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!!!!