Scene & Heard

Marcellus Baptista

Home Truths
Lifestyle stores and services seem to have caught on all over town. Launched was Design 'n' Domain, a lifestyle store, and The Global Village, a one-stop venue for all home accessories, artifacts, culture collectibles and everything that would go into giving your home an ethnic touch.

Design 'n' Domain focuses on natural and eco-friendly products like wood, paper, ceramic, terracotta, coconut, rattan and even plant fossils. The store in Juhu has been conceptualised by architects Anand Menon and Shobhan Kothari who believe in a lifestyle that is unpretentious, uncluttered, yet elegant.

The Global Village showcased its collection called Oriental Odyssey at Designscape, the furniture showroom on Napeansea Road. Mahesh Malkani and Kiran Salaskar of The Global Village have plans to keep on bringing faraway lands into your living space. The aim is to be the country's leading handicraft, lifestyle and accessories platform, dealing in quality products sourced from international markets.

Three Cheers
Three liquor companies made their presence felt in the city: Bacardi, Guinness UDV and Seagram. They said it with Bacardi Breezer Wildberry, Smirnoff Citrus Twist and Chivas Regal.

For Bacardi it was the launch of a new flavour, its ready-to-drink range. After lime, orange and cranberry, it was time to taste wildberry. The flavour has been specially developed for the Indian market and, judging by the response at the party at Velocity, it seems to be a hit, something that is international, unique and exotic, in sync with the stylish, up-market image of Bacardi Breezer. Yet another way to 'live life in colour'.

Flavoured vodka came to town with the introduction of Smirnoff Citrus Twist in a funky bottle at parties at Athena and Enigma. Seems to be a fun drink enjoyed with a splash of soda and ice or with another mixture giving it a double-flavoured taste.

Seagram celebrated Chivas Time, the much-awaited monthly event on the city's social calendar. This time the focus was on the consular corps and it looked like the national day of all countries at one time at Konkan Cafe at Taj President.

Guests sipped and savoured classic cocktails like Chivas Royale with whisky, crushed ice, apple juice and ginger ale. Complementing the spirited session was fine food from the hotel's executive chef Ananda Solomon.

Surprises of the night included French singer Pascal Heni who sang old Hindi film hits and a performance of the French acrobatic troupe, Les Acrostiches.

Tasty Times
A nice thing about Mumbai is that you can get a taste of the world without venturing out of the city. The latest experience was the Italian food festival featured at Lake View Cafe, the all-day dining restaurant at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel.

Executive chef Francis Luzinier and his team dished out an Italian gourmet dinner with finely prepared traditional Italian delicacies accompanied by an exemplary selection of wines. What you had were authentic dishes from various regions of Italy like Milan, Rome and Parma.

You listened to live music in the Californian-style cafe overlooking the pool and the scenic Powai Lake as you helped yourself at the buffet table and the pasta station.

From Italy, let's go to Spain. Casa de Tapas, every Tuesday at Olive Bar & Kitchen, has grown in popularity. Here you get a taste of Spain through a medley of delicious tapas, great sangria, art and music.

Some months ago they presented artist Jaideep Mehrotra and designer Arjun Khanna portraying their images of Spain. Following this the latest Spanish offering was 'Impression of Spain 2', Ishika Mohan's photographic account of her meanderings through the country. The colour and flamboyance of the images were the perfect foil to the cool white-washed Olive walls. And the celebrities present added further colour to the night.