Cooking Up a Storm

The Dubai Shopping Festival is on in full swing. I've been avoiding all malls now because of the surging crowds and the crazy sales (which means more surging crowds), but those of you who are more adventurous than yours truly must be making hay while the sun shines.

One of my friends had this to say about French food: "They serve such tiny portions, before you know what you are eating, it's all gone!" Funny, I thought, but that's exactly what makes French fine dining so special. Portion control. That really gives you the chance to savour the flavours (instead of getting lost in a sea of gastronomy); there's no chance of a déjà vu simply there is no chance of an overkill. instead, you are teased. This week, we catch up with the multiple-Michelin-starred Pierre Gagnaire, who was voted the world's best chef last year. It's a title he wears with gentle elegance: he's not one for bombastic statements and television show blitzes. He's low key, yet personal, and he believes with all his heart that he belongs in the kitchen - not doing promotional tours across cities. Pierre's signature restaurant Reflets, at the InterContinental in Dubai's Festival City, has been a big hit with discerning diners, and he ensures his touch is evident all around: from the food and the décor to the training his staff receives; he also makes it a point to visit Dubai as often as he can. Hear it from the culinary maestro..
The Dubai Shopping Festival is on in full swing. I've been avoiding all malls now because of the surging crowds and the crazy sales (which means more surging crowds), but those of you who are more adventurous than yours truly must be making hay while the sun shines. Every day, I hear of killer deals and bargain basement shopping; whenever somebody pulls out a new jacket or a pair of snazzy shoes and starts to say, "You won't believe how much I got these for.", I promise myself I should be more high-consumption. I've vaguely decided to try my DSF luck this weekend. For the time being, however, read about the 21 ways DSF has changed our lives. Did you know this is DSF's 21^st chapter? Drum rolls please.
Teesri Manzil is one of my favourite films for a number of reasons. The music, for one. Incredible stuff. But the ONE reason why I will always remember it is because, sometime in the early 1980s, when we had gone to watch the movie in some sidey theatre in Calcutta, my brother did cartwheels on the steps (in between two rows of seating). He was too young to figure out anything that was going on, but he did take a breather when Helen came on screen with the "O haseena zulfon wali" number. Relive the magic of this wonderful Bollywood entertainer, that turns 50 this year.
All this and much more.
Enjoy reading wknd. and have a great weekend!