The Boob's Buffet Blunder

For those of you who don't know, Nakamura's resident Marketing whiz kid a.k.a Rocket Singh a.k.a Abhinav "The Noob" Rajagopal had been bestowed a major responsibility, arranging the final Nakamura Gathering. This my friends was indeed a herculean task, the likes of myself and Akshay Rao have failed hopelessly in the past due to various reasons, all hope had seemed lost, Nakamura was dying a slow death. But then the miracle worker that is the BOOB, pulled off a major coup, in a desperate attempt to plug the heartstrings of the Chembur gang, he used the imminent departure of legendary league admin Gautam Swaminathan as a catalyst to arrange this meet. The plan was made, all parties agreed. Wednesday, 27th June 2012, history was about to be made. For the first time in almost a year everybody including Barry and Rushabh were about to meet for dinner. Fitting the occasion, the location of the meet had to be grand, something boob took sole responsibility off. Over the years, we have grown to love his eccentricities and yet one year of Business School and we still don't trust the boob over quality of food, and his presence of mind.

Seeing as this meeting was arranged as a goodbye to Nakamura Bombay and the fact that I was leaving soon, boob did promise me a special non veg treat for a buffet. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave the poor guy a chance. A chance that 3 other vegetarians did, based solely on his opinion we all ventured out into the unknown lands of Versova. Grillopolis was the venue for my latest Buffet meal, seeing as there were 5 very different people on the table, all five of them had different views about the place. Its only fair that I mention all 5 opinions about Grillopolis and it wouldn't take a dummy to figure out who is who.

1. I am a bitter bitter man who has a problem with everyone and everything. I think I am the best at everything I do, I am obviously better than anybody in any form of competition. I have a rather pussy appetite, I don't eat much but I do gulp down them Fresh Lime Sodas. Saying something sucks once is never enough, I have to make sure I say it over and over again till the message is etched into boob's mind. I hate the idea of having beetroot and carrots as starters, the brownies shouldn't be too crunchy, the cake is gay and why the hell don't they serve any roti? Grillopolis sucks cock, my rating would be 4 on 10.

2. I am a simple south indian boy who is good in maths. I have big dreams of becoming a fancy marketing VP someday. I hope some day my Nakamura group will respect me and not pawn me for everything I say or do. Deep down I knew the food wasn't that great but since I was the one who recommended it, I had to have 3 rounds of Paneer and 4 rounds of Carrot and Beetroot. As good as they were I didn't like the main course. I am probably the only man on the face of this earth who claims to have tried Non-Veg food and not develop a taste for it and switch back to Paneer and Aloo. But I scouted the place, so my rating would be 8 on 10. Yes I am super biased.

3. I have been working out since the 11th standard. Despite my Gujju roots I am not as bad as some of the other ghatkopar boys. I don't care much about food and ambiance, I have lived all my life in Chembur and any excess travelling doesn't please me. The main reason I hate Versova is cause 371 is a bus that has lousy frequency and I don't like waiting at Diamond garden. The mushroom and corn thingy's were nice, still all in all I thought this place was a waste of time and money. My rating would be 5 on 10.

4. I live to eat. I really really love food. I base a lot of my life decisions on food and the availability of food. No amount of food in a buffet is enough for me but today I was let down. Probably because the boob had such lofty expectations of Grillopolis. It was good but I won't come back here again. I really liked the Carrot and Beetroot despite popular opinion, I wish they had a better selection of main course for the Veg people, if I had my way I would ban all Non-vegetarians from my table so that all the veg food will be left for me. Expected a lot more from the desserts. Versova is a bitch to travel. This was a waste of time, but once in a while its good to spend so much money and indulge yourself. My rating has to be 6 on 10.

And now for the last person and possibly the only review that actually matters.

5. I love buffets in general. Specially as a hard core non vegetarian you get to do justice for the amount you pay. Loved the fact that I didn't have to share my food with anyone on the table, yet they all had to share their Mushroom dish and Veg kebab with me. The chicken was awesome specially with the hummus, lamb is always the best part about the buffet, prawns and shrimps were almost identical but brilliant nonetheless, the starters are the main reason to go visit this place. The waiters keep them coming, they are absolutely delicious and the fact that you always have a full plate whilst the grass eating noobs wait is just the cherry on your cake. Pleasantly surprised with the main course too, Spaghetti with Calimari which was really really good, a decentish biryani, good ol' fashioned BBQ chicken, lamb kofta again, and a shrimp in orange sauce which was better than expected. Very average desserts, only 3 items to choose from, but a good end to a rather pleasant meal. Not nearly the best buffet I've had, but I do not for one minute regret paying 850 bucks for this meal. The non veg starters and hummus are alone worth it. My rating a generous 7.5 on 10.

So boob lived up to his name, his Chembur friends were disappointed yet again by his amateur scouting, the brasht brahmin in me thoroughly enjoyed yet another meat extravaganza and finally the Nakamura gathering was done and dusted. Overall this place is a hassle to get to, and its not that great but if you are the type that likes trying new kinds of cuisine and most importantly you are NON VEGETARIAN, you should definitely visit Grillopolis. If you are Veg, you are better off ordering Paneer Butter Masala and Butter Roti from Shiv Sagar and saving about 650 bucks of your money, don't bother coming to places like this.

