Lessons from Noah's Ark... with a Pink tadka..

I was just going through Noah's Ark story and came across a very unique interpretation of the things we learn from it. I was really fascinated and decided to share it with you guys, of course with my interpretations too ;p

Lessons from Noah's Ark...

My interpretation and take on the lessons in brackets.
One: Don't miss the boat. (obviously all other means of transport too ;p, Respect time.. )
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. (equality matters, don't underestimate anybody.)
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. (do plan ahead, but don't live in the future)
Four: Stay fit - When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. (someone might ask you to do anything big anytime)
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. (listen to the critics and just polish your act but don't let everything bother you.)
Six: Build your future on high ground. (aim for the moon, you will land in stars, aim for the stars and you will land on the ground)
Seven: For safety  sake, travel in pairs. (no wonder God made us in pairs.)
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. (Don't underestimate anybody, Speed differs for everyone)
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. (Rejuvenate, Relax, Refresh- 3R's)
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. (Passion is the real mission, just love what you do, its all that matters.)
Eleven: No matter the storm, there's always a rainbow waiting. (if there is no storm, what's the value of a rainbow)
Twelve: You may want to leave the woodpeckers off of the ark. (stay away from unwanted elements in any form)
 

 

 

Wasn't that good ?

 

and now Outfit of the day-- there's still a little chill in the air-- so here goes --

 

This is what I wore for a brunch with friends over a casual professional meet.

 I swear by tees with jackets in winters, so comfortable, chic and warm. :)

 

 

 

I love this Tee and I Love Quirky prints.

 

Jacket - Max

Quirky tee- Fashion street

Denims- Benetton

Wedges- inc5

Bag- Bangkok- Platinum mall

Watch- Fast track

Ring - Pink pvssy

Neck piece- Vero Moda.

 

xoxo

Bhakti

 

Wagentine forever..

Along with all other lovely invitations sitting pretty in my inbox for this valentine, there was this  special one, and I decided that instance that my valentine this year is going to be that extra special.
So here I was all excited and dressed up for my Valentine eve celebrations. I reached my venue all with anticipation and enthusiasm.
Here I got a first glimpse of my valentines, they looked so cute, all on their four paws and little wagging tails , licking me lovingly.
So much warmth and unconditional love- all thanks to Blue cross, PALs and Prani project. For organizing this Dog walk on valentines eve- Wagentine.
The walk was organized in protest for poisoning of stray dogs and to spread the message of stray dog adoption and sterilization.
Killing stray dogs is not only inhuman but of no use, it doesn't stop breeding of new dogs, infact killing stray dogs invites problem that you may have never thought about, like new dogs from neighboring areas take the territories, dog fights, bites increase due to it.
sterilization is the solution for growing number of stray dogs and other problems arising out of this.
For assistance in sterilization of dogs in your area, one can call- 9689928688 / 9552607173 / 9373321134 / 9226108504 (Pune)

Adopt stray puppies, dogs, you will give them a home and love that they deserve
pros for the same-
you don't have to buy them.
they are low maintenance than the pedigree ones.
they are more loving and smarter than the pedigree ones.
They are better guard dogs than most of the pedigree breeds.
All the above are facts which are proved.
Buildings should adopt atleast one stray dog to complement the security as well as give them home.
(I have adopted two stray dogs and they have filled our life with love in every possible way, I can vouch for it.)

She is Naughty-- extremely possessive, loving, loyal and ferocious, I forgot to mention pampered brat.

This handsome dude is Blacky- street smart, ferocious, enthusiastic, very loving.

Tell me can their be a better valentine, than helping these cute ones, who shower us with their unconditional love.

The walk was organized from Alka talkies to FC college

for a cause

My wagentine

I request you all to please do your bit for the cause in whatever way you can.

You can get more information over here -

Blue Cross Pune

PALs - Pune Animal Lovers

Prani Project

Give a home to these loving creatures and see the way they make your life magical.

xoxo

Bhakti

Adlabs Imagica - Magical or Miragical

Today Adlabs Imagica doesn't need an introduction due to its fame and name (good or bad). Still, I would like to introduce Adlabs Imagica an international standard Theme park located amidst the Mubai - Pune express way at Khopoli. Owned and operated by Adlabs Entertainment Limited - AEL.

Its a beautifully designed Theme park on the module of international ones, divided in different zones, each zone having its star attraction ride. The castles, the surrounding, restaurants serving you different cuisines according to the zones, beautiful landscaping.

