Tag Archives: Bangalore

Ride-on Dilemma

Piglet is fast outgrowing his stroller, so much so that he looks positively ridiculous sitting in it.

I realized this during our trip to Chennai, when he got up and started walking around still strapped in the stroller dragging it wherever he went!!! It was so funny to see, I dropped my phone from laughing and never got a proper photo of him.

Basically, everyone at the mall gaped at him like he was He-Man or something.

So, last week at yet another mall, we visited Hamley’s in Phoenix MarketCity in Bangalore (one of our favorite places to hang out) to see if we could find a more suitable ride for him.

What’s not to like about Hamley’s? There are plenty of toys on display, children can try out a lot of stuff, and the staff are the most serene. At one point, Piglet threw a dump truck on the ground, and I instinctively looked around guiltily (I really should have been sharper), but the sales assistant was very chill about it. According to him, the children throw toys around all the time. It really showed the quality of that truck, that nothing happened even though it was thrown with such force!

Anyway enough rambling about the store, and on to the main topic. Ride-ons!!

I was thinking for some time now that Piglet doesn’t really need a stroller as such, but he could do with a ride-on. His best frenemy has a bunch of ride-ons (a car, a bike, and a scooter! Overkill, you think?), and Piglet and he often get into jealous tussles. I thought it would be nice for Piglet to have one so that they can both share and ride together.

So, that’s what Piglet road-tested while we were at Hamley’s.

There were a couple of parameters that we kept in mind throughout:

No motorized vehicles because I never remember about replacing batteries and stuff like that
Must be good quality and rugged keeping in mind Piglet’s awesome destructive capabilities
Something that can be used for a several years. These things are expensive, and I don’t want to spend so much moolah for Piglet to outgrow within the year

So, Piglet first tried out this car. He liked that it was a car, but it was a bit of a squeeze for him. Also, it doesn’t have pedals which basically means that he has to pull himself along with his feet, unless I push him from behind. Pushing him around was very uncomfortable as I had to stoop a lot.

I could also visualize Piglet walking around everywhere with this thing around him so we put a stop to it right away.

The next ride-on we tried was the Little Tikes trike (the red one in the background of the following picture)

I liked it straight away. It’s pretty rugged, it has pedals so Piglet can cycle on his own when he is ready for it, there is a comfortable holder that I can use to push him along if he is slow or tired, and it comes with a sun protection shield which I appreciated but Piglet hated.

Yeah, Piglet hated the ride-on that I loved . For some reason, he kept getting off/sliding off, and no amount of coaxing could get him to ride it for a long enough time for us to test. I suspect he found the seat uncomfortable.

Anyway, the last ride-on we tried was the pink all-in-one scooty that he is riding in the above photo. It doesn’t have pedals, boo, but he could sit comfortably on it and move around on his own. As he grows older, it converts into a proper scooty that he can stand on. I love convertibles. The downsides? The only color available was pink, and it doesn’t have a push option so that it can be used to move him along when he is tired. And, there is no strap-on available to keep Piglet firmly in his seat. See here for a better idea of the specification of this ride-on.

So, basically, we came out of the store with our heads spinning. Now, I understand why Piglet’s friend has so many ride-ons. It seems it’s pretty much impossible to find one ride-on that suits all our needs

Do you have any ride-on recommendations for us?

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Lunch at Habanero

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Habanero is the spanking new Tex Mex restaurant that has opened up on 12th Main Road, Indra Nagar.

It suddenly sprouted up new and shiny last month, and my colleagues and I were just waiting for an opportunity to make a visit, and now finally we did.

Habanero is ideally the place for drinking + food. They offer a tempting happy hours special on Indian booze between 12:00-10:00 pm. Unfortunately, ours was a working lunch, and we could not take up their offer. Next time though, I am definitely coming on my time to try their Sangria and Margherita pitchers.

We more than made up for the lack of alcohol though. We ate enough to feed an army.

Here are some photos:

This is an image taken from the Habanero website. We ordered the fajita with mixed vegetables

We were way too hungry to take photos and so I have taken these snaps from the Habanero website. On the left in the above photo is the dish I ordered – Vegetable Medley – which was grilled vegetables (yummy zucchini, broccoli, and mushrooms) served with Spanish rice, potatoes, and beans in a cutlet kind of thingie – extremely delicious and filling.

Yummy enchiladas

The beyond awesome desserts.

Mud pie

I died and went to heaven tasting the mud pie. It tasted less like a mud pie and more like a chocolate tart, but nevertheless it was delish and I have no complaints at all.