In keeping with the British rock theme, I have a few more of my favorite English bands to review, today its Def Leppard. I don't listen to much of hard rock or heavy metal, but Def Leppard I like. Ex-girlfriend's favorite band must make me hate these guys na? Well not really. Really like their music, big contribution in British rock over the 80's and 90's. Without a shadow of doubt the band reached the peak of  its popularity because of albums Pyromania and Hysteria. Other albums are decent and worth the download, hell the entire discography is. What really intrigued me about Def Leppard was the fact that their lead drummer Rick Allen was a one handed drummer, you wouldn't have imagined that if you heard some of his solos. A touch of class indeed to play thru almost 11 albums with just one hand, quite a remarkable feat come to think of it. You can understand I am in sort of a hurry with Def Leppard, they have a lot of music, not something you can keep listening to all day, but some songs are indeed fantastic. My favorite songs have to include, "Two Steps Behind", "Photograph", "When Love & Hate Collide" (single, not in any of their studio albums), "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Let's Get Rocked", "Have You Ever Needed Someone Soo Bad", "Rock of Ages" and "Love Bites". Very wacky names and proper hard rock songs, this band is no classic but definitely worth having on your iPod. They have a rather long and tiresome discography but I think you should go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt. Here is their discography (in order of preference):

• 1983 - Pyromania
• 1987 - Hysteria 
• 1992 - Adrenalize 
• 1993 - Retro Active
• 1981 - High 'n' Dry
• 1996 - Slang
• 2002 - X 
• 2006 - Yeah!
• 1998 - Warchild
• 1985 - First Strike
• 1980 - On Through The Night

Special mention to the song "When Love & Hate Collide", its not their in any of their studio albums since it was a single released by band, one of my favorite Def Lepp songs along with Two Steps Behind. Some albums are a mixture of their greatest hits and acoustic and electric versions of the same songs, but they are all good nonetheless. A classic british rock band with an extraordinary drummer. Def Leppard will grow on you, do listen to them. 

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The Buffet's are back Bwouyyyss !!!

1600 Hours. Receive bbm from Pranav Kalluri. Speaking about an irresistible dinner buffet offer at the Courtyard Marriot at Chakala. I had heard good things about this buffet, pretty steep price wise but if you snapdeal it, its well worth the money. But after a rather nice home made lunch I wasn't too hungry, not nearly hungry enough to go do full justice to a dinner buffet worth 800 bucks. Well whats life without a challenge? Off to the gym I went, possessed with the need for meat, I did a few extra crunches and ran a little longer on the treadmill. 2000 Hours. Meat deprived brahmin was hungry as all hell, the plan was on. The Marriot Buffet was about to be conquered. As everybody would be aware the EURO 2012 has begun and one can't ask for a better way to spend your evenings/nights. Two brilliant games everyday for about a week now, but sadly for me I had to chose between a Portugal vs Denmark game and a delicious dinner buffet. The game ended 3-2, probably the best game of the tourney so far but I will still stand by my decision and say the buffet was better. A million times better. Here's why.

Lavish. That's the word to sum up this buffet. Absolutely ridiculous spread they have here at the Cafe Momo. Sadly for me no TV's anywhere but if the food is this good I don't think anyone would care about missing a game of football. My partners in crime: Kalluri and two of his lovely lady friends. You would think women can't do justice for such a sumptuous buffet but I was proven wrong, our entire meal lasted only 2 hours, we missed the entire Portugal game because we were almost comatose with the amount of food we had just eaten. To start you off there's a amazing Salad bar. Now for a vegetarian, the salad bar is kinda lame with their broccoli and soya beans and all that crap, but for us the story is a little different. Here's a sentence I thought I'd never say, I made 3 trips to the Salad Bar, the salads were incredible. Well who wouldn't when you have Bacon and Cabbage, Chicken in Apple Sauce, Lamb and Asparagus, Beef, a Seafood platter, Egg Salad, about 5 different kinds of bread, only the most delicious Chilli Butter and Oregano Butter, 2 soups and gourmet cheese to indulge yourself with. Bacon isn't something that any sane person would miss out on, its easily one of the best kinds of meat that there is and we all know how much me and Kalluri love our Apple chicken. Top drawer salad bar. The bacon and Chicken in apple sauce were exemplary, possibly my favorite items on the menu. Special mention to the Lamb in Asparagus, didn't look too inviting, but delicious nonetheless.

Usually one just gets the ball rolling with the Salad bar, but we went ahead and belched ourselves with the salads, so obviously we had to slow down and think about our next mode of attack. We went straight to the Pasta station. Like all 5 star hotels, a neat little pasta station, chef with the hat and everything. Fusili and Penne as usual in red and white sauces but the toppings were what won me over. Bacon again. Must have been my lucky day. Not to mention the chicken sausages. Add a little mushrooms and veggies, that makes one delicious pasta. One that I finished all by myself. No sharing because it was just that good. The big guy chose the Pizza instead, bad decision. Very average pizza, thin crust and freshly made dough but absolutely no toppings or spice. Kinda like those plain cheese pizzas they make for kids. The girls got us some Tacos and Enchiladas, yup they had a taco station too. Good combination with the pastas. All in all round two was more than wonderful. Great pastas, just the right quantity too.

Moving on to the maincourse. Well to be honest I barely could. I was almost full and the only thing willing me on was the delicious looking dessert selection, but I did go and have a look at the maincourse. Good call I made to eat sparsely here, not the greatest selection of Tandoori food. The dry items were brilliant to be honest, the Mushroom Tandoori, two types of Chicken kebabs and a jazzy make your own raita counter. The gravies weren't that great, they did have a fish and a chilli chicken but I guess I was too full to care too much about it. My eyes were on the main prize but then I had to make a small detour. Enter Dum Gosht Biryani. For those who don't follow, Mutton and Lamb biryani. This took the cake for me. Filled my plate up with lots of pieces, raita (my very own preparation) and my maincourse was underway. I've grown fond of Lamb thanks to these lavish buffets I'm having, its a very tasty form of meat. When cooked right I can gorge myself on it, and this biryani was just the way I like it. I would have definitely had a second serving but then my new Podolski jersey wasn't the best attire for such a buffet so I had to step back. And now that the maincourse is over, ladies and gentlemen we shall take a break. 30 minutes of chatting and texting because we were too full to even look at the desserts. And since we have a little time why don't I sneak it a little bit of some more British rock ??

