soniasmusings

Restaurant review – The French Loaf, New Town, Kolkata

Located just a km away from my apartment, I had been thinking of visiting this outlet for quite a while. Last week when my husband brought their brown bread and apple pie back home, the taste was good enough for me to plan the visit at the earliest.That is how we ended up being there last evening.

This is a small joint sandwiched between Reliance Fresh and Vijaya Bank ATM,quite near to the New Town Bus stand. The place can barely accommodate fifteen people at one go. Yet they have managed to keep a tiny seating arrangement within premises even though take away is the preferred mode here.

Restaurant review – Lake Lite, Kolkata

A chance visit to the Swasthya Bhawan (the administrative building of health department) got us delayed in some paper work yesterday. Following the age old proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, our famished selves discovered this restaurant within half a km of this building.

Lake Lite is a restaurant quite popular among the office goers of Salt lake and New Town. The location makes it accessible for working professionals to have a quick lunch. They have an open bar and the alcohol is quite cheap, making this place a favorite hang out joint for after office parties. The restaurant was nearly full on a Friday afternoon. Since we were in a hurry, we decided to have just the soft drinks in the restaurant and get the food packed instead.
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Restaurant review – Momore,Kolkata

Last Saturday,I had been craving for momos. So we went to the nearby Axis mall to savor out the momos at Momore counter. While I have been to this place couple of times before, there was essentially no aspect that stood out during each visit. The counter is situated between Axis mall and Lifestyle store. The counter is quite visible due to location advantage and its bright yellow color. It is more like a take away counter with no available seating arrangements.

Restaurant review – 6,Ballygunge Place, Salt Lake, Kolkata

6,Ballygunge Place or 6,BP as it is popularly known as was the first ever Bengali restaurant that I had dined at in Bangalore. But that was more than a decade ago. Ever since, I have been wanting to try out their outlets in Kolkata. Having eaten at both their Ballygunge and Salt Lake, Sector 1 outlets, I narrow down my choice to the later as a personal favorite.

Last Friday, we decided to lunch at their Salt Lake outlet. While they had an ongoing elaborate buffet on the first floor, we decided to go the Ala Carta way. Due to an unavoidable situation back home, we had to parcel the dishes and managed to savor the desserts only at the restaurant.

Red reaches mountains

Red was always your color. Anything red in the vicinity and there you would pick it up instantly irrespective of the fact that most of the times you really didn’t need it. You always said that red is royal and majestic and I know that in reality you tried making up for your shyness and introvert nature by wearing red.

Remember, how irritated I would feel on unlocking our almirah. Fond of lighter shades and soft colors, I always thought that red was loud and embarrassing. I disapproved of any color that was bright and red topped the list. You would never leave an opportunity to pull my leg saying that you were sure that I would never develop any sense of color.
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Restaurant review of Town Restaurant, Kolkata

Town restaurant is located very near to Axis Mall. It is barely a five minute walk from the main gate of the mall. During one such overcrowded weekends at the mall, we decided to skip the option of dining at a mall restaurant and chose the nearest option of Town restaurant. Along with our toddler, we were two couples heading towards a new gastronomic adventure.

Despite it being a Saturday evening, the place was almost deserted initially barring a young couple at one of the tables. The restaurant is located on the first floor and they have a functional lift facility. On entering the restaurant, the poor lighting of the place creates a huge negative impact. Families are encouraged to occupy the air conditioned part of the restaurant situated farthest from the entrance, the portions separated by a door. We took up two tables in this area.
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Restaurant review – Mainland China, Avani Riverside Mall, Howrah

Mainland China is located on the third floor of Avani Riverside mall in Howrah. My husband and I have lunched quite often in this outlet whenever we have been to this part of the city. On a weekday, one can directly walk in for lunch or dinner while it is always recommended to have a reservation over the weekend.

Having stayed in Bangalore for over a decade, we are extremely familiar and delighted with the hospitality of Speciality group restaurants, specially the outlets of Mainland China in Koramangala and Church Street. Thus there’s an inevitable comparison that follows. Sadly, I must say that this outlet really needs to scale up on quite a few parameters in this aspect.
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The beauty called Varkala(Kerala) through my lens

Until two years back, my husband and I were obsessive wanderers. My posting in a leading private sector bank and my husbands’ medical specialization course landed us both in Mysore. While the city is beautiful and someday I intend to write about our experiences there,weekends left us high and dry. Since both of us had working Saturdays, any extended weekend would see us planning a short trip to the beautiful places in Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, A.P. or our favorite state Kerala.

During an extended Christmas and new year holiday, I happened to take a mini break before switching jobs.That was when we planned for Varkala which was a unknown name to us,until then. But with a little help from friends, a lot of suggestions from Trip Advsior and unmatched enthusiasm from my husband got us visiting Varkala in the winters of that year. After hunting down for options, we decided to stay at Hill View Beach Resort since it assured us of a magnificent view of the sea through its website and reviews. We drove down to Bangalore from Mysore in 4 hours.At Yeshwantpur station, we took Trivandrum Express.The idea was to get down at Trivandrum and take a cab from there to Varkala. But a helpful co-passenger guided us to get down at Kollam and it took us less than an hour to reach Varkala. the resorts are situated on the cliff the it is one long stretch that can’t be missed.
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Restaurant/Shop review – Putiram sweets, Kolkata

The first time that I was introduced to this fascinating sweet shop was way back in 1999. As a grad student of Presidency, this was our favorite place for a quick evening snacks or even lunch at times. Located in College Street area, near College Square, this happens to be a favorite joint for students of both Calcutta Medical College and Presidency University.

You really don’t see people sitting and chatting here. They enter, place order, eat, pay and leave. Because this place is always over crowded. Sometimes it’s difficult to even find a place to stand and eat on the pavement near the shop. One of the favorable factors aspect of this place is that they open very early. One can savor the delicious items even at 7am
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Resort review – Aqua Marina Drive Inn, Mandarmoni, West Bengal

In the last few years, Mandarmoni has turned out to be one of the most favorite destination in Bengal. The distance between Kolkata and Mandarmoni can be covered in 3.5 to 4hours by car. Roads are in good condition. Train options are available till Contai/Ramnagar/Digha and the resort can arrange for a pick up from there.

Trying to avoid the much crowded Digha, people have started moving to the more tranquil and serene Mandarmoni. While the town has ample options for stay and most of them are on or near the beach, Aqua Marina Drive Inn takes the cake away for being not only right on the beach but having rooms that let one view the sea from both the room and balcony.
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