PATTERN IN CHAOS: March 2016

As a child I have grown up on Enid Blyton books.
Winnie-the-Pooh is my favourite cartoon character.
London is my favourite city in the world!
So when I hear British Brewing Company (BBC), in Palladium, Mumbai, I am all ready to try it out. Not a bad idea to get a slice of Britain in Mumbai. Is it?

Sprawled over 7000 sq ft and two-floor levels, it is a gorgeous space forged from wood, glass and wrought-iron. It has large windows bringing in diffused sunshine, a central bar with 14 beer taps, gleeful wall art drenched in British humour and some colours fused in to add cheer to the place. It does make me feel that I am right in the heart of Mayfair!

Head chef Russell D'souza was trained in central London for a good stretch of time to master the flavours of British food. Friends and I are all geared up for exploring this asset.

We start off with Cigar Rolls (stuffed with cottage and Gouda cheese) and a whole lot of mocktails. My recommendations would be Cranberry Mist, Golden Apple Martini, Peach Kiss, Kokam Fizz, the highlight being Gola with Alcohol. Burgers, Chick Pea Burger for vegetarian me and Nasty Burger (double meat patty) for my friends is polished off in minutes. The Roast Chicken (baked in a special combi oven) and golden, battered Fish n Chips served with an array of beer lives up to the authentic British flavour.

A mirthful meal is complete only after sumptuous dessert. My selects from the in-house dessert choices are the Sticky Pudding and Toffee Caramel Sauce, traditional Apple Charlotte (my personal favourite) and the Hot Chocolate Fondant.

British Brewing Company (BBC) at 4th floor, Palladium, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel ticks a few boxes: Thematic ambience, Good food (classical British as well as multi cuisine), Great playlist and an Eclectic bar with a wide range of beer and innovative cocktails. If you like fun, food and drinks, BBC is a treat to explore. If you are like me and London is your favourite place in the world then it's a must do! Now that saves quite a bit of airfare, doesn't it? Just kidding!

Photograph credits of BBC interiors: Sebastian Zachariah www.phxindia.in

It is the opening week of Grandmama's Cafe at Kamala Mill Compound. I arrive at lunchtime at the charming snowflake-white exterior, done up in shades of teal and turquoise. A suspended bicycle, a dapper cool vintage SUV parked at the entrance, quaint picket fences and flowerpots get me ready for the experience. I am expecting a charming and quiet eating affair.

Once past the main door, I am into this vibrant space smelling of steaming food and bustling with people (not something one would expect at the introductory week). The music is refreshing, pop and easy listening. The staff is smiling and multi-tasking. I am ushered in and am seated near an arched window with a wooden table and vanilla white chairs, from where I get a nice view of the entire restaurant.

The decor is classic vintage and aptly named Grandmama's Cafe, with a silken, cosy touch. The eatery is carefully overseen by the young owners Simar and Abhayraj Kohli, who keep an eye on every detail, which probably is the recipe to the cafe bursting at its seams, with eager tasters, in the opening week.

The menu is designed with chirpy humour. I like the look of the pricing and promptly dig into multi-cuisine choices.

Crispy Classic Bruschetta with Belgian Chocolate Brownie Shake is a lip-smacking start. Followed by Small Plate portions ( I like the small portion idea as I could try varied options) of Mac&Cheese, Pesto Basilica, crispy Barbeque Paneer Pizza and Grandmama's Chicken Wings, which my friend devoured. My favourite was the cheese-filled Mac&Cheese and I enjoyed the fun way all food was served.

The eating experience was gleefully completed with picks from the desert counter. Soft Tiramisu, crunchy Apple Pie, gooey Brownie and warm Cafe Latte (the latte even had a lovely creamy heart on it!) were all worth the sugar rush that left me with a satisfied, fuzzy feeling.

Delighted, merry, joyful and content were the words that rattled in my mind as I left the place planning to revisit soon with more friends (who like my eat-experience reviews) and of course, family too.

Jodhpur is popularly called the Blue City, primarily because of the thousands of blue cube-like houses, built within the network of narrow labyrinth-like roads, around the mighty Mehrangarh Fort. It is also nicknamed Sun City since the city enjoys a bright sunny weather throughout the year. Jodhpur has its own airport and is well connected by railways and roadways. This city with a striking personality flaunts of having been the shooting locations of loads of Hollywood and Bollywood films.

