I'm the New Dork!!

A frequent reader of my blog sent this in to me and I absolutely LOVED this video! It is SO me, not to mention it's set to the tune of one of my favourite songs. This is definitely a must see!


They also sent in another one which I guess makes more sense to the people from UK. It's based on a city in Wales called Newport. It kinda went over my head, but they said they liked this one better, so maybe you will too. If you have any videos or info you think I'd enjoy and would like for me to post please go ahead and email it to me at kiran@kiranscorner.com


Thanks J K Motwani for sending this in!

Evening gowns that won't break the bank!

Over the weekend I'm heading to a friend's wedding in LA and desperately needed a floor-length gown for his wedding reception. As gorgeous as Carolina Herrera and Oscar De La Renta gowns are, I didn't want something OTT, neither was I willing to spend absurd amounts for the dress. So I hit the stores in NY, desperately hunting for that perfect dress, and what I found really took me by surprise. There were SO many budget friendly designer options out there! Here are some of the ones that I found-

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This Halston Heritage dress (pictured above) is beautiful, classy, lightweight and easy to wear. I got this picture from Net-a-porter, but if you go have a look online, they have quite a few similar jersey dresses in stunning colours that are perfect for an evening out.

I absolutely ADORE Marchesa gowns, and I think this one from Notte by Marchesa is also absolutely stunning!

Carmen Marc Valvo is another designer whose collection dresses are so simple and elegant, and more importantly, well made. His couture dresses are also SO beautiful!

While I'm not too huge a fan of Roberto Cavalli, I found a lot of his floor length dresses also in the same range as the ones mentioned above. Having said that, his flimsy jersey fabric isn't the best for non-perfect bodies... and his prints are quite seasonal (not to mention, sometimes very questionable!) and I couldn't even find a picture of one online I loved enough to post over here. Either way, check his stuff out if you like it- you'll be pleasantly surprised with the prices of some gowns.

My most FAVOURITE of all the ones I saw though, was one by Yves Saint Laurent that was SO beautiful, it took every ounce of energy for me to exit the store without handing my credit card over and doing some serious damage. It currently is on hold for me. I didn't have a camera with me while shopping and I can't seem to find it anywhere online to post it here. I doubt I will get it though, since there is absolutely nothing budget friendly about it, and breaks the bank a couple of times over!!

Another one that I am absolutely lusting after, is strangely enough by Marc Jacobs. He is not the first person that comes to mind when thinking of evening gowns, but there is something about this dress that is just so beautiful and classy and sexy... It is definitely my favourite of all the gowns I've seen-

Droooool!!!!
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Gwyneth Paltrow to publish cookbook, "My Father's Daughter"

Gwyneth Paltrow is on the most recent cover of the US Vogue, talking about the cookbook she has penned entitled, "My Father's Daughter." Quite a strange name for a cookbook isn't it? Well, it turns out that all the recipes in there are derived from recipes of dishes her father used to make when he was alive, and her interpretation of his favourite dishes at different restaurants around the world. The introduction to the book is also very moving- " I always feel closest to my father, who was the love of my life until his death in 2002, when I am in the kitchen. I can still hear him over my shoulder, heckling me, telling me to be careful with my knife, moaning with pleasure over a bite of something in only the way a Jew from Long Island can, his shoulders doing most of the talking..."

