Shabu Shabu @ Hyatt

This winter, head to Baan Tao at Hyatt Pune for the perfect indulgence as the hotel brings the much savoured Shabu Shabu to Pune. 

Shabu Shabu, a popular hot pot dish from Japan, features meats, vegetables and sea food that are cooked in a flavorful broth and served with dipping sauces. The term is an onomatopoeia, derived from the sound emitted when the ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style: Both consist of thinly sliced meat and vegetables. However, Shabu-shabu is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. 

Take your taste buds on a culinary journey as you choose your platter from ingredients like silken tofu, button mushroom, Pak Choy, tenderloin, squid, prawns and more. Relish the authenticity of Japanese cuisine as you prepare the dish at your table and get an exotic Shabu Shabu experience at Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune with Chef Anthony En Yuan Huang.

Baan Tao is an amazing place with a great vibe. Komal, Sales Manager at Hyatt greeted & welcomed the Pune Foodiez. Mean time, Anthony and his team were busy setting up the place for the Shabu Shabu. 

The base was set and we, Pune Foodiez were set to make Shabu Shabu with Chef Anthony. 

Within minutes, Shabu Shabu was ready to be served. Prawns, mushrooms, Chicken, Tender glass noodles, Beef were the main stuff used for Shabu Shabu.

After Shabu Shabu, Hyatt served us with some amazing desserts to end the meet. Sahil, Manasi, Shri, Tes, Husein and myself had an amazing time with Chef Anthony, Manager Komal and Director Mohit Kanwal. 

Shabu Shabu is priced in a range from 700-900 wrt to Vegetable, Meat, Sea Food used. 

Hyatt Pune can be reached at Pune.hyatthotels.hyatt.com or mail to Mohit.kanwal@hyatt.com. 

Go, treat yourself to Shabu Shabu at Hyatt.

Ride for Support - The Marriott Run!

Prem Joseph, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Hyderabad Marriott, flagged off his journey on 6th December, 13 on his amazing Royal Enfield Classic 500 to cover all the Marriott hotels in India. So Prem had this amazing route on his mind. Delhi-Chandigarh-Jaipur-Bhopal-Ahmedabad-Mumbai and then reach Pune, and head ahead. This ride was for a cause. A cause to raise funds for Marriott Home. Marriott Home is an orphanage run by the Marriott Group in collaboration with the Rising Star. Prem had to cover a total of 6000+ km for this in a span of 14-15 days. After visiting all the Marriott cities, he would finally ride to Marriott Home with Ankush to hand over the collected funds.

It was a pleasant Saturday evening, and me along with fellow bikers had an honor to meet Prem at JW Marriott, Pune. We greeted Prem with a bouquet, having a caption, 'Ride Safe, Ride Hard'. That's the caption which we bikers follow when we thump on the road with our beasts. Me, Sourabh Sane, Urvashi Patole, Krishna, Sumit Burman were really honored to interact with Prem over coffee at PBC. The whole concept was to understand the concept of the ride, the itinerary, the cause and moreover, biking tips and stories. We shared many stories of our trips, the ups and downs, but mostly had a common thing, hungry for much more miles. Prem shared his ride from Delhi to Pune, the ups and downs he faced, the help he got, amazing! We fellow bikers told Prem the best route for his onward trip to Goa, Bangalore, Cochin and ahead as we had already covered that route. Wolfe Pack India along with The Bikerni had a great time with Prem Joseph. Wish we had more time to be there and talk more, because bikers have endless stories to share with. Indeed, was an amazing evening. 

2 wheels, 1 engine, 0 limits. That's what we bikers share in common. 

Lastly, I just want to share that we lost our dear friend Sumit Burman, a week later in an accident, who was a part of this meet with Prem Joseph. Our heart goes out to the family. He was the most disciplined biker we fellow bikers have ever seen.

