Year: 2009

  • Ping

    Closed down

    Ever since we turned the corner- just off the Intermediate Ring Road, that is, and saw the place a couple of weeks back, its been on the pending list. Ping serves chinese cuisine and the specialty of the place is the variety of Dim Sum. So if you’re the kind that demands Momo, then its worth checking out. Ping is on the one way leading from the Intermediate Ring Road (Koramangala) towards Empire, Paramount, William Penn etc. After you turn right from the Ring Road (at Sukh Sagar/Kotak Bank), you’ll see it on the right. Parking two wheelers won’t be a problem, and there’s valet parking for those with double those wheels.

    The name is “derived from the Chinese character ‘Ping’ which means the best, of the highest standard and applies to food, clothing, attitude, a person’s bearing or stature…It also refers to the stuffing inside a Dim sum.” Ping has a/c and non a/c seating, and an outdoor option for ‘The Dessert Bay’, which has stone seats. I quite liked the ambience – different sections even within the non a/c section, very comfortable seating, and table options which are non intrusive. Not too many bright colors, muted lighting, and overall makes one comfortable. We got there by around 7.30, without reservations, and got a good table, but by 8 the place was nearing full capacity. We saw quite a few groups with kids, it figures- they have a Kids menu.

    This is one of those few nice places with their entire menu card online. Saves me so much work. You can check it out here. Though we had decided to try out at least two types of dim sum, we erm, chickened out, after we saw the soup options. The ‘Cilantro flavoured egg drop soup with chicken dimsum’ sounded too good to resist. We were told that the soup would take about 10 mins. Before we got the soup, we were served a complimentary Amuse Bouche. (fried wonton with a tangy-sweet lemon sauce) The soup came before scheduled time, and was thick and delicious. Highly recommended. And then there were dimsums and dimsums to choose from. After much thought, we finally settled on a “Lotus Leaf Sticky Parcels with Chicken and Shitake”. There are lots of options, for veggies, and for those who prefer consuming aquatic life. If its a large group, I think the veg/non veg platter would be a good option. The dim sum arrived quite a bit late, but thankfully the steamed combination of sticky rice, chicken and shitake wrapped in a lotus leaf was worth the wait. It was marginally spicy too, both of us liked it. The only minor problem was that one portion had 3 parcels, and splitting it evenly is quite cumbersome. 😐

    For the main course, we asked for a Seven Flavor Chicken, “Wok tossed chicken flavoured with lemon grass, roasted peanuts, chillies, hoisin sauce, basil, young ginger and bell pepper” and along with it Dragon Noodles, “Shanghai style noodles with mushrooms and spinach in spicy chilly sauce”. The chicken dish was indeed unique, but the noodles actually brought tears to D’s eyes. No, not sorrow/ecstasy etc, just the chilli dose, but we still thought it was fantastic. Highly recommended if you like spicy stuff.

    Dessert Bay is a bit of a disappointment. Though it sports a separate menu card, the choices are a few mocktails, iced teas, ice cream combinations (some good ones, though) and a few pastry mousse options. So we managed to keep desset temptations at bay.

    The meal cost us just over Rs.850, including a service charge of 7%. Its definitely worth a visit for a unique chinese cuisine, and pleasant and prompt service, except for that one delay.

    Ping restaurant & Dessert Bay, #130, 1st Cross, 5th Block, koramangala Ph: 41329357, 41521773

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Social deluxe

    Sometime back, Mashable had an interesting post on luxury brands and social media. While a few points were raised on the challenges, the one that interested me most was how the facet of  ‘exclusivity’ could be balanced with the relatively open nature of social media, especially Facebook and Twitter. The post also highlights a couple of examples – the aspiration based FB fanpage of Gucci and the invite-only closed social network of Mercedes Benz – GenerationBenz.com. The examples were interesting because they were two different approaches – of how luxury brands can use social media. On a related note, Jeremiah Owyang wrote a post a few days back – 5 ways luxury brands can overcome the conundrum of social marketing.

    Before we discuss the specific usage on social media, how exactly do brands become classified as luxury? According to the post above, “When linked to brands, it is characterized by a recognizable style, strong identity, high awareness, and enhanced emotional and symbolic associations. It evokes uniqueness and exclusivity, and is interpreted in products through high quality, controlled distribution and premium pricing”. I assume the above takes into the account the parameter of service – not just in the case of say, hospitality or other service luxury brands, but even regular luxury brands, since the overall experience (from the retail experience of shopping for the brand to post purchase service) is key to earning the tag of a luxury brand.

