Staycations

Staycations

The Tree Of Life Resort & Spa – Luxury Edition

August 25, 2017

The Tree Of Life Resort & Spa defining the art of luxury in Jaipur! If you’re from Delhi or live in the North, then you must have visited Jaipur at least once in life. Just like any other 2-tiered city in India, Jaipur too can be termed as a well established city with ample tourist attractions to explore around. Although Jaipur has many accommodation facilities available for tourists and travellers alike, one can find it challenging to find a stay that’s away from the city noise pollution and offers serene views of Rajasthan as well. A few kilometres out of the city centre, is an establishment that offers luxury, privacy, beautiful views and an excellent hospitality experience round the clock! The Tree Of Life Resort & Spa, Jaipur offers personalised experiences with strong elements of luxury to each of its guests. The main attraction of this property is its expansive private villas, with a personal lawn/pool/spa zone and amenities that have been crafted just to make you feel refreshed and relaxed at all times. The Tree Of Life Resort & Spa Jaipur consists of 13 uber luxury villas set in 7 acres of land. Each villa has been designed with a minimum of 2500 sp. ft. of private area. The architecture of each villa has been designed so as to offer complete privacy to the guests, in terms of a spacious surrounding complex, no noise pollution and no vicinity contact with any other villa of the property. The interior structure of the villas are spacious and have been decorated with attention to detail. Well amalgamated colour palette, with ample space to sit, watch tv, dine and a separate bedroom with attached double bathroom is what defines the well thought complex architecture of each villa. The interior décor is a blend of …

Staycations

Mango Festival at Pullman Aerocity

June 27, 2017

PLUCK-ed freshly from the season’s greatest regional farms and brought to the palette in a 4-course meal, the Mango Festival by Pullman Aerocity Delhi has turned out to be a big hit among mango-lovers and fine-diners alike. PLUCK, being the Modern Eurpean and Contemporary fine-diner offers a variety of delicacies prepared fresh from their garden produce. Beating the heat of Delhi summers and celebrating the ‘King of Fruits’ in its full glory, PLUCK is giving an experience that one cannot simply deny. Other than the regular basic delicacy elements that Mango is used for in the kitchens, the team lead by Chef Ashish, has mastered the art of presenting ‘the king of summer fruits’ in ways you can’t even imagine! Here’s a glimpse of what their specially curated menu has to offer : Assorted breads accompanied by a dish of assorted butter was something I have never experienced before. While me and my food-loving writer friends munched on the breads, we were asked for our drinks preference as the bartender was more than delighted to serve us some instantly mixed concoctions. Speaking about myself, I am quite picky when it comes to adding fruity elements to my food courses. Being skeptical about the sweetness and strong flavour of a Mango, I was under an impression that a 4 course meal might turn out to be too much of mango on my taste buds. But I was proven wrong as such amazingly crafted delicacies were presented to me. A state-of-the-art presentation anted up the culinary experience and I can vouch for the fact that it’ll continue to be a big hit amongst family and food-loving diners of Delhi NCR. The festival is still on if you wish on experiencing the variant flavours of a Mango and should I suggest visiting it …

Staycations

SONY MDR XB950B1 WIRELESS HEADSET

June 5, 2017

When Beyonce asks you to put the BASS on, you obey her! The B-Queen knows what magic Bass note is capable of doing to any given song of any given genre. It’s like bringing the beats to life. SONY as a brand, being in the music industry for decades, surely knows the importance of this noise and that understanding has let to the production of one sheer piece of gadget indulgence – SONY MDR XB950B1 WIRELESS STEREO HEADSET WITH EXTRA BASS! Yep, you heard it right. The headset is not only bluetooth enabled ‘wireless’, but it comes with a button for an extra pumped up dose of Bass. Now it’s hard to explain in words the huge impact bass makes to a song, but if I have to still scribble a line, then i’ll say it’s like letting EMINEM rap (Extra Bass) in a Beatles song. That’s the brilliance of the bass effect. Speaking about the SONY MDR XB950B1 EXTRA BASS STEREO HEADSET, then I can say that I’ve finally found a gadget that gives me pure musical experience with easy handling and application features, surround sound effect (makes you feel like you’re listening to music live in concert), cuts down on the external noise and boosts the amplification of musical beats to their full potential; with ease. I vouch for the fact that the design of this headset is definitely a magnet in the crowd, because I have seen many heads turn towards this black beauty, while I walk past the herd, lost in the music. The matt black colour of this headset is a big hit among men, but turns out that it equally pleases the girl parade as well! Enhanced Battery life of SONY MDR XB950B1 is an added bonus for travellers like me, who prefer listening to …

