Clocking Deliciousness At The Clock Tower...

The Clock Tower is one of the prominent and popular names in the F&B space, located on the Golf Course Road. An ode to the boarding schools of India, The Clock Tower draws inspiration from Victorian Era with its grandfather clock being reminiscent of olden times.

Drawing from the grace and style of European spaces, and as an ode to their Alma Mater, Sherwood, Nainital, The Clock Tower is a brainchild of two alumnae who focused on bringing a colonial microbrewery to the heart of Gurgaon, rendered completely in teak wood and stone.

The Clock Tower is adorned with memorabilia and trinkets to remind patrons of the life and times of a student who has spent time as a learner in boarding schools across the country. Complete with Tintin, Asterix, and Malgudi Days corners, followed by an Alumnus Corner at the entrance, which has been host to various Reunions for a couple of prominent resident schools, The Clock Tower is a nostalgic overboard.

Spread across a sprawling three floors, and a beautiful rooftop with a patio that enables you to witness the clock up high in action, The Clock Tower is a Brew Pub and Kitchen of the style that is seldom witnessed in the capital city.

Here's what would be the must-try dishes when at The Clock Tower...

Beverages: 

Mandarin Sour

Mango Mania

Smooch

Virgin Mojito

Watermelon Cardamom Refresher was Keshav's concoction with a hint of lime.

Appetizers:

Dahi Ke Kebab is one of the classics and well-selling dishes at TCT and was presented in a wheel-cart accompanied by salad and mint dip. It was simply melt-in-mouth.

Achari Paneer Tikka had a subtle layer of tang all over the cottage cheese chunks topped with a bell pepper slice. Not overboard at all and highly recommended.

Tandoori Mushrooms were presented on a shovel, accompanied by salad. Again, subtle flavors of mustard on the palate, and they were well-prepared.

Homemade Corn and Jalapeno Poppers are an in-house special and I could taste why. This one rides away to glory in a make-shift bicycle.

Soup: 

TCT's Soup of the Day was Manchow served along with crispy noodles and is undoubtedly one of the best soups I've had since long.

Main Course:

The Clock Tower Pizza was a Chef's Special with an assortment of veggies as toppings.

Veg Stroganoff was prepared nicely, served with herbed rice.

Sikanderpur Lahsuni Saag had an assorted bread basket to complement its preparation.

Desserts: 

TCT's Dessert Jar of the Day was Tiramisu in a jar, presented with a 'cocoa fork'.

TCT's Dessert by Slice was Chocolate Cake complemented by ice-cream with a drizzle of syrup.

On the whole, The Clock Tower is not just any other themed restaurant, but one of those rare ones that have a reason backing the theme as well. Also, TCT is perfect for any and every kind of meals with friends, family, or colleagues alike. :)

Going #BeyondTheEdge With ASUS...

ASUS unveiled its latest flagship mainstream notebook ‘Vivobook S15’ at an event titled ‘Beyond The Edge’ held in Delhi yesterday. Being associated with ASUS as a consumer-led me to be invited to witness the launch of the new series of sleek laptops. ASUS also showcased their new Zenbook UX430, the thinnest-ever ZenBook with discrete graphics.

The latest ZenBook and VivoBook thin-and-light laptops push the boundaries of design and technology to deliver ultimate mobile computing experiences.

Stressing on consumer requirements of Mobility, Performance, and Style, and while commenting on the unveiling, Mr. Peter Chang - Regional Head - South Asia & Country Manager said,

"Today, the consumers want their everyday laptop to be stylish, slim, ultra-portable and yet a powerful performer for their daily tasks. With a set of unprecedented features, our latest VivoBook goes beyond the edge to ensure our users stay ahead of the curve. We believe that it will redefine the ‘Everyday’ laptop category in India."

ASUS VivoBook S15 is a 15.6-inch laptop designed for those constantly on the go, featuring a compact 17.9mm profile and weighing just 1.7 kg. The ASUS VivoBook Series is known for offering outstanding value and performance, but the new VivoBook S Series pushes the boundaries to deliver levels of style and performance normally only found in higher-end laptops.

VivoBook S is the latest and most stylish (read thin and lightweight) model in the VivoBook Series. Sporting a metallic Icicle Gold finish that offers a quality feel, VivoBook S features a first-in-class NanoEdge display with a 7.8mm-slim bezel that provides an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio and a Full HD display area for more immersive viewing. Equipped with an 8^th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor with up to 16 GB DDR4 memory and feature NVIDIA® MX150 graphics, VivoBook S is sure to make heads turn with its powerful features.

Additionally, an ergonomic back-lit keyboard and an integrated fingerprint sensor offers extra security and allows easy one-touch, password-free login backed by Windows Hello.