    With regards to social media, I’d say that social media has this way of stripping the veneer, of removing the fluff around entities so that its reputation is made/broken basis its performance on the core value it provides. In fact, sometimes even the cost of ‘production’ is not taken into account, the audience expects things for free and the crowd makes its own sense of value for the product. (yes, I am referring to the interesting free vs paid debate) Wired has an excellent article titled ‘The Good Enough Revolution‘, where it takes examples from various sectors to show how, with advancing technology, consumers’ expectations from their purchases are changing drastically – the rise of the ‘good enough’ tools. While it is essentially attributed to the busy lives we lead now, the fact that it is also ideal for recessionary times is highlighted. From the article,

    We now favor flexibility over high fidelity, convenience over features, quick and dirty over slow and polished. Having it here and now is more important than having it perfect. These changes run so deep and wide, they’re actually altering what we mean when we describe a product as “high-quality.”

    Of course, there still is an audience that doesn’t live by these credos, but that’s perhaps not really a large number. One could argue that this was the only audience that mattered to luxury brands anyway, but If this trend catches on, then the entire premise of luxury branding becomes wobbly. PSFK has an interesting note on a Louis Vuitton Calabash – on mixing the notions of utility and luxury, and how the addition of a designer label on a commonplace item raises a question on the value of things. A lot of the luxury brand’s aura is through maintaining a perception among the audience, and keeping itself as an aspiration among potential consumers – couching utility in intangibles. This is not taking away anything from the quality of the product per se, but the entire concept of ‘brand’ is usually seen as a way to distinguish the product from similar products and take it to a level  above that of a commodity. A lot of communication these days is about the aura/show off value of the luxury brand than anything to do with the product superiority. In a way, its quite logical (and obvious) because if luxury brands focus on the utilitarian value of their product, they really wouldn’t get ahead. The counter point to this would be that the premium charged by the luxury brand is for the emotional high of using the brand, in addition to the (hopefully) superior quality that it provides. Does it mean that luxury brands would have to relook at the premiums they charge?

    But having said all that, there are quite a few things that seem to point towards potential synergy between luxury brands and social media. One of the points that Jeremiah mentioned in his post is the usage of celebrity associations. Celebrities are now running rampant on social networks, and luxury brands have a good means of weaving themselves into the conversation, and increasing their aspiration value. Usage by a celebrity also gives them a context to kickstart conversations. Also, social media is about emotional connect and sharing. If much of a luxury brand’s aura is built on the emotional appeal, then it can use social media very well to its advantage. After all, what other medium offers such easy methods to spread some ‘show off’ value? 🙂 I thought the Mercedes Benz idea of a closed network would be great if they allowed users at least partial portability of data to other networks. (to, rather than from) The ‘share’ aspect of social media will also help identify potential customers via existing ones. But most importantly, I feel the biggest use of social media (actually the web in general) for luxury brands is the audience data that is being generated on a regular basis, real time. It offers better segmenting and targeting opportunities, and while this is applicable to all brands, it is all the more important for luxury brands. This can be used for gaining more insights, encouraging sampling and so on.

    It is definitely an interesting conundrum, but the web, thankfully has space for all kinds, I think. Will appreciate your thoughts. 🙂

    until next time, the luxury of real time? 😉

  • You and me

    The hurried breakfast, the hours in front of the computer,  the lunch at office, the work that’s done  to make a living, the dinner in front of the television, the mindless programming that occupies. I have many ways of escaping from you. On weekends, there are books to read up, movies to see, the shopping that has to be done, with or without discounts, the afternoon naps, the endless mall visits, the catching up with friends over cups of coffee, the dine outs, the posts to be written, the lifestream style to be maintained. I have a life to live, you know?

    Oh there are ways and ways of avoiding you. Even if you do confront me – those moments when you catch me off guard, I pretend not to know you. Until at some point in time, I won’t have to pretend. I really won’t know you, I won’t remember you existed. Maybe I never knew you.You were too difficult to understand. When I looked into your eyes, I was not looking in the mirror, I was looking at a different person.

    Maybe if we had met when we were younger, we would have realised we were the same person. But I never looked in the mirror then. There were others who decided for me. When I started looking in the mirror, I saw what I had been made to do, I rebelled. I didn’t realise that I was trading one set for another. You weren’t important enough. I was, and I was busy creating an image of myself. You were not.You were just you.

    Even now, I know you’re still there, you are what is, devoid of memories, or rather, the baggage of memories, while I frantically look around for what I should be. I am afraid, terribly afraid that I’ve lost you forever. I cannot try to reach you, I cannot even say that one day I will be you. I am you, or I am not. It takes a moment. I realise there is no middle path. I make my theories, I lean on my faith, I say that in another world I am better off, anything to be not you. For we both know that you will step out of the mirror, only if I cease to exist. I acknowledge you, but this is a fight for survival, of all the things that have made me, me. I fervently hope that I lose. I write this, so that I never forget. That in the mirror, it’s not me, its you. And we’re different. As different as the same person can be.

    until next time, the  battles within

    PS. The thought continued from last week, also found some kindred thoughts  (thanks to The Time Traveler’s Wife)

    Love After Love

    Derek Walcott

    The time will come
    when, with elation
    you will greet yourself arriving
    at your own door, in your own mirror
    and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

    and say, sit here. Eat.
    You will love again the stranger who was your self.
    Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
    to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

    all your life, whom you ignored
    for another, who knows you by heart.
    Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

    the photographs, the desperate notes,
    peel your own image from the mirror.
    Sit. Feast on your life.

