Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier

A 12-hour food crawlathon
Now that even pop-ups have become passé , Mumbai foodies have something new to look forward to.. Food guide Vishal Bansal, who organises cullinary tours across the city, is set to host a 12-hour food crawlathon, this weekend that will allow patrons to sample South Mumbai's best fare including burgers, pizzas and Indian food.

Participants at Seek Sherpa's Food Bus tour in Delhi

The crawl will take place from 10 am to 10 pm and include 24 stops. It will cost between Rs 700 and Rs 1,200. Apart from that there is also Seek Sherpa's Food Bus tour where you get to taste a dish at each stop, a reserved seat in an AC coach, a bottle of water, sanitiser, tissues, and guidance by chef Amit for Rs 999 per head. The tour, a regular feature in Delhi, finally makes its debut in the city, from Churchgate.

Let's get to the bottom of this

Pic/Nimesh Dave

Actress Malaika Arora Khan drives shutterbugs crazy at a press conference at a suburban hotel yesterday.

For the globetrotter
As if there weren't enough social networking sites to remember passwords for, now there is a social networking app dedicated to travel. Called TraveLibro, it also aids your travel.

It is supposed to work as a one-stop app and suggests must-dos and a list of hotels and restaurants. It includes 12,000 destinations, over 10,000 hotels, more than 35,000 restaurants and over 3,000 itineraries. The On the Go tab offers basic hacks such as check-ins, picture uploads and status messages.

It allows friends travelling together to share experiences and post moments to the same timeline too. There's a Travel Diary section that has a personal travel map, interactive travel tracker, bucket list and timeline of past vacations. Available for free download on Google Play and iOS platforms.

State of the art

Pic/Bipin Kokate

The State of Architecture: Practices & Processes in India, a three-month long exhibition opened at NGMA Gallery in Fort, last evening.

Fly over Mumbai
Book a helicopter joyride as MTDC and Pawan Hans Ltd. are expected to launch Heli-Tours starting today.

A helicopter takes off at Pawan Hans Juhu. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The helicopters will take off from Juhu Aerodrome every day for a 10-minute joyride. The cost per passenger is Rs 3,200 (inclusive of taxes, minimum booking of four). They also plan to launch Heli-Tours to Elephanta Island, Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves and eventually, to Shirdi.

The service will be available, starting 3 pm today. While on the MTDC site, we also found that they are running a selfie contest till January 15, where you have to post a selfie taken at any of MTDC resort and stand the chance to win a night's stay at Tadoba Resort with a jungle safari thrown in.

Log on to www.maharashtratourism.gov.in

Only blazers, please!
At a recent informal lunch meet between a clutch of racing journalists and the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) bigwigs to announce the upcoming evening racing programme in Mumbai, talk naturally veered towards the Asian Racing Conference (ARC) to be held at Mahalaxmi by month end.

Zavaray Poonawalla

The prestigious ARC comprises delegates from all over Asia, coming together to the city for workshops, discussions and an idea exchange about the business of horse racing and its future. The press was discussing coverage of the event with RWITC representatives, when club chairman Zavaray Poonawalla requested reporters to tell their photographers to come to the event, niftily attired.

"Tell them to wear a blazer or jacket," he said, to which the reporters laughed. Press photographers,all over town covering accidents, fires, inaugurations and controversies are dressed for disaster. This means casual jeans, shirts and sneakers/sandals to help them easily lug heavy equipment and get to the spot on time. Formal wear is quite out of the question, Mr Poonawalla. Unless of course, you mean the photographer jacket with a zillion pockets.

What a blooming show!
Feast your eyes on blooming beauties such as Roses, Lyliums, Chryshanthemum, Bird of Paradise, Gerberas, Antirriums, Carnations, Heliconias and Orchids at the 3rd Annual Flower Show.

A display from the previous edition of the Annual Flower Show. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Organised by Mumbai International Airport Ltd. in association with Mumbai Rose Society, the show's star attraction is a 4,000 sq ft green, vertical wall. Also on display are bonsais, carnivorous plants, seasonal flowers, trees, shrubs, creepers, ground covers, cactus, succulants, medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants.

The show is open to public on January 9 and 10 at MIAL colony, next to Suba Hotel on Sahar Road, Andheri (E).