Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor

Just came across a Bollywood Blog titled “Will Ranbir Kapoor be the next Amitabh Bachchan??” Um that’s an easy “No.” (Pardon my OCD but I simply must point out the double exclamation mark is not only annoying it also leads me to believe you already knew the answer.) Apparently though director Siddharth Anand begs to differ after working with Ranbir Kapoor in just two films (Bachna Ae Haseeno and Anjaana Anjaani.) According to Anand, ““The day Ranbir does an action film and does it well, he has the potential to fill the void that Bachchan created.” Hey Deepu, maybe you should hold on to that tattoo??

Surily Goel

Here’s a peek at designer Surily Goel’s resort wear collection entitled “A Safari Anecdote” which will be showcased at the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour this evening at theTaj Lands End, Bandra. As per the PR note “the collection encompasses black, beige, military green and animal print pleated dresses and skirts edged at the hems with swirls of crochet lace. Micro fitted shifts are planned to splash with lush sequin. Think lace shorts, A-line dresses, ruffled polka dot skirts, harsh animal prints hidden behind layers of soft net. The collection is all about bare legs.” Aha! I can see all the boys’ eyes twinkle with a “now we’re talking” :)

A Safari Anecdote

A Safari Anecdote

“Surily will also showcase long jersey dresses with asymmetrical hems, moving on to daring low peek-a-boo lace backs and with plunging necklines, high drama slits and trailing hems.From start to finish the collection aims at playing like a sexy antidote to fashion’s resurgent minimalism. One will almost be able to hear the sigh of relief from the fearless party girls for whom the ‘less-is-less’ trend holds zero allure.”

Ok, so I have no idea what that means but it sure does sound fancy!

Sholmo, Sean Kingston and Nirvana

September at the Hard Rock Cafe, Mumbai is looking smoking hot. I’m most especially excited about Sean Kingston making an appearance and hoping I can get him to do a live rendition of “Bollywood Girls” (DJ Suketu’s mix that I love) for my blog :) Here’s the rest of the line up this month so you can save the date(s)!
Thu, Sept 02: Yamaha Asian Beat Challenge National Final
Tue, Sept 07: Rio Album Launch
Thu, Sept 09: Shkabang
Wed, Sept 15: Shlomo
Thu, Sept 16: The Other People
Thu, Sept 23: Something Relevant (yaay they’re back!)
Tue, Sept 28: Livewire
Wed, Sept 29: Sean Kingston
Thu, Sept 30: Legends Of Rock – Tribute to Nirvana

Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif

As you can see I’m now officially tripping on Salman Khan’s interview transcripts. When asked if he missed his one-time BFF Shah Rukh Khan at all, his blunt comeback was, “Shah Rukh meri girl friend nahi thi… apni purani girlfriend ko miss nahi karta, Shahrukh ko kya karunga*. Shahrukh and I don’t talk anymore. We had misunderstanding and hence parted ways. There is no chance of Shahrukh and Salman coming together in future.” I guess that answers my next question on Katrina then too. Ok, I’m done :)
*Lost in Translation: Shah Rukh wasn’t my girlfriend. I don’t even miss my old girlfriend why would I miss Shah Rukh Khan.

Sonakshi Sinha and Salman Khan

That was Salman Khan’s latest emo dialogue to the press, isn’t it fab? Oooh and that’s not all; he threw in some serious praise for potential new GF Sonakshi Sinha (Shatrughan ‘Shotgun’ Sinha’s daughter) saying “Sonakshi has done the film as if she has done 100 films before.” Although now that I think about it that could be misconstrued to suggest some slightly jaded/stereotypical acting. Watch it Sallu Bhai, they don’t call Papa Sinha “Shotgun” for no reason :)
Lost in Translation: *Those who don’t have the press’ support still have their fans support.

MissMalini, Tarana Raja Kapoor, Manik Bhatheja and Yasmine Pithawalla

Check it out! MissMalini and Tarana Raja Kapoor revisited our dancing days about a decade on! So fun :) I highly recommend you try a class. Big love to: Manik Bhatheja for a killer routine and oodles of patience, Ashwin Mushran for engineering our late start so he could be there and everyone who cheered with unbridled enthusiasm for our 57 second masterpiece. Yippee new batch starts tonight at 7pm, can’t wait to meet the new crew!
Lyrical Hip Hip dance class too! 7-8pm Tue/Thur in Khar
Registration fee – 300rs
Monthly fee (8 classes) – 1500rs
Learning a dance routine and performing it at Zenzi Mills – Priceless!

