@UB City......

Pic courtesy Hubbs

This is a click of Mallya towers from top of UB City. Am a sucker for open air dining - n tht alone is reason enuf for me to frequent this place thou the dent it creates in my pocket is significant enuf for me to not to make it a regular affair...

Lemme admit thou that today after 6 years in Bangalore I am almost anti-mall. Simply cause entering a mall over a weekend will mean jostling for space with people, literally stepping over their toes! N that exactly is my shopping-mall pet peeve - the fact that at least for Bangaloreans, hanging out at shopping malls is a form of entertainment'! No, am no talking of teenagers - am referring to Families(Complete with parents n kids). For quite a few of my colleagues, a family day-out means packing the entire family off to a mall - the kids run amok in the unimaginative "play areas" crowded with silly video games, mother-father do their share of retail therapy n then the entire happy-family troop into the food court to treat themselves to some staid boring food!

I agree Bangalore is a city that has more than its share of these usually obnoxious - ugly shopping malls n not many options when it comes to other forms of entrainment! But then a a stroll in lalbagh, jumping into the apartment pool, cooking up a meal together or jus simply catching a movie together - reading out a story to the child - aren't these better form of entertainment than hanging out at these malls!! Maybe its jus that driving out to the mall needs much less planning - much less work than these other activities.....

Linking this to AtoZ Challenge - U is for UB City...

Best In Travel: Top 10 cities for 2012!

Have you this list from Lonely Planet of top10 cities to visit in 2012? Now this publication is one I had held in good esteem ~~ but this list did disappoint me!

C'mon, you must be kidding when u say B'lore figures in top 3 "Best In Travel" cities of the world. I hv been living in this city for nearly 5 years no n thou that doesnt classify me yet as a "Banglorean", I literally fiddle ma fingers trying to figure where do I take my random guests around in B'lore? Lalbagh, Banergatta National Park, ISKCON Temple? None of this is close to impressive esp for a veteran traveller(even my mom who hasn't stepped out of India refused to be impressed with any of this!).

But again for lonely planet to pick this place, there should be something abt it rt ~~ so am I missing out on something v obvious! So I read and re-read the reason quoted for choosing B'lore.. here is a decko of the same....

"The undisputed Elvis of South Asian megacities, Bengaluru is in a class of its own when it comes to redefining flamboyance. Perpetually drunk on the good life, this South Indian metropolis packs in the best brews, the scrummiest cuisines, and the liveliest arts and music scene, not to mention the hippest population you could hang out with. This year, evenings in the ‘capital of cool’ are poised to get even more intoxicating. And if the maddening traffic has always been your concern, take heart: Bengaluru’s new high-speed Metro network now ensures that your favourite watering hole is easier to reach than ever. There’s only one thing you could say to that: ‘Chill maadi!’"

:-/. Yea all this makes it a nice place to live in or a great place for a transit. But if am a globe trotter will I want to travel half way thru the world to experience jus ‘capital of cool’! Na am jus not impressed!!


PS: This is a post thats been on draft for ages n dono why it dint see the light. Anyways today is as good day as any to publish this esp as it comes with a double bonanza of tagging it to ABC Wednesday(http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.in/) - L is for Lalbagh\lonely plannet

When in Bangalore...

... Make sure you drop in at The Selct BookShop @ Brigade Road. Not as this is a one stop shop for all your books - actually the books there seem all scattered with absolutely no order - but simply cause its a experience in itself!

Forget air conditioned, this place is so cramped with books that you jus hv about enuf place to sit around n browse the books. The best surprise thou lies in meeting the shop owner ~~ A gentleman in his  70s(80s) ~~ his love for books so comes thru! Its not everyday that you meet a man who runs a bookshop not for a profit but well for the passion that he has for books!

Its jus a added bonus that you may end up finding a rare and almost out-of-print books!

The Bangalore Flea Market!

How many times have u aawed when u hv read abt a flea market somewhere abroad n the people ooh-aahing abt finding a 'thrift' find... well I hv! N guess wht I found this weekend ~~ Bangaloorus own thrift market :). N if u thinking am talking of some ;Theme' party happening in a swanky store or mall u couldnt be more mistaken! This place is a small lane tucked into one of the by lanes in Jayanagar :-D

I will let the below pics do rest of the talking




A plethora of Items!




A closer look :)



Trinket Boxes ~~ Lamps ~~ Candle Stands!





My Thrift Find :-D

Now Now I know 'Flea Market' aint the word for it! 'Pooja Items' lane is how this by lane is termed ....... N u'll find everything from the obvious pooja items to trinkets to veggies to ghee-butter to shoes!

