Go Go Goa!

Goa is everything that you can think of beautiful, romantic, fun, colorful, lovey dovey, cool, magical, hot and truly amazing!

Our last week’s tour to Goa was my first time in Goa and it was one of the most exhilarating trips of my life!

We chose to travel by Jet airways, tickets were booked and everything was planned in May, almost 4 months before, but regrettably on the day of our travel, we had the Jet go on a strike. Hopefully, we went to the airport expecting a miracle to happen and it did! A very courteous person, working for Jet offered us seats with Air India flight to Dubai that would stop at Goa, it was a 50 minute trim journey, we reached safe and before schedule!

The details read it was 32 degrees. For someone from a land known for its cool and pleasant weather, Bangalore, it was way too hot. However our excitement of being in Goa was hotter! The Dublin airport is quite a distance to our resort which was 200 meters from the Anjuna beach on the northern part of Goa.

The first glimpse of the resort was exciting! We were at The country club de Goa, the welcoming reception hall and people did make our greeting special!

We chose to have lunch at the country club restaurant. The food here was delicious! There were some good restaurants referred and recommended by a few Goa devotees and still, in our 5 days at the resort we did not hesitate to relish the restaurants delicacies at least for one meal a day!


The food, people and places around craft your visit to Goa totally fantastic! My husband and I chose to navigate through a two wheeler, they make an easy and convenient option. They can be hired on a daily basis and cost you an inexpensive amount of 150-200 a day.

The well-promote sign boards and the Goan fun loving, helpful attitudes indeed helped us explore the place around!
Here are a few places we visited, read on to get more details….

1. Fort Chapora


The trek up to this fort was tiring, but the spectacular view of the sea that was gifted after the tiring trek was truly worth it!

This fort is near Vagator beach. It’s a breath taking view with the sea covered on 2 sides and river on the other side.
Surprisingly there want anyone else in this famous place, It was a beautiful moment for the duo and we were immersed in appreciating what was around!

2. Fort Aguada and Jail

The drive to this fort was pleasant with the sky a little cloudy and the thick trees on either sides of the road way. This is more a crowded and a commercial place with an awesome view of the sea. It was at this seen that I remembered the verse, “water water everywhere, not a single drop to drink!” from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

A few kms down the hill one is the Aguada Jail. At the entrance of the jail, is a beautiful scene to the left where the fierce sea in its full glory gushing towards the rock boulders. There is no doubt why so many movies have been shot with this spectacular scene as the back drop!


3. Temples
The Shantha Durga and Mangeshi temples gave our tour a devotional touch. Both these temples are on Panaji-Ponda road.The lotus garlands adorning Goddess Durga was stunning.

4. Churches
* St Cathederal Church – This magnificent 16th century monument is one of the most ancient and celebrated religious buildings of Goa. This is on the main road of Old Goa and did us wonder on its high walls and brilliant architecture.
* Basilica of Bom Jesus - Considered a world heritage monument also in Old Goa. The church is popular because the sacred relics of St.Francis Xavier are kept in this church.


5. Dona Paula - At the place where two of Goa's famous rivers meet the Arabian Sea is the secluded bay of Dona Paula with a fantastic view! The legend attached to this place is of two lovers separated and distressed because of differences in their cultures and nationalities, they ended their life from this cliff.

At this mythical and spectacular place they offer some exciting water sports too. Dona Paulo is 7 kms from Panjim, the capital of Goa.



6. River Cruise rides – These delightful rides during the sunset make a wonderful journey on river Mandovi. The vista through out was marvelous. It gets better with some live entertainment, songs and traditional Goan folk dances! The other attractions were the disco and the open top of the cruise. It was magnificent to see the azure heavens meet the orange hues and touch the moon n star lit sky!

7. Beaches! – we were completely blown out by the beauty of the beaches, it is so beautiful to watch the clear blue water spin to white waves rushing to embrace the bright golden sand on the beach. The first touch of these cool waters on the feet and the heart goes “woah!!”

Anjuna - Anjuna beach is in the northern part of Goa and is one of the most popular beaches. With the shallow sands to a distance, it was safe to play or swim in the waters. There is a flee market with handicrafts and clothes from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Kashmir.
Vagathor – another beautiful beach with rocks and a dramatic cliff in the northern part of Goa, presenting a beautiful view of the beach. This was crowded with crowded mostly with Indians. It was hard and sore to see one of the main drainages let to the sea.Calangute Baga Beach – Baga beach is an extension of Calangute and these two are the most popular and obviously crowded beaches of Goa. Around these beaches are some attractive shops and good restaurants.

Candolim – It’s perfect to retire to Candolim when you are tired of the crowd and want to just relax on a
quite beach.Sinquerim – With all these beautiful beaches, Sinquerim which is in the northern part of Goa had to be our favorite beach with hardly anyone, some costal forts, white sand, blue waters and palm and coconut trees stretch!

Miramar – This was a crowded and commercial beach in the south of Goa and very closely located to Panji. On the roads of Miramar beach one shouldn’t miss the yum Bombay chats more precisely their Bhel puri!