Staycations

Go BIGO Live And Earn Money

May 31, 2017

We all are aware of the ongoing ‘LIVE’ streaming trend that’s catching up with almost everyone who is on the digital social front. While Facebook and Instagram offers seamless streaming experience for viewers and an easy-to-operate going LIVE option for those who entitle towards being a part of this digital trend. As must as the idea is enticing, all the efforts that go behind going live goes waste as soon as you go offline. Of course, it gives you leverage in terms of digital presence, being notified about to your friend list and also gaining you some followers if you opt going live from your business page. But what about earning anything out of it? NADA! BIGO LIVE is a mobile-broadcasting app available for both Android and iOS users, letting users live-stream and watch real-time performances, interactions and podcasts by broadcasters anytime of the day. BIGO LIVE, through real-time interaction and video streaming, allows users to live broadcast their talent and connect with their fans and other talented broadcasters as well as follow interesting broadcasters. The company recently announced the introduction of VLOG, a Video recording feature on its app at the India meet-up in Delhi. BIGO LIVE boasts of over 100 mn registered users globally. So if you’ve got a unique talent that needs to be heard about, then BIGO Live is the platform for you. BIGO Live not only provides a platform for people to showcase their talent, but if one is good at it, BIGO also offers paid module so that the artists can earn while showcasing their talent as well. This great initiative to monetise real-time video broadcasting makes it possible for people across India and Asia, to share their talent from any small town to bigger cities of the zone. Talking on his maiden visit …

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TGIFridays Introduces Super Food Menu

May 17, 2017

Eating healthy has become more of a culture rather than being a simple trend to adapt healthier ways of eating. Restaurants, parlours and cafeterias are adapting the culture, evolving their menus to be more low-carb than being smitten with a layer of grease to make it look yummier and taste absolutely impeccable. TGIFridays has been a name in the the restaurant industry for decades. A franchise adaption of the American food giant, TGIFridays has always been associated with beer & bites kind of an invention that dates back to the year of 1965. Carrying forward the journey of decades, TGIFridays have times and now introduced food items on the menu depending on the liking of their loyal customers and also keeping the current food trends in the frame to deliver what the world is eating currently. Connecting these two dots, TGIFridays have just launched their healthy menu that caters to the cravings of food lovers, with balanced intake of carbs and details about the dietician approved ingredients used in the making of these unique dishes. The menu is called ‘Super Food Menu’ and is currently on its limited timeline, inviting food lovers to try out from their array of meat cut platters, salad and a lip-smacking yet healthy dessert option. “Instead of regular boring salad to stay healthy, our Super Food menu is packed with delicious items like Wasabi Miso Glazed Chicken, Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, Cranberry and Blueberry Couscous and kale. The concept of Super Foods is that each ingredient is packed with an abnormal amount of vitamins, nutrients and minerals which put you in best shape of your life!” says Rohan Jetley, CEO and Owner, TGI Fridays India. I visited TGIFridays Noida to try out the ‘Healthy Foods’ menu along with their signature JD dressed meats and …

