My family at Mini Punjab's Lakeside

Let me go in reverse order this time, so this is the standee that is there at the entrance with nice, funny props. Even before, we could enter the restaurant, my cousin and me decided to click some nice pictures here to have a beautiful end to the evening. Mini Punjab's Lake Side - Powai has got this two floored space where they don't just serve Buffet but also have À la carte. They have something known as Dhara Singh's Thali which has 40+ items but we decided to go for À la carte as per our choice. There's a challenge associated with the thali - if you alone can finish the entire thali then it is free of cost for you but I have read and heard from people that it is difficult for even 4 people to finish it :)
"Life is uncertain so eat dessert first" ;) is the quote my dad is holding which is really appropriate for him as he can eat a lot of sweets. Maybe equivalent to what my mom, brother and I can :D So, like I mentioned earlier, I'm starting in reverse order so here's what we had.

RK Wine and dine - Also known as Radha Krishna wine and dine is one amazing restaurant in the LBS road, close to Ghatkopar station next to Sarvodaya hospital.

The first and foremost warning for everyone would that there's long waiting for this restaurant if you visit during the peak timings so better reach early to get place  This place not just has amazing food but is decently priced too. That's the reason it is always crowded and why wouldn't it?

We visited this place on a Sunday evening and had to wait for almost an hour, I know ridiculous but food was something that pulled us to this place. Fortunately when we ordered and had food, it was worth the wait. We ordered -
A) Chicken Lollipop - The best! The craving is still there.

Chicken lollipop

B) Dum kebab - This is like reshmi kebab but in dum style. The masala in it tasted amazing.

Dum kebab

C) Saibo chicken - Perfect for a larger group. Crispy and yummy like a perfect pop.

Saibo chicken

D) Chicken Balti - Gravy for the main course in green with boneless chicken good to have with chapati, Naan etc.

Chicken Balti and special roti

E) Chicken hot garlic pot rice - Getting a pot rice in an ordinary restaurant is rare and therefore having this option here was cherry on the cake. Most importantly, it was tasty and loaded with chicken.

Chicken hot garlic pot rice

All having all these delicious food, there wasn't any space left for desserts.

So, that's how it was a wonderful dinner with my people. Good food, good company = 100% satisfaction and a perfect weekend 😊

P.S. - Just to reiterate, this place has huge waiting so please reach early as they don't take prior booking during weekends.

Badhaai Ho (2018)

When you come out of the theatre watching Badhaai Ho, you will truely love your family more. A movie which is pure at heart, simple yet very lovable. As the title specifies, this movie is about celebration of a beautiful family and its members who stand by it whatever circumstances be. 2018 is a year which has given a list of content driven movies and have succeeded in it, Badhaai Ho adds to the list.

Badhai ho movie review

Nakul's (Ayushmaan Kuranna) family resembles a perfect happy Punjabi family until the "tragedy" happens when Nakul's mother (Neena Gupta) get pregnant on her late 50s. For sure Nakul, his brother and his grandma everyone starts blaming her and his husband (Gajraj Rao) for being careless. And this story spread like flame and they all started feeling embarresed on the society. What happens next forms the rest of the movie.

The whole movie is very well told with situational humour which keeps you entertained and also some emotional scenes which also brings tears to your eyes. Director Amit Sharma who comes from the forgettable "Tevar" does a good job in conveying the message to the audience. Ayushmaan Khurana, an actor par excellence who always experiments in different roles delivers yet another fantastic performance mainly with his expressions. Sanya Malhotra also gives an effortless performance after "Pataakha". The true charmers of the movie are the masterful Gajraj Rao, the queen of nuances Neena Gupta & the very "young" grandmother Surekha Sikri. Gajraj Rao has given a stellar performance and has played with the expressions so well. With his finely tuned performance, aced with funny mannerisms and slight shifts in expressions he robs everyone else of their equally erudite performances. Neena Gupta also delivers a superb performance and plays her part to perfection. Next in line is veteran actress Surekha Sikhri who eats into the role and delivers an organic performance of a unyielding but liberal grandmother.The writers also take the credit for the dialogues and are very impressive.

