Match Made in a Patisserie!

When pieces of the same puzzle come together, they make a complete picture..Sula vineyards has been on a roll gathering these pieces and has demonstrated the most amazing pairing of their signature wines with the place serving the best desserts in the whole of Mumbai, known more popularly as La Folie! 

Today, La folie and Sula vineyards organized a private event called  Diwine, comprising of 5 different desserts coupled with 5 different types of wines. 

Out of all, I would give a double thumps up to the pairing of the Sula Chenin blanc reserve, the latest addition in the Sula kitty, effortlessly complemented with the opera delice pastry, comprising of raspberry, pistachio and mascarpone cheese along with the financier, an almond and pistachio glutton-free cake.

La folie is absolutely top notch when it comes to putting together flavors and textures.! But the collusion of the wines with their desserts just set the theme for an eventful soirée! This match is certainly for keeps..!

GET ON THIS RIDE!

What is it that you look forward to after a rough day at work?  Well, for me its yummy food and this evening (Sep 25, 2013) I got lucky by being invited to Mumbai's most unique ride!

This was no dated drive around the trafficked city but a unique concept of journeying through four different restaurants and having a separate course of food and wine at each of these venues organised by Sula Wines. This ride was by invitation only but whispers tell me it may soon get more accessible!

So our journey began at my most favorite resto bar of the city Cafe Zoe, where Sovna Puri of Sula wines, gave us an insight into food and wine pairing, by highlighting that wine pairing is more like an amalgamation of individual flavors on your palette to create a distinct third flavor.  We paired the Sula Brut with some cheesy fattening risotto balls and an awesome plum, apple dip specially prepared for the wine riders !!  

Next up was Busaba, (don't miss the heart warming lace hanging lights), where we were welcomed with some lovely Sula Sauvignon Blanc coupled with a hot indonesian salad dressed with peanuts for vegetarians and maki rolls for non-veg eaters. This experimental pairing, proved its mettle on our palettes and left us as excited to dig into our main course.

The mains were divided into two destinations, first of which was at Spaghetti Kitchen, where the pairing comprised of spinach cannelloni and the very aromatic Sula Riesling. One of the rather interesting conversations on the table was how wine lovers come up various names to associate the smell of wine. For instance, a wine being called woody or paper like seemed amateurish as we had some interesting associations spoken, such as asparagus and even petrol!

As the say, save the best for the last, we arrived at our final destination, Sula's very own, Vinoteca, where we completed our meal with a supremely yummy dish which has a rather complex name but in simple words is flavorful baked aubergine. Normally, I would avoid ordering a dish with just aubergine in it but I am so glad I tried this because it was the one time the whole pairing concept fell in its exact place for me. The bursts of tomato and cheese with eggplant just brought out such a twist on my palette, when it was served with the Sula Rasa, the first red wine of the ride! 

After all of this yummy food..when I started visualizing my cozy bedding..we were presented miniature versions of the chocolate mousse with dessert wine.! I had to push my sweet dreams a little further because this was truly the icing on the cake of the whole wine ride!

By this end of this wonderful gourmet experience, I certainly learnt a lot more about wines, such as their pairing, storage, aging, etc.. and of course the thumb rule, 'see, swirl, sniff and sip' from the wonderful hosts at Sula, Sovna Puri and Neha Poojara!

But this evening was more enjoyable as we I met different people sharing the same curiosity and passion for food and wine ! It was a pleasant change to have an evening with people other than friends, family and colleagues. A Thumps Up to Sula for introducing this amazing concept and bringing in newer ways to entertainment!

10 rules for survival in Mumbai

Rule 1: Get ready to see more debits than credits in your bank account

Rule 2: City officials care a lot for your health. Thus, roads are inspired by acupuncture so that your car is well maintained

Rule 3: Get used to promises that are made in the morning and forgotten by evening due to a traffic jam

Rule 4: Vegetables and fruits can cost more than some of the shares on the stock exchange

Rule 5: Learn about marketing and strategies from our politicians and newspapers

Rule 6: Every dry day is celebrated on its eve

Rule 7: Festivals will be celebrated on the streets, so that all those who are not concerned/bothered don't feel left out

Rule 8: Rains are the real test, if you survive them, you will definitely win Takeshi's Castle

Rule 9: Be ready to contribute generously for the social welfare of bollywood.

Rule 10: Last but not the least, make sure you keep taking yoga or spiritual classes regularly, in order to maintain love, compassion and patience, towards yourself, throughout the day (especially, if you drive)!

Saa Re Gaa Maa!!

Music is such a stress reliever.. It gets you completely charged, positive and pepped about yourself and your emotions.. hadn't it been for some musician's bathroom singing, we wouldn't have a song for heart break, falling in love and just drunken dancing.!

