Take me to the Second Floor

I discovered Second Floor Studio in Khan Market a little while ago. It is pretty much opposite Amici Italian restaurant, through a narrow doorway and up a couple of flights of stairs. You'll know it when you reach it - clean, white finish with stylish black font declaring its name on the windows.

Inside is some of the most beautiful stuff I have found in Delhi - stunning cushions, scarves, mirrors, camera cases and cute Indian collectibles. It also stocks my favourite En Inde jewellery. Other brands that I have discovered are Joli Joli and Olivia Das.

But then...... I discovered their Shahpur Jat store - AMAZING!!

This store is incredible. It specialises in interiors and I wanted everything. You must pay it a visit when you are here to see the candelabras, rajasthani busts, wall hangings, pictures, tables......

It is on the pricey side but sometimes you need a treat! On my most recent visit I bought a very cool steel thali platter and super cool key rings. I will be back again and again to stock up my house and clog up my wardrobes!



Interior of Second Floor Studio Khan Market

 



Scarf anyone? Khan Market

Cute camera pouches Khan Market

Oz Fest India

For the last nine months of 2012 I was a little distracted from my blog as I went and got myself a job. I was working on Oz Fest, an Australian cultural festival taking place across India from October - February.




NOW  WHEN: Image by 'Terra Form Australis by HASSELL, Holopoint and The Environment Institute'

Working in a country so foreign to me was an interesting experience - frustrating, rewarding, a very steep learning curve. However here I am on the other side and glad I did it.

I was working on the marketing and comm's for the Festival. I did this in conjunction with a team of peeps and two external marketing companies. The marketing and communications side was always going to be different, I am not used to how or why things work here.... plus this media environment is cluttered and busy. But, like everything here, 'it will be right on the night' rings true. Somethings are constants across countries - social media is king, as is word of mouth and budgets are limited! But other things, a many number of things, are quite different......

We produced a media launch, websites, brochures, bags, invites, banners, back drops, we entered twitterverse and plastered Facebook ..... the list goes on....

After months of work (for me) and a couple of years for others, we kicked off Oz Fest on 16 October in the presence of the Aussie PM - Julia Gillard. The Opening Night was a concert at Purana Qila, New Delhi and it was brilliant! Gurrumul, Mark Atkins and AGB events all travelled from Australia to make it a night to remember. I had never seen any of their work live before and I was amazed. Gurrumul was incredible, I mean truly incredible. The lighting by AGB events was out of this world and Mark Atkins didn't play nearly long enough. They were also joined on the night by Anoushka Shankar, an Indian sitar player - she too was brilliant and brought a completely different aspect to the evening.

The event was a huge success, the audience piled in, sat attentively, watched, absorbed, appreciated and left. It was a nice mix of expats and Indians and the team couldn't have asked for a better evening.

So that was a particularly good start to an amazing four month extravaganza.

Other events included the tour of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow - absolutely hilarious, photography exhibitions from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, music performances by 5 Aussie rock bands and the Aussie MasterChefs who were treated like rock stars!

Of course there was more but I headed off to have baby no. 2 and the festival successfully carried on without me.

I love the Indian Accent!

I am finally getting around to writing a post on my favourite dining experience in Delhi - Indian Accent - a must for those who love good food and feel like refreshing their idea of what Indian food could be.

I first went to Indian Accent just before Diwali in 2011, as a guest of a friend. We went for lunch and it blew me away. At the time I had no idea what a treat it was to be taken to lunch there, but now I am well aware of how spoilt I was. Since my first visit I have been back about 3 times, the most recent with my Mum, as I had to show her a different side to 'Indian' food plus the Aussie MasterChefs paid the restaurant a visit on their recent trip to the city...... so now everyone has to go don't they?

We ventured down to Friends Colony on a stunning Sunday afternoon, 5 of us (plus our newborn in the pram - who was amazingly well behaved). The restaurant was pretty quiet, just a few tables occupied but everyone already tucking into the delicous morsels.

When you arrive you receive a complimentary mini blue cheese naan which is the perfect entree into what is to come - Indian food but with an inventive, interesting twist using a variety of exotic ingredients. I am not a food blogger so I won't go into the flavours and textures but will give you a rundown of what we enjoyed.

The menu is complex so decisions are hard to make, but make we did, and here's a few pics of the results.





Sorbet course breaker in a cute replica pressure cooker



Amazing chicken

 

 

Rice crusted John Dory moilee, market green and pine nut poriyal - incredible!



Dessert platter



Goodbye treats - hmmmm umm no thanks but they look pretty.





My happy plate and my very lovely Rose.

 

 

Some of the other things we enjoyed (not pictured) were the:

chicken tikka quesadillas, swiss gruyere, pink peppercorn raita - SUPER CUTE

meetha achaar chilean spare ribs, sun dried mango, toasted kalonji seeds

soft shell crab, flame roast coconut, tomato pickle chutney - LOVE

duck tawa khurchan, mattar makhana malai

tamarind chutney glazed tandoori chilean pork ribs, tandoori aloo - AMAZING!!

slow cooked baby lamb shank, california prune and mulberry korma - yes please

 

 

All in all everything - the service, the wine, the food and the company was great. The only thing I don't love are the goodbye treats - not to my taste but hey it doesn't matter they look pretty.

