Walking up the stairs of the slightly nondescript office block, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a restaurant named The Ugly Duckling. Kitsch? Minimalism? An over-the-top Disneyland theme, based on its fairy-tale nomenclature? What my friends and I found was a warm, cafe-like space, with quirky décor and sunny, happy music, to keep the tempo lively.

The Ugly Duckling, launched by Shalini and Nikolaj Kielland, is modelled on a typical European cafe, and is run as an extension of their home. The menu is limited but atypical — all the dishes, inspired by flavours from South Europe, are treasured recipes collected over the years from friends and family. While the restaurant offered the standard options of Pastas Arrabiata, Carbonara and Alfredo, it was the rest of the Med spread that really caught our eye (and fancy).

Our table especially loved the Ugly Duckling Melt (sauteed vegetables on a grated potato base, baked with a layer of Mozzarella), the Lamb Souvlaki, Greek Chops (pork chops in a spicy marinade, served with a fresh salad, baby potatoes, tzatziki and garlic bread), and the fresh, delicately seasoned Ugly Duckling Salad. For afters, I recommend the wonderfully light Creme Caramel and the more sinful Ferrero Rocher cake. Indulgent, yes, but something about the place just urges you to eat well!

The relatively small space fosters a casual cosiness, allowing us to kick back, drop all pretensions, and just enjoy a relaxed, home-style European meal. Both off-beat and upbeat, The Ugly Duckling is the perfect place to unwind with friends, or even make new ones.

The Ugly Duckling. 5th floor, Sona Towers, 71 Millers Road (next to the HDFC Building), Bangalore 52. Tel: 22375982. Meal for two: around Rs 800. Only beer served, along with non-alc drinks.

I’ve always loved my Estee Lauder lip gloss, right from the days my older sis brought me back some from her global jaunts. So I was pleased as punch to skip into the brand new luxe Lauder boutique in the city to see whether the rest of the range lived up to my long-standing love.

Gorgeous models smiled at me from the walls and the beauty consultant seemed to reassure me that I could look just as babelicious (well almost!) as them. The store embodies founder Mrs Estee Lauder’s belief that ‘all women can be beautiful’.

Their make-up range left me spoilt for choice. For India, they’ve added six additional warm shades of Double Wear liquid and powder foundations and a colour collection called Jewels of Summer. I could safely try it all because everything’s non-acnegenic and tested by eye and skin specialists. Their large collection of skincare products is systematically categorized by area of concern — hydration, brightening, protection or anti-ageing — making it easy to track down what I wanted. And if a gal can’t find something she likes from this treasure trove of face gear, Estee Lauder’s mantra of customisation will ensure that she finds a product to meet her needs.

What I like best of all was that the staff (for a change) knows all about the merchandise. To help me find the perfect foundation, the beauty consultant used her I-match shade finder to determine how warm or cool my skin tone was, how transparent or opaque its texture and based on that, found the exact shade and consistency (cream, liquid, powder, cake) for me. She also offers an I-match Colour Solution in one of four looks — Classic, Romantic, Dramatic and Natural — depending on your personal style. If you’re happy with what you see in the mirror, buy the products. If not, keep experimenting.

Trendy Tip: Before you step out, ask for the ‘Two-minute Touch up’, where your eyes, lips and cheeks get flushed with lush colour, so you leave on a rainbow.

Estee Lauder, The Galleria, Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai; Book an appointment: 30277080 / 30277081); Website: www.esteelauder.com; Price: Between Rs 970 and Rs 24,000.

You know that sunglasses aren’t there merely to protect against the sun, right? That’s what sunblock and shaded car windows are for. Sophisticates like us know shades are more about style and attitude. Which is why you’ll still see me swishing in and out of my S class with my new pair proudly perched on my head even on cloudy days. So why are my glares getting glares from all my glam gal competition?

Well, for starters, they’re Chrome Hearts. Now, don’t tell me you haven’t heard of this label? Sweetheart, come out from under that rock — they’re the shades that finally got Tom Cruise to chuck those ugg Aviators he wore for two decades. And if you’ve seen everyone from Eva Longoria to Heidi Klum wearing the most gorgeous sunglasses and wondered why your neighbourhood store doesn’t stock them, you’ve already had a peek at Chrome Hearts.