Movie Review - Badhai Ho

While watching Badhaai Ho, you will truely remember the line from the animated movie "Coco" that "Family is above everything". It is a movie which will make you laugh and cry at the same time and will make you feel the importance of family. The delicate issue of pregnancy in the late 50's and societal stigma that comes with it has been brilliantly handled and portrayed. Overall Badhaai Ho is a must watch for all movie lovers.

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

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One word: M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E

Manto, a film by Nandita Das, is a biopic on the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto who lived during the era of 1940's. A biopic on someone whom we dont know but a person who was known to write about the hard truths of society that no one dared to talk about. He is best known for his stories about the partition of India immediately following independence in 1947. Manto was a Kashmiri and moved to "Bombay" during his 20's. Started as a journalist for film magazine and for radio and also wrote scripts, but none of his movies did well. He then started writing on different subjects which examined very sensitive topics like sex work & religion in a period when India was even more prudish than today.

Manto review

This film depicts his life especially during the late 1940's and post Independence era along with the partition time with five of his most famous and poignant short stories: "Dus Rupay", "100-Watt Bulb", "Khol Do", "Thanda Gosht" and "Toba Tek Singh". It narrates his life through these stories. Director Nandita Das has beautifully crafted these stories into Manto's life and portrayed it. She deserves each and every bit of applause and accolades for the way she has depicted the various events, its contexts in Manto's life through his works. The movie takes you to a journey of the pre and post Independence time and beautifully showcases Bombay & Lahore during those times. Kartik Vijay's cinematography justifies the feel and era of the film. It is painful to watch the film since it covers the reality. The tragedy is that things have not changed much even after seven decades of freedom.

Words are very hard to express the simplicity and gracefully Nawazuddin Siddiqui has portrayed the titular role. He has truely lived Manto and made it his own. While watching him on screen, one will forget the fact that he is Nawaz and will see and feel his pain, anger, trauma as Manto. Rasika Duggal as Safia, Manto's wife is truely commendable in her part and has excelled throughout in the movie. Tahir Raj Bhasin (Mardaani fame) as Shyam, Manto's friend has once again shown the amount of potential he has and delivered a great performance. This movie has a great ensemble cast which comprises of greats like Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Javed Akhtar who prove their calibre by displaying brilliant acting in limited screenspace. Each and every character played by Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shashank, Rajashri Deshpandey, Ranvir Shory, Divya Dutta, Vinod Nagpal, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ila Arun, Paresh Rawal, Tilotama Shome, Gurdas Mann, Bhanu Uday has given their best making the movie a beautiful journey in itself.The music strikes the right chord with the heart. The much famous lyrics of Faiz Ahmed Faiz - "Bol Ke Lab Azaad Hain" is beautifully sung by Vidhya Shah and Rashid Khan.

Watch this for brilliant performances, gutsy direction & writing, a never seen before Mumbai and hardships of a man who chose to portray the truth in his style. If you are a true movie lover, who loves to watch movies with great performances and a good story Manto is the movie you will love to go.

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

Feel free to share our posts, page with your family, friends, relatives to share such wonderful experiences through food, places or thoughts 😇 Thank you all!
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One Word: ASTONISHING

What is Life? It is based on the LIVER. Surely, the quote said above will not impact you much until you finish watching the movie.

Sriram Raghavan, a man with the Midas Touch in dishing out twisty neo-noir (french word for creating crime movies of the 1940's with twisted dark wit) from Ek Hasina Thi (2004), Johnny Gaddar (2007) and now the recently released Andhadhun. A movie which will keep you guessing about what is coming up next and will keep you glued to the seat till last minute. Inspired by a French short film L'Accordeur or The Piano Tuner (2010) by Olivier Treiner, AndhaDhun is a nerve-racking tale of fear, deceit and crime, that keeps you on the edge of your seat as it teases your mind.

