My recent trip to Bali was in celebration of my dear friend, Simran's Birthday. Joining her were friends & their partners from Mumbai, Delhi & Singapore. Simran has a special place in Sulaiman & my heart. Sulaiman had personally selected her birthday present. Although since he has been travelling so much this month with IIFA in Canada & a performance for His Highness Aga Khan in Nairobi - I was in Bali solo. I bunked with Simran at the Mutiara Resort, Seminyak in Bali, which is a stunning resort where we had a beautiful villa with a plunge pool.

Day 1
We lunched at Bali Cafe' where the tuna & avocado salad was outstanding! We walked around the shops for a bit, coffee at Grocers & Grind and then a snooze ? was most important after the long flight ?
At night we went to Metis Restaurant - stunning! Lotus pond in the background. Surrounded by the most exquisite Balinese artifacts. I wanted to buy the entire restaurant as the entire decor was for sale. Better judgment prevailed for once & so I stopped.
The trio tartare of crab, scallops & tuna also the warm grilled fresh scallops in light tobiko & citrus sauce was par excellence!
Chitter-chatter through the night & final call for sleep was taken at 5am!

Day 2
Started at Grocer & Grinder for the desperately needed java in the morning
Seminyak shopping - my favorite buy was a beautiful linen outfit in handmade Balinese lace - I recommend a visit to Uluwato that sold this exquisite lace range.
At Sun down we sat by the sea at Kudeta. The place was buzzing & music filled the air as we made space on the grass & deck chairs with berry Bellini's, toasts were made to this special Birthday weekend & to Simran's happiness.
Some of us hit the high seas. The surf was choppy, unfortunately I drank a gallon of the sea - much to my dismay I was informed later that it's not the cleanest of all waters.
Perhaps changing the Palate was the best thing that we did with the most outstanding meal. I highly recommend the crispy Moroccan duck & fig pastille, the tuna & lobster tartare, the pan-fried salmon served with mango salad & for dessert the chocolate decadence. Having now tried the tartare at 3 places - this was the best! With the wasabi flying roe & crème fraiche, nori & sesame seed topping
Dinner was followed by coffee, single malts & dancing by the sea. There was a girl so drunk at the next table that she chose to swap her dress for another man's shirt - that's Bali, baby.

Day 3
Spa Bliss package - a 2-hour experience at the hotel, which was average & noisy by the way. I came out with a headache! After giving them a talking to, the Ginger tea comforted me slightly.
Lunch was at an authentic Indonesian restaurant called Mady's Warong where I recommend the fish-ikan pepes, the satay and papaya salad although the salad is a Thai addition but it added a nice lemony zest.
Shopping was interesting especially the stores that sell artifacts, furniture & lights - in fact I bought a really interesting light for our new home in Goa.
In the evening we crossed a tiny wooden bridge only to be greeted by millions of little lamps, sounds of the waves & soft Italian music. We walked across the common gardens that offered drinks at the beautiful Frangipani Lounge & La Lucciola Italian Restaurant for dinner. I would choose the ambience over the food here but the chops were the winner.
Chatted all night. Again! Had packed in advance - How about that?

Day 4
Woke up early - got some coffee at grocer & grind.
We took a call to resurrect the Bali Spa image & decided to try the hot stone massage. We made our way to the much-recommended Sooth near Mardy's but could not find it! Instead found Magali Pascal & so shopped. Which is as therapeutic as a massage for me.
After completing my last minute packing we got to Grocer & Grind (again) where I recommend the berry smoothie, the muesli, the BLT, the rosemary chicken & Avocado salad & coffee. Strangely it's the only coffee house I found in Seminyak! Anyway. Had to rush with my mouth full as I had a flight to catch.
On the way back I was informed that both Raunaq's daughter & my pudding have a cold! Wham#%^<€£ Reality!

Contest:
I want to do a coffee tasting experience soon - suggestions will win My Coffee Hamper. All you have to do is mail us on info@thebuddinggourmet.com and suggest the menu, décor or just order of a coffee tasting as it should be.

I was recently hired as Creative Director for a family Sangeet in Venice for which I was to Conceptualize and later Direct the final show. Shakira sang 6 songs at Venetian Ball / Carnival while Salim Sulaiman rocked the wedding. They got everyone dancing and killed it when they ended with Chak De India. I loved both DJ Gaurav and DJ Aqueel's set. Choreographer Firoz was nick named 'Pied Piper' by me as he had all the lovely ladies and their husbands dancing to HIS tune. Sumant was the Designer par excellence. He created the most beautiful settings. I have yet to see such fabulous work. After completing my work I was free to look and feel the tiny gallis of Venice.

And so I'd wake at 6am and run to the banks to breath in the sights and flavor of Venice, little coffee shops offered me espresso on the counter at 2 Euros and 6 if I wanted a seat. So I'd buy and sit on benches and watch the pigeons, the walkers, (actually even the pigeons walk) and the boatmen dressed in those t-shirts in jail stripes. Actual Casanovas!

