The Ant Blog

We visited Jamjar Diner's on the first Sunday of August, also known as the Friendships day, well whatever it is called we just need a reason to meet our friends. Due to it's increasing popularity the place was packed with guests that day. But we didnt budge either, since we had zeroed in on the location beforehand. We chose to wait our turn for about 20 minutes.  There happened to be about a small area in the bar section next to the big black telephone.  We ordered our craft beer of Gateway Brewery whilst we waited. I ordered for a White Zen while my partner went with a Doppelganger . He is already a huge fan of their beer. The drink was very refreshing, and I absolutely adored mine.  White Zen of Gateway Brewery at Jamjar Doppelganger of Gateway Brewery at Jamjar There was a huge turn up on that day,as it was a weekend. Friends and a lot of families were having a good time, while we were counting the minutes. Finally we got a place to sit up...

Weekends can be exciting for many reasons. For us, one happy thought (apart from sleeping till late) is to plan our lazy brunches with friends somewhere, or cooking up a delicious meal at home. The entire weekend sets rolling with all of this. So on one such rainy weekend, we thought of giving the online site  GourmetItUp   a try for the first time. They had a lovely set meal option at Oh:Cha Restaurant and bar. This place had opened a  few months ago, and we were planning to visit it ever since we had got some raving reviews. Located inside Mathurdas Mills compound, this place is almost hidden from sight. But as you walk in, the place turns around. The decor is understated, with beautiful hanging lamps all over the ceiling. Having reached there I realized that the place is run by an old friend. Tanai Shirali has been in the industry for several years now and I was happy to meet him after ages. I am a sucker for Thai food, and the GourmetItUp set menu was interest...

I recollect this evening with a lot of fondness. The Monsoon season has kicked in , and the showers are typically incessant in Mumbai. On this particular day however the rains were intermittent. We had driven down to South Mumbai to the one end of the city at the  NCPA for an evening performance. The show got over at 9:15 pm and left us with a myriad choices to catch a grub from. After debating for a while, we drove to one of the closest eat-outs The Tea Centre. I had heard of this place a lot, so was happy to pay a visit. The place has an old world charm, and has the look and feel of an era gone by. The name of the place  reciprocates in their menu, where the first few pages are dedicated to various kinds of flavors and blends available. It was late and the diners were all having their dinner. So we thought of trying our ' chai ' at the end of the meal. We ordered for our starters, Chicken with sauteed mushroom and onion , and Chicken Catchatori.       ...

Episode 4:  Deleted Pasts, Tim Howard Saves and Christ the Savior: History Lessons in Salvador Watching the Belgium vs USA match in Salvador was a slightly awkward experience. More than two thirds of the stadium was there to cheer for a Soccer team, while everybody else was watching a football match. It was a foregone conclusion that the “Football” team or Équipe de football, to be precise, would beat the “Soccer” one. But for a short while it seemed that there was nothing that Tim Howard, the brave American goalkeeper, could not save. (as illustrated in the adjoining image) Exhilaration at watching your last world cup football match in Brasil paired with a strange sense of unease that neither team playing deserves a place beyond the round, for various reasons. In retrospect that could sum up the entire Salvador experience. Something exhilaratingly beautiful and incredibly exotic, that you  wouldn't  trade for anything else, paired with that itch in the g...