Aswin Mushran DJing for the night

last tech rehearsal

@Zenzi Mills

Psst! I have good news :) I ran into Zenzi’s Emiliano Collazo and his wife Mia Evonne Uyeda last night and they told me Zenzi Bandra will be up and running again soon, the neighbors just demolished the shared parking area so nobody panic!

Katrina Kaif Ethihad Campaign

Didjya hear? Katrina Kaif is the new brand ambassador for the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ethihad Airways! Do you think she flies free first class for life? Oooh I heard another rumor recently which I’m unconvinced about, apparently if you were born on a plane then that airline gives you free flights for life. I told a very adorable (and somewhat naive) friend of mine this and she piped up “Ya, and you also get free travel visas around the globe!”) That’s right, just before they make you King of the world. Lol. Members of the mile-high club perhaps you can enlighten us on your privileges too?

So speaking of food and foodies guess what a buddy of mine has just started? It’s restaurantweekindia.com where starting September 6th (for a week) you get to eat at some of Mumbai’s hottest restaurants for the bargain price of 1000rs*. Restaurant Week Mumbai is inspired by Restaurant Weeks across the globe in cities such as New York and London, and is a week-long celebration of the culinary scene in the city. What you get is a three-course prix fixe menu at the city’s most aspirational restaurants. In Mumbai that includes: Stella (The Leela Kempenski), Indigo, Tote, Botticino (Trident Bandra Kurla), Koh by Ian Kittichai (Intercontinental, Marine Drive) which I just told you about, India Jones (Trident, Nariman Point) and San Qi (Four Seasons Mumbai). All you have to do is go online starting today and make a reservation! Here’s their Facebook Page.
*Excluding taxes and service charge.

Thai poem

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

‘

Ian Kittichai and MissMalini

If you’ve done the rounds of all of Mumbai’s swanky restaurants (twice) and are looking for a new super special romantic date spot I know just the place for you! (in fact Sachin Tendulkar, Deepika Padukone and Siddhartha Mallya appear to be in agreement considering they were spotted dining there soon after it opened, Deepika even tweeted about it while she was there!) Koh by Ian Kittichai is a fully revamped and refurbished Thai restaurant where Czar Bar used to be. (Thankfully they’ve kept their legendary LIIT’s on the menu.) We spent a fabulous evening in the company of Romil Ratra (GM of the Intercontinental) and Chef Ian Kittichai himself (who turned out to have quite an extraordinary story and an absolutely delightful demeanor.) I also think its super cute that his wife loves paneer so much that her recent Facebook status said “Sarah wishes she was a giant piece of paneer!”

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

Romil Ratra and Ian Kittichai

I love that the place is decked out in royal shades of gold & purple and there’s a giant poem on the far side about people enjoying a meal together. (Its true Romil, friends who drink together, stay together!) You can even go a tad early and enjoy a cocktail at the bar where a live DJ spins out the perfect blend of lounge. And now, since we all know who the foodie in this relationship is,  its over to the boyfriend again for dope on the dishes!
MissMalini recommends: Edemane with dry red chili & sea salt and the to-die-for yummy-licious Chilean Seabass.

Koh, Food Guide by Nowshad Rizwanullah

Nowshad Rizwanullah

When Chef Ian Kittichai replied “Som Tum” to my question about his favorite Thai dish, I had a feeling we were in for a treat. The spicy, tangy Thai salad made from shredded green papayas has long been my go-to Thai dish, and I was excited to see what flavors Kittichai would choose to highlight in his new menu at Koh.

Amuse Bouche

Our meal opened with a complementary Amuse Bouche – a crispy shell filled with a variety of flavors and textures, including soft peas, crunchy peanuts, mild chilies, Thai basil (which has a slight licorice taste), subtle coconut and spicy ginger, among other ingredients.Every bite revealed a new flavor and was a good introduction to some of the predominant themes of our meal.

