Category Archives: nightout

Blanco

It is the uber chic chrome interiors that strike your eyes first. White and refreshing, Blanco is European looking and very trendy with its first ever sun-glass lounge, which is very obvious of the fact that the owner is famous Navneet kalra of Dayal Opticals. Set in the hub of upscale shopping the all day http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/dining/dining/http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/dining/dining is well appreciated by famished shoppers, I was told.

They have these quaint wooden tables, a kind of ‘polished around the corners’ rough look, very dim fluorescent lighting and quite uncomfortable chairs. Have a smoking section and serve drinks. Talking about drinks, I had my favorite daiquiri on the rocks to quickly warm myself.

Coming on to the food, go for the complete “sensory experience”, which is what Blanco’s all about. The menu was very interesting, with a wide range of extremely tempting food. Curiously, it was hand written, which I guess is quite nice.

Here’s a sampling of the food available at the restaurant, we ordered for Thai mini spring rolls with plum sauce, and oriental chilli fish, which was absolutely delicious. Going to the mains we got Grilled mushrooms, zucchini with olives pizza, Singapore curry with rice was a passé, while my companion relished Goan Prawn Curry with steamed rice. I completed my meal with their exotic philadelphia cheese cake.

Overall – a great experience and a welcome find in plush Khan Market; I’m hoping to go back there often enough to sample their entire menu.

Ayamik re-launch Party

The capital’s very first luxury prêt destination, Ayamik is back. Neha and Pradeep Hirani posed warm host to the evening welcoming guest at their abode with wine and cheese. The fashion destination on the 29th of January glitzed at One Style Mile, Mehrauli and called for the hustle bustle of celebration that overflowed to the entire Qutab’s surrounding, enchanting the atmosphere.

The highlight of the evening was an old wishing well situated at Ayamik’s quaint courtyard. Rumour has it, that when Qutubuddin Aibak (the famed emperor who built the Qutab Minar) felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, he used to visit that very well for solace and it never failed to wish away his troubles.

The store named Ayamik meaning ‘luxurious days’ lives up to its name promising days of enchanting fashion, in times to come. The re-launch saw the crème de la crème of the city floating at this quaint seat of fashion mesmerized by the revision of a quintessential amalgam of luxury and history. The fashion caravan that halted here in the evening included names like Sunil Sethi, Ritu Kumar, Samant Chauhan, Tanisha Mohan, Dhruv and Pallavi, Hemant and Nandita, Shivani Wazir, Kapil and Monika, Poonam Sethi, Tulip Joshi, Reema and Vidushi Mehra and many more.

The O Experience

The city adds another venue to a unique intimacy of eating out as it launches The O Experience at Basant Lok, New Delhi. This specialty restaurant by the Modi Group presented a sizzling evening in its Crystal space against the hefty background of techno music.
 
The restaurant complex spreads over five floors and conglomerates the coming together of five elements of nature. Hosting five distinct brands or space experience, The Loft, Nature’s Bar, Crystal, Fresh Fruit Factory and the studio under one roof, the restaurant takes its patrons to a gourmet journey through the pure, unexplored routes of pristine nature, adding an unexpected dimension to Organic Eatery. An extremely involving experience is set alive at the Fresh Fruit Factory, space where you can not only set back and enjoy the food served but can also hand pick from a selection of organically grown vegetables. 
 
Speaking at the launch Himani Modi avers, “The cuisine, whilst being moderate, is presented with flair and creativity in captivating surroundings to offer a complete experience. With the opening of this restaurant, we bring the city diners an extended range of food and beverage experiences that are undoubtedly some of the most imaginative.”