 

The meal cost about Rs4000 a head and was worth ever rupee. 

If you're in the city - go there!!!!

And we're back

So it's been ages since a post but I've been busy adding to our family - Charlie Thomas was born in December. His arrival took me back to Perth for 3 months. It was beautiful - summer in Perth was a complete treat. Good food, fresh air and great friends. I loved it, however after 3 months it was time to get back to my world and life in Delhi.

So 15 hours later with two kids and a very patient and wonderful Mum, we made it back to Delhi. Anil, Surinder and Tom were all there to meet us and our 6 suitcases. My divine neighbours decorated the house for us and it felt good to be here.

The best thing about the timing of our arrival is I have caught the last of the beautiful cool Delhi spring weather. It is divine and if anyone is thinking of visiting this has to be the best time.

A few things struck me on my return, things I'd missed and things I haven't.....

Haven't....
- the filthy bank notes. Oh how I enjoyed dealing with the clean aussie bank note
- the truly terrible coffee (thank god for Nespresso)
- being the object of stares from the local male population
- my children's colds and cough (both returned in about 2 days of arrival)

Have ....
- the pure delight in Sophie's face as she chases peacocks around the place and her delight in seeing them display their feathers
- everything is possible, you just need to be creative
- my house is cleaned and dinner cooked by someone else
- yoga

India has put on a real show for my first week back. The weather is amazing - ok it's not 'let's go to Cottesloe Beach' amazing - but it's cool, the sky is blue and the air is relatively clean.

I made it back just in time to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary. It was a lovely night with French champagne and roses.

Mum's had a lovely time, to help her enjoy herself and relax after having us in Perth for 3 months we booked her into a massage at the Leela Palace at ESPA - 9.30 on Wednesday. We dropped her off and waved her goodbye. Sadly for Mum I obviously didn't make it clear enough I meant AM and they had booked her in for the evening so that didn't happen - 'can we offer you a pedicure instead maam?'. These people clearly haven't met us as we are in bed by this time, these days!

This time of year the Mughal Gardens at the President's Residence are open for inspection. Mum and I went today and they are magnificent. The variety of flowers, the colours and the layout are beautiful and free entry. Of course there is the usual high security presence - step off the lawn or I'll shoot! but you can block that out. Other annoyances include no phones, no cameras (hence no photos), no handbags, but you do get the bonus of a good touch up by the security guard on entry - always good when you are feeling lonely! But it was beautiful and a recommended outing for sure, especially in this amazing weather. Other highlight was seeing the tuk tuk named the 'Handicap Express' parked out the front plus the Imperial Hotel is just nearby so we just popped in there for lunch afterwards - ah it's nice to be home!

Other hot spots we've got visited this week include watching the 20/20 cricket, a long lunch at China Kitchen, lunch at the Italian Cultural Centre, shopping trip to Santushti and Khan Market. All very successful. Pick the expat?

So even though I adored my time in Perth more than anything and it was beautiful it is good to be home, showing off my boy to my friends and getting back into the swing of things. Delhi is being kind at the moment and it's nice to be back.
 

Tres..... Lodi's new place

It wasn't long ago that Tom and I tried a new restaurant - Tres at Lodi Colony Main Market. For those of you that have read my posts before it is just next door to my Fancy Cloth House Tailors. The interiors are fairly bland and beige but thankfully the food is not.

As I'm preggers, I could not induldge in one of the yummy looking cocktails, instead I splashed out on an apple rosemary mocktail! Unfortunately it wasn't very good and should have just stuck to lime soda. Lucky Tom on the other hand sampled the ok wine menu.

For entree I ordered Canadian scallops with cauliflower pannacotta and Tom ate the King prawns. Both were really lovely - the plating was beautiful, as was the taste. For main Tom had  the melt in your mouth lamb and I ate my old favourite pork belly. Both of the main dishes were fantastic! Pork is always quite rich but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Never too full....... I finished off the meal with Apple Tarte Tartin - again did not disappoint.

The only disappointments came with the drinks.... only green tea on offer for me post meal and Tom had an espresso in a very cool glass.

Price - Rs 4900 for two with some drinks

Tres
17 Main Market
Lodhi Colony
New Delhi
Ph: 011 24625520 OR +91 9971536053 
 

Remarkable Rajasthan

Last weekend was Tom's birthday, so we escaped Delhi, took Sophie to her favourite place, the airport, and boarded a Jet Konnect twin prop to Jodhpur. 1 hr 20 minutes later, bags collected, car waiting - we were on our way to the RAAS hotel.

The journey was fairly mainstream until we hit the old town. At entering the gates of the Clock Tower you travel back in time to donkey carts and extraordinary narrow lanes - not made for Toyota Innova's!

