When the Menons Got #Grubbed!

This post is long over due... A lot of things have happened since my last post, and life is working on a whole different schedule, one where sitting down and composing ones thought's are a luxury! So what's got me so busy that I don't have time to check in with you guys? Well... we have a new addition to the family! Last month the hubs and I welcomed our little princess Adhira into our family and ever since then, life has never been the same... and in the most amazing way too!

Anyway getting back to the point, between 3rd and 5th April, a few weeks after we brought our princess home, The Grub Fest came up , and we felt that Adhira was settled enough to go on a family outing. So off we went, looking forward to some good food and some nice memories to be found on the sprawling lawns of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Sadly, having an infant means you run according to their schedules, so we ended up reaching the grounds at around 2pm, probably the hottest part of the day. Finding a parking was a breeze since there were ample parking facilities and this was a real plus when compared to The Palete Food Festival held at Nehru Park last year. The one disappointment was the rude staff at the security (the lady doing the checking was a real piece of work). And I'm not sure why bags need to be manually checked if they have already been through a scanning machine!

That being said, once we arrived on the scene, we were all pretty impressed with the carnival-like atmosphere, the sheer number of stand alone restaurants represented, and the well organised and systematic manner in which all the exhibiting restaurant's stalls had been laid out. There were all kinds of foods on offer and it was great to see big names and newcomers alike, all in one location. It truly was a carnival of food! Kudos to Aman Kumar, Arjun Jain, Chaitanya mathur and Mani Singh Cheema, whose idea this festival was. 

Aside from the restaurant stalls, there were food trucks and a Grub Market where organic and fresh produce was available as well as baked goods, condiments and other goodies too! 

Here are a few images of our time at The Grub Fest... 

Some of the installations at the venue

Thought these bell peppers were cute and kinda freaky too :)

Getting to the Food

What The Truck!

Finally got a taste of the keema pao served by What The Truck... 

one word... AWESOME! Not such a big fan of their 

chips 'n' cheese though :(

We enjoyed some cool Buds and some great dim sum at Dao. 

This is the crab and prawn roll and it was delish!

When things got a little too hot we cooled off with some Old fashioneds 

and an Elderflower Spritzer at the ATM & PCO area. I know... 

Whisky in the afternoon! Try not to judge :)

The Elderflower Spritzer

The Old Fashioned

The Eton Mess... served at ATM PCO was a little disappointing...

And that's us! Our princess was getting a little cranky by this point!

Overall our visit to The Grub Fest was a great family outing. Well organised and an awesome group of restaurants represented. That being said, toilets were an issue, as always... and thankfully I didn't have to change any diapers... but I did pity the moms who did! 

Timing was also an issue. I think food festivals like these need to be held when it's cooler, so walking around is fun, even in the afternoon. In terms of location, if you were to honestly ask me, I'd say Nehru Park trumps JN stadium. For me, it is such a beautiful park, with tall trees that offer shade and large lawn areas where you can sit and have a picnic of sorts- a far prettier place for a food festival. I look forward to next year, I'm sure it will be bigger, bolder and much improved! 

[All images by Shalini Pereira. Please do not use without prior written permission]

X'mas done and dusted... 2015, bring it on!

I'm back after quite a break...Christmas is over, and I'm always left a little sad once it's done. Hence all the introspecting :) It all rushes by so soon. I guess time flies when you are having fun. More than the day itself though, I think for me, it's the anticipation of Christmas day that I love. The planning and preparation. Christmas has always been a busy time of the year... busy making X'mas sweets, fruit cake, putting up decorations, planning parties, aside from getting done with work commitments. It's all one crazy mad rush! And then it's over! 

This year was especially hectic since the usual Menon X'mas bash that we have, which is an annual thing, took on life of its own. The guest list touched 45 and I was doing all the catering! The hubs ran off the Dublin :) Very smart he was!

Now I know that I love feeding people, but this was particularly ambitions, perhaps even bordering on crazy :) But what is X'mas if not feeding people and and seeing happy faces. I'm a little like Monica (from Friends) that way, I get a huge kick from people enjoying my food. Well that's not the only way I'm like Monica, but we won't go into that :) So the X'mas Party, though quite stressful, gave me a huge high once it was pulled off!

Getting back to the point, we had a pretty awesome X'mas. More that the presents, it's about being surrounded by friends, old and new. And I realise I have a lot to be grateful for. So this is sort of the last post of the year... I'm sharing images of a few of the goodies I made, the X'mas decorations put up and the festive spirit at home... I hope everyone had a wonderful X'mas. Here is hoping that 2015 is bigger, brighter and even more awesome. 

My candied spiced nuts were a huge hit, stay posted for the 

recipe which I will be sharing soon

You can see my Sangria recipe here

Oh and it was my birthday too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!! 

See you on the otherside!

