The Ancient Barbeque food review!

Gurgaon is a small city. There are only few food havens which you can remember in a jiffy.

There is cyber hub, sector 29, golf course road and galleria market. If anyone was to open a restaurant in gurgaon then these would be the safest bets. But not for this chain, after testing waters in Noida in sector 63 and still doing really well with its unique concept limited to few competitors in the market. TAB has created a brand with its second outlet in sector 50, gurgaon. Yes, Sohna road is the next big destination in gurgaon and TAB was smart to spot that.



The place is on the third floor of Goodearth city center. It is a fine dine restaurant which is contemporary and it is based on the concept of live grill and buffet. The place also has an open seating on the terrace and can easily accomodate 150-200 people in total. After having been to Barbeque nation and Pirates of Grill, I had great expectations from this new entrant. I Believe the place is managed by couple of chef’s who have a great amount of experience in the food industry and hence this was an evening I was really looking forward to.

The first thing that strikes is the huge airy bright interiors. Filled up with energy, it has stylish and comfortable furniture with huge projector screen to showcase sports events.

The moment we stepped into the restaurant,we were warmly greeted by the staff and they ensured that we were comfortably seated. The service is prompt and the table top tandoor was laid with supply of starters in vegetarian and non vegetarian. We were spoilt for choice so we asked to taste everything. The salad counter along with soups had excellent variety of options and were a great start.

The buffet had an option for complimentary drink so we ordered the Virgin Mojito and Masala Cola.They have mouth-watering starters in their menu like Kolhapuri Tiranga Murg Tikka, Konkani Jhinga Fry, Jalandhari Seekh Kebab and Punjabi Tangri, Galouti Kebab. They also had variety of dips and flavors to add to the taste. The starters stuffed us so much that we took time out before heading for the main course. The Paneer Multani and Sufiana aLoo were great, the kashmiri pulao and dal makhani was excellent.The main course was something that could not be missed. We hear they change the menu every other day and so there is always something new on offer. I would suggest that you visit here without having any lunch in order to enjoy the whole palate.

To complete your dining experience they have a great desert menu which comprises of moong dal halwas,cheese cakes to different types of kheer and shahi tukda.

All in all, you exit completely satisfied and it’s a great place to visit with your family and friends or even celebrate a special occasion with it’s pocket friendly pricing and special packages.

A must visit!

Fatburger Cyber hub review

Fat burger, the name says it all. I was curious to find out if this was the fattest burger i was going to have in india . I had read on timescity about this new joint in cyberhub. After doing some googling, i figured that they are a popular chain based in California, USA.

My foodie side made me rush to the place right away with a friend.I was greeted by courteous staff that took us to our table. I browsed through the menu and found a wide
variety of burgers, veg and also non veg from lamb to chicken to beef and lot of siders and choice of sauces.
A compact list of apetisers from chili fries to spicy chicken wings, and loads of pasta and pizzas galore.
I loved the poppers and the chilli, but what made us drool were their World Famous Wings – soft chicken dipped in your choice of sauce, including our favourite chipotle.
In case you are watching your calories, there are wraps and salads on offer as well.

Drinks menu was limited as they have recently opened and awaiting liquor license.
The interiors were well done and gave an american feel to the place. The open kitchen was neat and full of staff ready to make your fresh fat burger and serve it to you in a flash.
I started with chilli cheese fries and a portion of chicken wings.I was delighted to see that the chicken wings i had, was something close to what I had tasted during my college time in the US, and that was a welcome thing.


Then we ordered our choice of burger and i tried the grilled chicken burger which was a welcome change from the other chains that dont offer ample stuffing inside it. Burgers are served with fries and coleslaw salad on the side.
This one was nice and juicy in taste and had bacon, mayo,lettuce, tomato, and extra choice of fillings like eggs,double cheese and all.
The burger isn’t huge as i had imagined so it is a good idea if u add a patty to the burger. Pricing is also very reasonable compared to competition.
After Enjoying the food and stuffing ourselves , we decided that we would also try a brownie with ice cream as it looked really tempting and since it was a new restaurant, it was apt to have something sweet in the end.
So the desert was icing on the cake and i recommend to all.If you must visit Fatburger, go for their perfectly cooked tenderloin burgers and milkshakes.
Overall, a welcome new addition.

Are you shopping discounts online?