The food at Goa was great. Other than the restaurants at Country club, Subway and Dominoes, these are places that need a mention!

Brittos – A popular place with some great food and a splendid view of the sea! Located on the Baga beach, this place was completely crowded. Luckily we got a table close to the sea and the experience was fabulous! We had the most yum and Fish fry and chocolate mousse here!

Infantaria – Mostly known for its bakery, Infantaria can be easily located as it is facing the main road from Baga to Calangute. We tried the famous Bebinca – the traditional Goan dessert and loved it. It is more delectable when served with some vanilla ice cream. The Tandoor Gobi and Vegetable Dum biryani were also delicious at this place.

Aishwarya’s Café – A hot afternoon at Panji. It was a new place and we had no clue where to dine, a lady alighted out of a luxury car and I approached her to suggest a place for some good fish, She mentioned Aishwarya Café. This is on the road just next to the Panji Bus stop. Surprisingly it was a humble place crazily crowded. We managed to get a table and quickly placed order. If there is a superlative to delicious, I wouldn’t think twice if using it only for this place. The food here was absolutely great and the prices ever so reasonable! On our last day at Goa, we again visited this place on our way to the Dublin Airport.

Delicious Dahi-Sandwiches!!

What did my headline just say? Dahi and Sandwich, huh!
This was my foremost reaction, when I had a friend indicating me about this place!
My friend and I cannot refuse the fact that our food n tastes are alike, but the Dahi and bread came in as a little less than an absurd combination!
However, I was ready to take a bite!
It is close to my workplace and so we chose to walk. It is on one of the silent side roads in Jayanagar 2nd block.
The place did gather quite a crowd! We quickly placed the order and we soon we had silver paper plates with sandwich and curd with boondi and grated carrot. The bread was cut in 6 pieces, one of those in my mouth and I completely loved it! Loved it even more because I have always been curd crazy!
There are 3-4 people catering to a crowd very quickly and courteously, some stone benches and nice shady trees make this a quick but pleasant stop for food.
The bread is nicely buttered and toasted on a hot tawa with some fresh tomatoes onions and cucumber sandwiched. Once it turns toasty golden brown, they add some fresh curd, a couple of chutneys, tangy sweet spice and everything nice. On them roll some crunchy boondhi and grated carrots.
The Dahi toast is the most wanted and delectable dish available in this place. The other delicious choices with sandwiches are cheese chilli toast, chilli butter toast, plain toast and the like. For those with a sweet tooth, the gulkan toast and jam toast are choices. My friends and I have enjoyed all these varieties and go back for more!

This humble place does not have a board with the name on it, It is on the menu that we have the name "Sakkat Sandwiches and Chindhi chaats". The words sakkat and chindhi are a local kannada slang words meaning super or something more than good. The name and the tastes are definitely in tune.

The chats are one of a kind here and utterly tasty! One of a kind, because you get chats like Dhai bhoondhi, dahi chiwda, peanut masala, bread chat, Moong-dhal masala and more.
All these chatpata chats are indeed mouth watering. The price are extremely reasonable. A stomach full of sandwich and other goodies for two would approximately cost 50 bucks!! An irresistible place will you keep you craving until your next visit!

This review is also available on Burrp

Address:
Sakkat Sandwiches and Chindhi Chats.
14/15, 10th Cross, 2nd block Jayanagar, Bangalore
Phone: 9844417049, 9980050995

Ganesh Darshan Dosas - Scrummy!!

As evening showers leave a pleasant cool in Bangalore's air who wouldnt want to indulge in a hot and quick appetizing snack? It was one of these romantic evenings shopping at Jayanagar and we had to catch up for a movie that night. We had 30 minutes to finish of with your dinner and our stomachs were passing very brawny signals to do so! At the signal there were mesmeric pictures of Dosas and quite obviously welcoming for two hungry souls...
We quickly walked to find this aromatic self service counter.
A look at the menu and you'll know the variety they provide, as usual like the other eat-outs, they have the Dosa of the day which has very distinctive combinations such as panner, palak, pineapple dosa and the likes. All this very simply makes mouths water.

There was a very courteous man at the counter and he quickly took our order and gave is the coupons.
We had no time to waste and quickly chose to have an Akki rotti, Masala Dasa and Sabbakki Dosa, This was coincidentally special dosa for that day. I have always relished dishes with Sabakki, be it Payasam, sandige or more.
This place is known for its coffee but my husband and I are never coffee people and so we didn't sip. But most coffee lovers will sure feel energized!
The Akki Rotti is delicious with the right ingredients mixed in it's soft dough and roasted perfectly. This came with a chutney powder that was absolutely yum! I didn't mind going for a second helping. The Sabbakki dosa rocked, I relished every bite and I am sure I would go back to have more. The masala dosa there all perfect with the ever yum potato curry, butter, ghee, masala and the perfect roasted reddish brown surface.
The holige also called obbattu is delicious too. Sweet lovers will melt over this irresistible dish.

