The Olympics may have just got over, but I’m already missing the daily medal tallies, the Phelps’ physiology-analyses and breathless wait for an Indian to do good. So much so, I reluctantly agreed to meet my pals at Just Oriental for lunch.

Why reluctantly, you ask? It’s because I’m up to here with coriander-garnished fried rice, tomato pureed sweet-and-sour dishes, and meats drowned in soy sauce. So used am I to ‘Indian-Chinese’, I halted mid-sentence, tore my eyes away from my best friend’s Gerard Darel 24 Hours Barcelona bag and happily let my Hermes’ fragrance be overpowered when the waiters began serving us.

The wok magicians, imported from Taiwan and Hong Kong, have been paying homage to mild Cantonese, spicy Schezwan and even Chinese experimental without a single glance at kothmir or ketchup for a few months now.

By common consent, we suspended our red-hot chatter and, instead, toasted our tastebuds with Crispy Honey Chilli Garlic Chicken, succulent, sweet and hot. The Aromatic Steamed Rice — made with grains transported from Thailand — was full of flavour, steamed as it had been in a bamboo trunk with a hint of jasmine. The Clay-Pot Chicken was subtle, while the Cambodian Mixed Vegetables came with a tang reminiscent of fresh tamarind leaves and the sweetness of sugarcane. We ended with a warm melt-in-the-mouth Toffee Banana, coated in a crispy crunchy sweet batter.

Just as we were wondering if the oriental meal experience could get any better, the maitre d’ let us into a secret: Always ask for the chef’s special for the day, dependent on whatever’s the freshest in the markets on a daily basis.

We felt like we’d bagged the gold.

Just Oriental, 28 Mota Arcade, 158 Brigade Road, Bangalore 560001. Tel: 30582727, 41611989. Meal for two: Rs 1400.

There’s a reason my friends call me diva. And it ain’t because of my strong singing voice! Don’t get me wrong, I’m no obnoxious Paris Hilton wannabe. I just like things smooth and who am I to complain when others jump to it on my behalf?

Even when I’m slumming it by taking the bus, I like things just so. And a new website, www.ticketvala.com, has just come as Godsend to us Divas on a Shoestring. From this virtual ticketvala, you can book bus tickets in style. The process is pretty simple. You just log on and go through the user-friendly click-through menu to register the journey dates, starting point and destination and you’ll get a list of operators that provide buses on that route. This comprehensive list includes the timings, pick-up points and even the tour operators involved.

At first unsure of the site’s efficiency, I did the needful and went about my business, with my fingers crossed that someone would respond. My Goa trip was rather spur-of-the-moment and I didn’t think I would get a booking just two days before my intended departure. But within 15 minutes, I received a call from an executive who went on to help me choose exactly which tickets I wanted. Once I’d confirmed, he said he would be calling back after checking availability with the operators concerned. In an hour’s time, he was back, ready to take down my address. The tickets landed at my place the very same day, and I paid cash on delivery!

Even a self-confessed diva like me, who likes to set her standards really high, found this service impeccable. The next time, I’ll try making the payment online (it’s a VeriSign secured site). For now, I’ve arrived here in good cheer and am busy allowing the gorgeous Goan men to rush around at my beck and call.

www.ticketvala.com; Tel: Toll free from any network (landline or mobile): 1-800-209-222; Prices: Depend on the length of the journey and type of bus. A nominal charge is added for home delivery of tickets.

Let me let you in on a secret. Feminine and flirty is fine, but for a long time now, I’ve wanted to look like all those sporty women you see in TV and print adverts. You know the kind — smart track pants, fitted tee, high up-there pony tail that swishes to and fro.

Well, I’m on my way getting there — training on the treadmill for the half hour I can sneak out of my oh-so-busy office sked, donning stylish sneakers and heading parkward for a jog, doing yoga to lose the tum and all that. Really, I’ve been running myself into the ground, trying to get hooked to the highs that running reportedly (nah, not reportedly! I do get my endorphin fix each day on the treadmill!) gives you.

But what’s a girl to do when she’s ready to race with the best of ‘em all? Register for the Community Stampede, in Gurgaon, that’s what. The run’s being organized by runningandliving.com, whose promoters — Rahul Verghese, Anita Bhargava and Dr Rajat Chauhan — did a test run early this month, and loved the experience.