This American brand that launched in 1988 is all about wicked style, the kind that born-to-be-wild billionaire rock stars sport. But the process behind the exquisite eyewear is far from edgy. Every Chrome Heart frame is made of titanium or plastic and has wooden temple sticks made of seven ultra-thin layers of wood (African Macassar, Brazilian Mahogany and Madrone wood) laminated together, hand-finished, lacquered and polished six times for real sheen. Then they use a laser to engrave the side of the wooden temples and then inlay with black or white mother-of-pearl. Any leather used is authentic, hand-stitched and Italian. All of the Chrome Hearts motifs (crosses, fleur de lis, daggers, etc) are made of Sterling Silver. The specialised Carl Zeiss sunlenses (there’s an almost invisible ‘Z’ engraved on each) have the highest quality coatings available, providing optimal protection. And for bling babes like us, their master jewellers will even customize designs using diamonds, rubies and other precious stones.

Good enough to make everyone goggle!

Chrome Hearts. Email: info@eternitylifestyles.com. Price: Rs. 30,000 and up.
In Mumbai: Ikon Optiks, Heera Panna, Haji Ali, Tel: 022-23511912 and Bandra, Tel: 022-26402520. Specs & Shades, Nepean Sea Road, Tel: 022-223624810.
In Delhi: Drishti, Khan Market, Tel: 011-41757222 and GK1, Tel: 011-46566378.
Coming to Bangalore in mid-August.

I will always and forever be a ‘Sex and the City’ fan. The movie had me and my gal pals queue-ing up in our pretties. Now that it’s come and gone, we are all set to resume our weekly ritual of catching re-runs of the TV show, with tubs of crunchy corn and aam panna.

Meanwhile, I went and did the other SATC thing that I chanced upon, from the mobile spa people Spa Transformations. I chose one of the four therapies they’ve named after the four Manhattan lasses-turned-ladies.

I called up for Carrie’s Choice (she’s my fave), which involved foot reflexology, and a body cleansing Mojito Body Scrub. After the foot-soother session, I was massaged softly, softly with aroma oil, with a lovely feather touch. A fragrant scrub of refreshing mint, brown sugar, lemon, and aroma oils followed. The newly-glowing me finished up with the steaming jasmine tea my therapist carried with her.

I also liked what I saw on rest of the SATC Menu. Samantha’s Choice has you being rubbed down with a blend of grapes and red wine, finishing up with a glass that you get to sip! Charlotte’s is a fruit facial with mangosteen, that great reviver of dull skin. I would like to gift my career-woman-plus-super-mom friend Miranda’s Choice — a de-stressing Balinese back kama massage, which leaves stiff back and shoulders all relaxed.

Next time around, I’m going to go for their brand new cocktail-based therapies. What sounds most exciting is their Kahlua Cream Body Polish — a massage with coffee Liqueur and Vitamin E oil.

Mmmm, coffee and cream. Heaven.

Spa Transformations: Tel. 32950190, 9811056001; Price: Rs 2,300 onwards. Email: info@spatransformations.com, Website: www.spatransformations.com.

Demanding days at work, endless mid-week and weekend gigs and Sunday brunches — phew. I was beginning to feel the need for some quality time with myself; my skin and hair needed some breathing space too. But with my hectic sked, it was impossible to pack in a rejuve trip out of town.

But rejuvenation no longer calls for luggage and long drives! Oryza, the newest spa in town, is minutes away from work. Within its serene interiors, customised treatments detoxify, smoothen, tone, relax, revitalise and iron out all the kinks from within the urban system. Since I had just my lunch hour to spare on my first visit, I had a tough time selecting the right therapy from the spa menu — a gamut of holistic therapies and massages — and went with the recommended Dreamcream massage. I floated back to work on a cloud of Vitamin E lotion, aloe vera plant extracts and essential oils and even made it to the wine-and-cheese do straight from work without the usual end-of-the-day stresses.

On a weekend, I went back for the Oryza Glow premium facial: It uses floral mist and alum minerals to cleanse, nourish and moisturise the skin and works for all skin types. Next time, I’m going in for the strawberry back facial. I love the idea of showing off a glowing, toned back in a stringy choli at my BFF’s wedding.

In the hair-care menu, I am totally drawn towards the Kerastase ritual, imported straight from Paris. The two-hour conditioning treatment uses precise dosages of advanced formulations and wraps it up with a therapeutic head massage.

Mmm. I can feel those fingers at work already.

Oryza Rejuvenation Spa. 19, Lavelle Road, Bangalore 1. Tel: 41328320/1. Spa treatments cost Rs 1500 and beyond.