The provide some neat high tables where you can conveniently place you plates and relish bite by bite. The prices are reasonable.
This place is crowded, however they have enough staff to keep the wait short. A place worth a many visits!
This review is also available on Burrp
Address:
No 244, 27th Cross, 9th main, 3rd block Jayanager
Bangalore
Phone: 41005554

when a loved one is gone...

My best friend lost her father recently. Last week, I lost a near and dear aunt. It is an extremely painful experience and hits you like a rapid hurricane. However prepared one is for the death to come in, it is still a very traumatic experience! With the sudden experience it comes as an upsetting shock. It becomes absolutely unbelievable and denial for quite some time.
We hear from the closest ones that they prefer to die than to live with the loss that is irreplaceable. However it comes as a realization that life has to go on. These are a few things that could help you while you are on your most unpleasant experience.
1. Cry: it is OK to Cry and sometimes healthy too. Please take time out to grieve. This is important because if the person does not take time to grieve, there are chances that the pain is carried throughout life causing physical illness and depression. Whether you want to cry on someone’s shoulder or be by yourself, do take time for this. one needs to understand that this would take time and popularly said, it is indeed the best healer.
2. Be available: Offer your support inconspicuously. While also making it very clear you’re there to help in whatever ways you’re most needed. Physical and emotional touch can bring great comfort. Whenever it seems appropriate, give a hug or extend a handclasp. Throughout the year, remember birthdays, anniversaries, days that have important meaning for the bereaved and offer your renewed support during those times. Be understanding.
3. Help: Help them with their daily household tasks, cooking meals, keeping the house clean, any other mundane activities. Practical help will go along way in helping with coping death.

Take care!

Pics courtesy: Google

MMMMMousse!!

My sister made a sumptuous chocolate mousse, on my birthday and I just loved it, it was special Birthday!

I wanted to make one for my friend, for her birthday and set out on my chocolate expedition. Yes, I must say, it was a success.

It is a simple process and here’s how you too can make one.

The base for the mousse is the chocolate cake, the recipe to make the chocolate cake is here.

The chocolate cake is a 3 inch in height and an approximate diameter of 10 inches.

Horizontally, slice the cake, carefully into two. Keep aside the two slices.

Now for the mousse the ingredients are:

Egg yolks – 4

Sugar powdered – 1 cup

Chocolate – 400 gms

Double Wipped cream

Take egg yolks

Gelatin

Take a container, preferably a thick one add half full water and heat. Place another vessel, inside the first one with water.

Add the Egg yolks and powdered sugar, ensure this vessel is not touching the water in the container, the idea is to cook with steam. Beat until the mixture becomes white.

In another bowl take melted chocolate and add Whipped cream. This mixture is light brown and fluffy in texture. The chocolate and cream need to be mixed well and should not have any lumps. Mix the egg, sugar mixture to the cream. Next, add @ tea spoons of gelatin.

Now it’s time for some craft, Take a OHP/Transparency sheet and cut it into two, lengthwise.

Take the chocolate cake and border the OHP sheet around, you could plaster to stick the sheets.

Add the mousse mixture, on the cake, The sheet forms a container to hold the mousse. Place this in the refrigerator for at least 150 minutes.

Once the mousse is refrigerated and set, carefully undo the sheets. The syrup is made by heating Water, sugar and cocoa powder, pour this syrup after it cools

Pour some chocolate syrup and there is a delicious, rich, frothy, creamy dessert!

Dal Tadka - A satisfactory dining receive...

It was one of these cool and pleasant evenings, after watching Kambaqt ishq, my husband and I decided to dine at a fine place. We chose Dhal Tadka, since it was close, and also since we hadn’t tried it earlier.

When I read on the other reviews, I learnt that the place was more than good for their Rajasthan food.

The place is on the first floor of a huge complex in the corner, there is the gigantic big bazaar, diagonally opposite to this complex.

The restaurant is on the first floor and it was crowded, all the walls are adorned with puppets, some jewellery and other colorful decoratives.

The tables, chairs and the décor is too colorful and loud, it does not portray ‘high taste” everything is simply hung and pasted without mindful décor taste.

It looked like the hosts made the extended hall of the restaurant their house. Their rooms and @ home possessions was visible to the hall of the restaurant.

The restaurant was full except for 5-6 which were ready to be occupied. One of the waiters showed us our table and suggested we take a look at the Rajasthani buffet they have on weekdays.

Since it was not an impressive take, the menu was give to us, a clumsy and well fed menu!

We chose to try the Rajasthani Aloo Tikkis and Baby corn Manchurian for starters. They came in without much wait.

A little alert boy began to serve in steel plates.

A bite of the aloo tikki and we loved it! It had some nicely fried potatoes with boiled and seasoned gram fillings, this tasted awesome with some chilly and sweet chutney. Next came the Manchurian which had color and hit brilliant red, and this overpowered the vegetable and the taste of it. This was however not very delicious.