Staycations

Jom Jom Malay Delhi

April 19, 2017

Saturated your taste buds trying the same Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Korean cuisines in Delhi? How about trying out the flavours of Malaysia now?! Yep, Delhi now has its very own authentic Malaysian restaurant, serving the finest Southern Asia platters. Set amidst the re-launched Ansal Plaza, the restaurant has been done with beautiful Malaysian style decors and artefacts. So while you dine overlooking the space, the vibrant decor scheme keeps the ambience happy and entertaining for everyone alike. Jom Jom Malay means ‘come on let’s (try) this Malay’, which as per me is a very intriguingly articulated name for a one of its kind dining experience! Speaking about the food, the menu is exhaustive with detailed Malaysian dishes that have been well researched on. The ingredients being put to use are sourced from the best resources and the preparation is done from scratch to preserve the authenticity of flavours. So no imported canned pastes and other shallow ingredients at all, which definitely reflects on the finished product as what they serve is absolutely fresh in terms of quality. Satay lovers can rejoice over a generous serving of Chicken, Mutton and Fish satay that is garnished with grounded peanut and is served with Malay sauce and curry. The satays are grilled to perfection, preserving the juices of the meat while offering a crunchy outer layer for added texture. I absolutely loved having the Chicken satay with the peanut paste. Definitely a great way to start your Malaysian journey at Jom Jom Malay. One definite dish that everyone looks forward to trying from the menu is the ‘Murtabak’. They cater to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian style of this stuffed pancake dish which comes with the Malay Curry for added juicy flavours. It’s quite a filling dish in itself, so you can share …

Staycations

Breakfast At Spice IT IBIS Mumbai Airport

April 12, 2017

A healthy breakfast is the holy grail of starting your day. And if you’re a business person, living out of a suitcase, then having the right breakfast becomes quite a challenge. Understanding the needs of people on the go, Spice It by IBIS Mumbai ensures a breakfast spread the caters to the taste and needs of every person, individually. Being an economical hotel, IBIS Mumbai probably serves one of the best Buffet Breakfast spreads in the city. Like I had mentioned in my review of IBIS Mumbai Airport Hotel, the hotel is located right next to the Mumbai Airport, hence being an ideal location for travellers to accommodate at. Knowing the airport rush and the requirement of the travellers, Spice It operates 24/7, offering the buffet breakfast from 6:30AM onwards and it goes on till 10:30AM standard timings. The menu is a mix of ‘ready-to-eat’ and ‘on-order’ preparations. The most busy station is the ‘Great Indian Breakfast’ station serving fresh Parathas and omelettes based on the liking of each customer. The service is quick and the parathas taste absolutely delicious! From the southern region of India, the buffet also consists of Masala Dosa, Uttapam and Idli Sambar combos. I tried of their Masala Dosa and Idli Sambar combos and both preserved the authentic flavours and richness of the region they belong to. The buffet also consists of an array of morning drinks that cater to health conscious people and coffee & chai lovers. I absolutely adored their Masala Chai counter where most of the foreign tourists lingered around, getting a taste of the Indian milk tea in earthen cups. IBIS Mumbai Airport serves a massive table of desserts that consists of donuts, muffins, on-order waffled and pancakes. The preparation of each dessert spot-on and the sweetness perfect to give you that …