This diwali season its raining discounts for the buyers. Online is the new buzzword for shopping and it’s very easy to compare and find out which website has better discounts on your favourite products. Sitting in Gurgaon, my father ordered his favorite Chirag din shirts from Jabong.com, yes the online fever is catching across people of all age groups. My teenager cousin does not prefer going to malls for shopping, he rather go on a date with his girl friend and eat at the mall but for shopping he prefers flipkart. whether to buy his next mobile phone or to read a new book. The advantages are plenty. You get to read the customer reviews, compare prices and get details on all the features. They also give a 30 day replacement guarantee.

With online retailers such as Flipkart and Amazon seen cornering a chunk of the expected growth in India’s overall modern retailing, industry insiders say a lot of retailers are nervous.

Select City walk, Delhi is revamping it’s food court by replacing non-branded outlets with branded food sellers like Saravana Bhavan and some international cuisine specialists. “Very few people come to malls only for shopping. They come to us for the whole experience. That is why we have always believed in making the whole experience attractive,” said Arjun Sharma, director at Select Citywalk. A lot of clothing stores are postponing their expansion plans due to leading online retail sites gaining a larger share. A gurgaon resident says “I rather buy two tops at a discounted rate online than go to a branded store which has no discounts running and low on variety.”
Here is a major advantage compared to a brick and mortar store which has less storage and less options.

Delhi NCR people spend most of their income on food and shopping. For food, people regularly choose where they are going to eat or ordering for home delivery on websites such as zomato, timescity and foodpanda, which offer discounts from their own pockets to add to the customers delight.

A customer says, “We go on foodpanda and order for our office parties as they give huge discounts on bulk orders”. Gone are the days when people preferred to order food at home directly from the restaurant, when you have sites like these, you rather get a better deal. Groupon, Timesdeal and what not are doing good business due to their great deals on entertainment, travel and healthcare. “We even get a lot of people booking hotel’s with us” says a Groupon executive. The customer research says that as soon as a customer hears the word discount, his eyes pop up. And that fact can’t be ignored. So if you are a new restaurant you have got to be on these sites for creating footfall and then later when you are doing good, you can go slow with the heavy discounting and offer something on bulk orders or to get repeat customers.

It’s not an easy time even for home delivery outlets in gurgaon, says Paul, owner of Grill & Wok in DLF 3, “we now spend huge chunk of our marketing budget online. If we don’t have a banner on zomato for a few weeks, the calls keep dropping. These sites are creating a monopoly and if you are not on them, you feel left out.As it is, its a highly competitive market here.” As they say in food business, you gotta be on your toes if you want to be in business.

India’s internet user base is expected to grow to over 400 million in the next five years, according to a recent report by consultancy firm Technopak. The size of the Indian e-tailing market at present is $2 billion, and is expected to reach anywhere between $19 billion and $38 billion by the end of this decade, the Technopak report added.

The consumer era has just begun and if trends are to be believed, India has already surpassed the US and other developed nations in shopping online and it’s set to grow much faster now.

Mosaic review -Country Inn & Suites Udyog Vihar

Country Inn & Suites is ideally located near the IGI airport. Just after the toll on NH8 Gurgaon opposite Ambience Mall. As a business traveler, it is the perfect location. Also, there are tons of corporate offices located in cyber city and Udyog Vihar who could use the hotel for the stay of their clients/guests from outside Delhi.
I was greeted at the hotel, by Mr. Jayesh Borkar who showed me around the place. The lobby is very open and friendly, it serves as a flexible space with a reception area, relaxing seating and great atmosphere. The furniture design is contemporary with regional connotations.

The rooms are spacious and light in color which creates the perception of a larger space having an intimate environment. The design is very close to the US model, and adds a big differentiating factor if compared to other hotels. There are 104 appointed rooms and suites of various categories. Complimentary breakfast at Mosaic and complimentary internet access is a great addition to the package.

Also packed with a 24 hr in room dining you couldn’t have asked for more luxury. The swimming pool is just perfect and a great place to relax yourself. The fitness area includes a gym with a personal trainer who takes personal sessions from Stretching to weight sessions.

I also had a personal yoga session with Mr. Dalbir which was a great start to the morning for me. The hotel has banquet halls which can acommodate upto 500 guests and also a business centre. The spa is under construction and will add to the luxury quotient of the hotel. There is the lobby bar where you can enjoy your cocktail/mocktail or coffee/tea and have a chat with your partner/friends. We stayed at one of the suites and it was huge. It had a living area with sofa and study desk and the bedroom was nice and huge.