  • Oye! Amritsar – Koramangala

    Since we’ve frequented both Oye Amritsar and Oye Shaava on Church Street, and enjoyed the experience, we were eagerly looking forward to the opening of Oye Amritsar in our own neighbourhood. The Koramangala version is in the building just before China Pearl, the same road as Vicky’s and The Esplanade too – the one-way connecting Inner Ring Road with the road from Forum to National Games Village. (refer either of the first two links for a detailed route). Parking is not too difficult, in any case there are many sidelanes on that road.

    Since we planned to be there early, we didn’t reserve, but if you’re planning to be there after 8pm, reservations would help. The restaurant is on the first floor, and just like the Church Street version, watch out for the awesome posters on the stairway and actually all over the place. This seems to be a bigger place with indoor-outdoor seating options. The terrace faces the road, so its a good place to watch the world go by, if weather permits. It did, and there we sat. The only snag with the tables on the terrace is the lack of sufficient light – its difficult to read the menu, but you could ask for candles.

    The dhaba theme and the ambience is the same as Church Street, but looks like the menu has been changed a bit. It’s been quite a while since i visited, so there might have been updates I’m not aware of. They serve alcohol too, here, and the bar seems to be decently well stocked.

    The menu begins with veg starters, quite a few, and in addition to that, there are also tawa fried options. About a dozen options combined, priced, on an average, at Rs.90/165 for a half /full plate. This half plate option is something  i remember liking at Oye Shaava, so it’s good to see it in action here. There are also many options in non veg starters – chicken, mutton, prawns, and fish, priced at Rs.115-145/225. And if you’re the shorba kind, there are a total of 3 options – one each in veg, chicken and mutton, priced at Rs.60-80. The veggies really have no reason to complain, since I saw over 20 options for the main course. (Rs.145-165). In fact, I’d say there are fewer options in non-veg, but there are enough to choose from there too (Rs.180-345), including bheja and gurda, for those who love ‘spare parts’. To go with that, there are rotis/naans/kulchas (Rs.30-45) and rice options (Rs.110-165).

    So we decided to skip the shorba, and since the half plate option was available, we ordered two starters . Two half starters equal to one starter and all that logic.  The Dhuanwali Lahori Seekh (“Lahore, Paris of the East, home to the most creative chefs of the land of five rivers, crafted this seekh kebab of lamb mince smoked with coal embers and butter, skewered and tandoored”) and the Pahalwani Dhabe ka Maahi Tikka (“the famous rawas fish specially flown down from Amritsar and cooked to recipe by our friend Pahalwan Makhan Singh at his famous Maqbool Road eatery”). The Lahori seekh kebab completely disappointed, it was quite rubbery, and honestly, i have tasted better. I actually gave half a kebab (a non veg kabab) to D, so you can imagine. But thankfully, the Maahi tikka made up for it. We had to remind the guys for the pudina sauce though.

    For the main course, we ordered a Murgh Lahori (“whole chicken cooked with all the glory of Punjab Sindh flavor) and a Bheja Fry (“lamb brains cooked in a spicy masala on the tawa”), and to go with that a Makki di Roti, and a Masalawala Kulcha. We also added an Amritsari Kulcha later. Both the dishes were extremely good, though the chicken dish wasn’t boneless. Excellent thick gravy, though. The brain fry is not recommended.. to those who cannot handle spice 😀 This one could actually compete for the best brain fry I’ve had, not including D’s of course.

    The dessert section has the usual suspects – gulab jamun, phirni, jalebi, kulfi with rabri etc. (Rs.90-100) I haven’t seen a Gajrela and a Rasbhari before though. I would’ve tried at least one of them, but was too stuffed. There’s also a paan guy downstairs, in case you’re in the mood for the betels. 🙂

    All of the above cost us Rs.900, that includes a service charge of 7.5%. Slightly inflated because they billed us for a full plate Bheja Fry even though we had ordered only a half plate. (that would’ve been sufficient) For those who haven’t been to Oye Amritsar on Church Street, you should definitely try this out. For those who have, you know why you need to drop in. 🙂

    Oye! Amritsar, 54, Canara Bank Road, 6th Block Koramangala, Ph: 080 40994451

    Menu and photos at Zomato

  • Big brands, small ideas

    I ended last week’s post with a note that social media services provide brands a way of having their lifestream online, and weaving themselves into the consumers’ context. Last week, I read an interesting article on Six Pixels of Separation titled “Your Company is a Media Company“. It talks about how the different social media tools allow companies to publish their own content without the aid of the earlier generation’s tools and processes – newspapers, PR companies etc, and how these companies are finding new ways to tell stories. It also discusses how consumers now expect companies to be connected, listening and reacting – in a human voice. I remember touching upon this subject in a few old posts of mine – “The new media owners“, and “The Evolution of Content Marketing” a few months back.