I've always felt a sense of familiarity with Paltrow's reaction to her father's demise, mostly because I have felt the same way. I've written many articles about my own Father, and like her, I too felt like I lost the most important thing in my life upon his passing. While I've read her talk about her father over the years, and while I've written about mine through them (who incidentally too passed away in 2002), I didn't realize we had another common ground that bound us together- our memories with our respective Fathers that were associated with food. While her's cooked the dishes they ate, mine painstakingly drove us to some of the best restaurants in the world to sample their cuisine. While my father was fond of all different types of food, his weakness really lay with French food, and I always say, I'm convinced the only reason he ever bought our house in Switzerland was because of the restaurants it had. The whole family would rise early and be up and ready only to drive a few hours to Vevey, Martigny, Lausanne or other such destination, to go to one of their fine dining restaurants there and enjoy a delicious five course meal. When my sister, brother in law and I drove an hour away from central London a few weeks back, to dine at The Waterside Inn, we couldn't help but think of my Father, and reminisce about how he would have loved the small restaurant, it's cottage-like atmosphere, and not to mention, it's food. Towards the latter part of his life, my father had been ordered to be on a strict vegetarian diet free of sodium, and to take away his food from him, was in many ways to take away his reason for being. He'd sometimes hide from us and go for a meal where he could enjoy his foie gras in peace, or he'd live (and eat) vicariously through us, ordering too much at restaurants and insist we enjoy the delicacies that he was forbidden to indulge in. He absolutely loved his food, a trait, if you've been reading my blog while I've been on holiday,  you'll see I've inherited.
While unlike Paltrow or her father, I can't really even make an omelet to save my life, I too always feel closest to my father while sitting at a quaint French restaurant, about to take a tiny bite out of my already bite-sized first course. I smile, just as he would have, ignoring all the butter and cream that is deceptively concealed in such a tiny size, and just like he would have (probably somewhat wrongly) advised me all those years ago, I postpone the worry about the calories till later.
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Review of "I tre merli"

A few days back my friends and I were downtown and looking for a place nearby that would serve us great food to appease our starved appetites and would be casual enough for us to go dressed as we were. "I tre merli!" my friend suggested.. a suggestion that brought back so many memories! Years back we would frequent this restaurant when it's bar was more popular than its food- so much so, that in all those times I'd been, I'd never actually eaten there. The nicely lit up restaurant without the throngs of people proved to be unrecognizable to me, but my friend promised that he'd had dinner there a few weeks back, and that the food was great.
We were extremely hungry and went a little nutty while ordering appetizers. I absolutely adored the mushrooms cooked with garlic and the Kobe beef meatballs were probably the best meatballs I've ever had. Ever!

 My friend ordered a pizza too, which tasted really good. However, the best pizza in New York still remains at Serafina (yet unreviewed!)

The buratta on the menu brought back flashes of the one I had at La Petite Maison in London, but this was more cube-like and stiff- but good nonetheless.
The service was good and the food was really yum, but they sort of goofed up right at the end. We ordered a chocolate souffle, which we expected to get all fluffy and well, souffle-like. They brought it out fairly quickly which in itself should have set off a few alarm bells (most places require 15 to 20 minutes to prepare it.) The souffle looked delish but on digging in, was more like a jar of nutella than anything else. On requesting them to take it back and let it set some more, they insisted, "no.. this is how a souffle is supposed to be." Really??? Either they thought we're from a village or someone needs to let them know their desert chef is making an ass out of them! I'd understand if they'd said that's the way THEY make it, but to tell us the goopy gunk is the way it's supposed to be everywhere? Now that's just dumb.
Anyhow, the food was great and apart from that little mess up right at the end, the service was quick and polite. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, do go in for a relaxed meal. Just remember- don't order desert!

                       Pretty looking chocolate souffle, presented with almond biscotti

                                                            Goopy gunk!!!

                              The cylindrical thing is the oven located by the bar

Nice, relaxed ambience- I tre Merli is worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. Read more about the restaurant on their website here
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Fendi iPhone covers

I saw these rubber Fendi covers on Net-a-Porter and seriously wanted to hurl. Why anyone would spend money to have these ugly F's all over an ugly rubber cover spoiling the look of their iPhone is beyond me. Why can't they get free ugly bumpers like the rest of us??

If you're even thinking about buying this, save yourself some humiliation and donate the 35 GBP to a charity instead please?
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Net-a-porter iPad app

All fashionistas round the world know about Net-a-porter, and have probably shopped from them at some time or the other.. or have been tempted to anyway. The online fashion retailer is soon celebrating it's tenth anniversary, and in such a short period of time, is one of the largest fashion retailers in the world. Recently, it has launched it's iPad app, "The Net-a-Porter Magazine" for women like me, who love to shop and may want to do it while at the hairdressers. Download the app for all your quick buys or if only to be updated on the latest and best in fashion- they really do have great buyers!

