The Other Orient

Last to last Sunday, I attended a party. A party thrown by one of the hottest & spunkiest females I know in this city - a young entrepreneur who's passionate about her restaurant (yes, she owns one of the cosiest multi-cuisine food joints around!), loves to host super-fun events (and gets herself tensed up to a tizzy before each one of 'em!), is extremely down-to-earth & heart-warmingly friendly and someone whose company is guaranteed to provide you with fun times!!! Yes...that's Johhane Mantosh for you - owner of Scoop, femme fatale (specially when she dresses up in sexy, short, bodycon numbers & sky-high heels), fun friend & the perfect hostess!!! :D

L - With Soumi & Johanne (Yes, that's her in neon pink!), R - enjoying the party!

When Johanne invited me for the do, she said that she wanted to try out the concept of a pop-up restaurant on her own lawns and give us a taste of Nepali cuisine. Now, we all have a soft corner for oriental cuisines.......but Nepali? Yes, that got me interested all right! And hence, I started counting days......coz I was darn excited to get a taste of the closer Orient.

Cloudy skies & a light drizzle welcomed us as we stepped out that evening. A highly strung-up Johanne gave me directions to her place over the phone, in between calls to her tarot card reader to check the weather forecast & subsequently the forecast of how the open-air party will fair! :P
But, thank the cloudy heavens, the rain stopped in a while & the skies cleared and by the time, me & the other blogger girlies, stepped on to her prettily decked-up lawn, the night was cool, breezy & perfect for a party! We could only gape spellbound at how this talented female had transformed her grounds - dainty paper lanterns hung from every other tree (Oriental, indeed), strings of lights lit up the pathways & bushes, framed pictures adorned tree trunks, wind chimes tinkled in the cool night air, gyp & sand filled coke bottles interspersed with candles lined two long tables - and in the midst of all this, the guests stood or sat around chatting, drinking, relaxing, gosipping, catching up & enjoying themselves to the fullest!
Under a cluster of trees adorned with lanterns was the bar where the bartender was stirring up a wide array of cocktails (as asked for by the guests), along with the specialities of the night - the phuchka shots (phuchkas with imli water mixed with alcohol), Jell-o shots (Jell-o containing alcohol) & ganna shots (sugarcane pieces dipped in alcohol for 3 days which, when chewed, would give out alcohol-flavoured juice)!
After a round & more of cocktails & shots; doing our fair bit of socializing & networking (we met eco-products store owners, beauty experts, actresses, designers, restaurant owners, and of course, the gang who had come down from Nepal & made this evening happen!); and loads of posing for snaps all around, dinner was served. Nepali cuisine, I found out, is light, delicate & subtly flavoured, yet oh-so-sumptuous! The rice was accompanied by a full-flavoured dal, lightly sautéed vegetables, an aromatic mutton curry, a mouth-watering range of salads & pickles and malpua with kheer for the perfect sweet ending! :)

Clockwise from L to R: The Nepali spread, recycled décor, tree art

Me & my blogger pals posing with (Clockwise from L to R) actress Raima Sen (in purple), beauty expert Bridgette Jones (in black), photographer Rana Basu Thakur (in the beret)

I think the pictures almost scream out what a fun evening it was!!! Good food, great drinks, Page 3 guests, crazy friends & an amazing hostess - can a party get any better??? :))

And although it was unintentional, as an after-thought, my outfit sort of veered towards the oriental as well - thanks to the satin blouse & the low side bun hairdo (posing with the paper lanterns helped, of course!) - what do you think? 

This scarf print satin blouse was a Sale buy....wore it for the first time! [actually, the dress I had originally planned on wearing got scorched by me while ironing it before starting to get ready!] A hint of leopard on the belt, my trusted pair of nude floral gladiators, a pretty pair of emerald danglers which I also wore for the first time and which nobody took pictures of, my statement mother-of-pearl ring & a dash of color through my newest laser-cut bag in tangerine - that's how I rocked the party!!! ^_^

Scarf print satin blouse: Westside
Black denims: BK Market, Kolkata
Earrings: Platinum Mall, Bangkok
Laser cut clutch-cum-sling bag: c/o Elle Fashionwear
MOP & metal ring: River Island via ASOS
Watch: Giordano, V-day gift by B
Leopard print skinny belt: BK Market, Kolkata
Nude floral gladiators: Enroute

Photos courtesy: Debiparna, Pooja

Ok........it's 3.30 am here right now. My body is almost giving up. And a friend just asked me on Facebook what time zone I work in??? :P

So, I think it's time for me to hit the bed and join my guy in dreamland! ;)
He's going to wake up in another three hours or so.... (God only knows what I'll do post marriage! :P)

The sweltering summer we are experiencing this year is making me too lazy to dress up & even lazier to get snaps clicked for outfit posts! But hope to be back with one soon! 

Happy Tuesday folks!

Love,
Anupriya DG