TLC Bloggers Meet

[Image courtesy TLC India ]

This week TLC aired the 1st episode of season two, The Taste, a show where food writer and TV chef Nigella Lawson, chef, writer and TV presenter Anthony Bourdain and chef Ludo Lefebvre pick contestants who will cook off against each other. And this year chef Marcus Samuelsson has joined the fray too! The Taste is sort of like The Voice meets Masterchef and it's loads of fun! I was lucky enough to be invited by TLC for a bloggers meet at the Olive Bar & Kitchen, for an exclusive preview of the first episode, which was pretty awesome!

We also got to interact with Rajiv Bakshi, VP, Marketing, South Asia for Discovery as well as some other awesome fellow bloggers, while enjoying some of that delicious grub that Olive Bar & Kitchen is famous for :) 

The best part of the evening was a fun session where TLC turned the tables on all us 'food experts' and really put us through the wringer with a blindfolded tasting session and a 'guess the main ingredients session' overseen by chef Dhruv Oberoi. It was hilarious and a good laugh... psst, I managed to guess one or two :)

Chev Dhruv conducting the blindfolded tasting session

[Image courtesy TLC India ] 

Watermelon ceviche cured in sangira 

A bloody Mary seasoned with smoked chicken

Cigars of caramelized white chocolate mousse and milk powder

It was a really fun evening with lot's of interaction, laughs and of course some great food... what more could you ask for really?

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

A Casual Sunday Meet-up @ Bootleggers Republic Cafe

[Image courtesy- Vickrham Vicky]

Let me start by saying, this is not a restaurant review... it's more of me sharing with you the biggest perk of being a blogger... meeting amazing people :)

It may come as a surprise (except for those that know me well) but I'm somewhat of an introvert. Meeting people for the first time is quite stressful for me... in fact when I was younger, a lot of friends thought I was a bit of a snob, until they got to know me better and realised that I was just reserved, and completely stressed out about meeting new people !

As a blogger though, you have to put yourself out there and meet new people. In the beginning it was quite tough... I used to be terrified, and I'd end up not sleeping the night before a meet :) Thankfully I'm pretty much over this fear... that's why I love blogging. I guess it allows me to experience new things, be in new situations and meet so many wonderful, interesting and inspirational people.

Last week I got an invite to attend a bloggers meet from someone I hugely admire and respect... someone with tons of experience in the hospitality industry, Mr Avininder Singh of Escapades of a Foodie Surdie. Avininder ji organised a get together of sorts, especially for bloggers, and graciously hosted by Viju Raj, owner of Bootleggers Republic Cafe. All this inspite of Avininder ji suffering from a hairline fracture in his ankle and being in a lot of pain! It was quite an informal, unstructured meet where we got an opportunity to connect, share opinions and discuss various things happening in the food world, the blogging world and the hospitality industry. But more importantly get to know the person behind the blogs :)

10 bloggers were present, including some who I follow very closely. We started off the afternoon as acquaintances, some of us hadn't ever met, others recognised each other from various Facebook groups and a few were good friends, but by the end of an amazing 3 hours that seemed to fly by, and after some lip smackingly good starters and blissfully well made cocktails, we were chatting like old friends who have met after years and had tons to catch up on. It's incredible how this happens when people who have a similar passion get together... It was a great pleasure to meet the likes of Vickrham Vicky of Food Maniacs, Sudipto De from Hmm, Sidharth Bhan Gupta (Let's Trip), Anubhav Sapra of Delhi Food Walks, Sneha Lata Saikia (The Kitchen Affairs), Rosme Chaube (whatsup Gurgaon), Nimi Vashi, Sangeeta & Kavita Bahuguna (Dine Out Club), Soumbha Ray Chaudhuri of Foodaholix and of course the Avininder Singh, whose incredible idea this was. 

Bootleggers is where Mochas used to be and I've been wanting to visit ever since it opened about a month ago. I had heard that the drinks are amazing and the food, a strong positive in their favour. So it was with high expectations that I got down to tasting. There is nothing like good food and good drink to get foodies talking and sharing :) I really enjoyed a spiced rum based cocktail that reminded me of an old fashioned. It really hit the spot. To be honest, I was enjoying the conversation so much that I don't really remember the other beer based cocktail I tasted. I did however love their Whiskey sour! The starters were really, really good, the highlights being the Sriracha fish, the soy galouti kebabs and the smokey glazed chicken wings. Since this is not a proper review I won't be going into details, but I definitely plan to visit again and do a proper review :) The afternoon was rounded up perfectly with sweet treats by Jasmeen Kaur Malhotra of Cake Couture. 

We ate...

[Image courtesy- Sneha Lata Saikia]

We Drank...

We made merry...

By the time the afternoon came to an end, I felt like I had made a whole bunch of friends who also happened to be bloggers. I look forward to keeping in touch with them all and am happy to have been a part of such a talented, exciting and just a little crazy bunch of food lovers. It was nice spending an afternoon with people who get you and your borderline psychotic love of food,  who don't judge and roll their eyes when you whip out your camera and start clicking at food as soon as it arrives :) Guys we should definitely do this again!

