Explorer of Experiences

Size Matters It is news when in a real estate-crunched city like Pune you have a restaurant that’s bagged a space that spans 15,000 sq ft. It is rare still to walk into a restaurant that is that big; a restaurant with an indoor section, a huge outdoor dining area and even an amphitheatre. Without an intention to compare, when you walk in, Classic Rock feels like High Spirits v 2.0, mature and mammoth-sized. Its sprawling premises promises to easily harbor about 1500 revelers. And where they score over lots of restaurants is their parking lot that can accommodate almost 200 vehicles. Obviously, their manning is huge with 80 people on the payroll. Cocktails & Coffee At Classic Rock, they take both their coffee and cocktails very seriously. Let’s talk Arabica first. They source their coffee beans from Kerala and even have a glistening silver roasting machine on site. Beans are roasted and grinded, so you’re guaranteed a freshly brewed Cappuccino (Rs 140). If you’re int...

This is a picture of the Bhaktapur Darbar Square from my trip to Nepal in April 2012. Exactly three years ago. I was lucky to have visited this beautiful country and to have been witness to Kathmandu's wealth in terms of culture and heritage. As we speak, these centuries-old structures have been wiped out. The earthquake that so many feared for so many years hit Kathmandu on 25th April 2015. The death toll has been steadily on the rise and stands at 4,400 ( according to CNN ) and has left 8 million affected. As an economy which heavily depends on tourism, I want to encourage you to continue to maintain Nepal on your travel bucket list. Below, I recount some faded memories from my 2012 trip where I spent an overwhelmingly amazing trip touring Kathmandu and Pokhara.  I never anticipated Kathmandu to be the tourist-haven it is. We went shopping in Thamel, a thriving tourist hotspot, sipping on hot coffee along the way. April is peak season, so we found Kathmandu to be flocked...

My review of Flambos Brewpub was published on Burrp! today. Here's the link to it:  http://www.burrp.com/pune/know/review-flambos-64479 For the benefit of our lazy web-surfers, I paste the review below so you don't have to go anywhere else. In a city known for its budding microbrewery culture and pub food, we find out how  Flambos  fares. A popular hangout point housing some of Pune's best restaurants and lounges, the Metropole commercial complex adjacent to Inox Cinema was once brimming with flavour. This is not the case any longer. Over the years, some restaurants have downed their shutters and the only surviving outlets are  Flag's  and  Flambos . We decided to pay this old haunt a visit on a Sunday afternoon, and walked into   Flambos   to be greeted by Flambos' beer chillers at the entrance. Its interiors are warm with bricked walls and wooden flooring and furnishing. The ambiance is lifted by substantial natural lighting during ...

Don't you wish you could go back in time just to truly appreciate where you were and what you were doing with your time then? I ponder about this sometimes. I spent two years in Melbourne. That city was a treat food-wise. I tried so many new things, experienced so many new flavours! Narrow lanes used to be dotted with little quaint cafes and the fruit and vegetable market lined with food carts, and it used to be but a pleasure to walk by, trying these treats on a free day.  Chinatown in Melbourne (image courtesy: www.victoria.aussietrueblue.com) But of course every major city has to have its very own Chinatown, Melbourne included. We had a community kitchen in the lodge we stayed at. Every night after classes, the group of Chinese girls and guys used to collectively cook in the kitchen - sharing their sauces and veggies, and thereafter eating together. Laughter from the kitchen echoed into the halls and I used to envy the sense of togetherness they experienced over food!...