The lassi was a much needed one and refreshing, I loved the flavor cumin powder that it was topped with. I did not hesitate to have another.

We chose to have Rotis with some Kadai Paneer, the rotis were soft and well made, the curry was nothing extraordinary, the quantity is more than generous and so we decided to pack the more than half that lie in the kadai. The Jeera rice was delicious, it has the right amount of spice and loads of ghee, the gravy it came with was extremely complimenting. With all this heavy food, it was not quite possible to have a dessert. However, I was keen on tasting their Moong Dhal Halwa. Also we missed on their famous and synonymous dal dishes!

It was a just satisfying experience at this vegetarian restaurant. The crowd is usually families. Service if friendly and prompt.

A meal for two would cost around Rs. 500-600. This review is also available on Burrp.

Address: No 1, Above HDFC bank, Opp Food World, Banashankari 3rd Stage, Kathriguppe Main Road, Banagalore.

Phone: 26691763, 9448235118

Cornucopia - Howzzat? "A super Six"

That's the instant reaction after visiting this restaurant with a cricketed ambiance! It was on a Monday afternoon, we visited cornucopia, the occasion was special as we were celebrating an event when my dear friend got a year older!

In our efforts to make my Monday blues and hers pleasantly colorful, I planned for a surprise and went to her workplace with a chocolate mousse! The one, I exclusively made for her, Oh! oh yea, I made it! Will tell you how in my next post on how.... Ufff, it was quite a process, but yes, my lovely friend deserved all of it and more! ;)

We were on Richmond road and Cornucopia is a 5 minute walk from the main road, it is on one of the by lanes, more specifically, the one right next to TNT. A very homely environment palisades the restaurant. An open gate welcomes you into a garden. Amongst the lawns and is a humble coffee shop serving to 3-4 tables. Towards the left the garden extends with a statue of Lord Ganesh, there is a stairway which takes you to a store which sells sports stuff, most exclusively cricket stuff, This place, I heard is started by cricket celebrities, Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa. They have a huge gallery with a lot of monuments and pictures related to cricket? from Don Bradman to the new guy on the field! Amongst all these halls is a hall named Cornucopia, the restaurant.

Cornucopia is cute and peaceful. Painted white with some reddish brown furniture, just enough fans to keep the place cool, it gives a neat expression. There was no one in the restaurant! My friend and host hyperbolically claimed she booked the entire hotel for us!! It was surprisingly true, no one came in until we left the place! Soon after we settle down in one of the tables and given the menu. The table cloth, mat, serviette and cutlery was flawless white. The menu has a lot of unfamiliar terms and sound rhythmically Français. However the sub-textual explanation comes as a savior to help elucidate. The waiters were largely courteous though not very comprehendible. We chose to have the Cajun fries as starters, Potatoes are coated in a spicy mixture of corn flour and Cajun seasoning then deep fried until crispy. This tasted very simple and really crunchy.
The sauces it accompanied with were tartar and another tomato based. For the main course it was the vegetable lasagna and steamed crepes orientelle



The lasagna was my favorite, rich and spicy, with the bread and butter, oh! it made a heavenly combination. It had broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, mushroom packed with cheese and spice and everything nice! It was apt and consciously spiced to be relished by Indian taste-buds. This artfully blended and predominantly continental food impressed us. This was quite filling left us very little space to admit the crepes. The crepes had full filling of shredded cabbage, onion and coriander sauce, with sauce over it tasted delicious and more than spicy.

The presentation of the food and service which was graceful and experienced definitely needs a mention. Work was calling and we had no time for desserts. At the end of the meal with the refreshments comes a nice shot of coffee and chocolate! my friend who had been there earlier said it would taste good, and I am sure all coffee lover would agree, but for me it was an ok-ok shot. A meal for 3 costs Rs. 650 - 750. My take - a wonderful place to leisurely spend and appreciate some continental cuisine.
This review is also available on Burrp. This review made it to the weekly "just missed the crown" list! :)
Address:
Bat & Ball Inn,
3, Laurel Lane, Richmond town
Banagalore
Phone: 080-41149495

Budding HR Professionals!!

When we meet kids and like to connect to them, there are a few common things we ask them like their name, which school they go to and the most routine one, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or "who do you want to become when you grow up." Well from answers like doctor and engineer, we have moved on to receive answers like, pilot, Sports person, fashion designer, journalist, an artist, chef, space scientist, film maker and some interesting children give you answers that you never knew existed...
I was in great merriment when i saw this short video.

Woa! They indeed are the flourishing future of HR :)

Jayanagar to San Francisco - Review on Bangalore Mirror!

My Husband and I were invited as guests by the Creative head of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Bangalore, Amit Akali. He writes for ‘live 2 eat’ column (every Friday) in Bangalore Mirror. One of his reviews featuring us as guests is in today’s Newspaper! What a pleasant surprise this morning!

For the detailed review click

Have a good day and a happy weekend ahead!

Taja Masala Soda - Prathas, Pastries, Perfection!

