Top 10 Picks from Awards Season 2014

1.  Sri Devi at IIFA 2014                          

                         

Sri Devi looked absolutely stunning in this Oscar De La Renta gown, with natural make up, hair in an updo and very minimalist jewelry. Everything about this look works wonders for her. The neckline of the gown also accentuates her beautiful collar bones. 

2. Priyanka Chopra at IIFA 2014.

Priyanka Chopra wore a pale pink Monique Lhuillier gown at the IIFA awards 2014. She completed her look with dramatic smokey eyes, nude lips and hair tied in an updo. Each of these, complimented her look manifold. She looked extremely elegant and graceful.

3. Malaika Arora Khan at IIFA 2014

When it comes to this diva, the hotness quotient can never drop. She looked fabulously sexy in her Black Halter Gown by Shivan and Narresh. Right from the earrings to the cocktail ring, and the clutch to the tied up hair, she makes this minimalist look work like a dream.

4. Deepika Padukone at IIFA Main Event 2014

Ms. Padukone dons a Red Lace sheer gown by Zuhair Murad. Not everyone will be big on this look because of the dark lips and the updo, but I think Deepika has made the gown speak for itself by adding almost no jewelry, tying up her hair and wearing a dark lip color just for some extra zing. The outfit highlights her hourglass figure and makes her look gorgeous.

5. Ranveer Singh at IIFA 2014

True, Ranveer Singh might dress up to gather attention, but absolutely nobody can pull off this Lavender Tuxedo quite like he does. Dressed up in Tom Ford, his look is an absolute killer. He has been by far the best dressed male actor this award season.

6. Deepika Padukone at IIFA 2014 (Magic of the movies night)

Deepika looked lovely in this golden gown by Sabyasachi. Once again, she wore her hair in an updo and finished her look with a darker oxblood lip color. The green cocktail ring and the earrings perfectly blend into the look. 

7. Priyanka Chopra at The Filmfare Awards 2014

Priyanka looked fantastic in her Black Alexander McQueen gown, complete with golden embellishments and peplum detailing. Her hair was side swept and she chose Atelier Mon earrings to go with this. The look is just perfect.

8. Kareena Kapoor at the IIFA Awards 2014

Kareena Kapoor wore a Black Giorgio Armani gown for the main even at IIFA 2014. She pulled off the outfit with great ease and style. The soft pink lip color with the soft make up as well as the hairdo, all blended in beautifully to make the gown a star. The choice of outfit and the look were both a ten on ten.

9. Deepika Padukone at The Filmfare Awards 2014

All set to bag the best actress award, Deepika wore a Gaurav Gupta gown for the Filmfare Awards 2014. The golden and sheer gown was coupled with red lips, side swept hair and golden heels. Deepika once again took advantage of her fabulously toned body to wear something like this. She looked fab!

10. Diya Mirza at the IIFA Awards 2014

Diya Mirza wore a Sabyasachi gown at the IIFA Awards 2014 main event. The rose pink color of the outfit and the easy silhouette, both added grace to Diya's appearance. She looked beautiful. 

She is Back and How. 

Mrs. Bachchan looked extremely ravishing at the Red Carpet of this year's Cannes, I doubt if she has ever rocked the red carpet so well and with such demeanor.
Here is Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's pictorial journey at The Cannes Film Festival starting in the year 2002.
Her transformation has been commendable. Really hoping for many more such appearances. 

And 2014...

Looks like fairy Godmother reminded her what she is capable of. 
Former Miss World definitely pulls off this Roberto Cavalli gown extremely well. Loving its contrast with the carpet's color and the dash of color in her appearance through her lip shade.

Food Review: Soda Bottle Openerwala
DLF Cyber Hub

Ok so I wanted to visit this place since a very long time. It was very enticing for me since the cuisine they serve i.e. Parsi and Iranian is definitely a very new concept for Delhi NCR. THe place is quite brilliantly located on the ground level of DLF Cyber Hub. We were a group of 3 people who wanted to specially try out their Vada Pavs and Keema Buns on a bright Sunday afternoon. One of my friend was a vegetarian and was counting on their Vada Pavs. 

