California Pizza, Infiniti Mall, Malad, Mumbai

the rhird visit to this mall in the last 2 days! after a late night event, my cousin Ashwin and I were looking for places to eat. and we stopped at Infiniti mall. it was way past 11 pm and we were sceptical of finding any good places to eat. the food courts were all closed , but we were thankful for California Pizza which was open, thanks to a few late customers who had not finished eating.

at first they told us that the kitchen was closed, then after requesting, they couldnt say no to 2 starving clients.

The United Sports Bar and Grill, Infinity Mall, Malad West, Mumbai

The United, sports bar and grill was our choice for lunch, on nov 9, 2014 when me and wifey niki were treated by our relatives Elaine, Reuben and Aldridge.

Global Sigree Restaurant, Malad, Mumbai

Global Sigree is one of the most popular restaurants in Mumbai and the sheer number of people that were present on that night was testament to this.  we managed to get in thanks to our relatives who had booked a table earlier. true to the name, Global Sigree had a Mid east, GUlf based theme going on. every table had a flag of a middle eastern country and there were flags on the ceiling and even the buffet was Arabian themed.

Cafe Mondegar's and Colaba

another extremely popular hang out place at Colaba, i remember hearing about it in the 90's for the CD juke box they had for patrons. and this was my first visit and i was told that nothings changed.

Bade Mian Restaurant at Colaba, Mumbai

a very popular restaurant, Bade Mian is famous for its mutton kebabs. me and niki were travelling in a friends car, when niki saw Bade Mian sign board from a distance. we stopped the car and asked the driver to meet us after 4 hours and gave him some lunch money. we were pleasantly surprised at the restaurant.

The Pune dairies - Day 7 - Bye Bye Pune, Hello Mumbai

finished our breakfast at Vohuman cafe and prepared ourselves for the nearly 3 hour drive from Pune to Mumbai. we again thank our friends Colin at The 3 Hungry Men for arranging cab services to pick us and drop us safely from Pune to Mumbai, Borivali.

somewhere along the highway, we stopped over to pick up ...wait for it... for CHIKKI and the driver knew exactly where to take us.

The Pune dairies - Day 4,5,6 - Vohuman Cafe

the best part about staying at Sassoon road was Vohuman Cafe. in fact i am pretty sure that its the best part of staying in Pune!

one reviewer on zomato goes to write " great place, great food, just dont try striking up a conversation with the grumpy old man at the counter".

Vohuman cafe, dont be surprised by the old school looks, the cracks and crevices on the floor and walls only reflects the fact that Vohuman Cafe has stood the test of time catering to the tastes of everyone belonging at every strata of society. that too at an affordable price!

the 4 days we stayed in Pune , we visited the place at least 8 times for breakfast and evening coffee.  we only missed breakfast the first morning as we didnt know the place was close by and took a horrible decision of visiting a 3 star hotel for breakfast buffet that cost us Rs 500/- per person.

The Pune Diaries - Day 6 - The Asian Box

The Asian Box is a another popular food joint situated (wherelse) at Koregaon park. i had gone for a hair cut and niki decided to spoil herself at the spa called Le Clinique. a quick post here

The Pune Dairies - Day 5 - Toons Cafe

Visit to Pune would be incomplete if u dont come to Toon's Cafe for a quick bite or to quench your thirst. i also learnt that its one of the few (or maybe the only) pubs that place classic rock and metal music. i thank the 3 Hungry men again for recommending.

MG road in Pune is a shoppers delight. we first picked up a few shirts for myself from Louis Philppe and Niki tried to purchase a few sarees from the boutique next to Toons. meanwhile i had already fixed my appointment with Sid, to get a tattoo. (next blog post).

The Pune Dairies - Day 4 - Habibi

after visiting the tribal museum, both niki and I were hunggggryyyy!!! we took a rick to Koregaon park , and after spending time at a deserted mall, decided to try authentic Greek food at Euriska.

The Pune Diaries - Day 3 - Arthur's Theme - Restaurant

our first night in Pune and we decided to spend it watching a movie at Inox which was only a couple of blocks away from where we stayed. the movie was gone girl and after picking up the tickets for the last show, we decided to have dinner at a fancy restaurant.
looked up this place on google and zomato and decided to come here coz of the excellent reviews for steak! i love beef and if i am travelling outslde Mangalore, i make sure i get my plate full of the red meat. took a rick and we reached Koregaon park in 20 mins.

we reached quite early and we were lucky to find a table for 2. in about half hour the place was full and people had to wait till the tables cleared.

