Mohalla nights on Pali Hill

On Wednesday night a serving of some of the cityrsquos most exacting foodies were dining on ShorbaePaaye a clear broth of lamb paaye with a traditional family recipe of spices well secured in a potli slow cooked in a handi for hours to release the hard to get goodness within the bones and GoshteDu a robust traditional preparation of lamb marinated overnight and cooked perfectly to maintain the succulent juices and texture including Sohail and Arbaaz Khan along with most of their family Chef Vicky Ratnani and Taj Lands end GM Parveen Chander KumarGuests at Mohalla Nights with Baba and Alka SiddiquiThe occasion was another appearance of talented Chef Alka Shehzeen Siddiquersquos Cafeacute De Mom a charming pop up food enterprise that has previously given the city DaawateShahi a compendium of delicious dishes like Khichda and GulzaareShaami Siddiqui has some pretty serious food credentials but has been a late bloomerChef Alka SiddiquildquoHailing from a family of fine cooksrdquo she said ldquoafter years of pondering and eventually on the insistence of my beloved kids my husband and my brother I set out on this path of self expressionrdquo Wednesdayrsquos meal was called lsquoMohalla Nights flavours of Mohammed Ali Road served with a twistrsquo and was hosted in the compound of a building in Pali Hill festooned with street buntings and lights The Siddiquis all four of them Chef Sidiquirsquos husband politician Baba her daughter Arshia and her son Zeeshan were playing the gracious hosts each bashfully proud of their motherrsquos cuisineIt is a cuisine we are very familiar with One of our favourite childhood memories is when as children living in Juhu our parents would take us to A One Grill on Linking Road for its chicken soup served in cutting chai glasses and tandoori chicken crisp with the earthy fragrance of the tandoor still on it which we would eat off paper plates with way too many onions squished up in a tiny carOnly recently we discovered that the owners of the A One Grill had been Chef Alka Siddiquirsquos family ldquoGood cooks donrsquot merely prepare food by their hands but right from their heartsrdquo she said We agree Mohalla Nights will be open to the public next week we understandDesigning womenldquoMy deep sense of wanderlust propelled me to design an exclusive collection of travel accessories The Aztec print combines and translates my love for geometrics with an electric twistrdquo said petite designer Surily Goel about her collaboration as guest editor January for TheLabelLifecom which describes itself as lsquoa destination for the independent Indian woman wanting a curated mix of clothing accessories home decor and much morersquo led by Sussanne Khan Malaika Arora Khan and Bipasha BasuSurily GoelPrevious designers who have collaborated with the site have been Malini Ramani and Rocky SDog day afternoonsThe end of the month will witness another installment of the twoday annual carnival held each year at the Seaside Pier of the Radio Club Known as Dog ArsquoFair it is the brainchild of Farzana Contractor the lady who has given us Upper Crust and one of the cityrsquos best food events the Upper Crust Food and Wine Show which alas we do not attend as much as wersquod like toFarzana Contractor at Dog ArsquoFairDog Arsquo Fair coalesced around Contractorrsquos delight at sharing her life with Tasha and Inshy Contractor her two female Lhasa Apsos and has established itself as an event at the top of the doggy sceneldquoSuccessfully brought to you by Dogs amp More for the 10th consecutive time Dog ArsquoFair continues to be a vibrant space for dog lovers and dogs primarily to gather together mingle around partake of the activities and merchandise put forth while enjoying the cool ocean breezerdquo she said adding ldquoThe array of petoriented merchandise and services at Dog ArsquoFair will drive a pet lover crazyrdquoAs for her own doggie love she said ldquoI cannot stress enough on how pets enhance onersquos liferdquo WoofArtrsquos next big thingldquoThose in the know cannot stop raving about the Delhibased Jt Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp Sunil Munjalrsquos upcoming art initiative Planned to take place in Goa it is being described as lsquothe mother of all art cultural eventsrsquo and has been described as the last word in Art SummitsSunil Munjal and Tarun TejpalldquoA hundred Sunaparantardquo as an insider described it referring to Raj and Dipti Salgaocarrsquos art and centurial centre in one of Goarsquos most charming areas ldquoThe focus will be art but there will also be literature music and dance eventsrdquo they said This sounds likes an India whose time has comeEver since the Tarun Tejpal led lsquothinkrsquo has bitten the dust therersquos been a slot vacant for its successor and the Munjals though not known as big players in the art scene certainly have the marketing muscle to pull it off An art and culture extravaganza to give the Mumbai Delhi crowd one more occasion to fly down to Goa Bring it