One we reached we saw that the ambiance is very close to how a Parsi place would look. The highlight was this railway track they had in the air, on which a toy train would make rounds in the entire restaurant. I loved that bit. 
But as we were placing our order, we were very disappointed by this place. They were running out of keema buns AND Vada Pavs on a Sunday afternoon. We 3 were totally counting on these. However we placed the order for a Chicken Berry Pulao and a Tomato Cheese Macaroni (which was recommended to us by their server, who claimed it to be their bestselling dish).
The chicken berry pulao was just quite usual with nothing out of the world. It had pieces of chicken and Indian spices. A dash of berry was adding the edge to it. However the tomato cheese macaroni was just disastrous. It was like macaroni in tomato ketchup and cheese, with CAULIFLOWER, CARROT and PEAS thrown in. Just like the homemade "gajar gobhi matar" sabzi mixed with it. Worst part is that these three vegetables are like the cheapest. Maybe that's why they were used. I agree that they had to serve an Indian-ised version of the Macaroni, but this was just not it. Our vegetarian friend was so taken aback that we just had to order one more dish for him. After much thought we zeroed down on masala cheese fries since they seemed to be the safest bet. Once they arrived, we were not exactly happy again. The cheese wasn't generous. The masala was its only saving grace. 
The running out on keema bun and vada pavs on an early sunday afternoon demonstrates a glitch at the part of their management. Plus no options for vegetarians which does not seem right to me. To top it all, the disastrous macaroni. Not cool. 
Never going again.

Food Review: Big Yellow Door

Satyaniketan

Now, I had already been to BYD in North campus and had some extremely awesome food there, but I was definitely skeptical as to how much this new branch of their's will be able to cater to everyone's taste buds and at the same time maintain consistency of taste and quality.
So I decided that I should simply head to BYD Satyaniketan and see for myself. We were in a group of 3 and reached there in the afternoon. 

It was pretty hot that day and the place was already packed. We were asked to wait for about 20 minutes in order to get a table. We were okay waiting since that was the entire purpose of our visit to Satyaniketan. 
However what I would want to specifically mention is that once we had already waited for 10-15 minutes, the staff was indeed courteous and walked that extra mile by serving us complimentary cold-drink to save us from that scorching heat. I mean even the biggest and classiest restaurants do not offer such hospitality. Yet when a small cafe does such a kind gesture, it is noteworthy. For me the place was already a 10 on 10. 

Once we entered we saw that they offered two kinds of seating arrangements. A nice comfortable floor sitting with low tables, and the routine tables and chairs. It's a small cafe done up mostly with handmade things. They have kept the interiors very similar in both the branches. They have an entire wall full of sticky notes of neon colors where guests have left their special comments. They have a very interesting ceiling that is clustered with wooden discs. And last but not the least, they have a "Big Yellow Door" at the entry.

So we began ordering, and our first dish was Baked Nachos, Veg Ceaser Salad, Tipsiliscious Pasta, Pasta in Pesto Sauce, Chilli Chicken Sandwich and their signature BYD Cheese Bomb Burger. 

First came in the Baked Nachos. I must say they were heavenly. The nachos had a generous quantity of cheese on top, baked to perfection, sprinkled with olives and sweet corn. It was served with a yummy salsa dip. This tasted brilliant. The dish arrived very soon, and vanished even sooner. A must order if you go.

The next was the Veg Caeser salad. Now this salad, as simple as it may sound, has gone wrong in a lot of places right in front of me. This one was however very delicious. Just the right amount of salad dressing and the toasted bread crumbs made it great! For a person like me, who would be the last person to go in for something healthy like a salad, it was a treat.

The Tipsiliscious Pasta was basically a combination of White and Arrabiatta sauce with a slight dash of Vodka to add that zing! I must say they did a good job there. The pasta was el dante. It was nice and saucy. Had a good amount of olives as well. Personally I like my pastas nice and flavorful, hence I generally have to add extra herbs on top, but this was just perfect. Absolutely nothing was required to make it better.