Beginners can aim for the 5-kilometre run. Or, if you’re up to it, go the whole 10-km route. It starts at the main car park at Leisure Valley, in Gurgaon’s upscale Sector 29. What better way to keep those kilos off, and maybe bump into a good-looking runner!

The benefit to your waistline’s a bonus!

Community Stampede, Leisure Valley, Sector 29, Gurgaon. Community stampede - 5k and 10km. Registration begins 6.15 am, 5km run starts: 7.15 am, 10km run starts: 6.45am. Those who want to make a run for it can email contact@runningandliving.com. For queries, call Rahul Verghese on 98107 30132.

I’m a buff. What’s that again? A movie buff, silly. You tell people you really, really like watching films, and that’s what they say — that they’re buffs, too. And then they’ll proceed to tell you, in excruciating detail, about all the movies they’ve loved. And hated. And then they will ask you: so, what are your fave films?

I’m always at a bit of a loss on how to answer that one. I start making lists in my head, and then stop: there are just too many. And there are a zillion that I am dying to catch — that wish-list keeps growing with each passing day.

Now, my small screen is about to turn biiiiig. The folks at UTV World Movies have just hit on this really smart idea, and they’re calling it 50 Movies to See before You Die. They’ve invited some of the best filmmakers in India to come up with their top choices, which will unspool Friday nights, right around the year, at the late hour, when pesky kids-pestering spouses-besotted boy friends-gabby roommates, have knocked off for the night.

It began last Friday, with M Night Shyamalan (well, he may live in Philly, but he is and always will be one of ours!), gave his top spot to Zhang Yimou’s magnificently shot, sumptuously mounted ‘Hero’. Tomorrow is Ji-woon Kim’s Korean chiller ‘A Tale Of Two Sisters’ : it left even the ‘The Sixth Sense’ spookmeister scared. I suggest you have someone to clutch on to!

Up next is Mahesh Bhatt with Truffaut’s ‘Jules Et Jim’, and Chaplin’s ‘The Great Dictator’. The much younger enfant terrible of Hindi cinema, Anurag Kashyap, is serving up Truffaut’s (again!) ‘400 Blows’, and the much less known, but equally riveting ‘13 Tzameti’ by Gela Babluani. World-class movies all.

Got me a sizzling date tomorrow night. Just me and my TV screen.

50 Movies To See Before You Die, UTV World Movies, Fridays, 11 pm. Log on to http://www.utvworldmovies.com for more details.

I’m tired of movies. I’m tired of protests. I’m tired of ’sale’ shopping. I’m tired of the same ole same. I long for good old-fashioned entertainment. I dream of foot-tapping music. I need songs I can sing along with. I want a loud, happy Broadway-like musical.

And just when I was about to put my blue suede shoes away, one of the cast members from the CAUSE Foundation pinged to tell me their new musical All Shook Up is in town this week. A hilarious musical comedy that’s inspired by the songs of Elvis Presley, and brought to life by the cast and crew who’ve given Bangalore some of its most memorable evenings. The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and Grease. Remember?

All Shook Up is filled with vibrant costumes, foot-tappy numbers, old school moves and a 35-member cast who’ve volunteered to set Bangalore’s pulse a-racing. The musical deals with a small mid-western American town in the ’50s that recognizes the unjustness of segregation after a leather-jacket clad youth thunders in with his bike. The story is ultimately about the power and magic of music and its role in dissolving inhibitions and class tensions.

And it’s all for a good cause. The CAUSE Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes local talent through musical productions, with all profits going to worthy local charities.

Now that has an even bigger feel-good factor than retail therapy.

All Shook Up. Director: Leila Alvares. Featuring: Neville De Nazareth, Neha Kapoor, Jude Lazaro, Arvind Kasthuri and Prem Koshy. Music Director: Gaurav Vas. Choreographers: Lucien Charanghat, Lionel De Nazareth, Neha Kapoor, Kanika Batra and Pravin Roberts. August 29 to September 1, (Friday through Monday). 7:15pm to 9 pm. Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore. Tickets: Rs 500, 300, 200 and 150, available at Supermarket (Brigade Rd), Fab India (Indiranagar), Market Basket (Cox Town Market) and online at www.indianstage.in. Call 9986016207 for details.

I’ve always known Nisha Merchant for her trendy take on trousseaux. She’s the one who’ll take that chic urban silhouette and add a touch of ultra-ethnic embroidery to make it sublime. Or mix up ultra trad with uber glam to come up with gladrags that turn my girl-next-door friends into wedding-day goddesses. Her deft design hand has been evident in every distinct collection she creates.