Sticking with the British rock theme, today I give you The Police. Not one of the most fancied bands in the world, but a good band if you are patient enough with them. 3 man band formed in London featuring popular vocalist Sting (the Desert Rose dude). They introduced us to a new genre of music in the form of New Wave. Peppy, catchy songs they had, the kind that just randomly makes you wanna start moving to the music (if you know what I mean). I had to listen to the 5 albums atleast 3 times over to get some sort of liking towards the band, don't get me wrong they are good, but not the greatest band to have come out of England. Luckily they have only 5 albums. Funky names too with Reggatta de Blanc and Zenyatta Mondatta and all. Wouldn't rate them too high, I'd say they would feature sparsely in my top rated songs but I would definitely listen to them once in a while. Some songs as always just stand out and I think the best ever Police song has to be "King of Pain". Love the lyrics. Love the song. Love Sting. Great vocals on this song especially, and overall too, he's done a fairly decent job and I think he deserves a lot of credit for getting the Police to where they are today. "Roxanne" is another top song. Some of my other favorites include "I Can't Stand Losing You", "Message In a Bottle", "Deathwish", "Every Breath You Take", "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "Synchronicity I and II" and "Murder by Numbers". These songs are all brilliant but the rest of the discography is one of a kind, with wacky songs like "Tea in the Sahara" and "De Do Do Do. De Da Da Da". You have to have such a discography, its not something you are going to listen to everyday, but once in a while, The Police are a brilliant band to listen to. Here's there discography (no preference really)

• 1978 - Outlandos d'Amour
• 1979 - Reggatta de Blanc
• 1980 - Zenyatta Mondatta
• 1981 - Ghost in the Machine
• 1983 - Synchronicity 

Now coming back to the Courtyard Marriot and the desserts. After about 30 mins of small talk, we finally decided to hit the desserts section. 12-16 items to choose from, it doesn't get better than this. Black Forest cakes, Mixed Fruit Pastries, Chocolate Mousse, Passion Fruit Cheese Cakes and many more such delicacies. Indian sweets too they had. Mango Sandwiches, milk pedas. But we stuck to the cakes and pastries. I was the only one to finish my plate and didn't waste anything, something not even the great Pranav Kalluri can say. The big guy was too full to finish his maincourse and dessert, although what he ate that night was probably what the girls ate all week. Such is his "healthy" appetite and one can't help admire his commitment to eating. Thanks again for the buffet invite bwouys!! Next time a little heads up before we feast like this would be much appreciated! And obviously make sure it doesn't clash with any football games. Too stuffed to eat or blog anymore, next update only during the quarter finals of the EURO 2012. Goo Germany. 

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Cowboys and SOUTH-Indians!!!!

She pats me on my back and asks me, "By the way do you have any Justin Beiber songs on your iPod?" If there's one thing a brother doesn't want to hear from his almost teenage sister, its probably that. The irony is for everyone to see! Here I am listening to Bob Dylan and Floyd etc whilst my own sister listens to hippy gay shit like Beiber. This had to be rectified. Its not easy convincing a 12 year old to not listen to Beiber, but that's the beauty of being the elder child, you get to boss them to no end and eventually they will just have to grind their teeth and do what you say. She will thank me later for this noble act, for the world needs more Classic rock fans, we are a dying breed and any new recruit is a cause for celebration. So last year when she visited I made her listen to ABBA. Not the most macho band, but one must not forget she's a girl, its easier to sell stuff like ABBA to her. So this year as we took our annual family vacation, I was listening to another one of Britain's finest - Bee Gees. Saddened by the news of the demise of Robin Gibb just last week, it was only fair to include them in my blog post this week. The Gibb brothers have forever sealed their cult status with the creme-de la- creme of British Rock gods with some amazing music in the 60's and 70's. Arguably one of the better bands to come out of Great Britain, their songs will forever stay close to my heart, and fittingly so Robin Gipp is "Stayin' Alive" in our hearts through his music and his legacy will never be tarnished. Cancer might have gotten the better of Robin Gibb, but their music shall live on. Forever Stayin' Alive.

In terms of albums they had a whopping 22 studio albums and downloading them all is a painstaking task, I would strongly recommend their Greatest Hits album. Its got everything that you need in an album. Melody, Peppy Beats and even a touch of romance the Bee Gees were really good at what they did. Sure they never had the success of a Beatles or a Led Zepp, but they were good. Really good. All our fathers have danced to "Stayin' Alive" in their youth, hell most of us also have. Great song. "Tragedy", "Jive Talkin'", "How Deep Is Your Love", "Warm Ride", "Too Much Heaven" and "NIGHT FEVER" - my absolute favorite Bee Gees number, these are some of my favorite Bee Gees songs. Hell this is one kickass album, 24 classic songs, straight away into the Top Rated section on your iPod. My sister likes them too (for now), she still favors ABBA, but she'll come around. It made me so happy that she came to my room the other day with her father's pen drive and told me to transfer ABBA and Bee Gees songs, following the family tradition I guess, she's only 12 and I wish her all the best for her musical journey. I hope she reads my blog someday and takes some inspiration from it and who knows the next time she's in town we could listen to some proper music and not lousy pop like Justin Beiber. 

Last time I was fairly critical of her and I even went on to say that I wouldn't want to see her next year. That's an absolute lie. The fact of the matter is that she is the closest thing I have to an real sibling and for that she will always be close to my heart. Sure we have our fights and she scratches every inch of my arm, but its all good fun. She has her moments when she's absolutely adorable (like when she falls asleep on my lap/shoulder) and sometimes its best to not get on her bad side. The entire family went to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar for a weekend off, ironically we barely had any time to relax. Like every other vacation, we ate too much, slept very little and due to that and the lovely ghats of Mahabaleshwar everyone of the oldies (myself not included) had tummy troubles. We did thoroughly enjoy Mapro Garden, some more than the others, but enjoyed nonetheless. I last went to Mapro Garden about 8 years back, back then Grilled Sandwiches were cheap, Strawberries were fresh and the place was very quiet. 2012 and the scene is not so similar. The prices have shot up, almost as alarming as the petrol hike, the quality has gone down a touch and the sheer no of people might make you squirm. Still if you visit Mahabaleshwar you have to visit Mapro Garden. Very simple concept. Everything Strawberry. Their menu is as simple as it gets, only vegetarian food, 5-6 types of pizza's to chose from and a Veg Cheese Grill Sandwich. They make about five thousand of them on an average weekend and just the sight of soo many slices of bread with veggies will make you hungry. The Grill sandwiches are very good, perfect size, just right for one person. Although the sandwiches are their signature dish, their pizzas and desserts are the most popular items off late. They make an insane pizza, it takes a while but it is well worth the wait. The sizzling brownie and ice creams look very tempting but if you are only going to visit this place once, then the only dessert you should have MUST be the Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream. 