Taja masala is a small and humble place on the main road behind the BMS boys hostel.It has a narrow entrance and this gets even narrower, because of the fans this place has!To the left of this place, you can find a chilled glass closet with some deliciously decorated pastries, for those who like it without the egg, you have your choice to make as well.

The next counter is a frankie making one with one person busy making the fillings and tucking them into a neatly roasted thin roti with just enough oil. These frankies are available with a variety of stuffing, to name a few, mushroom, aloo, palak, onion, baby corn and sweet corn.
A bite of this frankie and you are tempted to have one more, two of the appealing factors of the frankie is the freshness it comes with and the price, costing just 15 bucks, they sure make you want more.
Next in line is the paratha kitchen, with 5-6 saree clad pleasant ladies. They have not more than 4 stoves, but manage to cater to the needs of all their customers without much wait. Let’s say that the division of labor has been very effective! The base filling for all the Parathas is Aloo, the variety in terms of mixed vegetable, baby corn, mushroom, beetroot, greens etc that one wants would be fried or sautéed on tawa and mixed with the potato filling! This is yummy and spicy filling is carefully placed in the dough and rolled over, it is put over a tawa with just enough oil and there the hot delicious Parathas for you, this is served with a bowl of curd, with some chat powder on it, a slice of cool cucumber, onion and a pickle. The first bite of these hot, fresh delectable Parathas and they’ll just keep you glued to this place!

This paratha place is also nick named as Paratha Point, with my work place just 2 roads away. I went to this place first with a big group of co-workers and from then this would be our most wanted place!
Even though we are shifted to another building, which makes this place a little less than 2 kms away, this still remains most popular.
It is a little heaving to eat at there during the peak time (1-2 pm) but any time before and after, the Parathas are more generous in their stuffing and tastier…
The fact that these mouth watering delicacies are just Rs.10/- each, make you gorge more! The price is one of the striking points to popularity.
The next best thing about this place is their fizzy drinks! For those who love masala soda’s. There are quite a variety and colorful sodas available in this place.

In the evening you also get some yummy bread rolls which just make you drool.
These are undoubtedly my favorite, one, two, three… and you just have to try really hard to stop!
For the monthly birthday bashes at office, this is the most desired snack.
Taja Masala Soda pseudonym Paratha point is all in all a Simple, Simply Super place!

This review is also available on Burrp

Address: 28/2 Mount Joy Road, Ashok Nagar, Basavanagudi, Bangalore, Phone: 9900252146

Chocolate Cake!!

I like cooking and love eating! I am sure that is quite understandable for those who read my posts…. I have tried quite many recipes and have been successful in getting them right and tasty! I can proudly say I have been successful, one because my people totally relish anything I make, ok… most of the things I make. Another is because my lil adorable sister, who is a chef in the making approves of them!! She is a pro and makes some of the best cakes, pastries and cookies I have ever savored! For a few years now, it has been a tradition that she bakes cakes for any family occasions like b’days and anniversaries. Her cakes make these special occasions even more special! We celebrated my mother’s birthday this month for which chef wasn’t in town, we concluded that they’d be no cake from the her, until it occurred to me that I could try my hands in baking!
I was a good student in taking notes through Gtalk and over phone and following every single detail my chef told me to do. I exactly did everything she said n..... Voila! There was a beautiful, delicious cake. Quite a fast learner, I am!!
I found process of making a chocolate cake quite simple, All you have to remember is to follow the process.
Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients
Cake:
Eggs - 4 Whole Eggs
Sugar - 1 cup
Oil - 1/4th cup
Baking Soda – a pinch
Maida (All purpose flour) - 2 cups
Vanilla Essence – 2 Tbsp.
Baking Powder – 1Tbsp
Cocoa Powder - ½ cup
Icing
Sugar – 1 cup
Cocoa Powder – half a cup
Water – 1 cup
Gems, cherries – 5-10 Grams

Break the eggs (whole) into a bowl, beat them till it become 4times its volume. Powder sugar and when the egg mix looks fluffy add sugar, pour oil into the egg n sugar mixture, pour the oil little by little and finally add the vanilla essence. Take a separate bowl, add maida, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda mix them together and add them into the egg batter. Now fold these ingredients together. Fold it horizontally and vertically. With this the batter is done! Pre heat the oven at 180 Degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Grease the cake tin and pour the batter in. Bake this in the oven for 35min at 180 Degree Celsius and your cake is done!

For those who are curious (just like me) Do not open the oven for at least 20 minutes, there are chances, it might sink. Extra sugar also would result in a sunken cake.


There are innumerable ways to decorate your cake, here is the most simple and yummy way to do one. Add 1 cup of water into a bowl, heat this and pour granulated sugar once the sugar water mixture gets thicker, add half cup cocoa powder and mix it well. Pour it on the center n rotate the cake.


Add frozen cherries or gems to make your cake attractive.


With this I can certainly say that I have my latest crush on baking and would share more on things I bake-make!!

