Mughal-E-Azam Review

While I was browsing randomly I came across this restaurant which basically took my breath away! Straight away I sent images to a close friend praising how well it was decorated and that I would love to visit it. I actually didn’t think I’d be going there anytime soon as it is quite a bit of a journey from where I live but she was just as much in awe as me and next thing we know we had made plans and literally two months later we went to visit.

The entire place was decorated so beautifully it definitely makes you want to sit there as long as possible. Now I’m not the type of person who usually takes pictures every two minutes but for the first time ever I pulled out my phone and was snapping away

 

The venue holds up to seating for 500 people and within has separate rooms with its own colour schemes, personally I liked the burgundy room but they do also have a lovely black and white themed room.

 

 I would have to say out of all the courses I liked the starters the best but that’s me everywhere I go.. We tried the King Prawns, Lamb chops, Chicken Pakoras and Reshmi Kebab.
The prawns were just beautifully crunchy and the lamb chops were just as enjoyable. I ordered a Mojito as I really enjoy a Lime kick but it wasn’t as expected, personally I felt that the Mint took over the taste buds..not something I would order again.

For the main meal we ordered Naan, Pillow Rice, Biryani which comes with a Veg Dish, Garlic Naan Bread, Keema (Minced Meat) a Chicken Murg Masala and King Prawn Bhuna. Again..my personal fave was the Prawns...hmm can you tell I love Prawns yet?...But I’ll be fair the Keema was good too.
The deserts served were impressive. My one was the Chocolate Fudge Cake with the Ice Cream and the feedback I received for the Cookie Dough was really good too.

Funny thing is I took a small visit to the ladies room and was left so impressed I actually forgot to use their facilities! I did however manage to take a few pics

It took us 4 hours to get there (with traffic) but was definitely worth it. Everyone chatting and snacking on a long road trip

Overall what I liked best was the decoration and the starters
My only let down was the Mojito, but when the place looks so good who cares?

While I was there I also asked if they take bookings for weddings, which they confirmed they do ..so if you’re looking to get married in the near future you might want to give Mughal-E-Azam a call

My Sketchbooks: Victoriana

As I mentioned on my very first blog post that I would be sharing my previous work from my college and university sketchbooks, I have finally come around to doing so! I was actually wanting to do this a few months ago now but then I actually opened it up. I was very reluctant towards it but I guess it can help current students with their sketchbooks on what NOT to do and perhaps even inspire?
The below project is called Victoriana, a mixed fusion of Punk and the Victorian era. I remember when creating this sketchbook how much fun I had, my one and only ever complete sketchbook! But now when I look back at it..(I’m a little embarrassed)..in my defence it was my first year in college and hey every artist starts somewhere right? I guess on the bright side I can confirm that the sketchbooks do improve!
I didn’t include ALL the pages, some were just THAT bad..but here’s some that I thought were reasonable

We started off the project by visiting the infamous Victoria and Albert Museum, where we had to collect primary research of wrought iron and then develop them into repeat patterns and experiment various types of embroidery techniques

After trying different methods I also made an attempt to create a sample that was inspired by Viktor and Rolf, using only staples. Although it is important to show your capability of basic techniques it is also good to show that you can think outside the box. As you can see, from the below image, one pattern can look really different according to the materials and techniques used
I used both hand embroidery and an embroidery machine, techniques including: beads, sequins, couch stitching, twin needling as well as staples

 And if its not clear already then yes I had a major love for sequins back then!

Back then I used to think that I needed to have backgrounds to go along with my pages and when I first went to university I hated not being able to do them. But to be honest its much better to not have so much going on in the background. Keeping it crisp and white makes it far more distinctive, bringing more focus to the actual work/samples not to mention all the time you would have saved that could be used more wisely! A problem that I had, that many students can relate to I'm sure, was I was far too precious with my sketchbook trying too hard to keep it beautiful, but really with any project there will be ideas that go wrong but thats ok, its all part of the process. I personally didn't used to like showing my mistakes but looking back now I realise that had I been more free and experimented more then perhaps I would have got more pages done and even landed on better ideas !

 

For this particular project the entire class had to design, pattern cut and sew a skirt made using taffeta, including a corset that was embroidered and a black printed t-shirt. The illustration above with the brown background was my final idea and blue sample was my design for the corset.

I think the best tip I could leave any student with is, any idea you have do it straight away, even if it doesn't go according to plan, produce as many samples as you can, for one idea leads to another and you never know..you might just surprise yourself!

What I wore for Eid

While it may seem like all the recent posts have been about Eid, I just couldn’t resist another one.
After all, Eid did just go by...again! My everything for this Eid was actually pre-bought I made use out of what I already have since it had never been worn before anyway, so why not?
At the moment I am just loving the whole idea of decorated long dresses, easier to wear and certainly easier to walk in!
Also personally I feel that one advantage it has over a saree is you can wear it as many times as you like and it can be worn in big and small occasions but with sarees its usually just celebratory occasions.
As I mentioned previously I’ve come to a point where I hardly need to buy bangles anymore, this time I even didn’t need to get the coloured singles. BUT because I wasn’t buying new ones that doesn’t mean I didn’t have to compromise.

Heres a few examples of combinations I tried to show you how else it could have been worn, from the all extravagant to the simple look for those who are a bit more minimalistic..

AND heres how I wore it, as you can see my jewellery isn’t exactly the correct plating but once worn it blended in just fine

 

Outfit: Mahir, Green Street £150

Bangles: Mix of Bombay looks, Lotus and Green Street stall

Jewellery: Krishna Gift House £55

My kind of style

Heres a style I noticed a long time ago, being a fan of Diya Mirza, I usually love what she wears anyway, but this was one of her looks that particularly caught my eye! Although I don't remember watching Jai Veeru AT ALL...Diya certainly left an impression.
Being a hijabi it won't come as a surprise that I'd be more interested in looks that cover the hair in comparison to...well, those that don't! And although she's not fully coverered here, it certainly is a look that inspires. I love the whole idea of accesorising and the jewellery is just so bold. Definately makes a statement

Although Priyanka's bandana comes from a similar root of concept, it gives off a much more fierce vibe. Yet sill I can see it transformed into a more elegant look. I would personally add a beautiful headiece and perhaps change the full on black eyeshadow.

It actually took me a while to find another style similar to the other two until recently when I stumbled across pictures of Natasha Couture's collection. All three ladies give the style a different kind of vibe, each as beautiful worn as the next, but I still envision it to be different. Now I'm no youtube guru but let me introduce you to someone who is! Most of you may already be familiar with her as she has tonnes of tutorials but heres one thats more fitting to the topic. I'd advise you  to skip right ahead to 2:33 of the vid where she will talk you through how to achieve a similar look, which ofcourse you can accesorise and adjust to fit your own unique taste.

 

Saman Munir, Hijab Style with earrings #10 Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pgd1AQZEA0&index=150&list=UUkCBRnj818pnUt7rHQuNb_A