* Mehrangarh Fort, a forerunner amongst places of must visit, is enclosed by thick imposing walls, built about 400ft above the city level allowing a full view of the Blue City. This has stood the test of battle times and never let the enemy break trough its fortification. The imprints of cannon ball attacks by the Jaipur army can still be seen on the walls of the second gate. The museum within the fort has an abundantly stocked display of heritage exhibits of the royal Rathore clan. It has a sprawled store to buy souvenirs and works of art from. Just as the fort has stories of strength to narrate, it also has a strong lineage of culture which is well manifested with craft bazaars and musicians performing folk music within the fort walls.

*Ghanta Ghar, known as the clock tower, built by Maharaja Sardar Singh, is the city's prominent landmark and a bustling marketplace. A walk down this street is a great opportunity to inhale the diverse culture of the Marwar region. Great snacks and especially delicious Lassi at Mishrilal is the highlight of combing through this area. To my delight, while walking through these lanes, I found an aquatic wonder in the form of a zigzagged stepwell. Though I knew that there was so much more to explore, I could not resist the temptation of stopping by at the Stepwell Cafe and admiring this wonder of patterned architecture!

*Brahmapuri, the blue district of Jodhpur, was my next visit. Walking through its busy lanes is a great way to grasp the daily life of the city's inhabitants. Another bit of luck while traversing this part, at the edge of sunset time, was a beautiful rear view of the Mehrangarh fort reflecting itself on a still water body. This was truly a stunning moment of this trip.

As I sipped my lassi and dug into the steaming aloo-parathas at the rooftop restaurant of my hotel (Rani Mahal, a 200-year-old heritage residence of a royal minister, converted into a boutique hotel), I rewound the memories of this rewarding trip in my mind. Though there were a couple of travel attractions, like Umaid Bhawan Palace and Jaswant Thada, that I could not make time to visit, there was never a blue moment during my journey through this city of indigo hue. Jodhpur has been voted to the list of Lonely Planet's extraordinary places of visit in 2013 and I can unabashedly add my vote too.

The hands of the ticking clock can be a challenge to reckon with when you are in a city like Jaipur which is superabundant in tourism delights. Even though it was just an evening in Jaipur, I was determined to grab some images to share the essence of the city with you. I would start off with my favourite view of the city from atop Nahargarh Fort, shot during the blue hour, just after sunset.

Jaipur dubbed as the pink city, is India's first planned city, built in the 18th century by Sawai Jai Singh. This picturesque city, with its splendid forts and palaces, belongs to the Indian tourism's 'Golden Triangle' along with Delhi and Agra. Jaipur is well connected through its airport, as well as railways and roadways.

With super short time in hand, we decided to drive past the narrow lanes, fringed with colourful shopping, densely populated with a varied cross section of people, and of course, loads of tourists.

Our first stop was the pink sandstone Hawa Mahal standing at the edge of the City Palace. This was built with high, pyramidical screens so that the royal women could enjoy the street festivals while unseen from the outside. The social Purdah system translated into an architectural splendour of a 5 storeyed-facade, which is lined with latticed windows to doctor the warm breeze into cool air and give the area a natural air conditioning effect. This unique structure is a fusion of Rajput Hindu architecture and Mughal Islamic architecture.

This history-soaked city boasts of 3 forts, the Amber fort, Jaigarh fort and Nahargarh fort that formed the defence ring for the city. Our Innova sped up the zigzagged Aravali hills to reach us to the top of Nahargarh fort, overlooking the Pink City, before sunset.

The Nahargarh Fort houses the striking Madhavendra Palace. It constitutes of nine chambers for nine queens, a king's chamber, and is built in a beautiful combination of an Indian and European style of architecture. Not forgetting the ethos of the ethnic heritage of the Rajput society the walls of the chambers are handpainted in beautiful traditional motifs. The experience of Nahargarh fort is heightened with its eating joint 'Once Upon a Time' which has a breathtaking view and royal service.

It was a glorious sunset befitting the land of kings! We could not help but wait till the last streaks of sunlight were erased from the sky and the city lit up in its night-light extravaganza. We headed back to the hotel but not without stopping for a glimpse of the gorgeously arresting Jal Mahal (Water Palace) shimmering in the dark waters of the Man Sagar Lake.

Jaipur has the glory of history and regal inheritance trumpeting from every nook and corner. An evening in this city was truly magical but like the trailer of a classic movie. I have promised myself that sometime in the future, I will visit this city of bygone antiquity and then not look at the calendar or my watch.

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