Of Roast Chicken and Trance Music...

21st March was Nyla’s birthday and she decided to take us out for dinner to Little Vagator. I had no idea where we were going till we actually got to the place.
First we went to this amazing joint called Nine Bar. It’s a free entry, open air, party venue that apparently plays mostly only trance. (Well, at least it was playing trance when we got there on Tuesday night. And friends who had gone on a Saturday also got trance.) Situated on top of the hill overlooking the Disco Valley, Nine Bar has a very 'chilled out' ambience. Mostly foreigners here, minding their own business and appearing to have popped over just after having woken from a nap, so you might not feel comfortable if you wear your best threads. Great trance music but if you're not the type, then you could just sit down (there is sitting down space built all around the dance floor) and snack into their juicy pizzas. Didn't get a chance to try these myself, but am told they are second best after the ones made at Ingo's. (Another snippet- If you’re in Anjuna, try this place called Munchies for their pancakes.) We were at Nine Bar for less than an hour before we had to leave for dinner.

(This is the best part!) Dinner was at— and this is probably Goa's best kept secret, no more (and no, I won't kill you 'cause I told you)— Fusion. Mediterranean food and pizzas are the specialty. The name's a bit of an anticlimax, but from the moment you step into the place, it keeps getting better. The climax is the house special, their te... uh oh, hold on a sec, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Backing up a bit, to when you enter the restaurant. The place is huge and most of it is open air. Fusion is divided into two dining areas (formal and casual) and each of these is sheltered under a huge thatched roof. We chose the casual area where we got to sit on cushions on the floor. Cloth covered lamps and a low dining table completed the décor. Since its open on all sides, the breeze was, er..mind blowing! And the night sky, oh the night sky! Brilliant!
I ordered ginger lemon juice to start with and it was delicious. For the main course, we ordered pizza and roast chicken, some salads and French fries and roasted potatoes. Everything, right down to the fries (and I seriously believe you can tell how good or bad the food is going to be from the way they make their fries) was perfect in my rating. The chicken though, was only the best roast chicken I've ever tasted in my life. Crunchy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. It must have been marinated with some herbs ‘cause I kept finding pieces of it on the skin.

If that wasn't enough, there was the pièce de résistance—the dessert! I ordered chocolate cake with ice cream and it was absolute heaven! Not the gooey chocolate stuff, just a solid chocolate cake. If there was 1% of something lacking, then I found it when I tasted their house special tea (complimentary) which was a mint/lemon grass flavored concoction. It just hits the spot! Nothing like it to wind up a great dinner. (If I could have met the chef, I would have kidnapped him and sold him (or her) to a king.)

The entire experience was made all the more enjoyable by the head waiter Sonum. A native of Sikkim, Sonum is off to Switzerland to make cheese for three months during the off season. A very endearing chap, Sonum is the first waiter to advice me to order less. A word to the uninitiated- Fusion, like most beach area restaurants in Goa, is closed in the off-season (between May and September). The place is owned by an Isreali so it's closed on Saturdays. And the German lady who makes the pastries leaves next week, so try to make it there as soon as you can.

Weekend trip to Hollywood

Saw 5 movies over the weekend (yeah, ok I know I need to get a life; maybe I will- next weekend!). Started with Pride and Prejudice at the cinema on Friday night and went on watch at home— Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, No Man's Land, Easy Rider, Lost in Translation, and Arlington Road. Excellent movies all!
Of all of these, the ones that you can take home with you (or since I was already at home, the ones that my mind kept chewing at for hours after) were Pride and Prejudice, Easy Rider and Arlington Road. I promise to do a review on Pride and Prejudice— not on the movie, but on the book, 'cause by then everyone would have seen the movie but perhaps not all would have read the book.

Cat calling...

Tried explaining to my cat the other day that she belongs to my family and hence cannot have a life of her own. What brought on this conversation was her coming home at all odd hours of the night, dropping by to grace us with her presence at mealtimes, et al. Told her that since we look after her lodging and boarding the least she could do to pay us back would be to occasionally chase and bring down the odd cockroach, rub herself across our legs as a sign of appreciation, or maybe even entertain us by friskily running around the house chasing her tail. But did my heart to heart do any good? Nah, she blinked at me, gave a wide yawn and promptly went back to sleep.
Why do people love cats so much? Can't figure it out...

My First Sale!

Heh! Recently I sold through ebay, a candle I'd made at home. Here's how this came about: I got a call from ebay soon after signing up for a free account, asking if I'd like to go through a short course on how to sell on ebay. Why not? I thought and signed on. As part of the instruction, I needed to put up something for sale (I took the 'Auction' option) so I chose to write about a candle I hadn't yet made. One week later, when the auction date was up, I got a message informing me that my candle had sold! Even though I got just one bid, it was quite a thrill, cause my candle must have been listed on the 7-8 page for 'scented candles'. So ebay works for everybody! Anyone reading this, I suggest you give selling on ebay a try. Who knows? Soon you may be running a full-scale business. Three cheers to ebay!

A closer look at 'Closer'

Just seen the movie 'Closer' for the second time and had to write a review on it. A favourable review of course, since I loved the movie! Here's how the story goes: Dan (Jude Law) meets and falls in love with Alice Ayres (Natalie Portman) and leaves his girlfriend for her. The first duplicity!
Then, a year later during a photo shoot for his new book, he meets Anna (Julia Roberts) and is immediately and incredibly attracted to her (" I have to see you again!"). The second duplicity. Then, inadvertently, through a gag gone wrong, Anna meets Larry (Clive Owen) a dermatologist, falls in love with him and they get married. Dan, in the meanwhile is constantly ‘lurking’ in Anna's life. He's obsessed with her and eventually Anna succumbs. The third duplicity! They have an affair for a year and finally break the news to their respective partners who are very much in love with them. Here, Alice's berating, "There's always a moment when you can say no!’No I won't succumb', is particularly thought provoking. Here the plot fast forwards four months. Anna meets Larry to get his signature on their divorce papers. Larry uses a bit of mental manipulation to get Anna into bed and then advices her that 'such things are best not hidden' and she should tell Dan. When Dan finds out he is distressed and rightly accuses Anna of not having the courage to let Larry hate her by refusing him his need of her. Fast forward a few weeks. Dan pays Larry a visit at his clinic to demand Anna back. (Yeah, Anna goes back to Larry. Another duplicity, this time Dan's the victim. And yeah, I've stopped keeping track of the number of duplicities!). Instead he leaves with Alice's address. You see, while Dan and Anna were together, Larry met and bedded Alice. She even told him her real name which Dan doesn't ever get to know.
Does Dan get Alice back? I'll leave that part for you to discover when you watch the movie. And I strongly recommend that you do! Each of the characters are brilliantly portrayed.
The biggest strength about the movie according to me, is how it captures human emotions and expresses them in words.