The star attractions being (not to be missed, in the same order)
Rajasaurus ride
Nitro roller coaster
scream machine
deep space
Gold rush express
Bump it Boats
Dare Drop
Alibaba aur challis chor
Salimgarh
Wrath of the Gods.
 You can avail more information about these rides over here

The food though slightly on the higher side is yummy, I especially look forward to visiting Red Bonnet Diner
True diner experience, the food is awesome and the portions huge, the smileys, the chicken burger,, oh to die for.. they complete the whole theme park experience.

Its a perfect picnic one can have for an entire day, at the price of Rs 1500 pp, (weekday)for entrance only(all rides included). One takes an entire day to finish all rides and explore this place.

Do visit their attractive Website to know more.

They claim and pride themselves with being -India's First and Only International Standard Theme Park, Where Stories Come Alive! Come Experience it! (that's what their tagline is)

Have they proved it?
Is it real magic or is it a mirage a trick ?
Does beautiful architecture, really good rides and well designed theme park suffice the criteria of being on International standards ? Do these things really complete the experience?
My answer is a big NO.
According to me service, relationship with your guests and giving them a beautiful experience, is what makes it magical. I think Imagica fails miserably on service. It is so not consistent. After being a regular visitor, thinking of things to be one off, I have come up with this review, and refuse to visit Imagica again.
Mistake happens once not every time , a mistake repeated becomes a habit. I guess Imagica is habituated with bad service and customer relationship.
After visiting Imagica thrice, I still have not been successful in trying the Rajasaurus ride which is the main attraction. The last two times we had called specifically to ask whether it was working that day, with an assurance of it being in perfect condition but to our disappointment on all 3 occasions it was shut. A big disappointment. Every time at least one or the other main rides I have mentioned was not in working condition. This last time, (yesterday) us group of friends hired the Imagica chauffer driven ac car, so that we could lazily bask in the entire day without any worries. Again to our big disappointment, this was our biggest mistake. Two Taveras arrive, the cars were far from being ac. They dint have window handles, the door couldn't be opened from inside, the driver was really rash, there was no diesel in the car. The driver didn't have any money and we had to pay for the toll. The car broke down and we had to push it. All this with females in the car. When we escalated the matter and got this to the notice of the concerned people at Imagica, we did not receive the assistance required. We had called the cabs at 10 am and entered Imagica at 2 pm from Pune. The officer in charge refused bluntly to escalate the matter to his superiors. To top it all, the vendor called us way past night and started arguing with us that why had we complained to Imagica and Imagica had notified him that we had lodged a complaint against him. We were promised that a so and so senior official will be calling us, indeed, you guessed it right, the promise was never fulfilled. The wait is still not over and we haven't received any call. I doubt whether this officer was really informed also.Adlabs being such a big brand, such a big name, is this the service one should expect. I don't think they need to be taught in customer relationship, then why this lapse, isn't this sheer negligence ?
My questions remain or should I say they are answered already..
International standards... are these now ?
Magic, is it really ?

Am I going there again.... That I think requires real magic now.. huh

A sad management of a property that can be really very huge and magical.

A mis management of valuable resources, I hope the higher authorities are listening.

A failure of a Potential Indian Universal or Disney world.

Adlabs- a brand, a name with fame, does it match the service being offered ?

xoxo
Bhakti


 

Magnum ice creams - The marvel - Masterclass with Chef Kunal Kapoor

Magnum ice creams don't need an introduction. The word Magnum itself stirs in sweet sinful images of complete deliciousness wrapped on a stick. Magnum is a British/Dutch Uniliver company and one of the worlds leading premiere brand of ice creams. Find out about more about Magnum.
Magnum Ice cream was a true valentine gift to Puneites launched on 13th Feb 2014 special, lovable and awesome.

3 flavors launched all for Rs 85 each

I received my invitation for the Magnum master class and was excited and waiting for the D-day to arrive, I joined my gang of FoodaddaIndia on the 13th eve after what seemed like ages to me at Oakwood Bistro. One cant help but be overly excited for Magnum Ice creams and that too with Master chef Kunal Kapoor.

The event was perfectly managed and organized. Further made extra ordinary by none other than Master chef Kunal Kapoor.
The Master chef fascinated one and all with his expertise on Belgian chocolates, introduced everyone to Magnum Ice creams while making us smile cheek to cheek with his awesome sense of humor and within no time of the event starting, most of us knew that this one is going to be a roaring success. The magical evening proceeded with the Chef interacting with the crowd about fresh creamy ice cream, Belgian chocolates and the amalgamation which is called Magnum Ice cream.
We were made to have different samples of chocolates to experience the phenomena which is the drool worthy Belgium chocolate. Yes! Magnum Ice cream is coated with this elixir of love - Belgium chocolate to the maximum, so having it is a true pleasure (mmmmmm). No wonder Magnum believes in ' a day without pleasure is a day lost' and pleasure certainly it is.

