MC Recommends | Made-in-India wines and whiskies, and where to get your fix of Tamil cuisine

IFBE Mumbai is hosting '(de)Coding Mumbai' comprising 18 exhibits that trace how the last century has shaped urban forms of the city and left an impact on Mumbai residents.

‘Made in India’ spirits and wine list for gifting

The main man in your life deserves the best. Our list of the best ‘Made in India’ spirit and wine brands to gift him would read something like this:

International Wine & Spirit Competition’s (IWSC's) 2022 gold winner, Paul John’s Mithuna, which is part of the brand’s Zodiac series and named after the Gemini sign, has flavours of coffee mocha and spices.

Indri Trini Single Malt, the silver winner at IWSC, is matured in three kinds of wood — ex-bourbon, ex-wine, and sherry casks.

Third Eye Distillery, the guys behind Stranger & Sons gin, has launched citrus-flavoured gin Trading Tides, created in collaboration with Australian distillery Four Pillars. Flavours such as lemon myrtle and river mint, besides Indian ingredients such as kokum, tamarind, and mangosteen, imbue it with that citrusy zest.

Khemani Distilleries' Kamanda whisky is a spicy blend of espresso coffee, Jamaican rum, and vanilla.

The first-ever rosé to be made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in India, Vallonné Vineyards Rosé has crisp acidity, reflecting the Provençal Rosé style, with notes of cherry, plum, and melon.

Artisanal feni from the monsoon-lashed (at this moment) state of Goa, from brands such as Cazulo or Tinto.

Goa-based agave spirit brand Pistola, made from agave that grows abundantly on the Deccan Plateau.

Bluetooth earbuds that call themselves ‘Nothing’

The world is looking forward to the launch of a smartphone from Nothing, a London-based tech start-up. Nothing Phone (1) is said to have a translucent design with a semi-transparent back, from which is visible a map of a New York subway made by designers Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda way back in the 1970s. The android phone is said to sport a triple rear camera, an Android 12 OS, with 128 GB storage. The design is what has everyone excited. Perhaps as a teaser of things to come, Nothing has put out its Bluetooth earbud on the market.

Matte black silicone earbuds, Nothing Ear (1), are encased in a distinct smoky finish transparent case. To pair your Ear (1) with your phone, you need to download an eponymously named app. Ear (1) delivers immersive sound with an advanced quality of bass, mid, and treble performances. The composite mesh design for improved sweat and water resistance with an IPX4 rating works well for humid climates.

Nothing Phone (1)

5 Tamil cuisine fine-dine restaurants, which serve inventive food

Goa’s Tamil Table offers a curated menu with dishes such as slow-cooked mutton, egg parantha, Mutton Sukha (a Pondicherry speciality), a light, and coconut-y avial, and crispy fried fish in a sour and sweet tamarind curry, infused with raw mango, which leaves a burst of flavours in your mouth.

The newly launched Madras Mail in Mumbai draws its menu from food available on streets, station platforms, and the state’s many bus stand. Flaky Parotta Rolls with aromatic spice filling such as Chicken Chettinad; Railway Chicken Kothu Parotta; and savoury, spiced Paniyaram with fillings such as jackfruit and pepper, chilli cheese, Madurai chicken, and sweet coconut jaggery; besides Madurai Bun Sliders, a spicy take on more popular sliders and not to forget, iced filter coffee.

Kothu Parotta at Madras Mail, Mumbai

Chennai’s vegetarian restaurant Paati Veedu has several superstar dishes on its menu: a 25-course Poorna Bhakshana (a 7-course meal), 12 varieties of rasam, and a roster of dishes such as Puliyodharai with capsicum pachadi, tamarind rice with bell pepper yoghurt relish, and idiyappam.

At the classic Tanjore Tiffin Room in Mumbai, the menu pays homage to the women in the owner, Kishore DF’s life: Padmini's mutton cutlet is in honour of his mother; Pankajam and Kasturi are his favourite aunts, contributing recipes for mutton chops and puli kolumbu; and his childhood cook, Uma Athai has a meatball curry credited to her.

In Chennai, Anjappar Chettinad serves Chettinad cuisine, particularly its quintessential spicy and aromatic rice and curry topped with a hardboiled egg.

Jewels in your cheese boards

Serein Décor’s indulgent crystalline grazing boards are studded with brilliant blue and sea green agate stones. The undulating contours of the boards are finished in metal and electroplated in gleaming gold.

Serein Decor cheese board

Exhibiting Mumbai’s built landscapes as stories of its residents

Mumbai’s ice factory-turned-design, art, and architecture space, IFBE, is hosting an unusual show tracing the lives and times of Mumbaikars through the buildings and homes built over generations.

Architect Sameep Padora, founder of architecture studio, sP+A, and his team has transformed their research on the city into (de)Coding Mumbai, with 18 exhibits that trace how the last century has shaped the urban forms of the city and left an impact on its citizens. It presents a story of virtual and real landscapes in Mumbai, from its art deco homes to its various bastis, many tragically monikered slum colonies in government urban development plans, to little pockets of heritage. The exhibits are backed by talks, art walks, and workshops.

Edible gold leaf on your pizza

Zorawar Kalra’s Massive Restaurant’s just-launched pizza delivery brand Slyce Pizza, has on its menu a pizza peppered with edible gold leaf. The truffle and gold pizza is made using fresh mozzarella, cheddar, truffle shavings, white truffle oil and gold leaf. Besides the vegetarian version, there is the Lobster White Top Pizza with butter-poached lobster and prawns bianco, truffle oil and gold leaf, while for chicken lovers there's the buttery Maverick, with pulled chicken poached in butter, pesto, olives, truffle shaving, truffle oil, and gold leaf. The gold leaf imparts no new texture to the pizza, but makes it more instagrammable - it adds that bit of fun element to your pictures.

Slyce Pizza with gold leaf