RUBINA’S RADAR
The delirium for everything Justin Bieber hasn’t abated in the least with his engagement to model Hailey Baldwin on July 7 earlier this month. If anything, it’s only gone up after the official coupling. Bieber’s live performance in Mumbai last summer left the city sweating, quite literally, and lusting (he was single then!) for more music from him. After Bieber, it’s the bad gal for every season and ALL fashionable reasons, Rihanna’s turn to run this town with her vocals and savage moves.
Rihanna at the Ocean’s 8 UK Premiere held at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 13, 2018 in London
The multifaceted fashion (Fenty x Puma, Savage x Fenty Lingerie, Rihanna Loves Chopard) and makeup (Fenty Beauty) mogul is scheduled to perform at an Indian wedding in Mumbai, to be followed by a public performance soon after. Anti (2016) was Rihanna’s eight studio album and it celebrated 100 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, breaking yet another record as a solo female artist. Mumbai cannot wait to see the Barbadian pop star live!
One of India’s most spirited, not to mention successful models, Diandra Soares, has launched a new enterprise, the National Academy of Modelling and Grooming (NAMG). Soares started modelling when she was barely 15-years-old at a time when it was considered unconventional, but then she is anything but.
Diandra Soares | Photo: Rubina A Khan
“I was mentored by the best in the fashion business who gave me their time and made extraordinary efforts to give me me a solid foundation to build my modelling career on, which I went on to do. All the models from my time had definitive personas and distinct looks which is lacking today. It is rather sad that everyone looks the same with zero experimentation. We need to bring back versatility, personality and unconventionality and encourage people to be themselves, sans the fair skin / white skin syndrome. I am obviously very passionate about modelling and with the academy, I want to mentor anyone who wants to model by enabling them with the know-how and the grooming required to sustain longevity in the business. We all are working hard and with great passion and hopefully, we will bring about a positive change in the world of modelling and the fashion business at large. I think we Indians are beautiful and we have a lot of talent but there is a lot that needs to be done in educating and grooming people who want to make modelling a career in India,” says Soares.
Going through an obsessive phase with Banner Day’s linen tees on one end of the American fashion spectrum to almost everything Alexander Wang on the other ain’t easy, with tempting food thrown in for fashionable measure, or not. I couldn’t have been happier wearing the designer du jour on my special day with my go-to Ralph Lauren jeans, devouring Japanese cuisine at Yuuka, my favourite restaurant in Mumbai.
Friday night was all about fun, friends and food – Avocado Tartare, Spicy Salmon Tacos, Popcorn Shrimps, Spicy Salmon and Tiger Tear Maki, Lamb Rack Chops and Silken Tofu with Chef Ting’s Fried Rice with endless rounds of a bespoke vodka cocktail crafted especially for me, called Rubina’s Radar and boisterous conversations. A memorable Wangover indeed with my family and friends. A Cake Moss situation with the decadent chocolate cake made for a laugh riot that is best not written or ‘grammed about!
The first two nights at India Couture Week 2018 in New Delhi will see two of Bollywood’s sexiest “K girls” scorch up the capital – Kangana Ranaut, the invincible fashion forward and Kareena Kapoor-Khan, now popularly known as Taimur Ali Khan’s haute mom. And what’s a couture week without Bollywood stars lending their swaying hips to the runways really? Couture dazzles, but Bollywood stars bedazzle Delhi.
Kangana Ranaut
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He’s booked in two hotels in the city – the St Regis Mumbai in midtown Mumbai (where his team and tour manager have been staying in since May 7th) and The Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point. Now, it remains to be seen where, (not with whom!) Bieber will be sleeping tonight in Mumbai! But first, can he land in the city already?
Justin Bieber’s hitting Mumbai with his Purpose World Tour 2017 concert in a week from today and it is the conversation du jour in the city. It’s the summer’s biggest gig as Bieber, one of the world’s biggest pop icons, performs live for the first time in India in Mumbai on May 10th at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. His platinum set list for the Purpose tour comprises of tracks like Purpose, Cold Water, Where Are You Now, Sorry, Baby, Boyfriend, Let Me Love You and the like. The coolest retort to the “What’s Happening in Mumbai?” line is now “Bieber’s happening in Mumbai!” The Purpose concert feels like a wild, hysterical night already, wherein his Indian fans will be screaming hoarse for encores. The hysteria on show night will just have to be seen, and heard, to be Beliebed!