I was reading a very interesting article about Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter in the most recent edition of the British Vogue. She seems to be such a fabulous mix of beauty and brains, and I wanted to read up more about her, and then I came across this video clip online that I thought you guys might like to watch too. I knew the company was huge, but I had really no idea about HOW huge they were! Check it out-

"Happy" night at the Bowery Bar

And when I say "happy night" I don't mean "happy hour." I mean it more in the sense of "happy" being "gay." Considering Etisalat has put a block on one of my favourite bloggers, Bryan Boy, for reasons I can't seem to figure out apart from him being the opposite of straight, I don't want my blog to have a red flag on their radar and get blocked for a very silly reason of Etisalat not approving my night out on the town. Anyhow, hence the use of word "happy"!!

So a "happy" friend of mine was making his weekly trip to the very famous Bowery bar (now known as B-Bar) for their Tuesday "happy" Tuesday night special, and I decided to go along with him for the ride. The Bowery, he explained, attracted a lot more sophisticated clientele and I'd be quite surprised with what I saw there. Honestly, I was expecting the sort of club that Carrie goes to in one Episode of SATC, where she is met with hundreds of sweaty, grinding, groping men.. instead I found a very tasteful and civilized bar, which just seemed to have a lot more men than women. There was another girl along with us and I thought we would be the only girls in the place- I was wrong. There were quite a few other girls there and one in particular, who was definitely a model. As the night wore on, I looked upon in interest as the men in the club seemed to swarm like flies around the tall, stick-like amazonian wonder. She had at least 5 men at any given time, hanging on to her every word, and each time I'd turn in her direction, those seem to have been rotated with another set of 5. "Aren't these men supposed to NOT be interested in her??" I asked my friend. "She is gorgeous," he said with a sense of irony, "and we like to collect beautiful things." Great, I thought as I stood alone with my friends, now I feel rejected in a gay bar too!

My night quickly changed though, as one of the most gorgeous men I've ever seen walked by and sat at a table behind me. I couldn't help but shamelessly turn and stare at him every couple of minutes. After about half an hour, my friend got tired of my pining and pulled me up and dragged me over to him. I stood red-faced and embarrassed while he yelled something into his ear, and was completely taken aback when the hot guy gave me a huge smile and patted on a chair by his side. We chatted for a bit and I found out he was French, a dance choreographer, completely sweet, and amazingly enough, much more gorgeous up close. He had to leave soon unfortunately, but gave me his card which, lo-and-behold, had a picture of him on it. It never got to the "it's not you.. it's me" type of conversation, but at least this time I'd have known, the dude wouldn't be lying.

If you're female, head to Bowery on a Tuesday night for the best watermelon martinis and eye-candy on the planet! If you're male and straight, broaden your mind and accompany a friend who isn't. We had a straight guy join us later that night, who walked in nervous and jittery. "However hot you are in your world," my friend told him, "you're nothing in ours- you have nothing to worry about." Sure enough, he sat with me alone, without anyone giving us a second glance. My night continued with us heading to the Trump Soho, then Avenue and then 1 Oak, and I learnt a very important lesson that night- when it comes to stamina for partying, never try to keep up with the gay guys! I came back home way too late after having had one of my most fun nights ever!

                                                My view of the Bar

The best watermelon maritinis EVER! (two pictures taken from the B-Bar website)

                                   The picture of my new friend! See how pretty?
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Rockefeller Center in NY

If you happen to be in NY in the summer, do make a visit to the Rockefeller Center to have a cup of coffee or hang out at the steps and feel the city go by you. In the winter, the Center is a MUST SEE as it is so beautifully lit up with Christmas decoration and is the house of the famous "ice rink" you will see in almost every New York-based Winter movie!

Also make your way up to the Top of the Rock observation deck, where you get to see a full view of the entire city! I haven't been, but I was just watching a documentary about it the other day. The views looked absolutely stunning!

