(From top) Rupa Ganguly and Debasree Roy at the soft launch of Bhojohari Manna on Hindusthan Road; Bhaichung Bhutia and Koneenica Banerjee at the furniture store Irony; Mamata Shankar with her family at Mirch Masala. Pictures by Rashbehari Das and Pabitra Das

Hindi film songs playing in the background, old-fashioned lanterns strewn around, an old taxi parked up front and some spare tyres scattered here and there, wooden benches? and plenty of mouth-watering Awadhi food. Mirch Masala, the theme restaurant on Gariahat Road, is celebrating its fifth anniversary in royal style.

The Awadhi food festival features delicacies from the kitchens of kings. Modelled on the lines of an urbanised roadside dhaba ? with an ambience to match ? ?the festival is an attempt to treat food lovers to authentic Awadhi cuisine in a bohemian setting and at an affordable price?, says general manager Umesh Mathur.

The festival has a special menu with a wide assortment of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food fare. Kick off your meal with a Tamatar aur Dhania Shorba (tomato broth flavoured with coriander) or a Gosht ka Shorba (a traditional mutton concoction from the Nawabi kitchens). Move on to the Aloo Firdaus (stuffed potatoes cooked in cashew gravy) or Paneer Awadhi (paneer cooked with beans and carrots).

Those with a taste for the tangy can try the spicy Mutton Tar Korma (succulent mutton pieces cooked in stock and aromatic herbs) or Mahi Kaliya (freshwater fish cooked in rich Awadhi gravy). The tandoor offers more favourites ? Galaoti Kebab (minced lamb kebab flavoured with Lucknowi herbs and spices), Chicken Chapli Kebab (pan-fried aromatic chicken kebab) and Murgh Tangri Kebab (chicken legs with an Awadhi marination).

Rajma Galoti Kebab (kidney bean kebab cooked with aromatic herbs), Zamikand ke Kebab (Lucknowi yam kebabs) and Paneer Tikka Chutneywala (grilled cottage cheese stuffed with green chutney) are some of the vegetarians options.

An Awadhi feast couldn?t be complete without Mughlai biryani. Here, too, the choice is aplenty ? vegetarian Subz Biryani or non-vegetarian Lucknowi Gosht Dum Biryani.

Round off the meal with some delightful desserts. Awadhi specialities include the Shahi Tukra (bread dessert) or Shed E-Jaam (traditional gulab jamun stuffed with honey, pista and nuts) and the Savaiyon ka Muzaffar (vermicelli dessert).

The food festival is on till March 15.

Chic comfort

Stately sofas in cane and comfortable cushions to match, a low round table to complement the seating and walls adorned with paintings, make up a section of soccer star Bhaichung Bhutia?s tastefully done up drawing room. But that doesn't stop him from checking out other furniture forms and endorsing them too.

His latest peep was into the world of wrought iron furniture even as he inaugurated the new showroom of Irony, a well-known wrought iron furniture brand of the region, at Bhowanipore, next to the Seagull Bookstore.

On his way to practice, Bhaichung dropped by with friend and co-footballer Alvito D?Cuna and shared the arclights with actress Koneenica Banerjee, also invited as guest of honour.

oored with the range of furniture and home d?cor items available at the cosy store, Koneenica made a quick recce of things available at the outlet.

From the usual stock of sofa sets and beds to some exotic home d?cor items made from wrought iron (a set of four Ganeshas playing musical instruments is a head-turner), the store marries comfort with class.

A collection of clay items including sculptures and masks make for precious picks.

Dressed in a red FCUK T-shirt and a pair of white linen pants, Bhaichung drew a crowd to the door from the moment he stepped out of his car.

A few minutes spent looking around and exchanging pleasantries with Koneenica, and the Indian soccer skipper was all set to get back to where he belongs ? the greens, for yet another kick around.

Beauty basics

If you want to get under the skin of beauty solutions, hop over to Salonaire, a new salonware shop on 203 Sarat Bose Road.

Stocking everything needed to run a beauty parlour, the shop is ?one-of-a-kind? in eastern India and is aiming to cater to the demands of ?A1 parlours? in and around the city.

Cutting chairs, wash basins, manicure bowls and trolleys apart, the shop also stocks a complete beauty range from Bombay-based brand Klaron and Germany-based Janssen. ?Most of our products are imported from Italy and China,? said proprietor Rita Mohan, who also runs her own parlours ? Transcend at Tollygunge Club and Rapunzel at Ballygunge Park.

While Klaron provides a complete range of herbal products promising fruit therapy and phyto (plant extracts) therapy, Jennson offers a skin treatment line that professes solutions for problems such as acne, pigmentation, oily skin, lifting treatment and anti-ageing creams.

So far, Salonaire has tied up with June Tomkyns, Habib?s, Tressbay and Taj Bengal.

Gym games

Having fun while working out is the new name of the fitness game. Addlife, at 22 Camac Street, has reinvented the game of snakes and ladders to encourage its members to tread that extra mile.

But the fun comes with a lot of sweat. The rules of the game are punishing. The number of kms covered in a 20-minute cardio session are recorded by the trainer. The moves on the game board are made by the game co-ordinator.

The number of kms covered by a member in one day on any of the cardio machines determines the number of spaces the member moves on the board. Here?s the twist ? if you land on a snake, you move down, but you?re richer by a gift hamper depending on the colour of the snake. There are two bumper prizes from Adidas as well. What?s more, losers get to walk away with consolation prizes from Adidas.

On Saturday, four members competed for the final prize with the target set as 8 kms in the first 40 minutes on the treadmill. The uncle and nephew duo of Abhishek and Venkat Chandak was declared joint winner. ?I feel like a kid again,? said Abhishek. ?It?s a kind of encouragement for working out,? added Venkat.