Busaba

After celebrating Busaba’s 8th birthday with a grand bash, owner and Head Chef, Nikhil Chib has started 2010 by turning his sights on launching “Busaba Grooves”.
Planning to make it a monthly affair which promises patrons the fantastic electronic music that Busaba is known for. The first night of “Busaba Grooves” featured DJ extraordinaire M. Matt who spun out some irresistible, foot thumping tunes from the console. Accompanying him was the ever-talented trombonist, Armeet. The two artistes wowed the audience in a true jugalbandi style performance.
 Going forward “Busaba Grooves” nights will feature a signature cocktail in addition to the many drink options available from the fully stocked bar. The signature cocktail for the inaugural night was a specially created chilled “Good Morning Vietnam” Martini that got guests at the ‘do’ in high spirits! 
 The party people danced, drank and tucked into Busaba’s mouth-watering and now familiar menu, featuring favorites like the Burmese Kaukswe, the Steamed Fish with Lime, Chilli and Garlic, the De-Shelled Crab in a Red Thai Curry Paste with Coconut and Kaffir Leaves and the Tibetan Momos, among other dishes.
Nikhil and Natasha welcomed in their guests to the hip and happening affair. The night’s hippest addition to the city’s nightlife were Homi & Anaita Adajania, Aki Narula, Bhavana Sharma, Carol Gracias and Bandana Tiwari, who definitely upped the fashion quotient, Kersi Khambatta, Sumeet Chopra, Brian & Kaysoon Brown and Anabelle Hayden, to name a few.

Escobar

Last night Mumbai saw the opening of the longest Bar in the country .
 
A podium guestlist which had guests queueing up to enter this nouveau restaurant, saw the finest of celebrities, tv stars and models alongside people from every corner of the world. The 120 year old teak wood flooring, white seating and moonlight reflections had the place buzzing till Four a.m.
 
Shatbi Basu, owner of STIR academy, hosted the bar, and provided the guests with fabulous drinks, ranging from champange, spanish wines and an amalgamation of cocktails. The presentation uniquely presented those who stayed by the bar with coloured shots, fruits and an unlimited supply for those who appreciate aloohol.
 
Above Linking road, this resto- lounge, served mediterranean food which varied from pizzas, to cheesy chicken and falafels served in platters to all its guests. Waiters walked around with plates of dishes including prawn tempura, rawas on a spoon, prawn martini cocktail salad, and a pizza which is becoming famous to those who frequent this place for its secret garlic oil which enhances the Pizza’s authentic Italian taste. 
 
The proud owners, Vardhaman and Rushabh Choksi launched Escobar whilst co-hosting the party with Mohomed and Lucky Morani was a true success with over 50 celebrities, this new space saw the likes of Shamita Shetty, Vindu, Poonam Dillon, Sohail Khan, Sophia, Shibani Kashyap, Pooja Bedi, Bhagyashree, Vikas Bhalla, Aditya Pancholi, Shekar Suman, and several more including all the loved television soap stars.

Indian Accent

Not new to the city, the country cousin of Delhi’s Oriental Octopus and Chor Bizarre as well as Tamarai, the best restaurant in London. Indian Accent is a unique marriage between global ingredients and techniques with flavors and traditions of India.

Though a little on pricey side,it’s completely gorgeous with really classy and rare interiors in today’s times – two gigantic silver diya trees of life provide an Indian Accent to the otherwise contemporary décor. Marigold and frangipani flowers as omnipresent leitmotifs, the restaurant welcomes you on a unique culinary journey.

I’d gladly closed my eyes to the Manager Samrat Bannerji’s recommendation and ordered the tasting menu. However, the menu is one-of-its-kind making it to be one of the Best restaurants in Delhi, so here are the best things on it:

The food is a mixture of old favourites and unusual treats: pretty great, but the wines Metcalfe has selected were sensibly matching every dish, within the pale commencing with Gunderloch Riesling Trocken, Rheinhessen 2006. Puchkas are taken to the next level altogether, (there’s watermelon and cinnamon pani or pineapple juice). Really wonder why has nobody ever thought of these combinations before? Foie gras stuffed galawat with strawberry green chilli chutney is a mind-boggling combination. Similarly, his panko-crusted ‘bharwan mirch’ with goat cheese mousse, topped with aam papad chutney was essentially an Indian spicy starter.