You can buy tickets at the Center in one of these booths, and they'll show you how to get there. Look on their website for more info here
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Room with a view

As much as I thought I'd be regular with my blog, that hasn't really happened, has it? In the morning, I'm itching to start my day and in the evening, I return home tired and usually don't have the energy to get on the computer. I have a friend staying with me too, so whatever idle time I would have passed finding and posting new information, is now instead going in chatting and gossiping. I do have a whole backlog of stuff to post on, so don't worry.. there's lots of stuff coming your way!

I am usually not a morning person (AT ALL!) but there's something about waking up to a view like that that puts a smile on my face. Maybe I'd take it for granted if I lived here, but for now I'm filled with a sense of wonder each time I go out into my living room. My lovely Sony lets me take panoramic pictures, so it's very helpful in capturing it at least part of it-

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

I'm going to try to capture the same scene at night- it looks absolutely stunning! The city is so beautiful all lit up.

Yesterday there was a movie being shot in the restaurant in my building, Le Cirque. Apparently it was a remake of the movie, "Arthur" starring Russell Brand and Jennifer Garner. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them, but it did give me an idea of take a few pictures of the entrance to my building-

I wanted to take my SLR downstairs and take some proper shots of the building, but I don't have a lens that's wide enough, so here are a few of my favourites that I found while googling the building-

It boasts residents such as Beyonce, Flavio Briatore, Jack Welsch and many others.. Most of what you see in the picture are the Bloomberg offices, the apartments only start above the 30th floor and I believe have a 101 units only. Barring one, I think this is the best building in New York :)
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Droid X ad- One of the best I've seen!

Remember the time Motorola was a company that you kinda remembered made phones but didn't really know anyone who used one? In a few short months, they've gone from that to being the company that makes teaser ads that I wish were full length feature films. How sexy is this commercial?! Have you seen pictures of the Droid X yet? Amazing looking device! Maybe Apple picked the wrong time to address their iPhone 4 woes.
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Apple press conference on Friday

A friend of mine messaged me earlier today and said that Sky News announced that the iPhone 4 was being recalled? "Hogwash!" I thought, and told him as much. Almost an hour later I heard that Apple had indeed called for a press conference on Friday for matters relating to the iPhone 4. While some are wondering whether it is to do with a price drop, I really think they will be addressing issues that people are having with their devices. The buzz on the internet is that a lot of people (myself included) are bringing back in their faulty devices in exchange for new ones that work much better. Are we seeing the case of a recall happening on the sly? Is Apple going to announce a full recall? Is Steve Jobs going to admit that he really isn't Midas in disguise? We'll only know Friday. Stay tuned.
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Dubai's present vs Future skyline

So above is a picture of the already impressive future skyline... ane below is what it is expected to look like. So someone, somewhere, has decided to make all of Dubai look like the JBR?? And WHO exactly is going to live in these fabulously tall towers, what with visa costs going through the roof, transport costs increasing and life in general getting extremely expensive? And there I thought we were in the midst of recession! Silly me.

Saturday night at Bagatelle

If you're in the city and want a super FUN restaurant to have dinner at, look no further than Bagatelle in the Meat Packing district. I've gone here for drinks a couple of times in the past, but made it for dinner with friends last Saturday, and I can honestly say i've never been to a place quite like this outside of St Tropez. The music was so loud that after the first few failed attempts of us trying to make conversation, we just sat back and learnt to enjoy it. It's not like the loud loungy music at most restaurants in Dubai- this is full on Jay-Z mixed in with some old school classics that are being played by the DJ- in short, music you'd want to dance to in a club. And it's a good thing too, as it distracts from the food which isn't bad... but nothing to write home about. But your calories will be made up in the alcohol you'll consume when people get up on the chairs and start dancing. If you're really brave, make your way downstairs to RDV or Kiss & Fly for a bit more hardcore partying. Trust me, you'll have a really good time!