They’re mad, and they make doughnuts. But that’s not entirely true. Even though the chefs at Mad Over Donuts sport aprons saying so. In fact, the chefs are very, very good. Which makes a trip all the way to the other end of town totally worth the superhuman effort. Okay, okay even if you’re not a doughnut mad townie like I am, young chef-owner Kishi Arora’s (yes, she’s a girl!) gaily coloured little joint will delight you.

So, to business. How ARE the doughnuts? I loved the texture of the bread, thought they were served at the perfect temperature and had the right balance between dough, filling and topping. The best part? The glass kitchen walls let you watch Kishi and her team in action as they serve up tray after tray of various flavoured doughnuts.

I loved the Bounty flavoured coconut doughnut as well as the seasonal fruit (it was mango last weekend) variation. The cinnamon doughnut with a light sugar dusting was all flavour and light. And I can see myself enjoying the Italian herbed one for lunch sometime. But Chocaholic that I am, I couldn’t resist the Double Trouble, on my first visit to this new place that opened just last week. Insides spilling over with gooey chocolate, a dark chocolate layer on the outside and topped with white chocolate glazing. If there’s a chocolate heaven, this is it. One bite was enough to send the chocolate dribbling down my chin. Perhaps it’s a good thing that at MOD, they don’t give you forks or spoons. Use your hands and get down to it seems the best way to approach these fab fingerlicious treats.

They’re really good enough to drive you nuts.

Mad Over Donuts: Spoon Food Court, Third Floor, Oberoi Mall (just off the Western Express Highway as you go towards Dindoshi), Goregaon (East); Tel: 22063293; Prices: Start at Rs 35.

Ever since the international film festival of India left Delhi to make a home for itself in Goa, there’s been a huge gap between hungry audiences for the best of world cinema, and its purveyors. Osian’s Cinefan, or to give it its full monicker — 10th Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema — has filled it. Admirably. It’s grown — from a tentative start of 20 or so films, back when it was a start-up, it’s now showing 190 films, over 10 crammed days.

Putting together an exciting menu is what Neville Tulli, the man behind Osian’s, and his two super-busy directors, Latika Padgaonkar and Indu Shrikent have been beavering away on, these past few months. The result: a whole bunch of movies which will have me standing in snaking lines outside the venues.

It is an embarrassment of riches. Much feted Hong Kong movie maven Jimmy To’s ‘Sparrow’ is the opening film; the centerpiece is Osian’s fave Wong Kar Wai’s latest ‘My Blueberry Nights’, where you can figure whether Norah Jones (yes, the same Grammy winner warbler, who make her acting debut here) can act as well as sing. Plus, of course, the one that will bring the curtains down is the tantalisingly named ‘Mumbai Cutting’ — a film with ten slices of Mumbai life, helmed by some of the most exciting Indian auteurs. Yes, Anurag Kashyap’s here, as well as Sudhir Mishra, Kundan Shah, Rituaparno Ghosh, Jahnu Barua, and five others.

I could go on, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a list to make: the fest starts in exactly two days!

Osian’s Cinefan, July 10 to 20. Films will be screened at Siri Fort, Ausgust Kranti Marg, and Alliance Francaise, 72, Lodhi Estate. Ph 435 00200. One time registration of Rs 50 at both venues. Tickets, Rs 30, available at both venues from July 9, between 10 am to 7 pm. Log on to http://cinefan.osians.com/ for more details.

I always despaired of making a decent panzanella with our pale plum tomatoes. Ritu Dalmia’s tomato juice trick has me yearning to try again. Read it all, like I did, in my sneak peek into this professional kitchen goddess’s new cookbook Italian Khana, out this month from Random House.

It’s more than a recipe book, it’s a proper cookbook. First, it teaches you to treasure your ingredients, unveiling alongside the tricks of the trade. Sweeten a lime into a lemon. Dress mutton as lamb. Proudly plate up your own freshly handmade pasta!

However, you might want to start at the back with this book. That’s where the list of ’suppliers’ is, whether your kitchen sits in Chennai or Chandigarh.

In between, the recipes. All possible, plausible even in Pune (needing nothing from Parma or Piedmont bar the name) with ready substitution of what’s locally available. From favourites like pasta puttanesca, arrabiata and even the not-so-Sicilian carbonara on to posher ‘fine dine’ choices like linguine in vodka cream, figs and Parma ham, marinated artichokes, saltimbocca. Even a few unusual tastebud primers like carrot and cauliflower flan.