Tres leches cake

We also ordered the tres leches cake, a Mexican specialty. It tasted pretty good, kind of like an Angel cake. I enjoyed it too. But, I am a chocophile, and so the mud pie was the clear winner in this battle of the desserts (at least for me).

Overall, the place is awesome, and they have a variety of dishes. I am definitely bringing other friends along for our next drinks + dinner session. I plan on trying out more of the starter options they have. But definitely making room for the mud pie in the end

Btw, Habanero has two locations in Bangalore – one in Indra Nagar and one in Whitefield. You can make your choice based on the distance.

Enjoyable Time Getting Berry’d Alive

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Last week, we went to Berry’d Alive – a dessert place in Indra Nagar that was simply a heavenly experience.

This time, I believe pictures speak louder than words and so am ditching the review. Here are two photos of the desserts that we ordered…

A Chocolate Caramel Tart and a Raspberry Coffee Yogurt in the Background

Didn’t realize the blueberry almond crumble is heart-shaped until I saw the photo I took

This is simply a must-go place for Bangaloreans with a taste for out-of the way sweet eats. Don’t come here expecting your regular vanilla ice creams and pineapple pastries. Come with an open mind and you will enjoy your desserts.

Address:

No. 1079,
12th Main Road,
HAL 2nd Stage,
Indiranagar,
Bangalore

The Island – A Restaurant Review

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The Island

Indra Nagar in Bangalore is chock-full of restaurants. Almost every other building houses some kind of eating joint or the other. And it’s not just about quantity, almost each restaurant in this area offers a unique and interesting ambience, menu, and overall dining experience.

To enliven a boring working Saturday, a couple of colleagues and I decided to try the new The Island resto-lounge that has opened in 80 Feet Road, Indra Nagar. Normally, I am a little apprehensive when the term resto-lounge or resto-bar is used to describe something – I always associate it with a closed, smoky, dark, and boozy ambience. But, I had seen The Island from outside and knew this place would be pretty different.

And it was. Different. In an awesome way.

As we walked in to the place, we could hear soothing, running water everywhere. And we immediately felt relaxed and ready to turn a dull boring day into an unexpected treat.

We picked some outside seating close to the fountain and got down to the serious business of deciding what to order. We ended up choosing the following…

Litchi Cooler

Grilled Vegetables

Quesadilla and a Mango Bloom on the top left corner

Chimichanga (image taken from the web as I forgot to take a photo)

The food was pretty delicious with the quesadilla being the star. It was yummy beyond words. The grilled vegetables was standard fare, but I loved it for the freshness of the veggies. The chimichanga (which I can only describe as an oblong cheese filled samosa) was tasty but extremely filling. It was just beyond our capacity. Strictly for cheese lovers or someone extremely ravenous.

After helping our friend finish her chimichanga (not very successfully), we just could not even get up from our seats. There were two hammocks placed nearby and they were just beckoning us to come and have a snooze.

But, alas…we had to go back to work and so we just managed to wobble our way outside to catch a rickshaw, get to office, and then slump into our chairs.

Sunday Brunch at Alila’s High 5 Tapas Bar

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I am really lucky to be married to a very lucky man. OK, that sentence came out sounding so weird, I better explain in more detail.

My husband K doesn’t really take part much in lucky draws, competitions, and stuff like that. But, when he does he almost always wins. I mean since our wedding, his win ratio has been pretty astounding. Two years back, he won a competition on Radio 1 – two air tickets and some additional vouchers for a holiday to Sri Lanka! Radio 1 is an extremely popular radio channel here in Bangalore, and believe me, it’s seriously difficult to even get connected to the music jockey, let alone manage to win something decent.

And again last week, he got lucky when we won vouchers, this time from Radio Indigo, for a Sunday brunch at High 5 Tapas Bar in Alila Hotel, Whitefield.

This is a pretty new hotel and still under the radar for many in Bangalore. However, it seems very popular with Whitefield residents. The place was buzzing with activity and there were tons of people who seem to be Sunday regulars (merely judging by their comfort/familiarity levels with the staff).

The bar is located on the 5th (High 5, get it ) floor of the hotel and has an open terrace and swimming pool with wonderful views of the surrounding areas. In fact, the relaxed ambience and wonderful service is one of the highlights of the place. We easily spent about 3 hours there, just chilling out, enjoying the food, and the place.

Here are some photos:

The Awesome Eternity Pool (photo taken from Alila website) Our photo didn't really do justice to this one

Both the snubnose and I are swim freaks, and nothing gets us more excited than an awesome swimming pool. I was kicking myself for not getting her swimming costume so she could cool down nicely in the pool. Never mind, maybe next time.

Instead, we consoled ourselves by lounging around on the deck chairs and enjoying the views and the pleasant breeze.