The Matheran Diaries - Day 3 - Leaving Matheran + Chikki at Lonavla + Hello Pune

it was time to leave Matheran and head to Pune. woke up early as usual and after a quick breakfast, we took along with us a lady porter to accompany us with our bags and walk to Dasturi Naka where our designated cabbie Sameer Khan waiting to take us to Pune.

The Matheran Diaries - Day 1 - Checking In at Lords Central Hotel and Matheran at Night

we had booked our hotel rooms in advance so we knew where we were going to stay. the 3 nights and 2 days we spent at Lords, cost us Rs 13,502/-  (we paid the next day), which included breakfast, lunch and dinner with tea and cake being served in the morning and evening.

The Matheran Diaries - Day 1 - Mangalore to Mumbai to Matheran

here i am back with another blog series , this time visiting Magnificent Matheran, which is a popular hill station situated around 90 kms from Mumbai.

this time, i carried my 5dmarkiii + EF 16-35 f 2.8 L II USM and Sigma 35 mm f 1.4 ART lens with me.

the duration of our holiday was from Oct 31 to Nov 10th and the places we visited included Lonavala, Matheran, Pune and Mumbai.

The Seychelles Diaries - Day 5 - Sunday at Victoria + Lunch at Butcher's Grill + Dinner at La Plage

the only time we actually got to explore the city on our own was on day 5, which also happened to be a lazy sunday.

after our super awesome breakfast, we decided to travel to Victoria by local bus as it was the cheapest way to get to the main city and back. we totally forgot to overlook the fact that on a Sunday, nothing open! literally, all the shops are closed, the markets closed , only a few restaurants are open.

managed to ask a few friendly locals if any restaurants would be open as it was lunch time already, and we finally got to eat Seychelles Junk Food courtesy The Butcher's Grill.

The Seychelles Diaries - Day 4 - Praslin + Ladigue + Emmanuelle house + Anse Volbert +Coco De Mer + Anse Lazio +Baobab Pizza

for me, day 4 was the most memorable from our entire Seychelles trip. thats coz we got to do so much and see so much and meet a lot of people.

Catamaran from Mahe to Praslin and Ladigue : 

another early breakfast and Paul our designated driver dropped us from our lodge to the harbour where our tour operator Sultanne was waiting for ur with our catamaran pass.

Mahe was the main island with a population of about 75000 people while Praslin (pronounced Praa-Lean) and Ladigue were the other 2 important and big islands , with a combined population of not more than 4000 people.

everyone depended on catamaran for transport from one island to another and it was really expensive! our each ticket cost ur around SRs 3000/- and i was told the locals have a monthly pass to make commuting easier.

The Seychelles Diaries - Day 2 - Beau valon and Marie Antoinette Restaurant

marie antoinette restaurant

The second day of our honeymoon began by admiring the surroundings of divers lodge. right in front of our lodge was an open patio where the residents could sit have their breakfast whilst watching the waves of  Beau Vallon . The owners of divers lodge grow tomatoes, green chillies and mangoes in their garden. Close to the patio  is a small bird food dispenser . It brings the most beautiful birds of seychelles every morning! we managed to spot the red fody also called the madagascar fody it resembles a small orange to red feathered sparrow. A few others were the zebra dove or the barred ground dove and the seychelle bulbul. It was heavenly to hear the morning waves, sounds of chirping birds and the scenic turquoise colored waters of Beau Vallon!

The Chocolate Room - Bangalore

Death By Chocolate.... Guaranteed!

found out this place by pure luck, as i was desultorily looking for places to rest my lazy back side after jamming with my band Dying Embrace (oh yes i play in a band as well). i seriously have no idea why i looked up wards but there it was, the huge bill board for The Chocolate Room looking down (pun intended) on me.

Plan B

Plan B when plan A doesnt work out for you

the only good thing i really like about the city of Bangalore or Bengalooru is the variety of food joints, restaurants tailor made to suit everyone's palate. just a few months ago i had blogged about another place called Hae Kum Gang and delicious mouth watering (and wallet tearing) Korean dishes (read here) and todays review (or not) is of a pub/restaurant called Plan B which is situated on the same building as the Korean Hae Kum Gang restaurant.

Hae Kum Gang - Korean Restaurant in Bangalore

Korean cuisine is an acquired taste. if u Like Japanese food, then in all probability you will also like Korean food. one doesn't really have to travel to Korea to experience their cuisine and we were fortunate to visit Hae Kum Gang, located at Castle Street, near Brigade Road, Bangalore,.