What a heavenly preparation this is. The sweetest strawberries, the most delicious strawberry cream, the perfect amount of strawberry syrup and the tastiest ice cream. This is easily the best item on their menu. An absolute must this. You cannot step out of Mapro garden without having their Strawberry with Cream. Their milkshakes are also divine, for those of you who are light eaters, the milk shake would be the way to go. Apart from eating your heart out, you can also shop at Mapro Garden. For cheap too, they have an insane range of syrups, jams, candies etc. We must have billed about 2k, thank the 12 year old for that. In the end the men had to just lift the boxes and pay of course. Well after the meal we had, I wouldn't complain. Totally worth it.

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There's no such thing as FUN for the whole Family!!

"I can't come today dude, I got guests coming over". Haven't we all said and heard that line at least a hundred times in our lifetime. Guests have a weird way to ruining all your plans. What is it about them that demands so much of my attention? All families are weird, mine is no different, and my family's guests well and truly take the cake. Be it the grumpy old uncles who keep bumming off my toiletries and act all cool about, or the annoying aunt who wants to start an argument everywhere she goes, my folks comprise of the wackiest group of south Indians. They are almost like the "Avengers" of  awkward situations and I am the helpless lil' guinea pig who is often subject to ridicule and far too much judgement. I've simply never understood this phenomena of having the whole family around when said "guests" visit. Why should I hang out with a man who's as old as my grandfather? What could I possibly have in common with the man? Why would anyone in their right mind want to spend time with that friend of your mother, who's like a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to the percentages and marks of her family. So just because her daughter aced her 10th and 12th exam, this lady can come over to my house and make sure that my mom gives me shit for something that happened five years ago? Crazy world this we live in, and it bugs me to no end that I am the only child, no cousins my age, well at least not normal ones, and just for fun god decided to screw with me more by giving me five girl cousins,  four of whom aren't even teenagers yet.

I might be coming off as a real child whining about having to spend like a week with the family, well I am. Maturity has never been one of my greatest facets, that being said I did score a lot of bonus points with my mom this past week. Mom's run their child's life. Right from the time we learn how to walk all the way till the time we get married, I'm not even gonna try and deny it. The woman is plain crazy, its scary how much control she still has on my life. So when she decides that I have to drive to the airport to pick up guests and miss my IPL game, then I can argue all I want, but Radio One score updates are all that I'm going to get that evening. But it works out in the long run, mom's are very easy to please that way. You don't need to buy them fancy gifts and all, you just have to suck it up and admit they are right and you are wrong. Once you do that, hell you can pretty much get away with anything. So these guests I am talking about, dad's college friend and his family, apparently they were pretty tight in Bangalore and have been friends ever since. Luckily for me they have these adorable set of twins (boy-girl twins that too), and the best part was that they are only 7 years old. Now as Krishna(boy) rightly calculated with the help of his tiny fingers, I am 15 yrs elder than him, but age is no bar when it comes to Hot Wheels, cricket and having fun. Boys will be boys I guess. What I thought was going to be an awful Saturday turned out to be a rather amazing evening. When you are a 7 year old boy who has two sisters, one stay at home mom and one father who travels a lot, you kinda idolize every other guy you meet. That guy for Krishna was ME!! He did not leave my side the whole day, he wanted to go in the car I was driving, wanted to sit next to me in the table, wanted to sleep in my room, so much so that I even convinced him that Arsenal is the best team in the world and he should definitely support them. Lets see how long this idol status lasts.

The only silver lining of guests coming over is the fact that you have the prospect of good food. Good VEG food, but good food nonetheless. My family doesn't go out that much, they are very weird like that, but on occasion we do visit a few of my father's approved restaurants. He has only one parameter, they should be pure veg. Kailash Parbat is easily his favorite restaurant and for good reason. I was rather skeptical about the place but I must say two meals in as many days has helped change that opinion. They have a decent lunch buffet too, for 299/- bucks you get a rather good lunch, with 3 starters, chats, assorted rotis, one good paneer subji, one okay daal, horrible pasta and Sindhi curry and as always a brilliant selection of desserts. As good as the buffet was, I don't think the Kailash Parbat we all know and love is famous for its buffets. I think there real success story is that portion on the menu that says, "Signature Dishes since 1982". Ragda Pattice, Chole Batura, Gulab Jamun with Rabdi, Royal Falooda, Dal Pakwan and their chat items, these are what you should have when you visit here. Hell I'd have no qualms over eating here every week, their Chole Batura is one the best I've ever had. Its a nice place too, pretty good ambiance, perfect for the family get together. I felt bad for the twins though, their parents refused to let them have he chats and batura sighting a possible "sickness" they could get, ridiculous really, the kids had to eat a crappy cheese pizza whilst the parents nicely hog their Ragda Pattice. Well not my kid, so I can't really judge. Nevertheless the twins were happy as long as the IPL game was on and I was sitting in the middle. All in all a good fun evening with the family..........for a change.

