Lunch with Masterchef Kunal Kapoor at Diya, The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon

I was happy and excited to have received an invite to meet the celebrity Chef, Kunal Kapoor. It was not only an opportunity to meet a Masterchef but also to savour the dishes he had churned out especially for us.

Diya, is a fine dine Indian cuisine restaurant at Leela Kimpinski and offers a soul soothing ambience. The décor was stylish in an understated tone. Natural lights from wall-to-wall high windows complimented the lights from beautiful hanging lamps. The relaxing sound of water from fountain at the center of restaurant had a calming effect.

Start Preparing Your Favorite Indian Dishes

Veg Platter

Do you live in a household full of Indian food fanatics? If you do, you’ve probably noticed that Indian food can get a little pricy, when you eat out at Indian restaurants all the time. That’s why you should cook your family delicious Indian dinners at home! Doing so may seem a little intimidating at first. You may be afraid that you could never cook dishes that tasted as authentic as the ones you can order in your favorite Indian restaurant. But with the right easy dinner recipes and mindset, you can definitely cook your family the delicious Indian grub they long for. Here are five easy steps that will help you start cooking authentic tasting Indian meals for yourself and your loved ones:

Best Restaurants in North Delhi and West Delhi

I have been a resident of North Delhi since birth. As I can recall during my school and college days (am talking mid to late 90s…am not that old!), there were few good restaurants one could go to. Many would remember good old 'Nirulas' on Bunglow street in Kamla Nagar or 'Invitation' in Ashok Vihar or 'Richie Rich' near Shalimar Bagh maybe. As the economic prosperity set in over decade of 2000, and Pitam Pura and Rohini took shape, a whole lot of good eating joints have mushroomed and made name for themselves in the North and West Delhi. 

La Cabana - A new restobar in Gurgaon launched

Village style Hookah Lounge

We were invited to the launch of a new restobar, 'La Cabana' in sector 29 Gurgaon. With four main sections - a complete open sitting for over 200 guests, 2 small covered seating for love-birds or small group in the lawn, Hookah section done in a Village Nautanki style in a semi-covered place, followed by a normal lounge experience, this place has something to offer to all tastes.

Best Restaurants in Gurgaon

Much has changed since I shifted to Gurgaon over five years ago. The high rises have multiplied, Offices are much swankier, Roads are much crowded and there is no dearth of good eating out places. Earlier, a good restaurant would have taken us on the roads to Delhi. Not anymore. Nor does anyone want to travel great distance for a routine meal, but that shouldn't be the reason to deprive us of a good outing.

Since on an average I receive couple of queries daily on the places to go for a particular cuisine, I have compiled my suggestions which should come handy for the readers.

Cooking tips for Indian Homes

Some time ago we organised a contest on our facebook page for members to share their household tips. The response was very encouraging. We were left with a treasure of ideas not easily available but only passed from one generation to another, and hence are sharing the same with all of you to use and appreciate. The name of members contributing the tips is mentioned before the tips.

Read, use and save. Cheers!

Charu Varmani Madan

1.             If bread is too dry to make good sandwiches, just hold it over steam of a pan of boiling water for a few seconds.

KFC's spicy Zinger Burger Vs Mcdonald's McSpicy Chicken Burger

KFC Spicy Zinger Chicken Burger

 

Life can become so complicated on simple things, especially if one has to compare two legends. McDonalds and KFC have both launched their spicy variant of burgers and we checked them out to give our verdict as to which one is better.

Since it was a difficult decision, we compared both the outlets on few metrics with equal weightage for each metric.

The first point goes to KFC. We have never been welcomed

The Chicken quality and filling of crisp lettuce in McDonald burger was much better, hence McDonald scores here. 

I have never been served a burger at McDonald which was prepared over 15min. As far as I know, burgers prepared over 15 minutes ago are discarded and not served to the customer. But the burger that was served to us at KFC, Sec-63, Noida outlet was stale. McDonald is now coming up with MFY (Made For You) stores where the burgers would be delivered fresh and the new technology will ensure its advantage of a QSR (Quick Service Restaurant). At KFC, the outer layer of the chicken was dry and had become chewy. Same happened to the inner chicken patty which wasn’t moist and tender as it is supposed to be. We discussed this with the floor manager, Arvind, who tried to evade our observation but still agreed to change the burger. The next burger came after 5 minutes, and the minute I had a bite, my earlier views were confirmed. Hence McDonald scores here again.

Wine Basics - Beginners Guide

The times are changing and so are the drinking habits in India. With different phases in life we start with dark rum mostly Old Monk in school or college, graduate to beer, than vodka and later whiskey in our early working life followed by Scotch. As we reach further in the hierarchy we want to learn more about Golf and Wine, and most of our early knowledge of wine comes from watching movies or the Page-3 pictures and celebrities holding a glass of wine. So here is the basics of wine which will be an interesting read for people keen to learn about wine.