The evening carried on with us devouring the mesmerizing Magnum, out of the three flavors launched - Classic, chocolate truffle and Almond, I chose chocolate truffle, and enjoyed the fat bar of Belgium dark chocolate along with Choco ice-cream within it. Lost in my Magnum world relishing my ice cream, hardly did I know that the gastronomical journey has just started.

A chocolate lovers dream come true- one can just go mmm with every bite and keep craving for more.

Right from the first bite you take and the sound of the crunch of the chocolate beneath your teeth

and fresh creamy ice cream engulfing you is just pure unadulterated sin for the taste buds.

Chef Kunal Kapoor whipped up a yummy, delectable and enticing -Magnum Sundae in minutes. As if this by any chance was less alluring every table was free to chose the ingredients of their own choice and make their very own Sundae with Magnum bars. This activity was so much fun and at the end there were so many different versions of sundaes, each one having one prime thing- Magnum ice cream :)

Magnum Sundae by Chef Kunal Kapoor.. it looks amazingly delicious



the ingredients we chose

Our Magnum Sundae with Farzana and Charvi

The chef called it mythological inspiration - the ice cream as an incarnation with dark chocolate sauce as

darkness, where as the white chocolate sauce showing enlightenment, we laughed our lungs out.

He is too jovial, we all had a ball.

The event was a block buster, the entire credit resting with yummy Magnum Ice cream and enthralling and very charming Master chef Kunal Kapoor.

The evening came to an end, but foodies that we are the night continued with long conversations over delectable refreshments and last but not the least, there were yummy goody bags from Magnum waiting to be taken home.

The goody bag

The launch of Magnum ice cream was nothing short of perfection. It was one spectacular event, so the invitations also had to be nothing less than perfection. The invite with a bar of Premium Belgium chocolate.

the cute pen drive in the shape of Magnum candy

chocolate dessert

I loved the goody bag.

Jar of pleasure ;p

Magnum Master class with Kunal Kapoor sure took Pune by storm, an event which will be remembered for long and an ice cream which is etched in our heart now on forever.

Photo credit -Mohammad M

Cheers to Magnum and to Master chef Kunal Kapoor

On that note this is me signing off ..

until we meet again

xoxo

Bhakti

A laid back evening at Cara Cafe

Great fun, food and laughter in the heart of Viman Nagar Pune. The newly opened Cara Café in Viman Nagar is all this and more. As soon as you sight this café it pulls you in. That's exactly what happened with me and my friend when we were passing by. No sooner than we entered the café we felt at home, the ambience of the café has a soothing laidback vibe to it. It has this European/Italian feel to it. Menu written on the blackboard, plush couches, huge cushions, informal and catchy, good music playing in the background, loads of paintings and colors, a map on the ceiling, soothing lights, board games, yummy food. The café definitely rejuvenates and relaxes you over the wafting aroma of yummy food and beverages. They even have varied games to keep you busy and have a good time.
They have an indoor as well as outdoor seating, and one can just sit here for hours. They provide free Wi-Fi as well for those who would like to have a coffee in between meetings, or catch on with their work alone with a strong cup of coffee or a chilled iced tea.
Cara manages to draw in crowd from all age groups thanks to their eye for detail and something for everyone uniqueness.
Cara serves Italian and Mexican cuisine, its a veg café but believe me, you wont be disappointed as they serve some real cool stuff.

We had entered just for a coffee on a whim, so full after our heavy lunch, still we couldn't help but order ourselves iced tea and a farm fresh pizza after drooling over their menu.
We relished our pizza with our drinks for a long time over a game of Uno and loads of girly banter.
I tried raspberry iced tea which was very refreshing and flavorful. It was a right combination of raspberry with the smooth tinge of tea tickling the taste buds. The farm house pizza was freshly prepared thin based, loaded with cheese and veggies--- yummmm.
The service is warm and pleasant.
The owner is friendly and warm, he chatted up with us and personally asked us, how was the service and gladly told us that they are coming up with more entries on the menu.
I cant wait to go back to Cara to try their new menu and bask in the goodness and warmth of this café. I can sit here alone too for hours. One can just unwind after a busy day here.
 I think a perfect café is not only that perfect cuppa of your favorite coffee but the right ingredients and ambience to relax and socialize. Cara café hits the nail bang on.
Whether with your girlies, for a meeting, to read a book alone, with your love or a big group of friends or family Cara Café is a must go on my list of cafes.