Taking into account convenience and compatibility, ASUS VivoBook S15 also features a USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, and Bluetooth® 4.2. Its dual-band 2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi provides up to six times faster data speeds over the previous 802.11n standard.

VivoBook S15 also features a Lithium polymer battery that offers up to eight hours battery life and three times longer lifespan than standard Lithium-ion cylinder batteries. ASUS's new Battery Health Charging Technology prolongs battery lifespan, decreases battery expansion rate and helps ensures the battery stays in a good condition. Fast-charge technology also charges the battery to 60 percent in just 49 minutes.

If a laptop is constantly plugged in and the battery stays at 98% to 100% of its maximum capacity for long periods, this will significantly decrease its lifespan and may cause it to expand physically.

The ASUS VivoBook S15 has two technologies that prevent this and extends the battery’ operational life:

A special battery preservation technology, known as “SuperBattery” gives it three times the battery lifespan of conventional laptop batteries. SuperBattery does this by intelligently monitoring and limiting the maximum charge that can be given to the battery cells. With SuperBattery, the ASUS VivoBook S15 can achieve a total of over 900 charge cycles compared to 300 for a conventional notebook’s batteries.

The Asus Battery Health Charging App allows users to manually set the Relative State of Charge (RSOC) to 60%, 80% or 100%.

Also on showcase was the new ZenBook UX430, the thinnest ever ZenBook with discrete graphics. Weighing only 1.25kg, the Full HD 14” Windows 10 laptop features 7.18mm NanoEdge bezel also providing an 80% screen to body ratio.

Offering a 178-degree wide view with a matte non-reflective surface, ZenBook UX430 is powered by up to Intel 8th Generation Core i7 processor with the main memory of 16 GB DDR4 (2133 MHz) and up to 512 GB Storage. Offering a nine-hour long battery life and performance benefits of NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics up to MX150,  for work or entertainment, the ZenBook UX430 is best suited for people on-the-go who want to take more in less space!

While the VivoBook S15 will be available from October 01, 2017 across all online and offline retailer sand partners at a starting price of INR 59,990/-, the Zenbook UX430 is available across all online and offline retailers and partners at a starting price of INR 74,990/-.

On the whole, it was nice to witness first-hand two more promising products being added to ASUS's repertoire. :)

An Aura Of Great Food At Auro...

Auro Kitchen & Bar is one of the popular restaurants located centrally to, as its name suggests, Aurobindo Place, Hauz Khas. I had heard quite a few compliments about them from my colleagues and decided to pay them a visit for lunch a few days back.

Auro is quite prominent to spot in the DDA Shopping Complex. They have a nice way of building the appetite for patrons who wish to dine here, as they make them climb the two-floor-long flight of stairs that end at the rooftop restaurant that Auro is.

The outlet is spread over a relatively large area that bifurcates into indoor and outdoor spaces, and it also supports musical gigs over the weekend too. Intentionally or not, the outdoor space marks itself as a smoker's zone.

Here's listing some of the must-try dishes at Auro...

Beverages:

Flower Power had a hint of chamomile, honey, and lime.

Orange Thyme, as the name suggests, was an orange-based mocktail with a thyme garnish.

Yuzu Limeade was prepared using Yuzu which is a Japanese lime.

Jungle Juice was a concoction of orange, pineapple, and lime.

Salad:

Mint and Pomegranate Quinoa Salad had a refreshing lime flavor with an appreciable garnish of fresh mint. Quinoa being the healthy grain, is in vogue, and this one is a nice bet at Auro.

Appetizers: 

Paneer 65 Slider came in a portion size of two sliders served alongside crisp potato wedges. The cottage cheese had been prepared nicely with a mildly spicy touch.

Char Grilled Baby Potatoes were served with a layer of melted cheese on top, a garnish of micro greens, and rocket leaves on the side.

The Mushroom Ranikhet is Auro's signature half 'n' half Pizza.

Truffle Kulcha and Wild Mushroom Seekh was soft and melt-in-mouth.

Main Course: 

Lentil and Vegetable Curry was paired with Lemon Rice, Malabar Prantha, and Appam on the side.

Masala Cottage Cheese went well with Milk Prantha, which was softer than regular preparations.

Desserts: 

Chargrilled Gulab Jamun with Rose Mascarpone was served on a bed of crisp vermicelli, which made it seem like a brown haystack at first, but it was nicely done.

Old Monk Chocolate Fondue had sliced kiwis, bananas, and apples, and some marshmallows to go along.

On the whole, Auro sports a chilled-out vibe and comes across as a hangout place fit to visit with friends or colleagues on a weekend over a delicious spread.