But not all family outings are fun, when my mom's sister and her daughter visit I literally have to start making plans with every single person I know. She's twelve now, she was much cuter and much nicer when she was like seven, now she's just a giant pain in my ass. She has anger management issues, she's nice and healthy so you can't even wrestle her anymore and as any almost teenage girl nowadays, she suffers from the "Disney Princess Syndrome". Ever since she was like five years old, she is used to getting whatever she wants. Now that list comprises of a wide array of designer clothes, god knows how many shoes, nail polish and other accessories and other cool tech gadgets like an iPad and a decent Nokia mobile phone. That's one spoilt brat. She also has an Xbox Kinect, due to which going out to play is out of the question, it worries me that she's already a couch potato and she's not even a teenager yet. And the scarier thought is that she is only going to get worse from now on, well I am not gonna stick around for another vacation with her. No thank you. One last family trip to Mahabaleshwar and that is it for me, next I'll probably hang out with her at either one of our weddings (please for the love of god, I hope its mine).

Music wise I decided to give the Gallagher brothers a try this week. Oasis is a decent Brit band, british pop to be precise, I quite like the feel of their music. Definitely can't be classified under rock or any other genre, Oasis are probably on par with the likes of a Switchfoot or a Poets of the Fall. They are known to be die hard Manchester City fans, not like the glory hunters who became citizens after Aguero's injury time winner, but proper Man City fans. They are ever present in City's home games, but it must really suck that their hit song "Wonderwall" is only third in City's winning match playlist. For the life of me I can't understand how "Hey Jude" is always being played after a city win. Nevertheless, really okay band to say the least, got like 7 albums. 3-4 of them are worth a listen to, hell I'd say go for it, get the entire discography. Oasis isn't a band that normal people would be head banging to, but they are good. Worth the space on your iPod. A lot of people say that "Don't Look Back At Anger" and "Wonderwall" are their best songs, I won't disagree but there are a bunch of better songs. "Morning Glory", "The Masterplan", "She's Electric", "Champagne Supernova", "Roll With Me", "Cast No Shadow", "Keep The Dream Alive" and "Let There Be Love" are some of my favorite Oasis songs. Wouldn't want to talk too much about this band, at best they are slightly above average. But they are british so I'm glad that I checked them off my list. Here's there entire discography:

• 1994 - Definitely Maybe
• 1995 - (What's The Story) Morning Glory? 
• 1997 - Be There Now
• 2000 - Standing on the Shoulder of the Giants
• 2002 - Heathen Chemistry
• 2005 - Don't Believe The Truth
• 2008 - Dig Out Your Soul 

Since I loved #MayBuffetMadness so much, I am gonna continue it into the month of the Monsoon. Keep reading guys, more British Rock and Buffets to follow. Peace. 

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The Stairway to Heaven of Chinese Buffets

May Buffet Madness is still going in full swing. On the massive day of the Uefa Champions League I traveled to the shit hole that is Versova, don't get me wrong the place is crawling with celebs and stars but it is probably the worst place to get to in Bombay, but I had to suck it up and go the extra mile to Versova since it was a special occasion. The DHS survivors were getting together after almost a year, I say survivors because only we know what we have been through in the last 5 years with the Mussolini-esque dictator, you know in the off chance that he does read my blog, I'm not gonna take his name. But our mutual respect and hatred towards the Boss Man is what binds us together and we decided to go have a nice meal to honor this bond. Well all sentiment aside, people are really hard to catch hold of these days, so finally a get together of 8 people was skimmed down to 3 hungry boys and ONE delicious Lunch Buffet at Aromas of China.

A lot of people would know that Stairway To Heaven was probably one of the greatest rock songs of the classic rock era and Led Zeppelin was definitely up there with the greatest ever rock bands. After Arsenal I'd say Led Zepp are probably the next best thing that originated from the city of London. Anyways this song, Stairway to Heaven is an absolute peach. Everyone has heard it. Everyone loves it. There's no two ways about it, this is the song that cemented Led Zepp's status as the true pioneers of British Rock. So obviously if I were to award such a prestigious title to a Lunch Buffet then damm straight that buffet should have earned and deserved such recognition. I had super high expectations of Aromas of China before I went there to eat and I was not let down. As much as I love Mainland China and the 5 Spice Chinese, when it comes to indulgence and quality, Aromas of China well and truly takes the cake. Let me go about explaining how they went about sealing their status as "The Stairway to Heaven of Chinese Buffets".

Stage I: Location and Exclusivity (ANGER)
Unlike MLC, the number of AOC's in Bbay are few and far between with one at Oberoi Mall Goregaon (which doesn't have a lunch buffet) and the original one at Versova. So AOC is the kind of luxury not everyone in Bombay can experience, and even if you want to, you gotta travel all the way to Versova. The ambiance is nothing short of spectacular with private dining lounges, fortune cookies, big wooden doors and giant chinese inscriptions on the walls. Well lets just say its a very fancy place.

Stage II: Getting started (DENIAL)
How many lunch buffets have you gone to where they give you complimentary welcome drinks? Might I add you get to chose from Red n White wines, a pint of Beer and a normal soft drink or a soda. Well some people love a glass of wine before any meal, I am obviously not one of them. Wine is easily the flooziest and gayest drink ever made. I don't care how fancy it is, its god dam awful. The buffet starts at the back with the Dumplings and steamed Momo's section. Piping hot dumplings to chose from, 2 types for the Veggies and 3 for us Carnivores - Chicken and Prawns. Absolutely delicious this, they have about 10 different sauces you can sample with your dumplings. Don't feel shy, load up on these cause they are super light and super tasty.

Stage III: Main Course - Challenge Accepted (BARGAINING)
For a change the Veggie's had ample representation in a Lunch buffet, an entire Stir Fried counter, 3 diff types of main courses to chose from and the usual Rice and Noodles. But who cares about that part of the buffet, it was literally empty throughout the entire afternoon. The non veg section was where the real action was. Chicken Sapo and another Chicken gravy. Lamb in black pepper sauce. Prawns in Oyster sauce. Chicken spring rolls and a chicken starter. A live counter for the most delicious Chicken Satay, a smoked Cantonese Chicken which looked as delicious as anything I have ever seen and yes one Chicken fried rice and Chicken Noodles. I ate all of this, 2 helpings of most, specially the Lamb in Black Pepper Sauce, it was absolute divine. The live counters were an absolute tease and you simply couldn't resist them.