Lounging on the sunbeds

And the poolside tables

Oh, and what about the food! Well, taking into consideration that I am a vegetarian and a completely non-adventurous eater, I would say the food was exotic. There was plenty of food and cocktails available as part of the brunch, but not too much that was to my taste.

The snubnose and I stuck to the omelets and the pasta dishes, and we enjoyed them thoroughly. They were really very well-made. K’s chicken satay was also very satisfying as were the spinach dumplings, antipasti, and breads.

We stayed well away from the glass noodles with squid, and the tuna dishes. However, these items probably suited the large numbers of Europeans who were frequenting this section.

The desserts were a bit of a let-down. The gulab jamuns were as hard as rocks and I left them alone after one bite. Also, considering the huge spread of dessert options (almost 8-9 varieties), I didn’t find even one chocolatey option, which is a total fail for a chocoholic like me.

So, I would give the food a good, but not awesome rating. The regular pricing is high (about Rs.900 per head), and if you don’t drink or if you don’t eat non-veg, well, then it’s a bit of a raw deal. However, if you like to drink, then it’s pretty good. They have unlimited cocktails, and their bartender is pretty inventive, putting out a variety of cocktails for us to try. The vodka with cranberry juice was seriously awesome, and if I was not preggo, I would have definitely done more than taste a mouthful.

But overall, we ended up pretty satisfied, after all it was a prize, and we got to discover a really nice place too .

Oh, and before ending this post, I should make a mention of an awesome TV room that adjoins the bar. They have a huge projection screen on which movies are screened. Kids who start to get restless can sack out on huge bean bags or a play mat and watch movies while their parents chill out in the next room. It’s a great idea to save parents from whining/restless/misbehaving kids. They even have a babysitter of sorts who maintains order.

So, last words…we had a great time there. This is probably our last major outing as a trio before the new baby arrives and I am glad to say that we made the most of it .

Huge thanks to Radio Indigo and Hotel Alila for this offer. We definitely will be making another trip there. The snubnose insists on a go at the pool, you see.

And here’s a last snap to show how satisfied the snubnose was at the end of the lunch…

A happy jig in front of the Christmas tree

The Egg Factory – Nice Break from the Usual

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The Egg Factory

We normally never venture beyond our usual Indra Nagar eating haunts. Why should we? When our neighborhood is so rich in diverse restaurants, it just doesn’t seem worth it to brave the traffic and try anything in the city.

But, that is just what we did last week meeting friends for lunch at The Egg Factory – a quiet and cool restaurant located just off the busy St.Mark’s Road. Like the name suggests, eggs are a major theme in this restaurant with practically every food item containing eggs. So, yeah, if you are not fond of eggs, don’t even venture here .

The place is pretty nondescript – it looks just like your regular college/office cafeteria with rows of tables and stools. The seating does not really encourage loungers, but surprisingly that’s what we all did. It wasn’t just us, most of the patrons in that restaurant were sitting around long after the food and desserts were over, without any pressure/hints from the waiters to leave. Something I really appreciate.

And how was the food? Like I said, you need to be an egg-lover to enjoy it. I am not a huge egg person, but I can and did appreciate the perfectly made garden frittata that I ordered. It was beyond yummy, and just the right amount for my tummy.

Yum Frittata Accompanied by Garlic Bread

However, the garlic bread that accompanied it could have done with a bit more garlic and butter. Garlic bread should be absolutely sinful, not like diet food.

My friends who ordered the pastas found them delicious but filling. I think it helps to go there after skipping your breakfast, so you can do justice to the food.

All in all, really nice eating experience, and if it was a bit closer to my house, this would definitely be one of my regular haunts. It’s definitely cost-effective enough for people to visit regularly.

Strand Book Festival Coming up

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Here’s a heads-up for Bangalore book-lovers…

The 2010 Strand book festival is coming up folks!
The Annual Strand Book Festival
at Basava Bhavan, Opp. Hotel Chalukya and Sophia School, Bangalore

Fri 26 Nov – Sun 12 Dec 10 – 8.30pm
Discounts up to 80%

There’s always great stuff out there for people of all ages and interests. The prices are awesome too! Discounts can be really steep (sometimes up to 70%). So save up your annual bonuses, people, and rush rush rush to Basava Bhavan!

Unfortunately, I am not going to be around this year, so for the first time in the past 4 years, I will be giving the book festival a miss .

Barbie vs Spiderman or I Hate Gender Stereotyping

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We see it everywhere in various forms, so much so that I have got rather immune to it. I am generally very thick-skinned, so it has been very easy for me to brush away such stuff as mere annoyances…and that is because I am now old enough, and confident enough to know that there are a lot of so-called “boy” traits and “girl” traits within me, and they all co-exist together quite happily…thank you.