My favorite combination, however, of the entire meal was a witty, veggie north-south marriage featuring a paper-thin, crispy dosai cone accompanied by masala morels and water chestnuts (singhara) while Anil’s was  smoked salmon with thayar satham and tamarind glazed lamb shank served with Khasta roti fingers. Must say each dish was extremely flavorful.

Coming on to sweet some things chef has used the time tested desi styled ingredients to make western deserts like Old Monk rum-balls with Valrhona chocolate sauce (a great modern mix of nostalgic Indian and western ingredients) and the comfortingly familiar yet new combination of Kinnaur apple and  shakarpara crumble with vanillabean icecream and Cointreau Ki Chuski, was a perfect ending to a truly global meal. 

The restaurant’s path-breaking contemporary Indian menu, which is been designed by Chef Manish Mehrotra,and preceeded by chef Pradeep, is going for change from this March since its Executive Chef is coming back for good. The menu that we hope will excite the adventurous yet satisfy traditional palates.

Got All Mex

Does the thought of crispy nachos dunked in melted cheese have you weak in the knees? Do fajita cravings keep you up all night? Or are you searching high and low for that perfect salsa sauce? Sancho’s is where you need to be…
 
This Mexican Joint offers Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex cuisine amidst a romantic, let loose ambience with lip smacking fresh, made to order, wholesome food. The restaurant’s interiors are decorated with hand-painted tribal masks and, of course some sombreros. The artefacts displayed transport you instantly to the wild west! Sancho’s houses the Salsa Bar, a one of its kind in India, where you can sample a variety of gourmet nachos teamed with your choice of Salsa – anything from a mild Verde to a fiery Habanero or Pico!
 
“We have patrons all over the city. It is due to the popular demand that we have decided to move to a more central spot. Hence, the relocation to Connaught Place”, says Mr. Amandeep Singh, Director, Dish Hospitality.
 
At its grand opening at Connaught Place and a welcome serenade by the Banditos, (a Mexican band) it had live performances by exotic Mexican dancers and guitarists, renowned DJ Tiago Oudman from Portugal at the turntables. Last evening let loose atmosphere saw many of city’s fashionistas getting mex’d up.

 

The Kylin Experience

To celebrate Kylin’s 5th Anniversary, Saurabh Khanijo invited Delhi’s swish set for a party last night.
An opulent ambience of a chic fine dining this uber cool lounge is classy, simple and stylish. Kylin also boasts of a live sushi bar and superb Japanese food, and is a marvel in Oriental food. The best part about this place is the lounge area and their DJ who play some very creative remixes and fresh house/ trance/ tad bit of bollywood music mixed together to make for an exotic songs.
With incredibly hot food and finest of wines on display the party saw Shantanu & Rima Mehra, Reynu Taandon, Sanjay Sharma with wife Sheena ,Ramola Bachchan , Mehar Bhasin , Ramneek Paintal, Divya & Amit Burman , Thenny , Sunil Sethi, Shiv Karan , Nishi Singh , Priya Jain , Designer Rahul Jain, Kimmy , Nikhita Tandon , Rahil Tandon , Surita Tandon, sizzle and add galore to the vivacious evening.

 

Lap Hosted Arab Royalty

LAP, Arjun Rampal’s first entrepreneurial venture played host to Middle East Royalty & Business Tycoons from across the globe who arrived in the capital for a networking evening.
 
Spread over an expanse of 17,000 square feet, LAP is beautifully located in the centre of the city at the Hotel Samrat. Arjun always wanted to open something like this and his vision has been brilliantly brought to life by architect Sandeep Khosla.
 