Staycations

Nowruz Celebrations at Zarin by Fairmont Jaipur

March 21, 2017

It’s always a pleasure being back at Fairmont Jaipur. That ‘Royalty State Of Mind’ experience is something I always look forward to on my travel times. The month of March is the time for celebrations as Gulf countries and Parsi community celebrates ‘Nowruz’, the Persian New Year. Celebrating the occasion in an Indo-Persian-Parsi style, Fairmont Jaipur recently invited me and a couple of other food influences to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Zarin, India’s only Indo-Persian restaurant. Candlelit restaurant, intricately painted ceilings, chandeliers, rainy winds gushing through the corridors and a set menu offering the finest of the Persian dishes being prepared by Chef Deepak Gurung & Chef Rehman was what we witnessed on the eve of Nowruz. The ‘Forgotten Recipes of Persia’ food festival will go on till 1st of April, offering finest of the fine Persian and Parsi recipes at Zarin. Also, in accordance is the celebration of Zarin’s 2nd anniversary since its launch in March 2015. Considering the feedbacks that they’ve received from their elite customers over the course of time, Chefs have introduced a menu for Zarin that consists of an array of Vegetarian dishes in the fresh carte du jour. The amalgamation between Indo-Persion style of cooking, techniques and usage of herbs is what resonates throughout the menu of Zarin. Let me take you on a pictorial journey of what I tried at Zarin from their newly launched menu. Table condiments Ajika, Hummus, Parsi coconut green chutney, Parsi tomato chutney with House Salad (Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots and olives served with house dressing) & Persian breads. Soup Soup – E – Joe – Slowly cooked barley soup with Persian spices. The soup was quite refreshing, light and mildly infused with herbs keeping the freshness of the vegetables intact. For non-vegetarian counterpart, the menu also had Harira …

Staycations

Sula Fest With Gionee S6s Smartphone Review

March 14, 2017

Music fests are all about music, good wine, great company and a greater technology to capture the moments for life. And that’s exactly what I had aimed to do on my trip to attend the Sula Fest at Nashik couple of weeks back. And to keep up with the definition of natural light + spot lights that the arena experienced throughout the course of 3 consecutive days, I put to test Gionee S6s smartphone. I took this phone on testing for my entire Mumbai 2017 trip, took photos everywhere, in every kind of light possible, with as much zoom possible and I can let the photographs do the talking for you. Now before I go on sharing my experience on its camera quality, interface usage, processing and battery life, let me first introduce you to the specifications of Gionee S6s smartphone. Gionee S6s consists of a 5.5 inch IPS In-Cell display with HD resolution. Runs on 1.3Ghz MediaTek 6753 octa-core processor with 3GB RAM. The smartphone has an inbuilt storage of 32GB and is expandable using microSD card as well. THE LOOK Sleek, lightweight and smart is my definition of describing its look. It comes in two shades of colours, Latte Gold and Mocha Gold. The one that I reviewed was Mocha Gold. I liked the metallic sheen finish of its back cover with the front dipped in matt mocha and black. The sleekness of this phone makes it more portable with easy grip handling experience. Amidst all the crowd and chaos, not even once did I lose the grip of it. THE INTERFACE Quite easy to use with some great inbuilt apps that come in handy upon usage, I found it easy to operate and customise it for my need. The phone comes with in-built basic social media apps like …

Staycations

Bangkok City Life

March 7, 2017

The first two impressions that you get about Bangkok is shopping and a gateway to the exotic beaches. As much as it stands true that Bangkok is a hub for dirt cheap shopping experience and a central city to reach out the coastal stretches, it is much more than what meets the imagination! While the itineraries were being planned with my fellow bloggers regarding this trip, a lot of discussions were made regarding cities we will tap and the amount of time we’ll dedicate towards each one of it. Having being under an impression that Bangkok is yet another metro city with malls, fine dines and set first city grandeur, I considered it to be similar to the city experience we have here in India. And abiding by the Thailand Travel tour culture, I was more keen on visiting an exotic coastal line rather *waste* my time staying in a traffic-jammed city like Bangkok. I am not going to lie about the traffic that turns the city red all throughout the day, but exploring Bangkok and its culture is an intriguing experience that I didn’t expect to have at all. My stay in Bangkok was settled for 3.5 days with a strong guess that I’ll soon get bored of staying in the city and missing on all the exotic fun that Thailand offers otherwise. But was I wrong, or was I wrong?! After experiencing a glimpse of Bangkok, I can say that even a week’s time in Bangkok is less to experience what the city is all about. Right from the century old historic lanes of The Grand Palace area to the modern architectural marvels of Pathum Wan and Ratchathewi districts, the city is an amalgamation of the old and the new. Culture Like any metro city, Bangkok too comes with a batch …