Paloma about town: Kolkata tripping and cocktail sipping...

My week included, dare I say it — travel, a quick trip to Kolkata, and as always I had a long list of places to try. It coincided with Valentine’s Day which saw everyone go into overdrive, in a city where people already love to go out and wine and dine.  Unlike good ole Chen Chen, in Kolkata it’s the norm to see long lines of people outside popular restaurants, cheerfully waiting their turn. “How long for a table?” Became our most used line for the trip. So Valentine’s Day meant you weren’t getting in anywhere easy. After what can only be described as a complete scouting of Park Street, we finally found ourselves at a rooftop venue, where we scarfed down a Chilly Chicken Pizza accompanied by a V-day beverage titled ‘Rosie Face’.

Meanwhile, back in Chennai this week’s much-awaited event was the launch of Tifara’s new store on Khadar Nawaz Khan road. The pretty invites definitely had our curiosity piqued and the mention of a special preview by Anushree Reddy, to mark the occasion, was the icing on the sartorial cake. So it was no surprise that the ladies turned up, looking fab, excited about the new space and ready to do some shopping. Many of the celebs snapped up pieces for their upcoming promotions and events. The rest of the week saw a string of launches including Wootu, a nutrition clinic, with Vani Bhojan doing the honours followed by the opening of the Advanced Grohair clinic inaugurated by Anjena Kirti, Saranvel, CK Kumaravel, Kavitha, Ravikumar and Veena.

It was also the week of the watering holes, with multiple restaurants and restobars opening their doors, welcoming people with arms wide open. Instagram is flush with pictures of prettily plated food and drinks and of course the mandatory ‘I was there’ selfie at a signature background. On the list was Seven Sins, Chennai’s first ‘Gothic Resto bar’ where ‘the sun never rises’. The launch saw the usual mix of city faces, sampling a wide range of themed cocktails, as they raised a toast to the new space.