    One of the biggest gripes that come up when big brands arrive on social media services is how they use it as just another broadcast channel for their TVCs/microsite/contest etc without adding any value to the reader/consumer. I have seen many a brand on Twitter completely disappear when their promotion ends, perhaps it came up only because ‘Twitter account, Facebook page’ were the current flavours in the marketing communication checklist. These are obviously generalisations, and the three examples that I’d discussed in the last post are obvious exceptions.

    While wondering why it has to be this way, I remembered an old post of mine, which though discussed the future role of a brand manager, had started out on a different premise. It had been triggered by a superb post by Russell Davies titled “the tyranny of the big idea“, and a couple of wonderful notes at Misentropy, which took the idea further. (All the three posts I have linked to are 1-3 years old, and I still find them great reads. What I’m trying to say is that you MUST read them)

    In the last few days, I have seen a few posts that have explored this theme, from different perspectives. Six Pixels of Separation has a post that discusses how the combination of 3 factors – a conversation based social media, real time and fragmented media would mean that marketing strategy would have to move away from the big idea and be more involved with smaller ideas basis the type of people the brand talks to, the platform of discussion, and the context. Closer to home, I read a good post  on afaqs – a question posed – whether television is hogging the resources (financial and talent) because in India it is the most preferred medium (not basis revenue) for marketers as well as the advertising fraternity. L Bhat has a very pertinent post on regional branding, and how Indian brands approach it with a one-size-fits-all approach, relying on translations which don’t do justice to the original idea, or showing contexts which have no relevance to the local audience. He notes (illustrated with examples) that brands which have developed communication specifically for the region have touched a chord with the audience. Another indicator that media fragmentation is not just about the web, let alone social media.

    With the advent of the internet, and specially social media, brands have the opportunity now to use this means of distribution to explore the long tail of audiences and marketing communication. The economies that dictate the usage of television, print etc – in terms of both production and distribution, do not really apply on the web. The NYT has an article on the rise of sentiment analysis – the social web as a ‘canary in the coalmine’, as a way to identify opinion leaders, as a forecasting tool, and so on. Its still early days yet, and we will obviously see much improvement in the current systems. In BlogAdda’s interview with Avinash Kaushik, Google’s Analytics evangelist, I had asked about the effect of the ’emotional responses’ in social media on the field of analytics. As he explains, there cannot be a single tool that can capture all data, and those who monitor this, will have to get used to the idea of multiplicity. From just deciding where communication will be distributed (and to a certain extent, consumed) to  having to track where conversations are happening in an ‘everything reviewed‘ (Transparency, Trendwatching’s September trend)  world, and then deciding the what-why – that is quite a drastic change. These are obviously not mutually exclusive, but it still is a challenge.

    The earlier models of communication (and even some elements of strategy) have perhaps been conceptualised and practised without factoring in instant two way communication, conversation among consumers, and multiple touch points. It was relatively easy for everyone concerned to have one big idea and push it into all the channels. That is perhaps what is happening as ‘social’ is seen as just another ‘media’, but it works differently. It involves a whole new set of rules, some yet to be even thought of. While there will be quite a few advantages, there will also be several challenges for the brand- to be different within the core brand idea, to add value to the different kinds of audiences in context, to decide levels of transparency and be comfortable with it, to be a ‘media company’, to be also comfortable with the rigours of listening and possibly having to react real time. There will be challenges for the brand manager, like I mentioned in the post earlier. There will be challenges for the creative agencies – when they develop ideas, they have to be medium and context specific, and also know how to respond in real time. They will also have to be churning out fresh ideas on a regular basis. There will be challenges for media agencies – to find out the maximum possible touch points relevant for the brand. And this is not just to do with the web and social media alone, but the better usage of other media too. Brands can actually be different things to different people, and be relevant. In short, a drastic overhaul of the system which currently operates, before they an get to being a media company. Being a ‘media company’ and ‘always on’ means that the ‘content’ cannot solely be made of big ideas. Possible, but impractical, I’d say, unless its an idea with several rendition and execution possibilities. From one big idea every quarter/year to a stream of small ideas. Not necessarily, perhaps, but probably so. I wonder, how many big brands and agencies will be game for playing with small ideas.. and failing sometimes?

    until next time, a tyrannosaurus hex 🙂