Delectably Delicious Dosas!! Sri Sagar (Formerly CTR)

The Dosa, is indisputable the pride of south Indian cuisine. Every bite and it temptingly and quite very simply slips the mouth, mind and mood into a sumptuous fantasy!
It is easily one of the favorite, popular and likable breakfast in south India, I have always relished these golden-brown crispies in all their variety and forms, quite obviously, the Masala Dosa is my favorite.

Two weeks ago, it was in Malleshwaram that I got to eat the perfect Masala Dosa.
We started our kingsize breakfast at Veena stores and with that sumptuous treat, 5 crosses down is a corner green building madly crowded!
That's CTR for you, It is hard to miss, because of the bright green oil paint it has on the exteriors and the amount people movement.
We were lucky to get some parking on one of the side roads and squeezed ourselves inside the famous CTR. Thanks to the timely exit of a family and we got seats almost immediately. Something that I saw was that people who are waiting did not wait for longer to occupy seats. There was some good synchronization and speed.
We ordered for the Benne Masala dosa. The one who took the order asked us if we wanted extra butter, we said, “No”.
Thankfully because the one without the extra butter had more than XX-extra butter, however very tasty! They serve very quickly and consciously, they have got to keep up with the pace. The insides of this place had the necessary table and chairs and just enough place for one person to walk.
The just-cant-wait-to-eat dosas are brought in a plate with banana leaf below. The hot glossy, pleasing, golden brown dosa rolled on the green leaf gives you a contrasting and pleasing presentation.
I couldn't wait to savor it! The feel of this and u'll have your fingers all shiny with the generous amount of ghee and butter over it. The potatoes curry accompanying this was awesome. Bite by bite, it was getting better, I prefer to eat slowly to savor each bite completely. You can choose the hot delicious sambar over the chilli-n-coconut chutney, I have always been a sambar lover.
At the end of it, it was a super satisfying breakfast! We shared the table with another family and they didn’t seem to have any difficulty in having more than one.
Cheers to these deliciously delectable dosas… I am sure to go back there many times.
This review is also available on Burrp. This review made it to the weekly "just missed the crown" list! :)
Sorry about not having a picture of these delectable dosas... what can i say, i was just too unconscious and involved!!
Address:
Sri Sagar (Formerly and famously Central Tiffin Room)
No.154, Ground Floor, Margosa Road, 7th Cross, Malleshwaram, Bangalore.

Vowwwwie Vadas at Veena Stores!

This review is also available on Burrp
Reviews on Burrp and a foodie friend of mine suggested the same exciting plan of going to Veena stores and next to CTR for their famous dosas. I simply succumbed to the temptations of their experiences at these places and wanted to visit them as early as possible.
Finally made it on last sunday. I woke up way too early for a Sunday and decided to walk in beautiful Lal Bhagh, After a rigorous session of running, jogging and walking the calorie conscious duo didn't think it was a sin to pamper ourselves with some high-cal food, for this i wanted my husband to take me all the way to Malleshwaram!

Since it was early on a Sunday, It didn't take too long for us to get to Margosa road. Veena Stores is a humble little shop on the 15th cross. it is beside Lakshmi maternity hospital. There is no parking on the main road, so we parked our vehicle at one of the side roads and walked up to the store to find a long queue, patiently stood and soon when it was our turn, we quickly placed an order for idly, vada and Kara bath.
Without much wait, we got hot plates of idly n vadas.
The idly was flawless white and extremely soft. The chutney and idly made a heavenly combination. The idly at Veena stores was so close to the best idly i had eaten. It was at a vacation to Mysore during Dasara festival it is available only during the festive season and is called 'Mallige Idly' (Mallige - Jasmine in kannada).
The vada is the best here, it is honestly the best i have ever eaten! I am usually not a Vada person, but totally loved the bite and taste of the crispy, brown, fried chunk with the green chilli and coconut chutney. Without much wait we decided to bite on more. They were generous enough to take the second order off the queue :-)
The hot Karabath is extremely rich with ghee, ghee and more ghee. The mixture of rava, ghee, vegetables and species just melt in your mouth.

The fact that you are standing is totally forgotten amidst the yummies in your hand and mouth! They are very quick in their service. We were Full and completely loved the place. A place I would emphatically recommend for idly and vada lovers! Wait up for my next review on 'the best' and sumptuous Dosas at Sri Sagar (Formerly called as CTR - Central Tiffin Rooms)
Address:
15th Cross, Margosa Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore.

Cable Car - CARving Cravings...

After restaurants with themes like forests, trains, metros etc, it is time we welcome cable cars too.
Cable car, a restaurant serving Indian and Italian food, opened less than a week ago. The theme of this restaurant has been to replicate the famous and reliable means of transport which is the San Francisco cable car system.
The building facing the main road indeed grabs some attention with its tall and gracefully done architecture. There are two doors, the one on the left leads you to the restaurant and the other makes way to a beautiful white spacious reception hall. On the white wall to your left, you’ll see the monuments and a brief story of San Francisco. The reception desk also depicts the famous golden gate bridge. I had a look at the rooms and they were of some good taste, very tidy and fragrant.
They are priced in the range of Rs. 3500, 4500 to 6000/- On the corridors they have hand paintings and depictions of San Francisco and some beautiful photo frames collages. A picture with the night view of San Francisco was beautiful!