This time around, I rushed for a preview to find that she’s focussed on a pastel palette in lightweight fabrics like net and georgette. The fun, though, I discovered, is all in the detailing. A dipping sweetheart-meets-socialite neckline here, a sprinkle of glittery stones and threadwork there and you know Nisha’s the razzle dazzle momma of bridal bling. But rest assured that the embroidery — even the sparkly spangles, sequins and zardozi work — are restrained and used with great care so you don’t come across looking garish.

I especially loved the demure raw silk range, with long sleeves and muted colours that whisper class. Dignified kali kurtas and sherwanis for gals are quite a change from the layered wisps of chiffon that everyone else seems to be doing these days. Teamed with cigarette or churidar pants, they’re perfect for a quiet, yet formal do. In comparison, I find myself in awe of the fiery grandeur of the classic bridals. Thankfully, I don’t have to be the central flame just yet and am content being the friend/sister of the bride, who gets to traipse around in youthful net sarees and sexy cholis.

And luckily for me, Nisha’s creations cover this niche particularly well too.

Nisha Merchant, Next to Mehboob Studios, Bandra (W), Mumbai; and Nisha Merchant, Juhu Tara Road, Opposite Hotel Palm Grove, Juhu, Mumbai; Tel: 32507735/26553919; Prices: Start at Rs 10,000.

I ain’t no martini snob, but really, those unimaginative vodka-and-orange party staples make me cringe. And rum and Coke? Blasphemy! That’s when me and my girlfriends signed up for a bartending workshop by Tulleeho. Turned out be a smash — it was a make-your-drink-and-drink-it-too event, leaving us very, very tulli!

Everything you could need for a bar was on our little table: sparkling glasses, lemon wedges, liqueurs, fresh juices. Our charming mixologist, Yangdup Lama, got us started with a Pomarancza Martini (with Belvedere orange vodka, fresh orange juice, orange liqueur, lime) — it was of the prettiest peach hue, with the potency of a rocket.

We sipped gingerly and snacked on the yummy in-house kebabs as Lama got us to assemble our next cocktail: a nice tall drink with muddled ginger, mint and lime juice, plus Belvedere citrus vodka and soda. And lots of ice. Just what you need after a dog’s day at work. And then he announced the third. Woohoo — A Cosmopolitan! What joy to know that our favourite glam drink takes 20 seconds to make! The fourth was a shooter, and one of us volunteered to have Lama pour it straight down the throat.

That’s four stiff drinks in two hours, and we were pretty sure we’d be too buzzed to care about the fifth. But OMG, it’s the drink to caress on a nippy winter evening — Hennessy cognac, hazelnut, vodka and lime, and it’s the most luxurious drink I’ve ever tasted.

I did it all over again at home. And now, there isn’t a party I’m not invited to, darling. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

The next Tulleeho workshop is at The Bar, Fortune Select Global, Gurgaon, from 4 to 7 pm, on Saturday, August 30. Rs. 900 per person for individuals, Rs. 800 per person for groups of 4 or more. To register, log on to www.tulleeho.com, and pay in advance (by cheque/ DD or netbanking). Includes a certificate and a handout with cocktail recipes.

While I’ve been in mourning about Harry’s imminent departure, the buzz around Bella has been growing. There have been those who say that she is, horrors, better than he! Now, for me, no one, just no one, can come close to Harry P, but I was intrigued enough to give the new girl on fantasy block a whirl.

So off I went and got all four books starring troubled teen (are there any other kinds?) Bella aka Isabella Swan, authored by Phoenix-based Stephanie Meyer, who’s rapidly being hailed as the second J K Rowling.

Twilight, the first of the series, has Bella moving from hip Phoenix to hickville Forks, to be with her father. She joins the local high school and meets Edward Cullen — he of the porcelain skin, can’t-forget-it voice, and mysterious eyes. Young Bella is irresistibly drawn, but he remains a mystery: she is the only one who doesn’t know that the dishy Ed and the rest of his family are actually Cold Ones (vampires). Oooh.

Edward’s not immune to our young heroine’s charms. His heart is in the right place, but it’s a vampire’s. So he’s smitten, all right, but it’s not her perfume that’s tormenting him, it’s the scent of her blood.

What next?

Oh no, I’m not telling you that.