Stage IV: When Gman chickened out like a Wuss. (DEPRESSION)
Like I said I went for this buffet with a couple of guys from work, one being a vegan and the other was a fellow converted carnivore. Still all of us had the mental block towards seafood, simply because we don't know what the hell to expect from the insides of a fish, crab etc. So unwillingly we had to skip a certain items on the buffet. An assorted seafood platter. A fish preparation that smelled really nice. Baby Lobsters with their shells or whatever. Crabs cooked in some black sauce. Upon telling my friends I left all this, they actually told me that I was an absolute douche bag, so much so that some of them told me to shove some baby lobsters in my pocket the next time I go for their buffet because and I quote, "The center is pure ecstasy right there".

Stage V: The grand finale - The Desserts (ACCEPTANCE)
As always they have saved the best for last. Quite magnificent their dessert counter, I'm surprised we even made it till there, I was quite literally stuffed but I had to soldier on. And I'm glad I did. Caramel Custard. Pineapple Cakes. Chocolate Brownies. Chocolate Truffle Cakes. Yogurt Cakes. Strawberry Cheese Cake. Hot Chocolate Spring Rolls with 4 types of Ice Cream. Honey Noodles. Fruits. My god we had to go 2 rounds even in the desserts cause we didn't have enough space on one plate to jam all of this on. Special mentions to the Caramel Custard and the Pineapple cakes, huge fan favorites they were.

So after about 2 and half hours of just eating, we finally finished our lavish lunch buffet. I'm a bit disappointed that we missed out on the Duck and Fondue (chocolate fountain). But one can't be greedy. All this was about 750 bucks with tax. Some might say that's way too much for one meal, but let me tell you this One meal is worth it. I skipped dinner last night because I was just too full. If you are a foodie, and you have a massive appetite, then make that trip to Versova, you will not regret it. Aromas of China is the best Chinese meal I've had in a long time. Without a shadow of doubt.

Now coming back to Mr Jimmy Page and his New Yardbirds, popularly known as LED ZEPPELIN. One of my favorite bands, all the more so because, this band grows on you. At first U'd think they have like one good album which is Led Zeppelin V with their cult hits "Stairway to Heaven", "Going to California", "Misty Mountain Hop" and "When The Levee Breaks". An average rock fan would have heard these songs atleast 200 times in their lifetime, and some of you might have even noticed how Led Zepp songs have been used in the popular sitcom from back in the day That 70's Show. Then you'd make it a point to listen to all the songs which they have used for that particular season and you will be left speechless. Led Zepp's awesomeness will win you over with their next best album Led Zeppelin I. "I Can't Quit You Baby" will feature quite a bit in your playlist. "Dazed and Confused" will leave you dazed and confused because that song has some many levels its scary. The die hard Gooner in me listens to "Your Time Is Gonna Come" almost every week to convince myself that our time will indeed come in the near future and I will cry my eyes  out when Arsenal lifts some trophies. "I Can't Quit You Baby" will leave you wondering how come Jimmy Page gets away with saying Baby so many times in one song and Justin Bieber gets all this flack for his one teenage friendly hit. Nevertheless my point is that one cannot NOT like Led Zeppelin. Their contribution to music is simply too much, they are and will always be the greatest ever British Rock Band. Sad to see them split because of the death of one member, LOL maybe the Beatles should have learnt a thing or two from them. On second thought Led Zepp vs The Beatles, dayyum, lets just call that one a TIE shall we. If you are having trouble gaining confidence for maybe a KT or some lousy exam, have a listen to "Kashmir". That song will pump so much adrenaline into you, you'd bloody ace that exam/interview. Sadly only 9 albums and about 81 songs. Studios atleast. They have had a lot of singles and unreleased tracks, but I'm a studio album kinda guy. Definitely download the entire discography. I miss bands like Led Zepp, they had so much potential, one can only wonder what if, what if Lynyrd's plane didn't crash, what if Bob Marley didn't die of Melanoma, what if John Bonham didn't die and leave Led Zepp without a drummer. Well one can only wonder. But we must be grateful to the beautiful music they have made and that's what I recommend. Here's their Discography in order of my preference:

• 1971 - Led Zeppelin IV
• 1969 - Led Zeppelin I 
• 1969 - Led Zeppelin II 
• 1982 - Coda
• 1975 - Physical Graffiti Disc 1 and 2
• 1973 - Houses of The Holy
• 1970 - Led Zeppelin III
• 1976 - Presence
• 1979 - In Through The Out Door

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It's not just Blogging, It's about having the "Appetite for ROCK"

Almost a year now since I started this blog, a lot of people told me that I would eventually fizz out or I would run out of places to write about or run out of Artists/Bands to listen to. Well here's the thing, before I started this blog I knew damn sure that this was a sure thing, not just because Music is such a vast unexplored Ocean, but I was doubly sure because of my Appetite for Rock. Now yes, this is all good wordplay for my latest update about Cafe Appetite and another classic rock artist, but people fail to realize that I take this blog pretty seriously. Not only do I listen to these artists before writing about them, I actually go to these restaurants and have atleast another 3-4 people to back me up on the fact that a restaurant is worth blogging about. I have always given due credit to those for when it is due, and today's blog update was possible thanks to a certain eccentric man named RAMBO Sastry.