But for young people, such stuff can be genuinely puzzling and sometimes pretty hurtful.

Like most girls, the snubnose does like her Barbie, but she also likes Spiderman…and when she saw a pair of Spiderman crocs in Sapphire – a famous toy store in Bangalore, of course she wanted a pair. And since she’s running out of shoes her size, we got her what she wanted.

Imagine the snubnose’s puzzlement when her friends at the playground taunted her for wearing boy’s shoes. Now, let’s get this straight. These are not your regular shoes, they are “crocs”, which are essentially unisex. Sure, the colors on the shoes were red and black…but should that mean anything other than that she likes Spiderman and thinks he’s cool? She tried to make a point that both boys and girls can wear these shoes, but struggled to get the logic right, and ended up feeling very hurt.

Here is a shot of her shoes. Would you really label them boy shoes?

Her controversial new shoes

This is a very minor incident. But our childhoods are shaped by such minor incidents. I was reminded of my childhood when I was laughed at by other girls because I had short hair – a “boy” cut. When they refused to play with me, I ended up making friends with the boys, who were somewhat more welcoming…probably because of my willingness to be a fielder during cricket matches . The momentary hurt over the girls’ rejection was soon forgotten when I realized I much preferred playing outdoors (frisbee, shuttle, football, cricket), than playing with dolls, kitchen cutlery, and such. Maybe that group of girls recognized something within me that I did not realize at the time…I wanted to be with them and like them, but the reality (that I did not acknowledge then) was that I was interested in other stuff and just did not have much in common with them. Kids seem to have an instinct for these kind of things.

Of course later, when I joined an all-girl’s school,this issue went out of the window. There were all kinds of girls there – girly, sporty, boyish, badass, and soon I found my little group of girl friends and things went well…or at least till puberty, when a whole other related set of issues cropped up. But that’s another blog post or two.

Anyway, back to the snubnose’s current predicament. I wanted to see how she would react to the issue. I was pleasantly surprised when next day she again decided to wear the Spiderman crocs to school. I asked her if she was sure, and reminded her of what had happened the previous day. She replied, “Mama, they don’t know. This is for both boys and girls”.

It took all my will power not to applaud!

Happy Birthday to me!

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Last week I promised myself that I will take tons of pics to chronicle what was going to be a fun-filled birthday weekend with family and friends. And of course I came nowhere to keeping that promise.

I forgot my camera while having a long fun-filled lunch with friends at Punjaab where the jokes and the one-liners were flying so hard and fast, we just could not stop laughing.

I did not forget my camera for the birthday cake cutting at home. This one was unplanned, and yes, I could have lugged my lazy self to the cupboard and picked up the camera. But considering I was in my night-wear, and photos of me stuffing my face with cake is something that I really would not want the world to see, I didn’t bother with the camera.

I did not take the camera with me when we went to the matinee show of Toy Story 3 (review coming up). This was particularly inexcusable, we were all dressed up to the nines, all cheerful, and full of beans. I could have really come up with some good photos. All I can say is that by now I had given up on the photo blog post idea, and didn’t want to face prying security fingers at the mall.

We did manage to take one cell-phone picture of the snubnose at the cinema, which I have shared on my Twitter feed. She’s wearing a new dress that my mom bought for her for my birthday. Yes, I got that right. She eventually ended up with tons of birthday presents from everyone. Do I mind, well, not one bit

Of course, no birthday is complete without tons of food and drink. There were buckets of popcorn, boxes of pizza, pasta (cooked by me), samosas, and bars and boxes of chocolate to get through. I did complete justice to them all. There was nothing left for even lunch leftovers today

All in all, a great time. I love it when birthdays happen on a weekend!

In case, someone else has taken photos, please share…I would love to have photographic memories of such a fun weekend.

Note: Celebrations are not over as yet. There are going to be at least a couple of more feasts with 2 different sets of friends before I finally settle down. If anyone has good recommendations for fun eating & drinking joints in Bangalore, please add them in your comments. I love trying out new places.

Ridiculously Marked up Goods in Bangalore’s Commercial Street

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Remember my blog post about shopping in Dillihaat? I had picked out the shawl in the photo below for Rs.200 /- and thought then that I could have bargained the price even lower.

Pic of the shawl I got from Dillihaat

Imagine my shock last weekend, while wandering around Commercial Street to see the same shawl being sold for Rs.995/-. I know the goods are marked up quite a bit in Bangalore, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Especially because the shawl did not survive more than a couple of washes. It now looks faded and stretched out. Imagine the disappointment of the customer who pays such a high price for such poor quality!