There’s this, though: the Mormon housewife-turned-author’s last book shoved Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows off the best-seller list in the US. She’s finally landed on the best-seller lists in India, too. And yikes, Warner Bros has put off releasing the next Harry film to summer 2009, and is opening Twilight this November. Has Potter, shudder, been put to pasture?

See, Bella’s good, but Harry’s the best. So she can live on my bookshelves, in second place! And while I’m at it, I’m going to go through the series — after Twilight, there’s New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

One down, three to go.

The Twilight Series, by Stephanie Meyer. Published by Atom. Price, Rs 350 each. At bookstores nationwide.

It’s Thursday and I have a problem. One of my talents lies in combining people and places for truly memorable evenings that celebrate friends, food and fun. But it’s going to be hard beating my super-successful party last Saturday.

Let me tell you about it. The guest list included a corporate hot-shot, an incendiary journalist, a well-known doc, a serial entrepreneur and an investment banker. People, you’d think, who had nothing in common. But then, my winning card was Portabella, the new nouvelle cuisine restaurant at the Basil Ikon three-star hotel, where I hosted them. After all, who doesn’t like good food?

Certainly not my eclectic friends. As rising stars in their firmaments, they’re all aware of what they eat and the philosophy of Portabella hit the sweet spot instantly: Natural flavours, shorter cooking times, fresh ingredients, light seasonings et al.

The vegetarians in the group flipped over the Spaghetti in Sauce l’orange (spaghetti tossed in a tangy orange sauce, accompanied by the day’s vegetables). The carnivores were spoilt for choice: the Magred of Duck (duck breasts served with spring veggies and a reduction sauce) or the Poulet Confit (chicken cooked in jus, glazed with honey and baked)? Seer fish in a ginger-garlic confit or creamed chicken with pineapple jus?

The menu made for a heated debate, but the palate-pleasers ensured there was no smoke pouring out of anyone’s ears. Indeed, the intimate blue-and-white interiors induced warm conversations, the superior service encouraged congeniality and the excellent dessert choices (blueberry cheese cake? Or chocolate mousse?) ensured everyone dispersed with a sweet taste in their mouth.

How to beat that, this Saturday?

Portabella. At Hotel Basil Ikon, 1215, 100 Feet road, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560008. Tel: 4040 1313. Email: nouveau.india@gmail.com. Prices: Rs 1000 for a meal for two without alcohol.

I’m a South Mumbai girl through and through. As much as I love the buzzing party beat of Bandra and beyond — the traffic is a killer. But I’ve often grinned and borne the gruelling trip just to get my Olive fix. Thankfully, after eight truly brilliant years at Pali Hill, Olive has opened its doors closer to my home — in Mahalaxmi.

Nestled amongst the stables of the Amateur Riders’ Club, what has already lovingly been dubbed the “new Olive” by us regulars, it captures the essence of the original restaurant. There’s that Olive buzz, yet with a smaller bar area than its counterpart, the vibe is more relaxed and geared towards indulgent diners.

My group of foodie friends managed to snag a cosy corner table with a great view of the horses. Noticing just a few subtle changes on the delectable Mediterranean menu, we treated ourselves to some heavenly Italian wine and settled in. My Argentinean friend exclaimed the Carpaccio di Manzo “as good as she got back home”. The Mixed Organic Garden Greens together with Parmesan, Spanish walnuts, apple and balsamic, were delish.

The Papadelle Duck Ragu — allegedly one of Chef Max’s favourites — was a succulent melange of flavours and the Tagliolini Porcini was quickly devoured. The Chicken Espadata — marinated Mediterranean meats and veggies, arrived dangling on a skewer, which the waiter served with great ceremony. Old faithfuls like the Ravioli and Spaghetti Carbonara were expertly made and beautifully presented.

And best of all, I found my all-time favourite gooey Chocolate Fondant on this menu too! My friends opted for a cheese platter, but since it came without crackers, they’ve vowed to go for their own fondant next time.

While I’m thrilled about this fabulous addition to South Mumbai dining, my Bandra-ite buddies are less enthralled even as they now make the trip instead of me. But as they say, different horses for different courses.

Olive Bar & Kitchen, Amateur Riders’ Club, Gate No 8, Mahalaxmi Race Course, K Khadge Marg, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai; Tel: 40859595; Prices: A meal for two, without drinks, approximately Rs 2,000.