OCTOBER 10, 2023

There’s always something new happening in Mumbai. And when it’s sweet and delicious like cupcakes and macarons and green like forests, the only way to describe it is by saying, “You’re doing amazing, sweet and green Mumbai!” like Kris Jenner would. Except Jenner had said “You’re doing amazing sweetie” to her daughter Kim Kardashian posing for a Playboy magazine shoot, circa 2007 – a cult sentence in pop culture since.

MUMBAI: New York’s Magnolia Bakery is finally opening in Bandra, Mumbai on November 1st, 2023, five years after marking its sweet presence in India. Magnolia first opened in Bangalore in November 2019, expanding to four locations in the city since, and opened its fifth outpost in Hyderabad in November 2022. The first Magnolia Bakery was opened by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey in New York in 1996, but went on to change a few hands in its ownership over the years. Magnolia Bakery’s delicious cupcakes and frosted desserts became so popular that it started the cupcake craze in the 90s, with starring pop cultural mentions in the hit television series, Sex And The City and the film, The Devil Wears Prada, and many other film and television shows. The mention of the bakery on an episode of Sex And The City gave it immediate fame, so much so that it became a tour bus stop in New York. Magnolia’s first outpost outside the US was opened in Dubai in 2010, followed by one in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and in countries like Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and of course, India. Since 2021, Magnolia is owned by a private equity firm co-founded by Hudson Yards developer, Stephen Ross. I have only ever had Magnolia in New York, so bring on the deliciousness!

©Magnolia Bakery, New York

MUMBAI: The 161-year-old French patisserie, Ladurée Paris is also opening in Mumbai at the Jio World Plaza Mall in November, around Diwali, to make the festivities in the city even sweeter. Headquartered in Paris, France, Ladurée is an ambassador of Parisian macarons with their exquisite pastry art. Ladurée Paris first opened in India about two years ago in New Delhi’s Khan Market in September 2021. In 1862, Louis-Ernest Ladurée opened a bakery called Maison Ladurée in La Madeleine, but had to reinvent it as a pastry shop following a fire in the Paris Commune uprising in 1871. The Parisian macaron, as we know it today, was created by Parisian pastry chef, Pierre Desfontaines, second cousin of the creator of Maison Ladurée, who had the ingenious idea of ​​assembling two macaron shells, with a tasty ganache. And voila, the beloved double decker macaron came into existence. It is said that 15000 Ladurée macarons are sold everyday around the world, and the sales in Mumbai will definitely add to that count. 2023 is the year Ladurée celebrates and honours Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, also known as Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, with a macaron called Eugénie. Can’t wait to try the Eugénie macaron with a crunchy biscuit and a melting centre coated in chocolate, and my forever favourite, the Barre Chocolat.

Laduree’s Barre Chocolat photographed by Rubina A Khan

MUMBAI: The Indian Hotels Company Limited opened a new hotel in Mumbai, Taj The Trees, in Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli on September 19th, 2023. Spread over eight acres in the eastern suburb of Vikhroli along the Eastern Express Highway, Taj The Trees has views of the Mangrove Forest on one end and a Sculpture Park on the other. The hotel has 140 rooms and 11 suites, a spa and wellness centre with an infinity pool and 3 restaurants – Shamiana, Nonya and a rooftop bar on the 12th floor, The Mangrove Bar. Taj The Trees is the coming together of two of India’s greatest business legacies for the first time – the Tata Group and the Godrej Group. The hotel is owned by Godrej Properties and is managed by the Indian Hotel Companies as a luxury Taj hotel. Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairperson at Godrej Properties said, “We are happy to open our first hotel, Taj The Trees, in partnership with the Tata Group, as we aim to deliver quality and sustainable luxury in a green, connected, and vibrant neighbourhood.” The green mangrove trees and the languid shoreline make for great visuals in a city where the skyline is dominated with concrete towers and buildings. It remains to be seen what kind of efforts and policies have been adopted and adapted by IHCL towards making this a green forward hotel, aside from glass water bottles and linen changes that are the bare minimum in every luxury hotel worldwide. Taj The Trees is quite a tongue-twister, so T3 is what I think it will soon be called, not to be mistaken as a new airport terminal in Mumbai though. Along with the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Wellington Mews, Taj Land’s End and Taj Santacruz, Taj The Trees is the fifth hotel under the Taj brand to open in Mumbai.

©Taj The Trees

It is rather unimaginable to think of Mumbai as green, where grey concrete is a defining colour, but the idea of waking up to verdant forest views feels calming and energising.

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©Rubina A Khan 2023