                                         In Pic, Urvashi, Sourabh, Krishna, Prem, Sumit
 

MudRush – Biggest event this monsoon in Jadhavgarh, Pune !!!!

So this is it. The MudRush is back again. After a huge huge success at Kolad this year in February, it is back with their “Monsoon Edition” in Pune, Maharashtra on the 31^st of August and as promised, this is gonna be kick ass fun.

So come August 31, 2013, feel the thrill of a quest accompanied with loads and tons of fun and frolic, with the adrenaline along the terrain of the beautiful fort at Jadhavgarh. Jadhavgarh Fort is situated in the beautiful hilly area in the heart of Jadhavwadi town on the outskirts of Pune. 

Now, what better place do you get to host the biggest Monsoon Fest this August?

So Punekars out there, do you listen this? The tag line for this event says it all,

                                            

                                                    “Ladh Jhagadh Aagebadh”

Wondering what is at this event? Well, picture this out. A 300+ year old fort, rains, mud, fog, and a 5+ to 6+ km muddy train with 20+ obstacles. This sounds fun right?

So what are you waiting for? Block your calendar for this major monsoon event! This event promises fun, lots fun. And an epic reward awaits you at the finish comprising of a Signature Frosty Beer and a Medal stamp, that can indicate you as a true MudRusher. This event unleashes all your energy. Dress in the best way you can, participate, or either come down for fun or for supporting your near and dear.

As the sun sets, well known DJ’s will be there to make your body swing, roll on the floor. Yes you heard it right, The MudRush will be hosting a post event Sun-Downer party for all you guys.

Well wanna know about more? Then pack your bags, be there at Jadhavgarh Fort on 31^st August, 2013. 

You need to be there for this big event.

See you fellas, make this weekend as one of your best. Cheers! 

Democratic, Corrupted "India" ...

We have expressed our anger, helplessness, disagreement, criticism and dissent in the last few months, about the ongoing issue of corruption - in our polity, bureacracy, administration, at people in positions of power, in short, in whole "India".

It is time to ask,

Do we have any ideas / suggestions / proposals to offer to fix this deep rooted, organised, institutionalised corrupt practices ?

One thing that is clearly evident, is a truth :
it is our tolerance, and inaction for decades that has contributed to this growth. We failed to raise our voice, dissent, protest all these years and are to share the blame too.

And those that say, there still are many amongst us, who do in their individual capacity, fight these practices and live by clean principles, yes while this may be true, the nature and extent of this malaise calls for collective, nationwide, proactive action to fix this. And Now.

Here is my view and suggestions.

1) Since we are a democracy, and we have 543 MPs representing 543 geographic constituencies across the country, each MP has to be made to present his timed plan (monthly, yearly targets) for development of his constituency during election time. The action plan/promise must include a prioritisised commitment to address, basic issues of sanitation, drinking water, medical infrastructure, education, policing and safety, etc. He must be made (by law if necessary) to hold periodic meetings with local representatives/ people of his constituency to review the progress of his targets. And where he /she is found failing, and does not deliver or commit offences, or engage in illegal activity to reach his target...he must be made accountable and punishable through a local referendum which will be issue based.

The same could be extended to state representatives - the MLAs in their constituencies.

When each MP and MLA has to make a committed promise (not empty manifestoes), and will be audited / reviewed by the local people periodically, it will bring in transperancy and accountability. The MP or MLA will then do the job he is elected for - ie., to reperesent and serve his people. This is his job description and he will meet his targets to stay in the job. His job will be subject to review by the people who elect him ie., give his job.

2) There should be fast track investigative and justice mechanisms instituted or strenghen already existing laws and courts, to deal with serious offences of financial, ethical, criminal nature. And judgements of punishments have to be immediately carried out without delay, fear or favour.

Infact we have got a wikipedia page on this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_India
It says - A 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India found that more than 45% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully.

Just two ideas to set the debate on.
Read and React. Its all yours.
Over to your positive suggestions!