Saturday 10 February 2007

Coming with kids? Visit Essel World


If you are coming to Mumbai with kids, then spending a day at Essel World is a great way to spend a day out. It is not just a cheap one day thrill for its visitors but it is an awesome theme park that can stand up well against other great theme parks all around the world.

It is located in North Mumbai, just a few kilometers outside city limits at Gorai, situated on a green landscaped, island on an area of 64 acres. It can be reached by ferry from Gorai creek or Marve beach. Alternately you can drive down by Western Express Highway, take the Bhayender turn and reach Gorai Island.

Essel World offers over thirty four thrilling and scintillating rides, games and amusements, guaranteed to pep you up.

Besides these rides there are also coin-operated games, like Crazy Shuttle, Derby Racer, Aqua Blasta, Water Lazer etc.

For the food lovers, Essel World caters to all palates. Whether your choice is quick pizza or a bhel-puri or a leisurely Chinese meal, one outlet or other, spread throughout the park, is sure to appeal to you.

Essel World has recently started Wet World (a park within the park) with separate entry charges. This has six water-related rides.

The park opens everyday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. During school holidays, the park is open up to 9 p.m.

Tuesday 6 February 2007

Mumbai's Art and entertainment

Right from the very moment of its conception in 1978, the Prithvi Theatre, at Juhu Church road, situated in Mumbai, has been committed to the development of theatre in India. The 200-seat theatre was initially built to help develop a professional (primarily Hindi) theatre. Over the years Prithvi Theatre has consistently broadened and evolved its concept of what the development of theatre might mean. The various projects it has taken up, supported and managed as a consequence reflect this constant desire to learn and grow and contribute to theatre in India.


The Open Circle is an artist initiative- formed in 1999. The Open Circle aims to create a platform for a meaningful dialogue on an intercultural level, on the issues most pertinent to the present day cultural and political environment. They provides the schedule art festivals in the city.
To know more about their activities refer http://www.opencirclearts.org/


Cymroza Art Gallery at 72, Bhabubhai Desai road is a contemporary Indian arts and crafts gallery. They host exhibitions by painters, sculptors, print makers, crafts persons, ceramists and photographers, and also hosts lectures and discussions on the arts.


National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)'s aims to establish, a national centre for the preservation of India's cultural legacy in the arts of performance and communication, by systematic audio-visual recording of its classical and folk arts. Visit them at - http://www.ncpamumbai.com/



The Fine Arts Society promotes and encourages cultural activities, fosters and develops music, dance and other fine arts of cultural India.. Check their activities at http://www.fineartschembur.com/ for Information about the academy, facilities, achievements, membership and working calendar


Upaasana at Chembur,conducts classes in Indian classical dances for an eight year Certificate course and also imparts advanced training in Bharatanatyam & Mohiniyattom. They also have other services, including dance and drama performances, courses in personality development. Check out their activities at http://upaasana.com.


Nrityanjali, at Bhandup, is an institute of music, dance, dramatics, personality development & management services. It is a centre of learning. It is also a centre of understanding , thought and action. Nrityanjali's approach is simple and its medium is music , dance and dramatics. Nrityanjali imparts lessons in personality development, management training, Indian dance, music and drama . It also presents and performs the same (dance, music, drama) and tries to reach out to people both Indians and foreigners enabling them to grasp the nuances of the Indian performing arts in its various forms and thus providing people with an enriching experience. Check out the details at http://nrityanjali.org.in


To get any information about the performances of plays, dramas, and operas in the city, and happenings in Mumbai theatre industry., go to Mumbai Theatre Guide - http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/

Sunday 4 February 2007

Eating in Bandra….. Burrp!

There are more than 400 eating places in Bandra! It is the favorite hangout for entertaining and dining. Bandraites are the happy lot because they have food at every corner of the street and it fits every budget.

If you are coming from south Mumbai, the first restaurant on the SV road worth mentioning is Sayba, that serves excellent sea food.

Little further on the same road is Lucky Restaurant at station road that has awesome biryani and kheema" This is one place you should visit to know what a biryani should be like... really mouth watering... Also try out the Kheema-Pav.

As you go further, on the opposite side of the road is Siddarth restaurant. This is a vegetarian restaurant.

On the linking road, there are many restaurants. You will notice that there is usually a cluster of 5 to 6 restaurants in one area.

Sheetal Arch, on Linking road, has been renovated lately and it is a vegetarian restaurant. It is grouped with other restaurants like Shalimar, (moghalai), Great Punjab (they actually have a whole section of the menu dedicated to low cal -oil free food...Proper Punjabi cuisine minus the calories), Seesha (open air lounge on the roof top of shopper’s shop) Asia Wok (a Chinese restaurant on 6th floor of shoppers stop) and Seven (Seven has a good ambience and some surprisingly good DJs. Only sometime crowd control becomes a problem. It is one of the best clubs in Mumbai).