Menus for every party are already prepared (flip forward). The wine list is eminently manageable even for neophytes. If you’re eating alone, you might want entertainment — Ritu’s got a list of books and movies that match moods with your dinner plate. Oh, and for when I do decide to eat Italian in Italy — because face it, you can’t actually make lamb of a goat — there’s a handy map up front to tell me what foodie buys are where.

Time to kiss the pizza delivery boy goodbye!

Italian Khana by Ritu Dalmia, Random House. Price: Rs 750. Out in bookstores July 15, 2008.
Early bird Delhi readers get a voucher for a 3-course lunch for just Rs 500 at Ritu Dalmia’s Diva. (Limited period offer).

What’s in a word? Plenty, it’d seem, especially if the letters involved are F, K, U and C. Strung together right, they read FCUK (of course — what were you thinking?) and some super-cool apparel that ooze as much attitude as their brand-name.

The British label has just opened its first store in Bangalore and I was bowled over by the power they pack on their racks across 800 sq ft of shopping space at the Oasis Mall. From the romanticism of the ’70s to the sporty, layered look of the ’80s, from the modernistic touches reminiscent of the early ’90s to edgy contemporary shapes, they’re all out there.

In the yesteryear-kitsch section, I loved the candy stripes and the ditsy florals, updated with delicate embellishment. The denim section made me swoon — wide leg, high-waisted, super-skinny fits, there was everything I could possibly want! And coloured denims, too, which are so hot right now. Hmmm. I can just see myself in those red ones, teamed with a halter-necked smock and super-high wedges.

Laidback tunics in graphic prints and florals, perfect with basic tights, versatile shirtdresses (with jeans on a regular day and without when I’m feeling brave), and oh-so-wearable dresses that kiss the knees and make them sing! I loved an all-cotton halter-necked, tie-waisted frock in ombre, deep purple on top, fading into the lightest lilac — so beautylicious!

To complement the clothes, there are oversized bags in metallic bronze and silver and high shine PVC with matching belts and large raffia styles with purse fastening alongside neutral leather designs. The jewellery section had some nice long strand-beaded necklaces, Perspex pendants and chunky bangles.

So, you, in the mood for FCUK?

FCUK. Lifestyle-Oasis Mall, Inner Ring Road, Koramangala, Bangalore 560095. Tel: 32419717. Also at the Bangalore International Airport, Devanahalli. Prices range from Rs 995 to Rs 4995.

I’m in seventh heaven. Seven’s always been my lucky number. And now, it looks like my star’s truly on the rise. There’s this great new designer shop that has not one, not two, but SEVEN fashion designers from Delhi, all under one roof!

D7, my new fashion hotspot, is in a quiet lane off Linking Road at Khar. It stocks Manish Arora, Moon River, Namrata Joshipura, Nidhi and Pankaj Ahuja, Rabani and Rakha, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Tulsi by Neeru Kumar. Naturally, given each brand’s own unique sensibilities, I found a vast range of styles, colours and fabrics. And yes, loads of funky accessories too.

What struck me most was the stark contrast between the spaces occupied by Rajesh Pratap Singh and Manish Arora. While Rajesh’s nook was all white and reflected his clean, neat lines and aesthetic finish, Manish’s area was the riot of colour that embodies the Indian kitsch he’s so well-known for.

Young couturiers Namrata Joshipura, Nidhi and Pankaj Ahuja, and Rabani and Rakha didn’t disappoint either. I was enchanted by their eclectic mix of traditional Indian wear and contemporary outfits.

And I got there early enough to snap up some of the choicest saris with intricate zari borders, kurtas, kurtis and pencil pants as well as an entire range of home furnishings by designer Neeru Kumar (under the label Tulsi). And in the Moon River section, I admit I went a teensy bit OTT as I grabbed everything from dinnerware and sushi plates to Origami cards and wooden vases.

I’m just glad that there’s so much good stuff here that I don’t have to cross the seven seas to shop anymore. But hurry, cause I think this is one place where the collection’s going to be gone in seven seconds.

D7, Turning Point Building, Junction of 1st Cross Road and 16th Cross Road, Khar Danda Road, Mumbai. From Rs. 2,000 onwards (Moon River) to Rs. 50,000 onwards (Rabani & Rakha).