LAP has distinct art deco undertones from the magnificent sweep of the deliciously curved bar to the majestic domes dipped in champagne hues. The seating is designed for louché lounging and covered here and there in brilliant starbursts of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements.
 
The guests seen entering the venue were HH Sheikh Nawaf Bin Nasser Al Thani (Qatar Prince), HH Sheikh Mohd. Bin Essa Al Khalifa (Bahrain Prince / Shadow PM), HH Sheikh Sultan Qassimi (Sharjah Prince), Vnee Yeh (Hongkong Cabinet & Executive Council Member), Simon Wong (Hongkong Tycoon / Builder), Marat Zagwadelev (President Tatarstan / Russian Parliament & Duma Member), Gratian Anda (Swiss Tycoon), Bassam Ghais (Hariri Family – Lebanon), Ziad Al Turki (Saudi Billionaire), Samir Fancy (Oman Royal Family), Ajatshatru & Ritu Singh, Atul Punj, Bindu Wadehra, Gunita Sodhi, Kalyany Chawla, Sabina Singh, Arvind & Shagun Khanna, Priya Sachdev, Vineet Jain, Samir Thapar, Sucharita Bose, Ameeta Seth, Rahul Khanna, Rohit Gandhi, Anish Chanana, Amol Vadehra, Gauri & Vidhur Talwar, Hari & Kavita Bhartia amongst many others.
 
Arjun Rampal & A.D. Singh played the perfect hosts, while the guests wined and dined through the evening.

Tasty Tangles

Close your eyes and take a walk through the busy streets of Hong Kong, Bangkok or Shanghai. Breathe in the aromas of tofu, linger at the racks of roast meat, walk past freshly made dim sums, take in the crowds and the chatter. Makes you want to grab your passport? Well, you don’t need to.

To please the palate of discerning Delhiites, Tasty Tangles unlocked its pristine portal at DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj, with a glamour lunch amidst the cast and crew of Ambika Hinduja’s Teen Patti, Directed by Leena Yadav.

As the desi cousin of the Noodle House chain of Dubai’s Jumeirah group (under its Taste Department), Tasty Tangles (owned here by Wadhawan Group) is pretty conscious of its international reputation. As Dharmesh Karmokar, Vice President, told me, everything from the ingredients to portion sizes, their sauces and even their chefs are as per the standards of their Dubai partner.

The restaurant serves South East Asian cuisine, food, which is cooked quick and fresh over an open flame. Communal seating with friendly service allows for a unique combination of wholesome food with an easy and relaxed feel. On your table you will find paper mat, a table menu of exotic mocktails since there liquor license is awaited. I picked Tropical Dream, which had pineapple juice, cashews, lime syrup and coconut milk was a perfect cooler for the day while my friend picked up warm Apple Melange , just the thing for Delhi winter.

For the main course, the waitress brought in the order pad, and the order is given by simply ticking the desired dishes on the order pad, tearing it off and handing it to her. We started with Crispy Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls and potato satay with a spicy peanut sauce, which were small in size, hot from inside, almost burning my tongue on the first bite and thankfully not so greasy, is a must try, while my http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/dining/dining/http://varunkaushik.com/userfiles/nightOut/dining/dining companion opted for Prawn Bag in hot chili sauce and spicy lemongrass crab cakes.

The vegetarian Char Kway Teow, which is made from an Indonesian sauce was a light and healthy option with sticky fried rice. Though my friend being a hardcore non vegetarian that she is took Lamb Rendang, which was lamb fried with an Indonesian mix of coconut, spices and chili
The desserts again are worth a try. The Sumatra Chocolate and Coconut Pot melts in your mouth. The Mango Pudding with Vanilla Ice-Cream is a perfect dessert not to miss their pineapple spring roll with vanilla custard.

The surroundings are informal yet extremely stylish. The servers are dressed with understated chic and are remarkably friendly. The venue offers a smiling welcome, from fashion conscious singles to a large group of friends enjoying a leisurely get together.