THE FATTY BAO, a subsidiary of the legendary Olive Bar & Kitchen, is Mumbai’s latest obsession and rightly so, given its vibrant and innovative Asian fare is everything, and more! Behind the Fatty Bao’s red entrance door in a Bandra bylane, lies a tantalizing food haven created by Chef Manu Chandra, with a painted, surreal Eastern dreamscape on its walls, adding to the exemplary Asian culinary experience. The Patty Bao with Lamb Mince is just-to-die for, or rather, worth living for, as are the Lamb Shanks braised in a Massaman Curry, Prawn Tempura Sushi Roll, Brie Tempura with Plum Sauce, Gochujang Lamb Chops, Crab Meat and Prawn Dimsums, and the interesting Duck Hoisin Bao, paired exquisitely with terrific cocktails like the Beach Blonde, Bora Bora and Made in China, rounded off with delectable desserts like the Fatty Hill, Japanese Cheese Cake and the Green Tea Chiffon Cake with Yuzu Cream. The menu is expansive, with every kind of Asian dish imaginable cooked to perfection, making every plate on the menu someone’s favourite! The Fatty Bao is consummate for any time of day or night, whether you’re looking for some sugar or spice!
YUUKA, located on the 37th floor of the St Regis Mumbai, is where stellar Japanese food is at, under the culinary direction of the award winning Chef Ting Yen from Boston, Massachusetts, (of the Oishii restaurants) with the most spectacular views of Mumbai city. The interiors draw inspiration from Japanese tatami mat seating with raw silk chairs and wooden block tables. Mirrors and brocade set off a deconstructed origami pattern, lending the space its decadent, sexy vibe. Avocado Tartare, Moullard Duck Breast, Naan Taquitos, Hot Sizzling Sake and Hamachi or Yellowtail Salmon on Fire and King Crab Leg Tempura are some of the special dishes crafted at Yuuka, that showcase contemporary Japanese cuisine at its best, paired with Yamazaki single malt cocktails and more. The elaborate sushi menu leaves no space, almost, for the delicious Green Tea Layer Cake (40 layers!) with aged rum-soaked raisins and matcha dust — such is the indulgent food experience here.
SERAFINA, situated in the Kala Ghoda district of the city, is New York’s most famous Italian casual diner’s first Mumbai outpost. With its signature yellow signage and the faint whiff of lava-stoned pizzas beckoning you in, the Tartufo Nero (Truffle Pizza) is an obvious favorite. Even a non-pizza eating person (they do exist!) will turn into a Truffle Pizza convert after a slice of this cheesy creation! The Penne Alla Vodka, Truffle Ravioli, Farfalle Limoncello, Beetroot Carpaccio and the D-Salad — named after spiritual guru Deepak Chopra- – paired with endless flutes of Prosecco and Bellinis and the most delicious Tiramisu ever complete your Italian experience here. And if you want to make your own pizzas and pastas, well then, you can do that, too!
The PALLADIUM SOCIAL is located inside the Palladium Mall, with a state of the art Craft Beer Tasting Room — the first of its kind in India — with 12 craft brews on tap sourced from India and Europe’s finest breweries. The solid rough-cut wood log tables and low-light mood make for a perfect beers-and-burgers bash, for work or play, at this cafe. With 15 different types of burgers paired with craft beers in over 215 different ways, and house favourites like Keema Pao, Awesamosas, Prawn Sesame Toast, Naga Chilli Cheese Toast, Akoori, the humourously named Ramesh and Suresh deep fried 5-star chocolate dessert, the Gadbad Shetty icecream delight, SMS burger (Spinach, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese) –Social is the place you have to go to, at any of their four outlets in the city – Colaba, Todi Mills, Palladium and Khar – to try out the best of Mumbai’s diverse food fare on Indian prison plates.
THE IRISH HOUSE pub feels like a little bit of Ireland in the island city, with its dominant green lights and rustic wooden decor, barring the beloved Irish accent. of course, given the pub’s Indian origins, where music, beer, kidney pies, fish and chips, nachos and an exciting array of pub eats come together for a fabulous time out in the city. It is a great place to just hang and laugh out loud with friends, eat your favourite foods like Drunken Fettuccine Prawns and watch ball games on the big screen, any time of the day or night. With six outposts in Mumbai – Kala Ghoda, Palladium Mall, Bandra, Andheri, Kurla and Malad, The Irish House is the best way to get a feel of the city and make new friends over pints of beers (over 40 varieties), wines and cocktails.
Rubina A Khan 