Next was the chilli chicken sandwich. They serve their sandwiches in a very nice way, all decorated safely inside a basket lined with paper served with two sauces. The bread was nicely grilled  and the filling was plenty. Nice and spicy. Just what Chilli Chicken should be. 

Now was the turn of the stars of this show.Their BYD CheeseBomb Burger was just a ticket straight to heaven. It was a Burger filled with cheese and two vegetable patties. Both of them in turn had cheese in between. The burger was served slightly open with "BYD" written on it in liquid cheese. Served again with two kinds of sauces. One was the normal ketchup and the other was more like a chilli mayo.
Delicious.
PS: Go for extra cheese for more cheesiness.

The next highlight was the Penne in pesto sauce. Served in a nice creamy pesto sauce, the pasta was just beautiful. I loved the flavors which is the most essential and actually the only ingredient to a good pesto sauce.There was nothing required additionally in this pasta as well. Just perfect, as is!

To me, they seem to be doing a great job. "VERY" Value for money. Their pricing can just not exceed Rs 250-300 per person. Targeted and very well positioned for their customer base which to me looks like campus going students who need quick, yummy and reasonably priced food.

FATHER: The Superhero of my life.

A Father, is born the second his child is. While it is true, that a mother gives birth to her baby, she nurtures him those 9 months where she shares her body with the baby and the moment the baby is out of her womb she supports and rears him. But while a mother gives "Birth" a father gives his child a "Life".

He gives his child a "Life", worth living and worth sharing. 

While you were busy coloring books in your kindergarten, he was standing in queues under the sun to buy your primary school admission forms. He did everything he could at that time to let 'YOU' make it to the best school. Then you grew up, from a primary kid who needed just good stationery you were now a teenager who wanted branded clothes, a cellphone and weekly outings with your friends. While you made all these demands, he was out there working 10 hours a day, making plans for everything, from what will be the venue of your birthday party to what college you might end up going to. He was not just working hard to support the family, but he was there throughout, when you scored your lowest grades and when you appeared on your school stage the very first time.

A Father is believe me, always planning. He has planned for you much much more than you have planned for yourself. And that is exactly what he does each night before he sleeps. Each night, when you might be out partying with your friends, or networking on social network sites, or you might just be doing nothing, he is probably having a tough time sleep. He is having intense discussions with your mother, or he is having a raging conflict in his mind as to how he can give "You" a better and more worthwhile life. So tonight, just see. See if he is actually sleeping well, see if you can do anything to make that happen. Most of you will be surprised.

Your Father has the biggest impact on you even when you don't know about it. For a son, it's how he sees himself as a father, as a husband and as a son when he grows old, while for a daughter its how she foresees her husband to be once she is married. A Father is in the true sense, a son's first hero and a daughter's first love.

I didn't even know earlier how he effected me so much but when I saw myself writing about food and fashion I realized that he is the one who made me so passionate about looking good all the time and made me aware of the whole "Living to eat concept". He governs my perspective, he has taught me to be the bigger person, he has taught me that to be loved, you need to be loving and the best of all, he has taught me to laugh, to my hearts content, just like there is no tomorrow.

Its not like we as children don't care, but to me it took 23 years of existence and a lot of emotional moments to realize how important a Father really is. I wouldn't want anyone else to work so hard for it.He makes me feel protected, he makes me feel that nothing can possibly go wrong simply because he is around, he made me realize how bad the world can be during my teenage, yet he allowed me to make my share of mistakes. So right from his weekly practice of buying me Nirula's jujube candies during my childhood, him cooking for me and my friends to him planning my birthday parties with more enthusiasm than me, each and everything he does and he has ever done makes me proud.

He is not perfect because he is not meant to be perfect. He has probably made his share of mistakes in life too but then, are you perfect? Is anyone free of faults? Absolutely nobody. Yet, despite his imperfections when I walk around with him, and he walks through the crowd, I see him and I feel proud, endlessly. I am in "Awe" of him each and every time I see him because he is the nearest anyone can ever get to being a true hero in my eyes. 