Five minutes walk from Shalimar is Barista at linking road. This one has a nice cappuccino with enough thick foam. It is definitely a hangout spot for National College students, so make sure to figure out the right time to go given your objectives. Good central place in Bandra to meet up...

Turn behind Barista to Water field road and you have Zenzi Bar. It is a good place to hangout with friends. It has nice interiors and decent food. Sundays is a salsa night and they also have exhibitions of upcoming artists around the place. Opposite Zenzi is Subway (they serve healthy, reasonably priced, nutritious and filling sandwiches.)

Two minutes walk from Zenzi is another group of restaurants (all in same building) such as Orchids (a Chinese restaurant.), China gate, (it has excellent Chinese cuisine. Chinese food is very authentic and the place oozes class.) Red Box café (this place has gr8 ambience...you will find cool crowd during nights, the food is not half as bad if your'e in the mood to blow up lots of monies for a standard pasta and some garlic bread.) Caravan Serai.( Caravan above Red Box café is expensive, but superb North West Frontier cuisine, and great atmosphere. As you walk out the main entrance there is pretty good Pan for the taking.)

Two minutes walk from Red Box Café is Seijo (a Chinese on the rooftop above ICCI bank, It has gr8 ambience and good music.) on the back lane of Seijo is Poison. (Poison at patkat marg, is the hip-hop spot on Thursdays! really feels like a good club, the DJ Booth is surrounded by PLASMA's the dance floor is well designed and service is great and always something good happening with a great crowd...)

Another two minutes walk from Seijo and there is Moti Mahal. This restaurant has been renovated lately and serves Mogalai cuisine. Next to moti Mahal is Amici. (This place not only has gelato that tastes great but also, healthy. Besides the regular sinful chocolate based flavors, they have rare flavors like lime and seasonal specials. They also host fat free and sugar free gelatos to ease the guilt.) also there is Stomach, a Chinese fast food joint and Zaika, that serve moghlai cuisine.

Turn right from Moti mahal to Turner Road. Ten minutes walk from Moti Mahal is another group of open air restaurants such as Pot Pourri. (One of the good old hangouts...the food never disappoints.) Saibaan, (for sizzlers) Tiffin (for Chinese), Lemon Grass.(Chinese and Thai cuisine. Gr8 ambience) Gets crowded on weekends, so reach there early.

Opposite Pot Pourri is the lane that leads towards Pali road. Pali has gr8 number of restaurants. Purple haze, good food and good ambience. Thaiban, papa's and basilico are all on the same stretch. 'ThaiBan has amazing Thai food!!! Now that they've renovated the place, it rocks! 'Papa Pancho' for all authentic Punjabi stuff. Also, newly arrived is The Bagel Place, small, "New York style" place, great couches, decent bagels. Great to hang out. Jinnies also in Pali, serves seafood, great interiors, got a bead vendor located inside the hotel for shopping till your food is served. Discover Waffles, next to Papa Panchos - for savory and meal-style waffles,

My favourite low key after work kind of pub is place called Boat Club which is also in Pali market road. Scotch is affordable, Prawns Koliwada/Tandoori rocks, Sound levels that won't make you deaf, and best of all – unpretentious

'Soul Fry', near Pali Market,also has good sea food and live band on Monday nights. And I must say, the singers are really good! 5 Spice has "The wildest Desserts" Well this place has awesome food and that is true. The servings are huge. One serving is sufficient for 4 people you must try there. Another place for Parsi food, just opposite the new 5 Spice, is Ashmick's Snack Shack.

Papa Pancho Da Dhaba at amdbedkar road has a good meal, good portion and decent quality of food. I would go there again if I was in the mood for Indian. Its super value for money as well.

And lets not forget Bandra's own "khau galli" off Carter Rd with open air options galore, starting right from CCD to Crepe Station, Kwik Wok, Kareem's, MaeB's, Soy (Chinese section of Shatranj with a rooftop seating section), Olives (other than Out of the Blue that's already

Out of the Blue near union park, is known for its fondues, must try – desi fondue (am personally not to fond of bland food so this one appealed to me), sizzlers and pasta ( you can make your own pasta), a good meal for two should cost around Rs.1200 -1500 with a couple of cocktails thrown in. got a decent wine list too if interested. It has good music too. It has great offers for ladies who lunch on a particular day with things like manicure, tarot reading, etc thrown in and buffet lunches which are reasonably priced.

There's another great dessert place off Carter Road, Bandra, Mumbai. Called 'Amore'- its a gelateria (an Italian ice-cream parlour.Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert made from milk (or also soy milk) and sugar, combined with other flavourings).
Will recommend it to everyone... get your senses blown!

'Tamarind'- on Pali hill. Is opposite Fab India (clothes). It is a small place but great food..(.from continental to kheema pav types)...the drinks (non-alcoholic) are good too.