We also visited the Global cuisine restaurant- Mosaic, during my great stay at the Country Inn & Suites, I had the opportunity to taste the chef (Mr. Qureshi’s) special Non Veg Assorted Kebab platter which included Malai tikka, Chicken Seekh kebab that was freshly made, including Schezwan chicken. The dinner buffet was lavish and included Assorted salad table including soups, Greek Salad, spiced chicken salad, Lemon Garlic fish and Thai veg Mango Salad among others. The Steamed fish and Chicken wings was also something I relished as they were different in style and taste. Chicken wings had a sweet flavour to it. The dinner buffet had global cuisine including Indian, continental and chinese cuisine and was great value for money. We stuffed ourselves and then headed to the desert section which included chocolate cake, caramel pudding, vanilla cake and ice creams among others.

They also have a lunch buffet which is priced at Rs. 425 + taxes which includes salads and soups and which is a must try.
I also had the opportunity to have breakfast. The breakfast consisted of south Indian, Indian cuisine. Their were separate live counters for your choice of egg preparation and dosa preparation. English breakfast was also available. The Masala Dosa was stuffed and layered with potato and was different in taste, the Masala Omlette was just perfect in taste and we were delighted with the service provided to us by the staff. They were right there when you needed them and took great care. A special mention for Sumit who took good care of our table. The hospitality was great and we would be coming here again and again for being pampered the way we were.
A great place to enjoy your time out from the hustling city and relax yourself.

Messi Magic in World Cup 2014!

Sheer brilliance is one thing, but sheer brilliance taking you on to do something as mammoth as win a World Cup — now that's something else altogether. No one in their right minds will ever say Messi's over-rated. If someone does, that man is an idiot. You can say that about Neymar, Ronaldo (the ass, not the legend), etc etc. But Messi? No way.

But Messi has a greater shadow to outrun. That of the original badass, Maradona. The skills of both are unparalleled, the strain on Messi's career is already a lot more extreme. But Maradona had the ability to take the team all the way — and when all else failed, Maradona would drag the ball alone from one end of the field to the other — and score! Today is Messi's greatest challenge. Today, he is the only thing standing between an all-European final in a Latin American country. Argentina started off strong, but with Messi himself not netting the ball since the Group matches, the momentum is crashing. They've have barely managed to scrape through since the Swiss, if the ball hadn't ricochet of the feet of Kompany then Argentina would have been seeing penalties against Belgium too. Yes, they're defence is slightly better than Brazil, but the two teams have the same issues. If Messi doesn't rise to the occasion today, then a clinical Netherlands will dominate. Today is Messi's day...rather, today needs to be Messi's day. Yes, the whole team needs to play, but Messi needs to rise today. This is the last WC were Messi will more or less be playing in his absolute prime. And this WC is at home, more or less. This WC needs to be his salvation and secure his place up there with Gods of the game — like Beckenbauer, Pele, Zidane, and of course, Maradona. 0130, here comes Messi!

Heropanti!

Ever since his movie was about to hit the theatres, there has been a buzz in social media about Tiger shroff. And why not, son on the stylish actor 'Jackie Shroff', all eyes were on Tiger's debut movie. With his clean shaven looks and face cut & lean body similar to Bruce Lee, he was the butt of jokes on social media.

Tiger known to be a fan of superheroes like Spider-Man. Bruce Lee, being his inspiration to learn martial arts. With all the hype surrounding the movie, it garnered a great opening response and opened to packed houses. The movie, a remake of the Telugu film 'Parugu' had all the right ingredients to make it a big hit. There is something about South Indian hit movies, and Bollywood directors are also following the trend as it is something that is setting the cash registers ringing.
Prabhu Deva has made three films in Hindi and all of them have been remakes. Two of his films, Wanted (remake of Telugu film Pokiri) and Rowdy Rathore (remake of Telugu film Vikramarkudu) had names like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Director Sabbir Khan also doesn't disappoint and makes a full paisa vasool commercial potboiler with ear-pleasing music, eye-filling locales and of course, the crackling chemistry of the lead pair.