So whoever you are, a son or a daughter and wherever your Father is,just do one thing for him, be PROUD. Be proud of being his child. No matter how many times you have your differences, your fights, your conflicts always remember "Whatever he has done, does and will do, will always be for you!".

Food Review: Cafe Blue Tomato

Rajouri Garden, New Delhi

The Blue Tomato Cafe, is a venture started by Chef Dheeraj Mangothra who completed his culinary education in Italy. So no prizes for guessing that the place is a Cafe serving pure Italian cuisine, that perfectly takes care of the Indian taste buds. It is very strategically located in  Rajouri garden, however away from the hustle and rush of the main market there. Why I call it strategic is since West Delhi had absolutely no good cafe that served good Italian food. That becomes precisely the reason I couldn't wait to go there and try it for myself.

The interiors are very young and chick. I loved the fact that it is well lit and done up in a very lively manner. When a restaurant has the guts to keep itself well lit, you can be sure of one thing, it will not compromise on cleanliness and neatness. It has framed posters of retro singers, funny quotations and one half of a wall is full of beautiful destinations around the world. Very Creative! (Photos also attached). 
They have very comfortable seating and they haven't tried to cramp the place up to accommodate more people. One can sit there for a long time not just to eat, but socialize and catch up with a group of friends.

Once we reached, we were extremely thirsty so I asked Chef Dheeraj as to what I should order. Its not like we were given special treatment, this is his regular practice. He himself tries taking as many orders as he can, so that he can completely understand as to what the guest really wants, and THAT is a great thing. So he suggested me to go with The Cafe Blue Tomato Refresher. For Main course we ordered a Cheese Kicker Pasta, a Pasta verdure and  Chilli Potato Cigarolls with Sweet cabbage salad. We also ordered a Chicken Satay , a Piccata Milenaise and a Garden Vegetable Pizza. 

In came the refresher, and trust me it was the most refreshing drink I have had till date. The flavor of mint and ginger just came through perfectly. It had the right amount of fizz and sweetened to perfection. I took a sip and it was like all my senses were instantly happy and smiling.

Next was the Cheese Kicker pasta. First of all, it was sinful as the description suggested, It was loaded with cheese, the best part was however that there was no compromise on flavors. The use of herbs was ample. I could taste and smell the basil used in the preparation. It had a good amount of fresh vegetables used in it, which made the pasta a lovelier experience for me. 

The Chilly Potato Cigarolls were lovely diagonally cut pieces of a herbed and spiced potato and cheese mix filled in a thin roll of flour, and fried to golden brown. This starter was served with a sweet chilly dip. I loved it because even if the dip is not taken, the starter had enough flavor in it. When you bite into it, the cheesiness comes through and the potato holds it together. Perfect texture.

The Garden Vegetable Pizza was an absolutely thin crust pizza, baked in a Brick oven, topped with lots of fresh vegetables. There was just appropriate cheese and the pizza sauce was nicely spiced. The best part was the fact that the pizza base was a wheat one. It was 80% wheat and 20% flour to be precise. So one can eat and feel no guilt.

The highlight of the vegetarian dishes for me was however the Pasta Verdure. Pesto sauce is not something that everyone gets right, however it was just way too flavorful. Ample amount of basil had gone into it and that could be felt. Both tasted and smelled.  The pasta was Al Dante and the sauce was generously creamy. Topped with vegetables and cherry tomatoes, it almost reminded me of Christmas. Gorgeously done. 

Next was the Chicken satay. The chicken was well done and glazed with spices herbs and 
balsamic vinegar. Served with creamy pesto sauce. Absolutely lovely.

The highlight of the chicken dishes was however the Piccata Milenaise. It was a chicken breast coated with egg and parmesan, fried to perfection served on a bed of tomato spaghetti. The chicken was juicy and succulent. It was for sure that good quality meat was being used here. The cheese in its coating made it just sinful and yummy. The tomato spaghetti was like a cherry on top of an already overwhelming cake.It had scrumptious tomato sauce, and beautifully cooked and spiced spaghetti. Put together,  they made an impeccable combination. 