I love the telephone booth tables

map on the ceiling

reminds me of Friends (sitcom) café

I am wearing

top - Bangkok Platinum Mall

Denims- Levis

Bag - Dubai

Neckpiece - Splash

Bracelet - Vero Moda

Footwear- Foot ins

Pink Verdict for Cara Café

Food- 4/5
Service - 4/5
Ambience- 4.2/5
Value for Money- 4/5

A must visit :)

P.S - If you would like us to visit your property to review and write about it, we would be happy to do so (restaurants, travel, hotels)

xoxo
Bhakti

I love to watch reruns of my favorite serials. So Saturday evening we were watching Go India Maharashtra series, Kolhapur episode lying lazily on the couch. As we immersed our selves in the land of Kolhapur, we were drawn to the yummy Kolhapur cuisine that followed, the rassas and the non veg fry. By the end of it we could actually taste the food on our tongue, the torture the taste buds were giving us. I got on zomato immediately and started searching for restaurants serving pandhra rassa  near our home and out popped the name - Rassa Roadies and thus that was our dinner destination.

Located in Kalyani Nagar, this is a small restaurant just opposite Marrakesh. This restaurant serves all the delicacies from all over Maharashtra as well as the prominent Rassas in the Maharashtrian cuisine. As we entered we were greeted by waiters dressed as Mavlas. The whole setting is Maharashtrian. The walls are painted with Marathi characters. There is soft Marathi music going in the background, the aroma of the yummy rassas and Marathi cuisine engulfs you as soon as you enter. We were shown to our table by the manager on the upper level, which was a bit more cozy than the ground level. We placed our order promptly, they have thalis. I ordered for a Saoji chicken thali where as hubby dearest went in for a Kolhapuri Thali. Each thali consists of one dry preparation, one curry preparation, pandhra rassa, tambda rassa, egg burji, 2 chapatis/ bhakris, thecha, biryani/dal khichdi/plain rice and Jaljeera to wash it all down.
The variety is awesome and anybody would think its going to be too much to finish, but in reality, the thali is not unlimited, they charge you for everything you need extra and believe you me a person with a normal appetite especially guys will need extra as the quantity served is not much.
Let's start with food, between me and my hubby the Saoji thali I ordered was a clear winner. The chicken fry was really nice and full of flavor and aroma. The chicken was cooked well and tender. The curry I got in the thali was aromatic, full of spices and really nice though the chicken in this was not cooked too well. The pandhra and tambda rassa both were laden with goodness, yummy though lacked in complete authenticity. The Burji was rightly done, not too juicy, nor too dry but very less quantity and cold. Chapatis were not soft. The thali consisted of around 3 - 4 small pieces of chicken which is a little inadequate. The Jaljeera was soothing and refreshing as it washed down all the food.
Now let's have a look at the Kolhapuri thali, here the curry lacked complete authenticity and not too good on taste, chicken fry was good though again not 100 percent authentic.
The overall food was tasty, aromatic and rightly spiced, not too bland neither too spicy.
The service was prompt, waiters stood at a distance and kept an eye on what the customers might need. The manager himself was helpful and warm. The food was served well, the presentation though simple was bang on.
Coming to the pricing, the chicken thalis are priced at 245-255 INR, which according to me doesn't do justice.
Well to sum it all we had a good dinner to satisfy our hungry taste buds. We really enjoyed the Marathi music and food, we were actually transferred to the era of Marathi Mavlas with the whole setting and everything, our experience would have been 100 percent if  it wouldn't have lacked on quantity and authenticity.
We had a great time though, its a really good concept. A Saturday night well spent .

chicken kolhapuri Thali

Chicken Saoji Thali

Would I visit them again.

Why not ? Who knows? But again  If you want to eat authentic maharashtrian non veg cuisine without any frills, I will head to the nearby Kaveri (RS 170 unlimited chicken thali), if I want to gorge on Kolhapuri pandhra and tambda rassa, Purepur Kolhapur (RS 220 unlimited chicken thali)will satiate all cravings.
My verdict.

Food - 3/5
Service - 4.5/5
Ambience - 3/5
Value for money - 2.5/5

Do you guys know any authentic Kolhapuri food restaurants, do let us know, we will be glad to visit and fill stomachs :)

P.S - If you would like us to visit your property to review and write about it, we would be happy to do so (restaurants, travel, hotels)

xoxo
Bhakti