About the movie, Tiger moves out of his comfort zone and does a role which he wouldn't relate to. The movie is full of action stunts and dramatic scenes. The movie is set in a village where Tiger and his friends are held captive by the girl's father, who elopes with her lover from a different caste. The story focus is on honour killing but it takes a different twist altogether. The sensitive angle about a father daughter relationship is focused and it gives an emotional angle to the story. The role of the father played by Prakash Raj,a seasoned actor, is justified and done well. Kriti Sanon, the heroine impresses in her debut movie.
The film's climax is a bit influenced by the all time hit movie "DDLJ" but it justifies the ending being all emotional and high intense drama. All in all, a great launch pad to showcase the acting prowess of the debut actors.

The Truth about South Campus!

Now that the boards result is not even a week away and the career choice has to be made extremely soon, every student has their full devotion to entrance exams and college admissions. The top most universities like IIT, Delhi University are most talked about. Students often take career counseling from elders and senior students that they know to seek advice regarding the same. They are often told that if they plan on getting into Delhi University, their only option is North Campus. Students are often told that North Campus colleges should be their top most priority.

North Campus, a brand name for students who have just got out of school and are waiting for their results desperately. Students are often brought up with the mindset that if they don't get into a good college in North Campus, they have absolutely no bright future left. It is very much true that the North campus colleges like Hansraj and St. Stephens are extremely extraordinary with regard to its academics or co curricular activities. But unfortunately due to the lack of unawareness, students do not know about the life and opportunities that the South Campus offers to them.

Firstly, all the students need to break their boundaries and accept the fact that it is not the end of their life if they do not get into North Campus colleges. Since the students focus on getting only into North campus, they do not realise what all they are missing by skipping the option of South campus. Unfortunately, in the data’s which are collected by researchers to analyse the better campus, the survey is mostly done on students who belong to the north campus or pass outs of the same. The south campus is undermined due to lack of knowledge about its opportunities. Colleges like Lady Shree Ram, Gargi, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and many more are among the most reputed ones which belong to the South Campus. These colleges are among the top 10 colleges in Delhi University.

Then why is it that the students are devastated when they don't get the percentage to get into colleges like Hindu, or Miranda? Why do they not consider the option of going into the South Campus? Why is it that the elders and fellow mates consider South campus a disgrace if any student gets into it? Initially people are reluctant when they get their admission into south campus, but why can't they have the joy of joining it and be as proud as they would have been had they gotten into any college in the north?

South Campus, in the eyes of the Delhi University has equal reputation as that of the North Campus. The life, the atmosphere, the crowd, everything about it is as fascinating as the other colleges or campuses. So to start with, south campus colleges offer the same courses as the others and the lectures provided are up to the mark. The numbers of tests, internal assessment, are equal to the ones that are conducted in the north campus colleges. The dramatics society of Lady Shree Ram college is one of the popular 'DramSoc' in the Delhi University which has brought glories back to their college. The dance society of Bhagat Singh came second in the dance competition held in Banglore, so why aren't they recognised?

It will only happen when the other top colleges will stop undermining the South Campus. Life here in the south is just so refreshing. You get to meet so many tourists as the major tourist spots like Dilli Haat, Hauz Khas Fort are in the south itself. You have places like the Select City Mall, and GK blocks nearby to roam around and have fun when you bunk colleges. Did you know on Thursdays, the rate of the tickets for movies in Select City mall is not more than Rs. 125? And in DLF, it’s Rs. 125 from Tuesday to Thursday? Thanks to the college authorities, the autos don't charge more than 10 rupees per person for any destination in and around the college area. Of course only the south campus students do their research work because even they get broke by going to these porch places. Defence colony, new friends colony are the coolest hangout spots. But the day everyone goes broke, Lajpat amd Sarojini Nagar are our saviours (the best part, they never go out of fashion). We have our 'thekas' from which we get our 'sasti' alcohol from. Even we students have our own 'chacha' who makes absolutely delicious maggie that's one of our last resorts when we have starving after a 3 hour long lecture.

We have as much fun as the other kids in other colleges do. I can say it by experience. We have friends, we bunk together, we study together, we stay over at PG's just to get that feel of the A/C when its the 'beat the heat' saturation point of our days, we have our own fun in the metro rides, our own share of auto rides fun. Break out from the myth that South Campus is a curse. It's the place where the deserving come too. It's the place which transformed my life upside down and has made it much more fun than I could have ever imagined.