Ofcourse a find like this is to be tagged onto the colors Deckor weekend wrapup :)

@ PageTurners

Hey I dropped in there yest... Just the day after it opened :-D! Now Now dont get too smart n ask unnecessary q's on what I was doing there in mid of week...


Lemme now get onto a quick review of PageTurners.... N if u wondering what its hop on here . So how did I like the place? Yea Yea  granted the place has all penguin publications in one roof.... a nice effort n liked their arrangement too.... But but how abt making it a bit more cosy? The days of buying the books just by reading the back cover is kinda  over..... so possibly dropping in a seat or two here n there so that people can do a quick read n decide to buy it or not? A small addition but I guess something that gives a book store a feel of a 'Hang-out'.... Agreee?? 

But the hottest thing abt it should be the location... Bang on MG Road just a few hops away from Baton center..... A yum yum street for all book lovers... so widely interspersed are the book stores... the Higginbotthoms, Gangarams, DC books n the second hand book  stores... Bookworm n many others n then not to forget the Pirated book sellers! Which translates to a bag stuffed with books n a hole in pocket... But am a happy soul now... picked up the latest of Jeffrey Archer, sidney sheldon, Japanese Wife and a book on kerala(this come with sabs recco... should be good!).... so look out for some reviews in this space soooonnn!

Ha after the soul-pooja time for some peth pooja?? Hopped onto KC das just a few feet away...... N ate up the yum aloo-Poori, Mishti-Dhoi n then just another few feet away is the Bowrings Kulfi... I just love their Pista flavour! N almost 3 years after being in B'lore did I find their oulet... sad v sad for a foodie like me :(. But no worries... will make up for lost time in no time at all... LOL!

A flavorable Memory

Confusing title hey?? Ok go on n read the next line below n u are all set to go:

We (Me n my hubbs of course) found this quaint, small, new eatery in Koramangala called '64 Flavours' n when we landed there(a little more than 3 weeks now) it was just 5 days old...so yeap we were treated like royalty! The place has this cool chic look abt it........stylish, minimal, contemporary!! (I loved their bathrooms) A brief deco on the place....I was given a lot of gyaan by their manager, so may as well pass it along! Place is run by 2 IT professionals with an aim to promote local music, art n food(they have these cool paintings by few local unknown artists)! N the significance of '64' in the name ~~ Well the year 64(1964) was significant in world of Rock Music plus the plot no of this place is 64 (anti -Climax hey)!!

Now to the crux of the place ~~ the food of course!! You are given a complimentary welcome drink which is supposedly an exotic concoction of their bartender......well if u ask my opinion it wasn't anything to write home abt......But my taste buds cant be trusted in all cases! We started with ordering a bottle of the favourite 'Corona' for my hubbs n a 'Bartender Spl' Cocktail' for me. But hey did I get lucky....... The bartender was supposedly waiting to show off his cocktail-mocktail skills an to be fair he did a very good job at it! N to nibble along, had ordered 'Mutton Dukkah' (simply translates to grilled mutton.......Ok may be am doing a gross gastronomic injustice here but well that is how it tasted) ...n the portion served was just sufficient enuf to nibble!! But Ofcourse they were exactly on mark as far as its effect on mouth n senses(eyes including) is considered! N then the main course.....we decided to share a plate of 'Prawns Mango Salsa' (Rice served with Prawns n a bowl of something like mango-chutney to go along with)...... N man were they yummy! Proof needed?? My hubbs loved the prawns...n this is saying something considering he just about tolerates sea food!

Hmm N didnt I mention something abt me getting lucky~~ well at the end of all this, the bartender brings along another concoction of his ~~ A strawberry with Basil leaf. The drink so well made tht each sip bought out the fine lingering taste n smell of Basil n man did I love it!!

All that was missing to make the experience complete is but ofcourse my favourite dessert section!! But I was in for a big disappointment as they havn't yet started dishing out dessert...their funda being they'll start on it once they are confident of doing a good (or make it lip-smacking) job there! Fair enuf...but v v unfair to me I tell you! (But considering I am not someone who would put up with such injustice in my life, ensured tht my hubbs treated me to a Corner House Ice cream )

So to sum it all up: a purrfect goal for ambiance, decor, music. A can-do-better goalie as far as food is concerned ~ cocktails n main course is purrfect goal but the starters portion can be bit more generous n ofcourse eating out is never complete without desserts. N to the big question of the wallet factor~~ well we were the early birds so with the inaugural discount the bill came upto 800 odd rupees!!

So in case u r in this part of town n waana chk out something new, drop into 64 Flavours for a A flavorable Memory!!

~~Happy eating~~