You know the most popular songs are the ones that praise your sexiness, beauty and happiness..any idea why that is.. well may be because a lot of people are not very expressive about these things..or may be because they are the most relevant feelings one deals with all the time.. Whatever is the reason, I truly rely upon music therapy for a lot of things. To give you an example, when I would need to wake up really early for exam revision, I would tune into some really fast punjabi bhangra to wake me up and get my head shaking to some energy..!

Similarly, when I need to get myself to vent, I often listen to sad songs and saturate myself soo much till I am bored with it and eventually want to break out and listen to a happy song or do something else rather than feel sad.. Conversely, to pep oneself up before starting a Monday or a meeting its heart warming to hear some feel good music, such as Coke studio or safri duo or  some music centric song, for it helps you focus on the different sounds..and your work consequently.

Try it and tell me if this works for you too..until then because its this hour of the night and I have had lovely evening, lets give it up for Flo Rider...you spin my head!

A broken-heart’s lullaby

To love is a brave decision. We all have been induced with a heart that pumps blood into all the parts of our body and keeps it in function. Without the heart, we cannot survive. We humans are designed to fall in love with everything that makes us smile, lends us happiness. But how many of us are designed to make people smile and grant them the happiness that we are always hunting for? 
Does the concept of unconditional love exist? Or we all just reciprocate in amounts that we deem fit?

It’s a real hard question! Think about it, would you ask the same girl out every day until she said yes?
Would you wait a lifetime for the guy who refused to be with you?

Honestly, with so many options and temptations around, it may be rare to resist but are we agreeing that most of our generation is getting depleted of belief and patience that their love will return or re-surface?

Honestly, what is at stake? Is it the fear of being alone in such a crazy world, where once you get busy all you crave for is some lone time! Or is it the feeling of having someone around to hang out with you and do everything that you’d ever want? Or is it filling in that vacuum of doing and receiving happiness and the habit of having a person around all the time?

Well, we are humans, not machines, where if one part fails, it gets replaced and the machine restarts.
We deserve more credit than that. Thus, rebound relationships, just moving on because it is scary to be alone or because you feel you will miss out on all the fun couples have might be shady! For it is only going to make you a person with less heart and value for your own relationships and feelings!

It takes courage and might to live with a vacuum and still be a loving person but the pride it brings to your life can be beyond all measures because in your heart you know your being faithful to your love and your decision and the end of the day all of us dig for such people to be in our lives. 

PARADIGM SHIFT

India is the land of emotions. One cannot oversee the dominance of festivals, family functions, daily customs/religious affairs and the numerous drama that surrounds our lives. But the most stark and in your face emotion that every girl grows up with or well used to grow up (discounting the current western culture obsessed generation) with is the presence of romance and love!!

It sounds super filmy and unreal now but it is a fact as I know of many girls whose lives actually are surrounded by their love or lover! Its is mushy, sweet and well ideal to fall in love but the scary part is how far will you go and at what cost to get your love?

What I am building upon is that if for some reason one cannot be with the guy/girl of their choice and one actually ends up with another person can one find happiness? Should one keep sulking or live in a fantasy about how it could have been or should one move on and be with the second contender?

Why is that relationships are such a big deal in life, when one has such plenty of other mediums to nourish their minds into? For instance, ones profession, hobby, friends, food, destinations, health, home and if your still efficient and have time on hand, give back to society by social work.! I do understand that a special relationship keeps you going and sees you through all the lows and highs but hey your the one who called it special and you have the right to re christen it!

Cut the drama out..relationships are at times over rated. One adjusts so well with their parents and siblings that we are born with, we don't question their presence and decide that I want to look out for a change, then why should it be different for a companion?

Then of course the question is when do u stop looking out, when do you settle in for what you have? Answer is when you decide to get in to a relation. Do all your research, indecisive thinking, boons and banes analysis before you  get in it. But once you commit yourself to it, make it work!! ..Quitting is not brave, changing is..Besides, when relationships are kept at par with other things in our lives, they get tamed and are well-behaved :p

Go green with love

The most real things in life don't need to be expressed in any other way. They just exist and people feel their presence. You don't need to justify their need or their use. They are by themselves their identity. If you abuse them, they're gone/depleted, take natural resources for instance. 

Recognize these precious and irreplaceable factors in your lives. If they get run out, you'll be left with something less, something superficial and makedo.

It is an act of bravery at most times to stand up against the abuse of diminishing resources, we campaign in many ways and endorse their advantages but at most times we're just so engulfed by their ever being that we don't even realise when they've left you only with memories and stories..