The staff is more than glad to offer valet parking and welcome you into their newly built cable car. In to the door on the left and you are in the restaurant- Cable car. I must say that my journey in the cable car was a very pleasing experience!
The interiors are nicely done with light wood, the floor, the ceiling everything is out a wood. The hall is small and accommodates not more than 10 midsized tables.
The place is doing well and was over crowded on a few days. They had to send a few guests because of unmanageable numbers. Nevertheless they are prepared and are more accommodating with a bigger floor on the first level. I did take a look at it and it is indeed quite spacy. They also have a corner dedicated for the children’s play area. Both the halls are designed in such a way that you have look-alike cable car at the end of the hall. There are two mid-sized tables placed inside this replicate.

The staff dressed in denim and T-Shirts with a stamp reading San Francisco Municipal railways, the menu which is a 4 folded sheet with offerings of the Indian cuisine on the facing and Italian on the back do have the taste of rustic cable car theme on. The menu has sketches of the cable-car, people travelling and compliments the theme well. The Italian menu is categorized into beverages, Antipasto (Appetizers), primo (main course) and Dolce (Desserts). I didn’t really taste anything Italian, my preference was mostly weighted towards Indian cuisine.
I quickly turned over the menu and decided on starters. The Hara Bara Kabab and the Tandoor Dingri were my picks. Before this arrived some complimentary roasted crispy papads with some green mint chutney, was hungry when I reached there and they were over within no time! The Hara Bara kabab good but something that was more appealing was the button mushrooms equally sized chosen carefully to soak in the perfect Tandoor masala were mind blowing!! Button after button, they just melted in my mouth!!
I totally relished and loved this with the chutney and salad it accompanied with. These tandoori items never fail to steal my heart away! For the main course it was some kulchas with paneer lababdar!! No clue why I chose this, but I so made the right choice, this was spicy and had an amazing flavor, every bite was so sumptuous and we just kept appreciating that with some unending Mmmmm….mmmms.

One of the partners spoke to guests and checked on their opinions. He recommended we have desserts and exclaimed they were equally good.
Without much thought I chose Tiramisu but unfortunately it was out of stock and so chose the American Mud pie, this was frozen and didn’t really have cake in abundant that it is originally suppose to have. However the chocolate, walnuts and vanilla are always welcome and did sooth me on the hot afternoon!
The prices are reasonable and meal for two would cost you approximately Rs. 600/- A lovely place with some delicious food and a distinguishing ambiance.
I am sure to go there again and again!!

This review is also available on Burrp

Address
483/27, 46th Cross, 5th block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-41
Phone: 42977777

Sea Rock - Awesome Neer Dosas....

You do something nice to others and it sure does pay back… One of the nice deeds did pay back and got even better when it was returned with a treat at sea rock!

A hot sunny afternoon and we walked to Sea Rock, which was very close to our workplace. It faces the main road next to The Bangalore Hospital and is easy to locate.

They have restaurants in the first and the second floor, we chose to seat at the second floor, a huge aquarium with an elegant Arowana and a red flower horn fish, sure catch attention. It was a treat to watch them move in the well defined aquarium and this is definitely something that is more exciting than the fish on plate! ;)

The dim hall had closely placed tables with white and pink cloth and white cutlery. There is a bar in the corner of the hall, the music was on had some old Hindi numbers. There was no need for a menu since we had decided on tasting the much talked about Neer Dosa. This was tried and tasted by quite a few colleagues and they insisted we try the place. Majorities were vegetarians and so we quickly placed an order for 2 plates of Neer-dosas and Mangalore vegetarian curry. In a plate, they give you 5 neer dosas, which are extremely sumptuous, I just loved each bite! The stew with the dosas made an awesome combination. We also ordered another plate to quench the drooling lust for dosas! Then came the rotis and kadai Veg. The kadai veg also made a good combi with the dosas.

Neer Dosa is a Mangalorean Delicacy and is made of a batter with coconut milk and flour, they are extremely thin and are spread on the pre-heated tawa with a cloth, not very rich in calories, they just bowl me over on every bite I take.

The butter milk was cool and refreshing.

The other customers were mostly from my workplace, Our conversations were interesting and involved subjects about men at work, cute and handsome men, men in our lives. It was a memorable afternoon with some amazing Mangalorean cuisine!!

We waited for the bill and something that made us smile was the 10% discount we get because we are sonatians… Cheers!

I took a couple of other friends recently so it was 2 visits in 4 days! The prices are reasonable with a meal for two costing you around 300/-. With great food and warm staff, Sea rock certainly a place you would want to try, continue to try and appreciate!