Andhadhun - Movie Review

The storyline of the movie is simple, where a blind pianist Akash (Ayushmaan Khurana) is living his normal life of completing a tune which is not getting completed meets Sophie (Radhika Apte). In a turn of events he meets a famous and old Bollywood actor Pramod Sinha (Anil Dhawan) and offers Akash a private concert for him and his wife Simi(Tabu) for their wedding anniversary. When Akash reaches their home, Pramod Sinha is already murdered and he witnesses some activity related to murder. His conscience urges him to report the crime he has technically not ‘witnessed’, but is there more to him than meets the eye?

Andhadhun

The story and its execution is the true highlight of the movie. The twists and turns happen in such a eventful manner that one cannot miss it with a blink of the eye. Ayushmaan Khurana is definately one of the great and underrated actors of the generation. He delivers one of his best performance till date and lives to the character. His choices of movies and the genre of his movies he chooses makes him a great actor from Vicky Donor to Andhadhun. Tabu, an actress par brilliance. Her acting skills are aptly utilised and she delivers a fantastic performance. Anil Dhawan whom one can see after a long time has acted his part well along with Zakir Hussain as Dr. Swami, Ashwini Kalsekar as Rasika, Manav Vij as Inspector Manohar, Chaya Kadam as Maushi. Radhika Apte has limited screen space and she has also played it to her forte.  Applause should be given to the director Sriram Raghvan who has thought of such a movie and created a masterpiece in itself. This cinematic experience will not let you stay back in your seat relaxed. Crisp editing grips you.Cinematography is something that boasts the storytelling.Tribute to Chayahar & Chitrageet is something that needs applaud. Piano scenes are superbly crafted and choreographed , underlined by Amit Trivedi's music and Daniel B George's background score Befitting the title - Andhadhun.

So grab the ticket and be a part of this eventful journey. Andhadhun shouldnt be missed. With IMDB rating of 9.2/10, Andhadhun is truely one of the best movies of 2018.

Reviewed by Mandar Dalvi

Feel free to share our posts, page with your family, friends, relatives to share such wonderful experiences through food, places or thoughts 😇 Thank you all!
For more pictures, you can also check my zomato account - @dhungrysouls and follow me :)

Lucknowee is amongst those restaurants that will take you to the land of nawabs. They are specialised in Awadhi, Mughlai & Sufi cuisine. It is said that Lucknowee people are hard core foodies so why shouldn't I give it a try because I'm a foodie too.

This place is on the LBS Road towards left opposite Hotel Sahara. It looks quite rich in it's appearance that it can't go unnoticed and when you read Tunday kebab  definitely you will look twice to know if you read it well. They have a sober ambiance along with very courteous staff.

Jumping to our favorite part..
Food - Lucknowee's are very fond of Tunday kebab and therefore the speciality of this place too happens to be the same. So, we decided to try this. It is made up of 160 spices - very tasty, soft and succulent as their Captain Mr. Roney suggested. Do try this amazing kebab, I bet you will thank me! There's a nice story behind the name as well which I will let you know in couple of days so subscribe to my blog by providing your email address on the right side box.

Lucknowee Tunday kebab

Lucknowee Paratha - This wasn't like the usual thick parathas which would become like rubber. Instead, it was thin, crisp and served hot which added to the taste and complimented very well with the kebab. So, incase you want to save money then buy kebabs and few parathas to make it a small meal.

Lucknowee Paratha

Murgh Schezwan tandoori - My mouth can't stop watering when I see the image or think about it. It was spicy but lip smacking tasty. We has this too with the parathas as it had nice gravy.

Murgh Schezwan tandoori

After having starter cum main course, we were full and headed to our favorite section of desserts.
Firni - It is named Royal firni but nothing was royal about it. A regular firni yet good in taste.

Royal firni

Rabdi - This was yum. You can try it.

Rabdi

So, this is how we had a Nawab style cuisine. Yes, they do have biryani and a long list of food items to choose from. We have parked few choices for our next visit. They have small nawabi room for a guest of 20 people - Adab-e-Dastarkhwan.

It's not yet done, guess how much did we spend for the meal? Approximately 600 bucks. Yes, all this at just 600 for 2 people. Who says that we spend a lot of money on food? That's not always the case, make a choice based on your preference and our suggestions, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Until I post again, happy hogging!