The World is my Playground

Over demanding and price conscious market is known to be the land for test drives for many brands. If you can survive and grow in Gujarat, you can do that anywhere.. that’s the chain reaction. On the other hand Gujarat is not only a dry state but the foodie population here is quite demanding in terms of vegetarian kitchens and Jain* version of food (no onion no garlic). Wood Fire Pizza at Mondo Kitchen Predicting market dynamics in Gujarat is equally difficult, some work with the same formula, some don’t. Pizza hut, an international chain was urged to launch their first vegetarian outlet in Ahmedabad in 1999; whereas Dominos landed as their regular offering brand with non- vegetarian options. Past five years, Ahmedabad is witnessing more number of non-vegetarian outlets, pouring in at an alarming speed with a loyal league of customers. Almost all of which are doing well!! Parallel to this lot of pizza outlets have opened; local and Global chains both as ownership and franc...

Trends changing and so are our eating patterns.. grabbing a bite or a wholesome shakemeal is the NEW!! Moving on ahead from just ice cream shakes to healthy versions clubbed with fruits, dry fruits or muesli to make it more of tummy filler is the new version. We have moved even a step ahead from mocktails and freak shakes. Hence, if you are calorie conscious and still wanna freak out.. these Shakespeares are there, to load your mouth with notes and tales...  Our city Ahmedabad, the ice-cream capital is now witnessing the upcoming outlets of “only shakes” . Though having dairy content in it, most of  these shakes aren’t made of ice-creams. This is what the emerging chains claim, as ice-creams aren’t in the list of those who are diet conscious, which creates a niche for this league. One such is The Shake Maker where I tried Fruit Mania with nuts at 1 pm in the afternoon, which was my lunch, and till 5pm didn't feel the need of having anything else. It's LO...

Day in and day out we are reading about pollution, global warming, chemical processing and revival of heritage. Volunteer Groups, NGOs, stringent Government policies have already realized the damage that has been done by the new age human civilization. The efforts at individual and group levels in getting back and being rooted are some baby steps being taken in the huge Urban clutter, where "Retail therapy" is the buzz word.  This so termed "Therapy" is just a stop gap solution, temporary and hollow, promoting "use and throw" concept amidst the new generation...but still empty and hollow, leading no where!! Some good hearts amidst the herd have rolled up their sleeves and taken conscious charge to not allow chemicals get into their food stream.  Sunday, 23rd September, in the Capital city, where 'vertical growth" spending on weekends in the malls, showing off brands and price tags is the culture which has seeped in....

With a wish to want more and grow exponentially, there are countless eateries opening across the length and breadth of the city, state, and geographies. To serve their patrons best quality food and faster delivery, restaurants pile up inventories, the most challenging place where the food in bulk is prepared is that for parties, weddings and events. To keep up the quality intact and follow food security norms, the unused food is thrown and wasted a lot, food which can feed a billion, who sleep hungry every day or millions die of malnutrition. System Research Society in continuation of National Campaign on Reducing Food Wastage: Don’t You Waste Food Campaign’s (DYWF) Ahmedabad Conclave conducted an awareness walk against food wastage on August 29, 2018. There was an active participation witnessed by school students, educators, professors, NCC Cadets, people from the Food Association Group (FEA) and youth ambassadors of DYWF campaign. The participating institutions were Shr...

Are you health conscious and still wanna Binge?? Your search ends here... Hyatt Regency recently has come up with their new menu for Italian cuisine. Chef Mauro Ferrari has been the thought leader behind the entire gastronomy. The chefs have put in all their culinary skills to serve the evolving taste buds of the current human breed who love eating out ....yet extremely health conscious. Apart from the pizzas and kinds of pasta, they have marked the menu the new especially crafted Italian delicacies have been marked with an 'H" signifying "Healthy". In continuation to let Amdavadis walk the map, experience various world cuisines that are being explored by various restaurants played around differently and created with their own signature version.  Tinello  has done the same.. the menu is quite elaborate. I opted for one of their ‘H’ signature salad. A chicken breast which is cooked at 65 degrees for four hours, th...

H omo sapiens as we are, one of the most evolved species on this planet.. the way our brains, technology and living patterns have emerged, so have the trends on food. in ancient times, after we discovered fire.. food was simply cooked so that our digestive system isn't loaded for hours of churning and extracting nutrients.. Nutrition is what needed as fuel to run ourselves and our brains.. So my day on Saturday started with a session on growing better food for nutrition which is chemical free. " Treewalks " an initiative by Lokendra Balasaria is a session conducted by like minded people on regular intervals to know more about the trees, taking care of them, growing up vegetables and contributing more to detox the planet. Next I headed on to UNLOCKED.. which too is based on Detoxing, be it from technology or our digestive system. I discovered a board game "UNSPOKEN" over a Kiwi, Cucumber and Mint detox juice with an intention to add better n...

The downpour of restaurants for the crazy bees has added options for the food trend which is growing in the skyline of the city, covered with clouds but dotted with eateries. The urge to splurge on food suddenly grows when after the peak summers when the mercury is on rise your hunger levels, and then arrives the soothing showers inversing the fore-mentioned phenomenon.  Apart from just samosas or pakoras , t he hungry soul then yearns for fried, spicy stuff and open spaces which are dropping. I am always in for open spaces which along with good food have the best natural resource available i.e FRESH AIR!! Hence to venture, apart from the regular roadside eateries, I thought of listing down some irresistible options. Truffle - The Cafe Truffle – The Cafe : Located off S. G Highway, opp. YMCA club, a comparatively peaceful and bigger location. Apart from the container converted to a cafe, they have the best blend of live music, private spaces dug out for larger groups f...

With Ice-Cream you will never feel deserted in Ahmedabad!! Ahmedabad in my personal ranking has to be THE ICE-CREAM Capitol of India, with leading dairy brands, ice-cream not only happens to be a by product of it, but it’s the lullaby of majority of the population. Credit scores for this culture also are due to the state falling in so called “ dry” category!! The males aren’t busy consuming liquor at home or in pubs therefore one can spot groups of families and friends hanging out together sitting outside parlours or pavement on stools late at night.. chilling with their ‘gup-shup’. The late evening breeze in this tropical zone is another inviting factor for this trend to develop!! As a spectator and blogger, I have witnessed three generations or three zones of this chilling fluid!! To hit Bull's eye you need the MOO factor of cow!! The home made brands contribute to the first generation which had always been local preference, made locally, fresh with minimum proc...