Randomising…..

Meeting time

Inane mindless meetings -That don’t yield any results. From time immemorial, I have observed that in the corporate culture ppl go for meetings real looong ones and by the end of it nothing productive really comes out of it…mostly.

Sometimes ure just listening to the client jabbering away to glory! He’s having a monologue and NO he doesn’t care about your attention span, body language, the fact that ure some 5-6 cups of tea/coffee down or even ure sarci ones’ he’ll just jabber on like kal ho na ho….Sometimes everything but the agenda is discussed…from global warming to IPL….My past agency devised a clever name for such meetings i:e- ‘bridge building meetings’ which means a perfect non agenda meeting which wont yield any results and will be inane to the core. Irritating to say the least! I mean guys if u don’t value your time atleast value ours, we have better things to do in life (or so I’d like to believe) Also did u notice how we agency people suck up to the clients! When in our minds we are thinking, “ Wat a sad excuse for a human being!’ and outside we wear the perfect expression and go, “ I couldn’t agree more! Or Why dint I think of that! Wow that’s a brainwave! I mean we guys should win Oscars for such amazing acting skills! And mind you we don’t put them to work once in a while but its almost an everyday phenomena…sometimes multiple times in a day! Ho Hum!

Blogs- Yes I read a minimum of 15 posts everyday. Each one of these so similar yet so different…providing different perspectives to either the same issue or beautifully bringing out the variations in each! Yes I am addicted! But its not a vice and I am happy about it! These are people I know but some of these are also people I don’t! But that doesn’t stop me from meandering into their thoughts and expressing mine in some very relevant virtual forums. This explains exactly why I have more virtual friend’s dan real! And No, I don’t mind! I also don’t mind the fact that I am not so articulate when it comes to translating my thoughts into words and mostly I won’t even comment on a post I loved reading and most significantly my own blog is kinda passive but that doesn’t take away from my passion for blogging. Go bloggers go!

The Kargeen Cafe'

ok time for my 1st food review...a topic ive been pushing to the back burner for a long time now but given the food enthusiast that I am, I think its inapparopriate on my part to keep trying out new and exciting places and share the experience with you guys....so I begin with the Kargeen Cafe'.Kargeen in arabic means an 'Omani house'.This Café in Muscat today is one place that is in the 'Must Visit' list of travellers an residents alike. You simply can't tag it either as a restaurant or a coffee bar, because this outlet has everything in the offering.But my vote goes to the ambience.It is by far the most innovative set up that one can see in Muscat, one that makes you want to break into a belly dance immediately!The large tents on benches in company with palms, ironwood trees, frangipani trees, and bougainvillea in the backdrop, this venue truly comes alive.

The 1st time I went there was in Nov last year for lunch with some visiting clients. I must admit that at first glance I was completely taken in by the set up.the outdoor is a colorful mix of a garden intersperced with very antique rusty looking furniture, large tents on benches in company with palms, ironwood trees, frangipani trees, and bougainvillea in the backdrop all nicely lit up with pretty bright lights.Not to forget the aroma of fresh kebabs mingled with the strong omani bukhoor, it is what one would assume an authentic omani decor would look like.

On the inside, the set up looks just as rustic, villagy (if u know at I mean) and at the same time classy.this place pretty much reminds me of a classic Indian village home but just for a few omani features thrown in here and there…like the unmistakable kahwa pot, khajoor, hukka dani, mandoos

OK, now wat kind of food wud u expect frm tis kind of a set up-I would expect typical arabic fare and nothing more! But surprise surprise! Wat u get here is not just authentic omani/arabic stuff but an entire platter of homous, mezze, Salade Niçoise or even French onion soup pizzas, pastas, sandwiches n salads!!!!! I mean I just cant digest the Italian street fare at an authentic omani café! that kinda kills the spirit of the kargeen I say…. Anyway now let’s come to the food. Foodwise its thumbs up to their succulent lamb kebabs and mutton stew with steamed rice! Also don’t miss out on their smoked tahina(or grilled fish in sesame sauce) which is quite a teaser. Everytime I go, I can’t help over-ordering these and then packing some for home. The famous arabic kabsa rice is not soo great though...ive had better fare at Taza (the arabic-filipino cafe next to my place) the regular Italian fare and salads are good but a total waste if you were to have them here.I guess they whipped up this part of the menu just to cater to the exceptionally gora crowd that haunts the place anytime of the day u go! Also recommended is the weekend lunch buffet they serve every thu-fri. here you will get to pick from a wide array of salads,deserts and the usual 1 veg and 2 non veg dishes. As an assortment it works out pretty well.

If you love your lamb this is the place for you!

I give it a 3 and a half stars for its ambience and a 3 for food.Kargeen is today among the coolest and trendiest hangouts in Muscat.
Go check it out folks.