Chocolate Baby Back Ribs, Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche and Edamame

We moved on to three appetizers, amongst which the Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche was our clear favorite. Served more like a carpaccio in paper-thin slices, the imported Japanese tuna was topped with a generous dressing of fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime, fresh mint and nam pla (fish sauce). While this didn’t necessarily allow for the full flavor of the tuna to shine through, for Thai salad lovers such as myself it was a lipsmacking experience (figuratively and quite literally – Thai salad dressings can have a tart edge to them, which I greatly enjoy). This was accompanied by a bowl of Edamame – steamed and kicked up a notch with crushed dry red chili and sea salt – a nice twist on a familiar treat. The ‘Chocolat’ Baby Back Ribs were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night – having read all about them in other reviews, this was the dish I was most excited to try. While the chocolate sauce covering the ribs was an interesting innovation (slightly spiced, similar to a Mexican mole), the meat itself was bland, and somewhat chewy – not fall-off-the-bone tender as good ribs should be.

Chilean Seabass

But if there was any disappointment there, it was quickly erased by our first main course – the outstanding Chilean Seabass. Prepared in a savory sweet “salted yellow bean glaze”, the buttery fish was cooked to melt-in-your mouth perfection. Equally well made was the still-crunchy baby bok choi it was paired with (note: this may have been any one of the other dozens of similar looking east Asian greens – but it was delicious!). It is no exaggeration that by the end we were scraping the bottom of the plate hoping to find stray pieces of overlooked fish – wishful thinking as I was not about to let any of it go uneaten.

Thai Green Curry

We were also served a vegetarian Thai Green Curry, the base of which is made using hot basil and kaffir lime and hand ground just minutes before it is cooked. While we found it to be slightly too rich for our tastes, it had a pleasant contrast between tender eggplant and crunchy watercress that had us dipping in for seconds. All of this was eaten with Hot Stone Roasted Garlic Rice – a self-explanatory rice dish that is mixed live at the table in what is perhaps a little too much fanfare for an ultimately unremarkable dish. I did, however, enjoy the crunchy bits or toasted rice that came off the bottom of the hot stone bowl, which gave it more personality than the usual Thai fried rice offerings.

Jasmine Panacotta

We closed with a delightful Jasmine Panacotta – creamy but not too rich, firm but not gelatinous, perfumed but not overpowering. The Chocolate Flourless Cake was also well made, and is apparently quickly becoming a fan favorite for the waist-conscious (don’t ask me to explain this one).

Koh, Intercontinental Marine Drive

Overall, we left the restaurant full and satisfied, but wondering if we had truly gotten the full experience. There were several other tantalizing dishes on the menu that we would have loved to try – many interesting seafood specialties in particular – but we chose to allow the manger (not chef) highlight some of his favorites.  Based on some of our preferred dishes of the night, however, we have very high hopes for the rest of the menu. Kittichai clearly knows how to manipulate and accentuate the best of signature Thai flavors, and this is too varied a menu to judge based on one sitting. But we’re not sweating it – if not for that Seabass alone, we’re definitely coming back to try the rest. At least the Som Tum.

MissMalini and Malini Ramani

Olive, Bandra

I’m giving Chef Manu Chandra’s new menu at A.D. Singh’s Olive Bar & Kitchen, Bandra a double thumbs up! I have to say though that Mitali Kakar and I (who were both unfashionably on time) were tres surprised at the modest turn out and speculated whether it could have been the rain, people ending up at the wrong Olive, Monday night blues or some sadness at Chef Max’s departure (although I’m told he left a while ago.) At any rate the close-knit crew that did turn up had a blast and got to spend some QT with A.D. which was nice. I meanwhile (after copious amounts of Chardonnay) bumped into my namesake Malini Ramani who greeted me with a super sweet “MissMalini! Is that you?!” and a warm hug which totally made my night. Now I’m SO looking forward to her LFW finale, I love the gypsy look (as you know) and if anybody can glam it up a notch, Malini can!

Malini Ramani and Yudi

Ash Chandler and Junelia Aguiar

TC, Alon, Junelia, MissMalini and Ash Chandler

A.D. Singh, Junelia Aguiar, Nathalie Ressencourt De Sousa

A.D. Singh, Rashmi Uday Singh and Chef Manu Chandra

Vikram and Nisha Raizada

Gavin Miguel, Nethra Raghuraman and Jatin

Also Spotted: Newlyweds Vikram & Nisha Raizada, Bob Brahmabhat, Rashmi Uday Singh, Ash Chandler & Junelia Aguiar (back from an epic holiday and glowing all the way!), Yudhishthir Urs (on a date with Ms. Ramani?), Nethra Raghuraman and Jatin.