[All these images, except the last, were clicked by Jasmeen Kaur Malhotra of Cake Couture]

A Bohemian Look for the Festive Season

I recently contributed some Diwali decor ideas towards the GoodHomes Magazine Diwali issue, and I promised I would share more images with you, so here they are! My theme was Diwali on a budget and I wanted to sort of demonstrate that we can create pretty spaces from bits and bobs that we have in our homes... So the theme was simple, elegant and bohemian with a little dash of India here and there. I think it represents us as a family quite well... our quirks and all :) It was great fun setting this up and I hope you like it. 

[All images clicked my Shalini Pereira- Please do not use without prior written permission]

A Great Long Weekend

I know doing two posts in a day is a bit much even for little ol' obsessive compulsive me, but I have a feeling work is suddenly going to pile up towards the end of this week, so I think it's best I post this today. Beside a big announcement is planned for tomorrow and I don't want anything distracting from that. So here is a round up of the amazing weekend I had.

How was your long weekend? Did you guys celebrate Holi in a big way? Unfortunately both the hubby & I have been a bit under the weather so Holi was a relatively quiet affair at home this year. But that doesn't mean the weekend was dull. Far from it... in fact it started off with me attending my 1st ever menu launch on Firday night... you can read about my entire experience here.

[Image courtesy Punjab Grill]

Saturday we got up late and I was in the mood of making a special breakfast... so made some French toast with macerated strawberries and maple syrup on the side. We guffed this down with strawberry, banana yogurt smoothies... great start to the day. There is something about making a special breakfast and sitting down and enjoying it together... 

Look at the prettiness... I made this :)

Monday was Holi and although we didn't celebrate I we did get into the spirit a bit by having a nice lunch. Made sambar from scratch and we enjoyed a nice, simple South Indian thali lunch. Someone was mighty pleased :) 

This year St. Patrick's day coincided with Holi. Now I know we not Irish, but for some reason we always celebrate St. Patrick's. It's fun... what other time can you have green beer! I even made some parippu vadas (a kind of dal vada) that are my husband's favorite... and while it didn't come out as well as my mother-in-law's (who makes the best vadas in the world) he was quite impressed at the first attempt :) They went down well with the green beer (normal beer with some green food coloring added). We sipped out beer and watch the Indian-Sri lanka warm up match, which India sadly lost :( Guess the luck of the Irish wasn't with them :)

You'll have to forgive the silly pictures... I think we were both a little 'happy' after the green beer... but I kinda like silly pictures :) 

Well that's my round up of my weekend... I really hope you all had a great day celebrating with family and friends. Oh and make sure you guys tune in tomorrow, I'm announcing the 1st ever competition & give away on All Things Nice and tomorrow's post will have all the details.

[Unless mentioned all images are by Shalini Pereira. Please do not use these images with out prior written permission.]

Of Festivals, Family & Friends

I think everyone loves festivals. I mean what's not to love? How often can you gorge on food that is absolutely BAD for you and not have to justify it, slack off on exercise without being judged, sleep in, and party till late into the night without having to worry about work the next day? Festivals come around only a few times in a year so I think its best to make the most of these chances, no?

I have to confess that I'm a Christmas kinda girl... it is my absolute favorite festival. Our place is known for the rocking X'mas party we throw every year and I'm NOT ASHAMED to admit that I start planning it around October. My husband is from Kerala, so we also celebrate Vishu and Onam, but although they are special in their own way, they are quite somber and sedate in comparison to the spectacle that is Christmas. 

Diwali also falls into the category of big, bold & loud- a festival of generosity & giving, so much like Christmas. But up until this year we never really did anything in a big way. This year I thought why not? Let's start a new tradition at home, and celebrate this festival of lights, that rejoices in the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. It happens to be my sis-in-law's favorite festival, so I thought, 'lets make it special!' And how we did! 

We decorated, and there were traditional clay diyas (lamps), string lights hanging from every possible place, tea lights, floating flowers, rangolis- the whole shebang! 

(My precious blackboard all lit up & my not so precious 'artwork')

(The view of our building complex from our balcony which we lit with traditional clay diyas)

(Rangoli at the entrance of our home)

(Finally got a chance to light the hanging brass lamps that were a gift from my in-laws)

(Our dining area credenza all decked up in candlelight)

We ate, and ate & ATE! some absolutely awesome chole & bhature made by our friend Neha, who I think makes the best chole in the world. There was also authentic Mumbai vada pav, made by yours truly, and some cupcakes & gulab jamuns. Boy were we stuffed by the end of the night!

But aside from the food & the gifts and the sheer bling of it all, I think what makes festivals so special are friends and family. At least that's why I love festivals. Its having friends over, sharing good food & drink, and catching up on each other's lives. I think that at the heart of every festival the world over, lie two things- love & laughter, and that, more that all the other craziness, is what makes festivals so wonderful.

I hope that all of you had an absolutely awesome Diwali surrounded by family & friends. And I'm sure if you're anything like me, you  are already looking ahead to Christmas & the New Year and all the fun that comes with it. 

[All images- Ujwala Menon]