best food

Greek Cuisine

Cupcake! is a collection of witty, one-of-a-kind cupcake designs using candies from the local convenience store. America’s top food photographing team, Karen Tack and Alan Richardson show how to create funny, scary and sophisticated masterpieces using a zip-lock bag and common candies and snack items. With easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can plant candy vegetables on Oreo-earth cupcakes for a garden party, raise a big-top circus cupcake tier for a kid’s birthday and serve sausage and pepperoni pizza cupcakes for April Fool’s Day. No baking skills or fancy pastry equipment are required. Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliant photographs is at least half the fun. Paperback; 240 pages.

Fine Dining

Lukimbi has already created a name for itself as one of the new places to enjoy top cuisine. Meals both unusual and beautifully presented add to the whole enjoyable Lukimbi experience.Part of the fun is the changing of venues, so guests may enjoy breakfast in the bush, lunch round the pool and a glamourous candlelit dinner on the wooden decks. Maybe dinner will be in our amazing and mythical boma (or meeting place), an experience you won't forget, or perhaps our chefs will decide to do something completely different.The bar is a great pre-dinner gathering place to exchange game spotting stories, hear Shangaan tales and to sip cockails.To accompany our fine dining, we have a large cellar where guests are invited to select the best of South African wines, including many of the smaller and upcoming Estates.

EVER FELT bored after eating the same dishes at New Delhi's restaurants? Now you can eat Awadhi dishes blended with cream. At Pehli Manzil, a restaurant and bar on Sri Aurobindo Marg. They are prepared by chefs whose skills have been honed under the guidance of traditional khansamas. Though the chefs don't want to divulge their ingredients while preparing these dishes one can get the taste of cream while eating some non-vegetarian dishes.

The décor makes one feel as if one has walked right inside a courtyard of the royals. On the wall are hung hand paintings of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Wajid Ali Shah and Raja of Patiala.

Brainchild of Niena Aurora and Akash Sharma, Pehli Manzil started three years ago. Even as many restaurants have cluttered seating arrangement, at Pehli Manzil there is a respectable distance between one seat and another. This helps the customer feel free. Rights of admission are reserved. The clientele predominantly comprises families. While eating the dinner one is regaled by ghazal singer, Ram Bai.

One starts off with Barrah Kababs. They are mouth-watering but slightly heavy. Priced at Rs.163 these big pieces of mutton are eaten as starters. Along with them one slowly sips mock tail, Christabell - a concotion of mango, orange, pineapple juice with fresh cream - which acts as an appetiser for the main course. Seedhi Saadi Seekh, a blend of minced lamb mixed with exotic herbs and spices, is priced at Rs.199. For the vegetarians there is Bewazani Paneer Tikka - pieces of cottage cheese - Gobhi Ke Phool, Bharwan Aloo and Subz Seekh Kababs.

For the main course, one takes Roomali Roti with Rara Murg, chef's finger-licking blend of chicken mince and chicken pieces in onion coriander gravy. Then one gorges on Murg Malai Tikka. The flavour of the melting cheese while eating Murg Malai Tikka only makes this highly specialised dish more enjoyable. Bhuna Gosht, an authentic Punjabi combination of spinach and lamb in a mild onion gravy, is good. But the best dish is certainly Dal Anjeer Makhani, which is simmered overnight on a slow fire. For dessert one tries the ever-old reliable phirni.