Now those of you'll who have met him would know that Rambo is the true definition of eccentricity. Be it the random yet hilarious things he says when he's high, or his amazing talent in the football field or even his super strong head that he conveniently uses to head butt when faced with adverse situations - lets face it he's a character, and you can't deny it, every group needs such a character. His family seem the kind who go out a lot and try all kinds of new cuisine and shit, and he being the nice man that he is, he comes and tells us about these places and should they fall under our shoe-string budget, we give it a try. Now one such place was Cafe Appetite. At first he told me there's this new place near J.B Nagar where you get incredible food at dirt cheap prices - that one line was enough to convince all of us hungry guys. Once we reached there we found out that this place has been around since 2010, we just never bothered venturing so far out of Powai for food. Right next to the Gurudwara this place is, not too big, about 4-5 tables in a small room, let me be honest if you're gonna go to this place, go with a gang of 5-6 guys. That way u'd be soo loud that you won't have to worry about the other people sitting so close to you. Yes, its a very small restaurant and you can basically overhear every table's conversation with ease. Still if you were serious about your food and just focus on eating, this place has good prospects. The owner told us that they are famous for their punjabi food and Kebabs. He wasn't wrong about that one, their starters are good (most of them have only 6 pieces). The BBQ Chicken Wings and the Kalmi Kebabs were really nice but what really caught our attention were the groovy "CHEESE CHICKEN CHILLY PARATHA". Now I am fairly certain that Paratha's are a vegetarian dish, predominantly consumed by North Indians - eg: Aloo, Gobi, Mooli etc. I always thought that was pretty much all you can experiment with Parathas, then "Only Parathas" came and changed all of that. But having Chilly Chicken in my paratha was definitely a FIRST even for my friends. Great concept, great Paratha. We only had like 3 plates. So freaking delicious but we were very hungry and we were just getting started.

Rambo told me the Conti food was also pretty good here, and so we decided to try a couple of pastas. Unfortunately for us they didn't have any pizza's which seemed like a steal considering you were getting a 10" pizza was about 250 bucks, but we went for the Penne in Alfredo Sauce and a Fusili in Pesto sauce. I must say I was pleasantly surprised, the Alfredo was magical and the Pesto wasn't so bad either but the best part about our meal undoubtedly was the GARLIC BREAD WITH CHEESE AND MUSHROOM. Easily their best dish on the menu, you should understand how good this dish must have been, considering it is veg and yet I rate it as their best dish. Quantity wise the pasta's were pretty decent, enough for one hungry person (along with the Garlic Bread of course). All in all this place was a total steal considering we ate like kings and only billed about 300 per head. Its nice to occasionally unearth such gems in this city, places that are not about the fancy cutlery or the ambiance - their sole focus is just about Delicious Food. We will definitely be visiting this place in the coming months, if only the traffic at Sakinaka wasn't so pathetic, we'd be going here everyday. All in all, a double thumbs up to Cafe Appetite and their insane Conti Food and Parathas.

Now I didn't wanna get sidetracked by all this awesome food I have been having, with my #MayBuffetMadness and all, so I decided to dedicate the entire months of May and June to BRITISH ROCK. I've always been a fan of the UK - not just because of Arsenal, but because of their awesome contribution to the world of Classic Rock. I mean I've already written about the Beatles, Dire Straits, Coldplay etc so they won't be featuring in the coming months. No doubt they'd walk into my top 5 greatest british bands or will they? I guess we'll find out by the end of June. First up I am going with a rather unconventional choice but an absolute peach of an artist nonetheless - DAVID BOWIE.

David Bowie is English. Yes I wikied to confirm that and as it turns out he's a little older than India (65 Years). This is one such artist that had been lying around in my iTunes library for ages, but I never got around listening to him until recently. I must say David Bowie is a pleasant surprise to the otherwise monotonous sounds that come out of England. One of the first guys to experiment with Glam Rock and his rather innovative approach to making music. He was the first of his kind to try voice modulations and explore the possibility of random unknowns like one of his hit songs, "Is There Life On Mars". Now obviously people thought of him as a cuckoo head who was just plain crazy. But tell me which rocker wasn't? I think Crazy is to Rockers what Beer is to Summer, you can try and be a fag and refrain from it and all, but you know deep down that the colder the beer, the better the summer. Anyways yes so as I was saying, all these rockers are Crazy man, with a capital C and Bowie was no different. Sure he was into some crazy sex shit and all, but you gotta respect the man for his contribution to music. He's not only a renowned vocalist but he's also very skilled with a whole range of instruments ranging from your normal bass guitar to a bloody Saxophone. He's got about 25 studio albums and a whole bunch of Live albums and what not, but lets be honest, David Bowie isn't that good also. I will recommend the Greatest Hits album, a two CD masterpiece with 39 songs and over the last couple of days, they have been top rated and have sprung to the top of my Most Played Songs on my iPod. Admittedly this was because I was due to write about the man, but still I'm thinking he's gonna stick around in my iPod for the foreseeable future of time. The songs most of you would have definitely heard are "Under Pressure", "Changes", "Starman" and "Ziggy Stardust". Undoubtedly they are Bowie's most famous songs but if I were to add some more of my favorites, I'd include "The Man Who Sold The World", "Modern Love", "Scary Monsters(Feat Super Creep)", "Ashes to Ashes", "Space Oddity", "Life on Mars", "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Changes" again because I just love that song way to much. This entire album is really really nice, and a definite thumbs up for David Bowie, sure he won't even come close to likes of the other contemporary artists from England, but he's definitely worth blogging about, and he's definitely worth the occasional listen. 

PS: I know Mother's Day is around the corner, 13th if I'm not wrong, and all I can say to my mother is that I think she's a strange person who has an incredibly big heart and she will always be my favorite gal. Still that being said, I'm 22 years old and she still stalks my Facebook account. Crazy woman. She would not like this blog, I know that for a fact, and so I shall continue to live this rather cool double life. A very Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! Hugs!! (metaphorical, you know I actually don't do those).   

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The First of MA(n)Y.