Hey guys...you should check out Mama Mia! It in Ambedkar road, has gelato for deserts. It has 24 flavours of low fat gelato...was tough to choose from, and the staff even give you unlimited free tasters! I loved the forest berry yogurt and orange cheesecake gelato. The kit kat sundae is to die for. It has a cute open air place and is nice place to hang out in the evenings.

Le Chocolat Lounge KBN (Linking Road). Tucked away on the ground floor in the rear of the building, the façade is deceptively cool. Frosted glass hiding the wickedness within

Hawaiian shack at 16th road is Overall, a good place for...lots of drinks - some food - and, maybe, a little leg shaking... scene. What sets it apart - The Music. A great collection of 60s to 90s music, largely rock (Floyd, Dire Straits, U2 etc. etc.) but with some soft rock and pop, especially early on in the evening. The music also indicates why it is so popular with the 30s crowd - they are all mouthing, and later in the evening shouting the lyrics!! So, a good place for that evening out with friends - especially if you are into the rock-scene, and aren’t looking for too much sophistication.

Temptation at hillroad "has Great interior-deco!" Just went there there with my brother and friends. The staff is very nice and very fast. You get a big beer jug for 280 bucks. The food is nice and hot and comes very fast. There is a jukebox where you can put in 5 bucks for a song with all kinds of music but with a disappointing selection nonetheless. 1 thing I like about the place is that you can go inside from the Temptations entrance to Pulse and to Independence Cafe. Clean loo as well, which we all know is very important. Young hot crowd as well...

Shiv sagar 16th road is a south Indian restaurant. Loved the sambar, good crisp dosas and masala dosas. Tasty side dishes like coconut chutney and sambar. Beware of rava dosas - better to have it there itself than having it parceled

Good luck restaurant opp mehboob studio is a quick fast food joint, could be a better kitchen plus u can get some over the counter groceries.. if you live in bandstand and are too lazy to go get food and want to settle for some 'local' pao and burgers .. oh and only if u're in the area and nothing else is around.. don’t dress up, its just a local fast food place

Café coffee day at bandstand and carter road for hot happy cup of coffee! This is a place for Coffee lovers! And especially Cafe Coffee Day at Carter road is pretty good. What with the sea just few feet away! I usually love to go and watch the sunset, or sometimes I go with my friends for hot chocolate after dinner. The service is very good as the staff brings the coffee to you and you don't need to go to get it. One can sit inside or outside The choice is yours. So when you feel a need for a hot cup of happy coffee. Café Coffee day is the place to be. Take a sip today!

One place in Bandra east, Highway Gomantak is in Gandhi nagar Bandra east "A must go for all fish lovers!" It is one of the best places in Mumbai to enjoy gomatak / malwani food. The food is like home cooked and the taste would linger on for a long time to come. It is a khanawali in its true sense. It has small tables, quick, efficient but impersonal servers. But the food makes up for everything. Food is GOOD.

Pure in Taj land ends, bandstand is the new shi-shi place in town. They claim to be a healthy, all-organic restaurant with a keen focus on fresh, no-preservative ingredients. First off, the ambience in this restaurant is pretty amazing. The restaurant has been very purposefully bifurcated into an area with a more dim, darker atmosphere (better for a date), and a white, well-lit atmosphere (families, business, etc.). The wine list was satisfactory, The service was excellent and attentive, as each dish was described to us in great detail. The food, I must say, was spectacular.

Besides eating in fancy restaurants, there are some interesting places on road side too, if you don’t care much for hygiene and dust flying into your plate from the traffic wheezing by and your intestine has already been thickened by unhealthy food.

You can stroll in Bandra and try few roadside food.

Try Jai Jawan, Opposite National College for the Koliwada type of Rawas fish and some lip smacking prawns. It is open after 7pm

For Lonavala type of Wada Pav, try that wadapavwala outside national College on Linking road.

For Sandwiches try Jai sandwich outside National College, or on 36th road.

For bite-size soft Idlis, try the Idliwallah on 36th road Bandra. He is there only from 11am to 4pm

For Non-veg Rolls try Qualty at Linking road

For Tava cooked Brain masala and chicken and Paya soup, try the stall outside Telephone exchange opposite Citywalk.

And ofcourse, there are many bhel puriwallah ,dosawalals, dabelis, sugarcane juice, fruit juice stalls, coconut water, etc, the list is endless.

One thing is clear.. you see Bandraites smiling? Well.....! they are well fed !

The name "Bombay" was derived from 'Bom Bahia' (The Good Bay),

.... a name given by Portuguese sailor Francis Almeida, in 1508 ....“Bounce back Mumbai” .....as it is called by the locals, it is a city that has been through a lot in the recent past – floods, bomb blasts, riots – and come out stronger each time.

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