Breakfast was spent sitting by the water, watching beautiful architecture and eating muesli, eggs muffins, cheese and loads of Orange juice and cafe. Watching from the outside I began to notice that pizza with Nutella could be served as breakfast and it mattered not what the time was - it's always gelato hour in Italy.

But guess who was dishing out the Indian pizza? The Dosa - none other than the reputed Muttuswami and for the asli tadka Chef Marut Sikka. I promised Muttuswami I'd eat from his kitchen, the lunch that was specially made for him. Instead he served me personally one evening. Yit waas zimply zuperb. As for Marut...I look forward to party with him and his lovely wife Anusuiya!

We ate the best seafood by the river, drank Proseccos all day long and other Italian wines and toodled in at wee hours after sipping cafe at Saint Marcos Square and dancing to the open bands. What fun!
Oh Fashionistas, we were in Milan and the latest look for Prada is Lucknowi. The Just Cavalli Cafe, unlike the travelers rating is simply outstanding. I also treated my man to a night at Alcazar where we watched the Gotan Project which was outstanding!

Milan being the shopping capital had me in overdrive - I ended up buying 2 identical couture outfits from Max Mara. Thankfully in different colors! Sulaiman, a Mac junkie, bought Armani design iStuff. Later we drank wine and complimented the fine service at the Armani cafe.

I also hit the gourmet stores and bought polenta, Italian herbs, salts and chocolates. Although my parting gifts from Milan courtesy my husband were the new Nespresso and its pods to last a lifetime!

I brought some of Italy into my kitchen, and it's ciao for now :).

My enthusiastic sister read about a Burger and Hot Dog place called Gostana. We thought was a weird play on Dostana, but no, it simply means 4 strings. It is a restaurant where you can take your dog for a meal too.
Whatever.... I did not care what that meant as the air-con was not working and so we sat outside midst fresh puddles, courtesy the pre-monsoon showers.
The food was Awful. The capital A is intentional and not a typo. When I complained that the tuna sandwich was too salty they simply said "oh". The bread was so dry - and then they said that they made their own bread. I responded "How often?". The salad had too much lettuce & I was fishing for the tuna!
Verdict #Fail.

Continuing in the same vein, a friend Rashi has started a range of Gourmet Meals for Dogs imported from different parts of the world. Supposedly, very high end & meant to be outstanding.
No! I am not trying any, but will get Chai a meal.

Since we brought the new baby into our life, I am unable to sit with my dog Chai in my lap but the baby said Chai before she even attempted mama! Poetic Justice?

Let's see what it took to prepare....
Insane amounts of planning
Dish plated with little wasabi & soy saucers
Chopsticks
Glass sheets & base for sushi
Flowers/ candles
Wasabi nuts

Japanese specialist rolled fresh sushi (6 different types), cooked fresh soba noodles, yakitori skewers & some amazing seaweed Japanese rice

I added a salad in truffle oil & Japanese rice vinegar
Desert mango pulp topped with whipped cream & a sprig of mint. Served in shot glasses

Candied orange peel dipped in dark chocolate alongside

Giving us a taste of the newest wines to hit the market was Ashwin Deo who calls his barrels Turning Point - how true for the man who emerges solo after lending loyalty to the worlds leading brands - ensuring quality & experience on every sip for us.

Our bartenders made mojitos & cocktails by the dozen to beat the Indian summer. The party was in fill swing at 3am when the cops turned, my husbands latest remix for Lady Gaga blared as I opened the door. Graciously we served them mango shots & turned the music off. Now the party was for the stay back & chat bunch who decided that the evening will be incomplete without butter chicken kichdi, butter chicken, roomali roti, biryani & so the Japanese made way for the Mughal much to the horror of my sweet chefs! I could hear were some vulgar nuclear jokes about my salmon. Really!

Next time Desi ko Desi khilana!

But I want to do a Thai Thai evening!

Have eaten & not counted the number of marzipan eggs I put into my mouth especially since I hosted an Easter brunch for few friends - literally handful as it included kids & babies: 'love' being a mom but the stuff that comes with it takes time to excel!

We made Sheetal and Kailash's son & my daughter a cushy seat by the large French window & they played in delight - much to the horror of the hotel staff and the delight of my mother Renu Malhotra who sat across from them.

The daughter's of Prerna and Sharman,Manasi and Rohit as well as Raunaq and Neeraj modeled clay Easter eggs & painted bunnies on canvas/ funny looking they were!

The moms drank Bellinis, ordered Eggs Benedict & ate copious amounts of sushi, salads, cheese ‘n' cold cuts from the well appointed Sunday brunch at Corleone, Intercontinental hotel, Marine Drive, Mumbai.

As we finished, Neeraj, my brother in law & best friend told me how perfectly located this place was for business breakfasts too.

Please note Chef Paul.

Post the brunch we went to my other brother in law, Salim's house where the kids played & we exchanged Easter tuck - I tucked mine away in my expanding waist line :).

Did you know that Marzipan originates from the Middle East and used to be flavoured with rose water or orange blossoms. Given that my favourite flavour in the world is Orange, I guess it figures....