Mughal India Exhibition: Art, Culture and Empire

If you are a fan of the Art, Culture and Empire of Mughal India, then this exhibition is definitely worth your time. Head down to the British Library on Monday 1st or Tuesday 2nd April 2013, as these are the last days of the Exhibition. 
Click this link for further information regarding this exhibition: http://www.bl.uk/mughalindia/

We happened to visit this exhibition twice; the first time on it's opening night way back in November and quite recently too. It took us around two hours to read everything on the information blocks and inspect the artefacts at our own leisure. 

The opening night of the Exhibition, when we both fell in love with that huge poster. 

The dress of the Royal women of Mughal India are an inspiration to us 

The exhibition analyses the rise and fall of the Might Mughal Empire as well as taking a look at the lives of the King's, their wives and their pass-times. The gift shop was a highlight for us because there were books on Sufi poetry, books with recipes from the Royal court and really nice postcards with Royal Mughal Women on it. We spent a good half an hour in the gift shop and felt right at home surrounded by pens, bags, books and jewellery inspired by this important period in India's history. If you too are like us, then we would highly recommend you guys check it out quick-time! 

Don't just be inspired, be Twinspired!

Sukhman and Hernoor

Afternoon Tea: Catching up at Criterion Restaurant

  'Timeless Opulence in the most spectacular Dining Room in London' - words taken from website below
http://www.criterionrestaurant.com/

This is Criterion Restaurant, and I came here to catch up with a friend over Afternoon tea. Check out the elegance of this place! It is exquisitely designed - not pretentious at all but almost subtle in it's elegance in comparison to The Ritz.  Having said that, I don't get the choice of the chair colours - burgundy and mustard - these chairs look like something out of the 1970's and clash with the Neo-Byzantine architecture.

Check out that ceiling!

As soon as I walked in, I got a feeling that the architecture was influenced by 'Russian elegance' of some sort and after researching about the history of the Criteron, I found out that the restaurant was influenced by a 'neo-byzantine' style of architecture i.e. mosaics  archways and marble - we learn something everyday people! As described on the website of the restaurant, 'Lush extravagant and utterly compelling, the interior seduces you with the glint and wink of gold and marble. Look around and absorb the gilded ceiling, the grand windows and imposing arches, the fascinating recesses and mirrored walls.' They definitely took the words right out of my mouth. 

Check out the menu for Afternoon Tea:
http://www.criterionrestaurant.com/sites/default/files/Afternoon%20tea%20Menu%202012%20September_0.pdf

I really became a fan of the box in which the little jars of tea came presented in. I thought it was a really nice idea for us to get an idea of which tea we wanted to drink by getting a whiff of the aroma.

So I went for a '2nd Flush Assam' because I like the full-bodied earthy flavour.  Check out this link for further information about 'flushes of tea'
 http://twinings.co.uk/about-our-tea/twinings-tea-tasters/second-flush-
assam-tea-twinings-tea-tasters

'2nd flush Assam' and a little-lemon-flavoured-yellow-creamy-pot-thingy. I thought it was a palette cleanser but since no-one explained what it was, I ate it all (because it was actually really tasty).

One cupcake?! Nah mate. 

I had a really good catch-up with my friend but I was actually disappointed with the quality of the food and service. The tea came out almost an hour and a bit after we ordered it  and the scones were really hard to slice, almost rock hard. The selection of desserts was not great and there was only one cupcake between the two of us! How can you share a cupcake? Come on! It wasn't even that busy on the day we went but for some reason, the waiting staff seemed to be really unattentive. It is possible that maybe they were having an off day of some sort. 

Thumbs up for the interior, the box in which the tea came in and the creamy-yellow-lemon flavoured-pot-thingy.  I have heard that this is a nice place to have dinner, so I will be trying that too one day soon.

Disclaimer: This is simply my opinion of the restaurant based on my experience that day in February. Its April today so perhaps things have changed since then. Life is about hearing what people have to say about something and ignoring them anyway, or something like that!!

Don't just be inspired, be Twinspired :)

Mucho Te Queiro, 

Sukhman 

The Land of the Rising Sun: Japan (1)

So we thought we'd share a few of our travel experiences on this blog too i.e. places to stay, things to see and do, things to eat and not eat but all from our perspective because everyone knows that four eyes are better than two! Keep your eyes peeled for posts on the following: Cancun (Mexico), Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Rome (Italy), Seville (Spain) and Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan (India). 

We'll start with our most recent trip to Japan.