are priced (on an average) at around INR 150 and non vegetarian items at around 200. 

A large of whiskey comes at INR 190 - and you do not get smalls (you can buy a bottle if you so desire)

If you want to catch a quick bite before you leave, you are left to choose between sandwiches and rolls.

AVOID!!

French Loaf - TTK Road - Chennai

This is a place where you get some baked desserts, (cakes, pies, soufles) and breads. French Loaf offers only takeaways and there is no place to sit and enjoy your dessert there leisurely if you so desire.

For an upmarket bakery, I should say I was not too pleased with the quality of the food. A couple of pastries that I took home were stale, probably why they do not have a place to eat at the outlet!

Avoid

The Lounge Bar at Muthoot Plaza, Trivandrum

Muthoot Plaza is one of the most upmarket hotels in Trivandrum. 

The setting is very pleasant and the sound of the waterfall in the middle adds to the pleasantness of the lounge.

The food menu is very limited but the food is tasty. There is also a wide screen TV showing either sports or news.

The drinks mentioned in the menu, especially the scotch, are not always available. The cocktails are good at times and not so good at other times - it is just not consistent. 

And to top it all the service is certainly not what is expected of a Sarovar group hotel.

For want of a better setting to relax and enjoy a couple of drinks, one can venture into this place. One has to put up with the poor service and the limited drinks menu.

Apoorva Sangeetha, RA Puram, Chennai

The food here sucks!!

I thought being part of a reasonably large chain of restaurants, the food here would be palatable.  I had gone to order some food for taking away.  As they are a veg restaurant specializing in South Indian tiffin items, I ordered a few varieties of dosais and vadais.  Although the dosai and vadai were freshly made, the accompanying chutneys (sauces) were spoilt - both the coconut chutney and the onion based one were spoilt.

Unfortunately, being a takeaway, I realized it only @ home.  I pity the customers who are served the same stuff in the restaurant.

AVOID THIS PLACE

Cafe Mozaic, Taj Residency, Bangalore

Cafe Mozaic(CM) is the coffee shop of Taj Residency.  It has got an indoor air conditioned area and a few tables beside the swimming pool.  The climate being pleasant in the evenings in BLR, I ventured to take a table by the swimming pool.

I had had a couple of rounds of Balvenie @ home before setting off to the restaurant and had to continue with some single malt only.  I had 10 yr Laphroaig (small - 30 ml comes to INR 375), but it complimented to cool climate.

The Pan seared shrimp mesclun salad was good.  The shrimp was done just right, warm on account of the pan fry, but juicy and complemented by the mesclun salad.  However, the mesclun had mostly lettuce and not many other leaves as was to be expected in a mesclun salad.

The Lamb Gutti Kolambu, a south Indian mutton gravy was served with plain rice and was excellent.  The mutton was cooked to perfection and only the best pieces of boness mutton served.

The payasam of the day (sweetened milk dish) was a vermicilli payasam and this too was excellent.  It was not too sweet, with hints of cardamom and saffron and garnished with nuts.  

The starters + main course + dessert that I had came to around INR 1500/-

The service was good and the seating beside the pool quite serene.  The restaurant was quite well occupied for a Saturday evening.

If you want to indulge in good food....GO!

I bow my head for my nations shame...

One shooter who shot for India and got us gold (made us proud and happy) gets INR 3,00,00,000/- from the government  (it may be noted that this guy is very rich and his father is  a very big defaulter)

So many other shooters who shot for the same India, but in a much more important context (made us proud and sad) get a paltry INR 5,00,000/- from the same government.

Where are we headed?  People stand up!  Spread this message around!  Let it reach those who can do more!!!!!!!!!

condolences

My heartfelt condolences to the people who fought against terror and laid their lives for the sake of others.....and to the others who lost their lives to terror.

What is apparent is total lack of political will and blame game by the politicians....when will this ever stop??????