After so much food, we were almost full, but that still couldn't refrain us from ordering desserts. So we ordered a Creme Brulee, a Tiramisu and a Bloody Muddy Cake. 

Bloody Muddy cake was just a very soft, chocolaty and spongy cake topped with chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream by the side. It was good, but I was just eyeing my other desserts because this is available nearly everywhere. 

So in came the Creme Brulee and the Tiramisu. The Creme Brulee was lovely and golden on top. Once broken it oozed the creme above and once I had a bite, I was directly in heaven. Loved it. The caramel layer was not black or burnt, it was golden and sparkling. It had appropriate thickness and the creme part was nice and sweet. It was just very alluring. The Tiramisu remains my favorite though. Important to mention is that they have a slightly different version of the Tiramisu, but I fell in love with it. The cake base was nice and squidgy, soaked in coffee and topped with coffee flavored cream. The coffee flavor was not overpowering, nor was the cake. Both perfectly in sync. It was definitely next level.

One thing worth mentioning is the way the food is presented. The effort in preparation and presentation shows and makes the food even more tempting. As they say, the first sense that food must entice is the visual sense. Excellent job there!
I would love to go there again. :)

All in all:
Taste: 5
Ambiance: 5
Service: 5

Fashion Alert: Give the rubber band a break, try hair accessories. 

So its a weird, hot and sweaty summer afternoon, and you are far from a "Good hair day". Don't stress. Only open, smooth, silky shiny hair that just do not tangle are no longer required to put up with a good presence, even at a party!

All you need now girls, is the correct hair accessory for the occasion, your outfit, and your hair.A hair accessory could be anything ranging from a dramatic embellished headband, to floral clips. Just pick the right one from anywhere around and you are definitely good to go.
However, all you need to really take care of, is how you pull off a hair accessory without looking like a child. A hairband for instance is something very 12-13 year old, when seen individually. However, wearing them up with a messed up side bun will just finish out your look very well.
And if you by any means think that long hair is necessary for a hair accessory to compliment, then babe you are just not right. Wait till you see some of the very short haired actresses, from both Hollywood and Bollywood, use crystal hairbands and bows to their hair. They have all ended up looking superb.

Here's how you should use some of the hair accessories:

1. Flowers: Think Flowers and think of the beach and the summer. The trick behind using flowers as a hair accessory is that they should be used lower than the level of your eyes. That is basically in the lower half of your hair.Never, wear them on top of your head. They will lose their grace and look just too historic.
   
2. Fabric: In other words, silk headbands. They may not necessarily make you look retro unless you want them too. The trick is to tie it loosely on open hair and just make it look fab. Brownie points for matching it with your outfit.
   
3. Scarves: Choose your color and the way you want to tie it up. You could give it a chick turban look or a headband one. Just be sure of how experimental you can be.
   
4. Barrettes: These are traditionally chunky wooden hair clips that use a wooden stick to hold the hair together. Today however you have plenty of fancy embellished, colorful and dreamy options available. Go pick one up and you can get sorted for almost any outfit.
   
5. Headbands: Headbands are easy to use, commonly available and I would say the least experimental of the lot. However I would say that most of us go wrong while using it. The trick is first of all not to end up looking like a child, who's mommy just did her hair. The second would be, not to pull back your hair very tightly with a headband. To add some drama, always leave some hair out, or just make it rest on your hair like a pair of sunglasses. 

Not only does the fictional character of "Blair Waldorf" play around with hair accessories, our very own Bollywood damsels have used this to enhance their hairdos many a times.

I think all of the above just look wow. From Deepika's retro bow to Sonam's headgear in Aisha. Blake Lively does just perfect justice to her plain white maxi by adding this blingy chain which she ties around her loose bun.

So use the tips above, ditch the elastics and go very very trendy. 

Make 2014 your year, and guess what, it has merely begun! ;)