Address:

22/A&B, Lakshmi Towers, RV Road, Near South End Circle, Basavanagudi, Bangalore

Phone: 9243404274, 41314376

24th Main - Very Veggie!

It took us some time to locate 24th main after a long day. Though it is on the main road at JP nagar, the road that leads you has been dug and there is a round about way to reach this place. A board with Cross roads Inn and a shady tree with pleasant lights rolled around its bark is what will catch your attention.
We chose to dine here after some praise from common friends. A lady greets and welcomes you at the door. Tables for two weren’t available and so we were asked to wait outside the restaurant and I couldn’t see any chairs. There was a place to accommodate an upcoming water body and the lady expected us and also gestured us to sit on the wall that formed the boundary of the fountain!! I insisted on getting some chairs, on demand got them. The others who had to wait had no choice but to stand, however the wait was not long.

After entering the place, I felt good. It gives you a pleasing feel with some deep dark wooden furniture, illuminated ornamental lights, spacious floor, fine paintings and pleasant walls. We ensconced in a table that was in the middle of the floor. We had some smartly dressed men with the menu. They offer quite a variety belonging to multi- cuisine.
Service is pretty quick and the portions are generous, unfortunately both the starters that were ordered were on the blander side. It was no fault of the chef, but a wrong order for pungent chilli lovers like my husband and I. However the malai kababs with the sauce did make quite an impression.
The next to come was some Rotis and curry, this is was delectable.
It would make an decent hangout for those vegetarians in south of Bangalore. The prices are reasonable, they take your feedback and send you a thanking mail. I also noticed a lady checking the comfort of a few customers.
Vegetarians, this is worth a try!
This review is available on Burrp
Address:
Cross Roads Inn, 24th Main, 12th Corss, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore, Phone 26588620

Macros!!

It was appraisal time, I was proudly a part of the Team HR and more specifically an HR partner for one of the largest delivery groups.
It was time to communicate the KRA (key result areas) and CSFs( Critical sucess factors) to each and everyone employee and after a round of who's eligible, who's not, why? etc. we had a quite an enormous number, close to 1800!
We were not still geared up for an ERP and so doing this manually was quite a task.
We spoke to one of the teams here, who helped us with an intranet application. This application was shortlived with it's life begining from the HR admins uploading a KRA onto the system against the respective employee and the employee downloading the same. The problem came when we had to do this to employees who were onsite (other locations where intranet applications do not work)
After looking at the number of people who were working OF and Onsite, we had to think of a way to do this automatically, We first thought of mail merging, but with attachments it would not be possible.
we figured out that, it is possible to send mails with attachments with the help of Macros.
With the help of Google and a colleague, we got this in place and when this worked, I was overjoyed!!
we had found a way to send attachments to approx 500 people within minutes.
To help those in need, a detailed list of action items to code Macros to send attachments.

Step 1: Open an excel sheet and define the basic colums such as the name, Email ID and the exact path to the attachment and save this.
Eg:

Emp ID	Names	Email ID	Path
1111	ABC	ABC@PQR.com	C:\Documents and Settings\Desktop\ABC_1111.xls
2222	XYZ	XYZ@PQR.com	C:\Documents and Settings\Desktop\XYZ_2222.xls

Step 2:
Go to Tools>Macros>Record New Macro
This options opens a window where one has to name a macro, give a relevant, unique name

Step 3:
Once you have names the Macro, again go to Tools, and hit on Macro (The option above Record new macro)
A click on the relevant would lead you to a small window with option such as Run, cancel, Step into, Edit, Delete, Options and more. Hit on Step into

Step 4:
Quite a variety of these codes are available on the net. a few of them work and a few throw an error. However after some editing this seems to successfully work. I am pasting the exact code here below

Macro Code to email Customized Attachments
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub Macroname()
Dim intRecCount As Integer
Dim intCounter As Integer
Dim strEmailID As String
Dim strPath As String
Dim OutApp As Object
Dim OutMail As Object

For intCounter = 2 To 1000
If Len(ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Range("A" & intCounter).Value) > 0 Then
strEmailID = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Range("C" & intCounter).Value
strPath = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Range("D" & intCounter).Value

Set OutApp = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
OutApp.Session.Logon
Set OutMail = OutApp.CreateItem(0)

On Error Resume Next
With OutMail
.To = strEmailID
.Subject = "Mention your subject here"
.Body = "The body of your mail"
.Attachments.Add (strPath)
.Send 'or use .Display
End With
On Error GoTo 0

Set OutMail = Nothing Set
OutApp = Nothing
Else
Exit For
End If

Next intCounter
End Sub
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 4: This code should be saved and closed. Get back to the excel sheet and save it with this formula.
Follow step 3 and choose run.

Step 5: Ensure your Outlook is open. Once you click on run. There is an alert message click yes to continue.
Soon after the mail is sent to all mentioned in your reference sheet. The process ends.

When i was in search of a solution to this, i found a relatively large amount of queries on sending attachments as a mail merge. I am not sure if there is a better way to do this. However i firmly think i found one step better if not the best!