Twenty- five Seven

Dream on #FridayReflections

November 16, 2018

“Do you know what I dreamt of last night?”

This was my favourite opening line every morning when I went to school. Most of my friends indulged me and listened to my fantastic sleep sequences that were more entertaining than the movies of the day. But others used to laugh it off and say “Oh No!”

So I was quite surprised when for a period of 20 years I have had dreamless nights.

Not having dreamless nights meant that I had a restful sleep which gave me time to think about the dreams that I had for my real life.

I must admit, however, that most of my dreams have remained just dreams. Making me realise that the best lines I ever heard were as late as last week when I had the opportunity to interview former Table Tennis champion Kamlesh Mehta. He said that his father used to tell him

“Dream big but keep those dreams to yourself, in your mind. You don’t need to announce it to the world, they only need to drive yourself higher.”

This resonated with me so deeply that I decided that Rhonda Byrnes didn’t quite get it right. Verbalising your dreams, makes you a Beautiful Dreamer rather than a person who is ambitious.

So from now on I’m not going to tell any one my real life dreams. I may just share my sleeptime dream sequences to those willing to listen.

This was my take on the prompt “Some good advice you got/ read/ heard recently ” and sharing it on #FridayReflections hosted by Corinne.

Wishing you all a happy weekend.
Rising out of the mist #SkywatchFriday

November 16, 2018

It’s the middle of the month and the weather has turned . Of course it still doesn’t merit even a thin layer of extra clothing . And the Tibetan Sweater Sellers still haven’t come. But there is a marked drop in tempereatures early morning and late evening.

I woke up to a sunrise that was masked by the haze or mist ( if you will).

But as the morning progressed closer to eight, the sun rose out of the mist and became a stunning golden orb in the sky!

Sharing my mid-November Mumbai morning sky with other bloggers at #SkywatchFriday

Happy weekend all !

Ciao
Winding down Diwali With a Brazilian meal .

November 9, 2018

One would think that after a week of Diwali feasting I’d have had enough . But obviously not .

D and I had been planning a meal out for a long time now . The year is coming to a close and I thought it was now or never .

So even though Hubby Dear has a holiday, I thought I’d accept D’s long standing invitation to meet over lunch.

She suggested BOTECA a fairly new restaurant in the BKC area of Mumbai.

BKC , Mumbai’s newest business hub has seen the rise of some exclusive dining spots that are very popular with the hip and trendy.

BOTECA is touted as a Brazilian food restaurant . The only other experience I have of South American food has been a Chilean meal that my cousin in San Francisco treated me to.

The restaurant has a nice open feel to it with decor that is pleasant but not wow enough to distract you from your food .

The staff was attentive, the manager particularly so .

Even though it was a Friday and a holiday for most offices, I called the restaurant ahead of time to ensure we got a place. I’m glad I did because there was a decent amount of people at the restaurant .

A diehard fan of stuffed crabs , D insisted we have the crab for starter .

The mis en bouche – a hearty leek and potato soup with a cheese croquet

Even though she has been to the restaurant twice before, she didn’t tell me what to expect except for the fact that the food was good. So my bouche was terribly amused by the complimentary leek and potato soup accompanied by an ever so tinycheese croquette.

A freebie always puts me in a good mood and I looked forward to the first course .

Casquinha de Siri – a stuffed crab in a delicately flavoured tomato based sauce

I wasn’t disappointed – the crab was lip smackingly good and quite filling . The tiny blobs of sauces and chocolate swirl on the plate made it an eye catching presently.

I particularly loved the assorted breads that came along with it . We had a garlic roll, honey bun , herb bread and a slice of what the waiter called a focaccia. It wasn’t .

Slices of well done yet succulent beef steak.

D’s main of well done tenderloin steak was luscious and my bacon wrapped pork tenderloin was succulent too !

A delicious pork tenderloin with accompaniments

What was delightful was the array of sauces served in tiny saucepans and a bowl of crunchy tapioca chips . This was a novel idea- with interesting asides – tapioca flour, mushroom, sweet potato, salsa, mustard , pineapple chutney, chilli oil, red chilli sauce.

D was right : the food was tasty and the portions large enough for us to skip dessert .

Verdict :

The restaurant isn’t cheap ( we spent Rs. per head that included a tip for the wait staff) and we had only table water to quaff our thirst.

The beef was better than the pork .

I would recommend it to anyone looking for a change from the usual cheesy stuff and pastas that pass off as ‘continental’ food .

The restaurant has a special ‘Corporate Menu’ that is a 3 Course fixed menu with a variety options to choose from for each course. This is better priced and definitely worth going for . In fact we could have combined the Two Course Option with the a la Carte starter ( paid for separately) . The waiter couldn’t understand what we meant. Perhaps I’ll have to do this another day.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this restaurant was first started in Pune’s Koregaon Park neighbourhood by a Brazilian Chef Guto Souza and his Indian associate.

Verdict : Pricey but worth it .