First things first, belated May Day greetings to one and all. Jai Maharashtra and good riddance to the Gujarati's and the fact that they got their separate state all those years ago. For me personal May has always been a dreaded month, I almost always had exams to deal with during this month and for the first time ever I have a rather clear schedule this coming month. A lot of firsts have happened in just the one day that has passed in this month and I shall tell you about some of them.

The first time Abhinav  "THE NOOB" Rajagopal paid the biggest share of the bill when the bill amount exceeded 1k. The first time everybody's favorite gentle giant, Akshay "Langda Tyagi" Rao was so full that he had to walk around Hiranandani for a good 15 mins. The first time I got to go enjoy a delicious buffet as per my plan without having to change venue, time, date etc. I've always believed Buffet's are the true test of a man's eating capacity, many a man has stumbled in this 3 course extravaganza, but the three of us weren't one of them. My first stop on #MayBuffetMadness (I'd like to think that in a parallel universe somewhere, I am solely responsible for Twitter Trends) was at Spaghetti Kitchen at Powai and after about two and half hours of eating my friends I must say that my faith in the Lunch Buffet system has been re-affirmed. Everybody has their way of judging a Buffet, most people see the Price, some see the quality of cuisine and the restaurant in which they are eating, some people just want to eat every meal of every day king size. Well I on the other hand have always believed in two things - A lunch buffet is only to be enjoyed for its Starters and Desserts. And by this logic Spaghetti Kitchen is easily one of the best buffets I have had. Let's start with easily their best section of the buffet - The Desserts! 

Well a wise man once pointed out that STRESSED would actually read out as DESSERTS when spelt backwards. I don't come across as a guy with a lot of stress but I do enjoy my desserts. Every buffet has atleast 4-5 mouth watering delicacies ranging from tarts, pies, cakes, cheesecakes, mousse all the way to ice cream. Well this place was no different. I shall try and make it precise, Kahlua Coffee Cakes, Peanut Butter Tarts, Tiny lil Orange Cupcakes, Mango Mousse and a coconut glazed Sponge Cake. Yeah that's a good spread isn't? Plus if you wait long enough during your meal they actually replace the 5 items with 5 brand new desserts. So when you dine with a 6 foot something man mountain like Rao who has hawk-eye vision when it comes to food, you can strategically time your dessert eating part of the meal so that you get enjoy not 5 but 10 different desserts. This guy is an absolute foodie in every sense of the word, he actually got a plate of crackers along with his dessert selection just so that he can alternate between the two of them and enjoy each dessert's own taste separately. Now how many people have you met who actually do that? So did we manage to eat all the 10 desserts, well not so much, mostly due to the fact that we were comatose after all the food that we had eaten before the desserts, but more about that later. So the 2nd round was also pretty incredible with Strawberry Mousse, Chocolate Tarts and what not. So all in all, if you do the math, even if you're a super light eater and you can only devour the dessert menu of Spaghetti Kitchen, its still roughly 45 rupees per item if you time it right. That's not all that bad now is it? Those who are still hungry please follow me to the next paragraph. 

Starters. A word of caution for the vegetarians, I am pretty sure the ratio of Veg to Non Veg items on the Spaghetti Kitchen Buffet is 1:3 or something. This did not bode well with Rao. The poor guy was visibly livid about the fact that the waiters were only serving me being the only non-vegetarian on the table and whilst I was enjoying every ounce of the delicious food on my plate, Rao and the Noob had to wait a good 15 mins till they finally found something Veg on the menu. Screw what the Vegetarians had, I'll tell you what all I had. Chicken Nuggets, Fish Sticks (which tasted exactly like the Filet in the Filet-o-fish burger at McDs'), Roasted Chicken Salad, a regular cream of tomato soup, an insane Jalapeno and Corn salad and about 4 slices of Pizza. Our resident NOOB was positively stunned when he found out that they don't only serve Spaghetti in Spaghetti Kitchen, ironically as it turns out the one thing we didn't have on the buffet was Spaghetti. This buffet is famous for their unlimited Pizza's that they serve, fresh out of the oven. They only have two pizzas, a plain Margherita  for the Vegetarians and the same cheese delicacy with one topping for the meat eaters, one topping being Chicken. Haha, its funny how that works out. The crusts of these pizza's aren't that great, but the fact that the waiters keeping roaming around with it just makes you want to gobble them up. They are super light, and super cheesy, the perfect appetizer to get you started for the main course.  Yeah I wasn't lying when I told you I spent 3 hours at Spaghetti Kitchen for lunch, one hour for each course of my delicious meal. All the pasta lovers please do follow me towards the final paragraph of this buffet. 

Like every Italian restaurant, they have a special Pasta Station but I must say I've seen better ones. Only 2 pasta's to choose from, Penne and Fusili, and about 5-6 different vegetables to choose from as part of your pasta. I've always been a fan of red sauce over the Alfredo sauce, but I think this place is definitely one such place where you should try both and make up for yourself. The quantity of one serving of Pasta is just right allowing you to save space for that delightful Dessert section, and for the real eaters like Rao, you can order 2 Pastas, one of each so that you can have the satisfaction of having eaten both the White and Red sauce. The rest of the Main course didn't even interest Rao, so I'm guessing it was nothing special. A special mention to the Lamb in Cinnamon sauce, I thought it was absolutely fantastic, the Spicy Chicken was a tad undercooked, but the ones in the Pasta more than made up for it. 

All in all this was one of the most fulfilling meals I've had this year and I am so glad I finally checked the Spaghetti Kitchen Buffet off my list. An absolute no brainer this, this is easily the best 400 bucks I will ever spend, they do have dinner buffets too, but they will set you back by another couple of hundred rupees. No qualms over spending Rs 400 for a lunch buffet, a word of advice, if you are a light eater, give the Main course a miss but do not ever miss the DESSERTS and the STARTERS. I think they both alone more than make it a good deal. Despite the fact that they got only 1 starter (bruschetta, LOL), even they agreed that this buffet was totally worth every penny they spent. A great way to start May Buffet Madness don't cha think? 

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