[Unless mentioned all images by Shalini Pereira]

My First Food Blogger's Meet at Cafe Wanderlust

Do you know that saying, ‘Eat to live, not live to eat’? Well I think that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! I mean seriously, one of the best things in life is enjoying good food. Food has such an effect on you- it stirs memories and can put a huge smile on your face. I love food and I do not understand how people can go on weird/stupid/crazy diets to be skinny. Give me a slice of pie or a plate of onion pakodas over pencil legs any day! Life without carbs/cream/chocolate... not worth living in my opinion...

If you are a regular on my blog, then you know I’m passionate about food. If not, then the above rant will definitely convince you of that. Its because of this, that I do a lot of reviewing on Zomato, and if I find a certain place really special, then it makes it to my blog:) So anyway, getting to the point... last Sunday I was invited for my first bloggers meet. Fellow food blogger Shivangi Sinha was kind enough to include me and I was so excited at the prospect of meeting other bloggers who shared the same passion about food that I have.

The meet was at Cafe Wanderlust. I have wanted to go there for the longest time. In fact the hubby & I had walked in a few times, but it was always full :( So my excitement levels went up even more at the prospect of finally going. Cafe Wanderlust is a quaint, tiny cafe located in Galleria, DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon. Its interiors are very different from the usual cafes- very casual, quirky and laid back. There are bean bags, low seats and even a hammock!  All this welcomes you to come in, sit down and stay as long as you like. This is a place where you can really while away your time.

[All images of Cafe Wanderlust- Disha Disha Saxena Utkarsh]

I cannot tell you how much fun it was meeting so many interesting people who are zealously passionate about their food. So many great conversations and even heated debates ranging from ‘where you get the best cheesecake?’, to where one can find the best sushi in NCR. We met at 12.30 and the 4 hours we were together flew by in what seemed like no time at all! The highlight was meeting fellow bloggers Shivangi Sinha who has her own food blogging website ShivangiReviews, Mayank Sinha and Maneesh Srivastva of Mystic Foodie Mantra.

Group pic via Maneesh Srivastva

During our time there, our gracious host and owner of Cafe Wanderlust, Disha Saxena Utkarsh, ensured that we were well fed while she narrated to us the story of this interesting cafe. The idea for this cafe originated from Disha and her husband’s love for travel and all the interesting food they tasted along their journeys. As the saying goes, ‘it’s not the destination that’s important, but the journey itself.’ This cafe, unlike so many others is a family business, with Disha seeing to the management and her mom (who actually works in the kitchen) handling the food aspect. While I was there I was amazed how 6 people, including Disha’s mom, could manage so efficiently in that tiny open kitchen!

Aside from food, Cafe Wanderlust also holds a number of travel related events. They have a club, the Wanderers Club, through which they organise travel talks, photo exhibitions and even group trips, which I found really interesting, and kinda cool.

The menu of Cafe Wanderlust is very eclectic but vegetarian- there are foods from different parts of India and the world. They are also currently having a Banaras food festival till March 9^th so we had a chance to taste a wide variety of Banarasi specialities as well as a few regular items on their menu. You can read my in-depth review of Cafe Wanderlust here.

If you like interesting experiences and something a little bit different, then Cafe Wanderlust is the perfect place for you. It’s a great place for a late breakfast or an early lunch on a lazy Saturday or Sunday. Their food is not fanciful, just simple, homey food from all over the world, food that is done well using fresh ingredients and made with a lot of passion and love.

My Top Picks...

Adrak chai- best chai in town, poured from an old Aluminium kettle into cutting chai glasses

Mumbai vada pav- the most authentic tasting vada pav I’ve tasted in NCR till date... only drawback... the bread which is not Mumbai style pav

Samosa chola chaat & pyaz kachori

Mushroom cheese crepe

Pain au chocolat

Find out more about Cafe Wanderlust here and you can see more of my reviews on Zomato here

An Afternoon at Shiro

Last Friday afternoon I was lucky enough to attend a Bloggers Meet hosted by Good Homes Magazine. The Venue, the absolutely amazing Shiro, a lounge bar in Delhi that I have been dying to visit for the longest time.  

It was an amazing experience to meet like minded Bloggers like Bhavana Bhatnagar of An Indian Summer and Rajee Sood of Rajee Sood Home, and finally being able to put a face to the amazing women behind these fabulous blogs. It was also tremendous meeting several other bloggers like PracheeGrover, Priti Singh, Lakshmi Arvind, Aarti Sarin Jain and Misha.  I found it so inspiring hearing their stories and loved the chance to be able to interact and exchange ideas over a scrumptious lunch.

Kudos to Good Homes Magazine- Ronita, editor and chief, as well as her amazing team of Simrat, Vineeta and Dipti for organizing the meet! A big thanks, also to Nupur for taking care of us so well.

The cutest felt birdies act as place cards. My little green birdie sits proudly on my fridge.

Great food....

And drink

The entire gang

[All images courtesy Priti Singh of doDecals.com]