And this is what it looks like during the day, just in case you're curious. Make it there for a Sunday brunch if you want the madness of Saturday night to continue the next day!-

                                                     (Photo courtesy of Black Book)

Sony introduces the NEX-VG10- changing the shape of pro camcorders forever

I've been going a bit nutty reporting about Sony cameras recently, but it really isn't my fault. My blog posts aren't targeted to being directly proportional to Jumbo's sales, I swear! It's just that they've been coming out with insanely cool products in that category, that really are in and of themselves, game changers in the industry. The camera you see above had been said to have been in the pipeline, but when I finally saw it on Engadget yesterday, my heart just raced that teeny-tiny bit faster. "Out of absolutely (almost) nowhere, Sony has just upended the entire prosumer camcorder universe" says the blog, and I couldn't agree more. This camera is for the every day folk, who want to take KICK ASS videos that look like they are taken professionally, without of course, using the pro equipment. You know when you're watching a movie and they blur the subject and focus on an object behind them? Yeah, that kinda stuff, with of course HD video and amazing quality, etc. The thing jutting out on top is a "Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone" which I'm guessing means its really, really good? I really don't know, but the blogs seem impressed. Oh, and the best thing about this baby? Interchangeable lenses! Right now, if you own an Alpha or have bought one of these gorgeous NEX cameras that I've been lusting after, you can take your favourite lens and stick it on this for whatever type of recording it is you want to do. Am drooling already, are you? Unfortunately, its only going to land in the US in September, which is when I'm supposed to pack my bags and head home :(
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Giambattista Valli for Moncler

Giambattista Valli is one of my most favourite designers. His clothes are stylish while still being different and is quickly etching his name in the fashion world. I've had the pleasure of speaking to him over the phone a couple of times (work-related stuff), and he just sounds oh-so-sexy!
While shopping in Barneys yesterday I saw these two jackets hanging on the railings and recognized the signature Valli style and print from last season. I went towards it and saw the tag and it said "Moncler." Ok, so I know that Moncler has been making waves by moving away from their puffer jacket image, and making gorgeous, embelished jackets in different fits and styles, but would they imitate a Valli look to this extent?? I searched through the jacket to get to the tags and found nothing mentioned there, and was literally scanning both the jackets inside out before a sales person behind me said, "you can try them if you want?" I asked him about my confusion and he clarified that Giambattista Valli designs a line for Moncler called "Gamme Rouge" (red leg??) and these jackets were a part of that collection. Turns out, he's been designing for them for a few years now, so shows how much I know!

The World Cup madness!

World cup madness gripped a lot of the city's bars and pubs, and Felix bar downtown was no exception. My best friend and I went to have a relaxed, lazy dim sum brunch at Chinatown (more on that later), while her husband and his friends caught the game (and from the looks of it, many, many beers) at the bar. By the time we made our way back, the match was over and the Spain supporters celebrated their victory- with alcohol, and the Netherlands supporters drowned their sorrows- in alcohol. The heat in the city didn't help their situation, nor mine, as I was surrounded by throngs of sweaty, drunk people. Either way, now you know where to come to to catch any sporting events in the city. Felix is apparently a favourite with my guy friends here.

                              Like there wasn't enough noise on the streets already!

                              Some of the noisemakers... these guys just didn't stop

                         The Netherlands supporters obviously picked the bar next door

                              The guy from Fox News showed up to cover the action as well

There was an ambulance parked on the side street and I first thought they had come to pick up someone from the building it was parked outside of. Some time later I realized it had just stayed put there in case of accidents, and to treat drunk, passed out people. No kidding.
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Another look at the Blackberry OS6

Here is another look at the upcoming Blackberry OS6.. I really like what I see. Did you catch the Facebook and Twitter integration with Blackberry Messenger? Can't wait for this one to come out. Unfortunately, there's still no word on when it will.
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My makeover at Frederic Fekkai!

Since my blog got such an exciting makeover for New York, you didn't think I'd be left too far behind, did you? Two days back I went over to Frederic Fekkai to get my cut and colour done (or maybe I should start spelling it as "color" now?) to get something fun and summer-y done to my hair. I really thought I'd just get a trim and go a few shades lighter, and just have my hair start looking neat again. Four hours later, I emerged having had the most drastic change I've ever had.. and I absolutely love it!!