The RAAS impressed from the moment we pulled through the grand old gates. We were greeted by lovely staff who applied tilak (red powder dot) to our foreheads and offered a refreshing ginger and lemon drink. Before we saw our room, we were escorted around the grounds, shown the frog pond, the pool and you couldn't ignore the imposing view of the Fort. It was a beautiful hotel of a mere 31 rooms.

We stayed in room 123, this was our view.

View from 123!

As you can see from this pic, this beautiful place is also right next to a mosque.... and it was Friday..... so our first welcome to Jodhpur was the call to prayer, that goes on for a really long time on Friday. However it really doesn't matter and certainly didn't bother us - kind of added to the ambiance.

Friday we spent at the hotel, had lunch, swam, arranged a babysitter and that was about it. Luckily a very nice lady arrived at 8pm to a very wide awake Sophie and we took our leave. Tom and I had a walk around the streets of Jodhpur, met some lovely convincing spice and fabric sellers, witnessed little people worshipping and singing at the foot of Ganesh statues and we dodged inevitable cow poo! We returned to find Soph still awake and running rings around the lovely babysitter!

Saturday was tour day and we left the hotel via the very funky blue tuk tuk....

The streets of Jodhpur are full of amazing things, yes you are in India, so you get used to a certain level of craziness but I really liked the vibe of this town - it was friendly, casual and colourful -always colourful!!!

The first thing I saw on our travels was a funeral procession, a body being carried above the shoulders of its loved ones wrapped in bright, colourful fabrics.... not a piece of black in sight! The crowd chanted, sang and rang bells as they moved toward the cremation site.

As we wound our way through the streets of Jodhpur we saw all kind of things... cows, pigs, dogs, Gods of Sex....

but the team favourite was the elephant

No getting passed this...

An elephant and his Mahout.

Aren't they beautiful? We stopped, Sophie fed him 20 rupees, which he dutifully passed to his Mahout.

Following on from the elephant spot, we moved on to the reservoir - which was lovely and actively being used by worshippers and also by random dogs to take care of their families.

Reservoir near the Fort

Ganesh ji

I spot puppies under the pavement!!!!

Of course Jodhpur is also famous for being the 'blue city' - houses are painted blue and the reasons vary from keeping the place cool to repelling mosquito's.

and lovely Ganesh statues are everywhere

The afternoon saw us at the Mehrangarh Fort, this place is spectacular. Built right up on the hill there it has a lovely breeze and the architecture is amazing, not hard to believe it never was successfully attacked.

Walls of the Fort

 

Entrance to the Fort

 

Beautiful Fort and a must see.... for the Fort and the view

Umaid Palace in the distance

 

One of the great things about the day was our very nice guide - Ram. He didn't take us to one shop, didn't push us to do anything and was brilliant taking care of our daughter throughout the day. If you are going to Jodhpur and need a guide call Ramniwas (Ram) 09314709126.

So then back to the hotel, more swimming, relaxing and listening to the AFL finals series on the iPad with the free Wi-Fi..... oh and some frog spotting!

All in all Jodhpur was great, the hotel was perfect and nothing was too much trouble - the staff were all amazing and I was quite sad to leave.
 

Caught off guard.... never!

Saturday morning for us normally means hanging out in our PJ's, watching kids cartoons, sheltering from the hot and/or wet weather and nursing mild hangovers..... however since I am pregnant, the hangovers aren't around, plus the monsoon as cooled things down slightly so it's time to annoy my husband, get him out of bed and load the family into the car for Delhi activities. Let's see how long this enthusiasm lasts......

This morning we visited the ceremonial 'Changing of the Guard' Delhi style. It starts at 9am at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (residence of the President of India) and goes for 40 minutes (check the website for timings) . There is a small amount of seating to watch the event, but there weren't many people there this morning so seats were easy to come by.

We got there about 8.55am so the set up and last minute checks were all taking place.





Last minute checks

 

 



Banners of the Army

 

The sun was out (and hot) and there was a mild breeze, so the whole waiting experience was pretty pleasant. Soph ran around spotting monkeys on the roof tops which kept her entertained.

 

Too sunny!

 

Unlike many things in this country, this event actually started on time, with much pomp and fanfare.... however there was a minor curveball thrown when this cyclist decided to cut in front of the parade. The cops were thrown into a spin and much yelling and pointing ensued!

 



The troublemaker

 

Once this side show was over the real thing got underway - drums, music, marching soldiers and horses - what more could a 2 year old ask for? She loved it!

 

 

 

 

This event has run every Saturday morning since 1773, so it is not surprising that it runs like clock work - down to the men following behind the horses to clean up the inevitable mess. 

 

 

Meticulous army

 

 

 

 

 

 

So was it worth the early(ish) Saturday morning? Definitely. There weren't too many people there, it was calm and pleasant plus I really loved seeing the beautiful horses and the handsome soldiers all dressed up in their regal uniforms. 



 

 

So handsome!