This is Mia, and she's the one who gave me the fabulous cut. She's been cutting my hair for YEARS now and is the only one I entrust with getting that close to my hair with a pair of scissors. When I used to make it to New York once a year, I literally would go back to her not having had a haircut since the last time she gave me one. And the reason I knew I'd hit a home run with her? Because my hair still looked great even that one year later. Before I found her, I'd tried going to a whole bunch of hairstylists the world over, but mostly in Dubai and New York, and especially in New York had been to quite a few of the big names as well like Bumble and Bumble, Toni and Guy (Dubai and NY), Garren, etc, searching for The One. I found Mia quite by accident as I had decided to try Fekkai and asked them to give me someone who was good with long hair. Not only is Mia great with my long hair, she completely understands my frizzy, thick, out of control Asian hair, and gives me styles that are manageable and like I said earlier, grow out well. Because Fekkai are known more for their classic styles, my hair never really looks exciting as such, and I like it that way. But like I was telling her this time too, the ladies who dry my hair at the salons always appreciate her work and almost ALWAYS ask me where I got my cut from.

Around two years back I was complaining to Mia about how I was searching for a new colorist in New York and was having a very hard time finding one. I was considering going to see Rita Hazan, the most popular colorist in New York who does the hair of Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez, amongst a whole host of other celebrities. The only thing holding me back was the fact that each of them had hair that just looked too coloured for me. I'd grown increasingly tired of trying the Lebanese colourists back in Dubai that made my hair looked like it had orange stripes in them. I absolutely ABHOR the blonde haired look on anyone apart from people WHO ACTUALLY HAVE BLONDE HAIR!! On the Lebanese, because their hair and their skin is lighter, it suits them a lot more than it suits the Indians that try to copy their look. Anyhow, for a long time there, I just decided to dye my hair jet black and leave it that way. Luckily, when I decided to go slightly lighter, Mia made me meet Jeffrey (pictured above) who, I'm not kidding, colours hair like he's painting a canvas. His theory is very simple- have a colour that makes you look like you have great hair, rather than looking like you have a great colour. His colour will follow my natural waves and will be darker at the top, have a few highlights in the middle, and lighten at the bottom- just like natural hair would. When I went to him and said I wanted to go a bit lighter for the summer, he flatly refused and said, "not too light." Again, I came out with gorgeous hair that looked like it had lightened by a shade naturally in the sun, rather than having a stripey colour that started at the root. Not only is Jeffrey amazing with colour, he is one of the most interesting people I've chatted with, and his knowledge about art and design is what obviously makes him so good at what he does.

So two days back I went over to Jeffrey to have my hair coloured first and then moved into Mia's chair to have my cut. While that switch had made sense to me and the person taking my appointment, we obviously hadn't kept Jeffrey's approach to colour in mind. When Mia asked me if I'd like to do something different with my hair (much shorter with a lot more layers!), I trusted her instinct and told her to go for it. When she was done, we realized all of Jeffrey's hard work lay on the floor of the salon, and he patiently had to re-add in the highlights that followed the movement of my sexy new cut. I love my new look! I'd had it dried straight at the salon, so it looked really polished and sleek, and like my best friend said, made me look "like a CEO"- whatever that means. The next day it had been slept in and another friend remarked, looked like a completely different cut- tousled and cute, perfect for the summer.

If you're in New York and want something different with your hair, I can't recommend these guys enough. I had another friend from Dubai who tried a cut with Mia a couple of years back too, and absolutely loved her new look. I'm warning you now- they aren't cheap! Like, at all! But they're worth every penny. Here are a few more shots of the Frederic Fekkai salon on 5th Ave at Henri Bendel's (taken from their website)-

And here is the man himself, Frederic Fekkai (isn't he GORGEOUS?)-

If you want to try some of the Fekkai magic but aren't making it to New York or don't want to spend that much on your hair, try their hair products that are available at Saks in Dubai, or in most department stores in the US. They smell amazing and are really great for the hair too.
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