UnHipLA » Bollywood / India

Ma Jasmin’s

UnHipLA — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:51:49 +0000

After reading about Ma Jasmin’s on Wandering Chopsticks’ Twitter feed, I knew I had to try it. Here they are below at the Alhambra Farmer’s Market, Sundays from 8:30 am to 1 pm. I loved their samosa rolls – the spinach and cheddar was delicious globs of Indian spinach and good ol’ cheddar wrapped like an eggroll – a great combo! The beef and potato samosa roll was also quite tasty. I should have taken a picture of the rolls opened but I couldn’t control myself after one bite and inhaled them both. I read on other blogs that Ma Jasmin’s is British Indian food. I loooved loooved it and will be back to try their whole menu. In fact, I found out that they participate in the Chef’s Center’s Friday Food Fair in Pasadena. Can’t wait for my next fix!

Summer starts today! Hollywood Bowl without the Bowl

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:03:25 +0000

Tonight kicks off the Levitt Pavilion’s free outdoor concert series in Pasadena. http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/summer-calendar-2009.html

And this Friday begins Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park. http://www.independentshakespeare.com/box-office/box-office.html

You can picnic at both of these places. When I first started this blog, I was majorly enamored by both these events and wrote about them here and here. The Levitt Pasadena is the Hollywood Bowl without the Bowl. Both series are a great way to have fun on a dime.

Mark your calendar – August 21 is Bollywood Night at the Levitt!!!

This looks tasty!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:36:35 +0000

Indian sandwiches or naanwiches ! I’ll have to stop by this place next time I’m in the Miracle Mile. I read about this on EatingLA.com. I tried to do a direct link to her post about the Cowboys & Turbans restaurant but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Cowboys and Turbans serves Indian street food.

Is Bollywood coming to Hollywood?

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:15:31 +0000

This CNN article says it’s not. Well, we’ll see. Last night’s Academy Awards was pleasantly India-dominated. I enjoyed seeing the Indian song and dance numbers from Slumdog Millionaire, and hearing the speeches of the Indian winners which seemed to be less self-centered than the speeches of others. Jai Ho! Indian Composer A.R. Rahman has made his country very proud after having won two Oscars in one night for best score and song. I wonder if the Academy is more globally focused now due to Obama’s presidency.

Shopping in Little India

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:25:47 +0000

The LATimes recently ran a story about shopping in Little India (Artesia) with Slumdog Millionaire Actress Freida Pinto. Click here for her finds. I’ll have to check out this Cottage Art place next time I’m down there.

A Valentine’s Day Suggestion

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:27:25 +0000

Take your date to see "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi," Shahrukh Khan’s latest Bollywood romantic comedy offering. It’s playing at the Naz 8 in Artesia. The movie is about an older man who has an arranged marriage with a younger woman (who has a tragic back story), and how he tries to woo her by entering a dance contest. The movie has Bollywood heart and soul all the way and gets pretty philosophical about what true love really is. It steered clear of paneer (cheese) somehow and just told a satisfying story with comical yet touching acting by Shahrukh Khan and his forlorn co-star Anushka Sharma. The soundtrack is outstanding as well, very poetic and dance beat-y at the same time. Though I don’t understand the lyrics, I know the songs are about love and finding your true partner. The Hindi word kuch = ~~love~~ something (Thanks Soni). My favorite song is Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai.

I was first introduced to Bollywood fare via Abhishek Bachchan whom I adored, but now I have finally discovered the greatness of SRK. He delivers time and time again, and picks better projects than Abhi does. SRK’s work seems more mature and deep than Abhi’s, yet at the same time very charming and highly entertaining. I drool for SRK.

After you see the movie, I suggest dining in Artesia. Any restaurant would probably offer you a spicy and seductive meal. Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are my former posts on my lovely trips to Little India, Artesia, here, here, here, here, and here. Anyone have any restaurant suggestions for Little India? If you go, you’ll most likely have an uncrowded and pleasant Valentine’s Day!

*** UPDATE *** SRK is in another movie playing at the Naz 8 too. It’s called Billu Barber. I have not seen it yet.

14 days of fun

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 10:08:03 +0000

Much media attention lately has been focused on budget ways to have fun and get by. Take at look at this LA Times series of well-known designers, such as Philippe Starck, shopping at Big Lots and coming up with great looks:

Starck and the other designers emphasize finding simple and basic items and steering clear of the tacky. I’m impressed by Starck’s place setting for $5.50 each. He also walked away with underwear, towels, and children’s art supplies.

If you’re jonesing to dine out, I Google-stumbled upon this site, Entertainment.com, which offers a free 14-day membership that contains coupons galore for restaurants, stores, movies, and more. In particular, I enjoyed their long list of Indian restaurants; Mezbaan, a new favorite Indian restaurant of mine in Old Pasadena, offers a buy one, get one free entree coupon. Also, there are movie tickets for $6 (plus handling)! The catch? As soon as you sign up (with only your email address), the coupons are only good for 14 days, and you’ll most likely get spammed with advertisements. So be sure to check off the box saying you don’t want ads and/or use an email account that you don’t care about. Entertainment.com publishes those big coupon books that students sell as fundraisers and are in bookstores. I have one and have been getting pretty good mileage out of it. This is how I discovered Mezbaan, their delicious food, and $8 lunch buffet.

So if you’re budget entertaining or dining out, you still have options!

I just hope things don’t get so bad for you that you’re eating on $1 a day.

I need a kid for this

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:41:02 +0000

From the Pacific Asia Museum:

Sunday September 28, 11:00am-5:00pm
Free Family Day – Himalayan Festival We’re celebrating the people of the world’s highest region with the biggest FREE Family Festival of the year! Enjoy hands-on crafts, music, dance, exhibitions, demonstrations, and food and crafts for sale from Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. The Himalayan Festival is presented in association with the Tibetan Association of Southern California and is made possible in part by the City of Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission and Cultural Affairs Division, Pasadena Art League, Target, Dharma Arts, Tibetan Arts, India Sweets and Spices and Bodhi Tree Bookstore. In-kind support provided by Dolphin Rents, Sierra Club, and Whole Life Times. Special thanks to the volunteers of Pacific Asia Museum’s Himalayan Arts Council and Pakistan Arts Council.

I heart the Goodwill / Govinda’s

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:26:44 +0000

I read somewhere that one way to be environmentally conscious is to buy recycled clothes, as in thrift store shopping. Could me boycotting The Gap really make that much of a difference? For the past week, I have been looking for inexpensive, thin, 100% cotton, long sleeved shirts for traveling to India. I scoured many stores and came up with nothing reasonably priced. Then it dawned on me to try the Goodwill. Score, score, score. Thrift stores are perfect for buying clothes that are out of season, as long sleeve shirts seem to be right now.

I was amazed at the really good selection at this Wesssside Goodwill:
8905 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 845-9327

The fashionable cast-offs here were aplenty. Seriously! The Wessside’s good for something.

Right down the street from here is Govinda’s, a Hare Krishna restaurant, store, museum, and temple. I actually stopped here first to try to find shirts but didn’t find anything I liked (the shop is nice and worth a visit). The LATimes has written about Govinda’s food many times, and I would have given it a try, but I wasn’t hungry. The vegetarian buffet did not look that extensive though. It’s $7 all you can eat or $4.15 a pound. On Sundays at 6 pm, they offer a free six course feast, according to their website. It was very peaceful there.

Govinda’s www.govindsla.com

3764 Watseka Avenue • Los Angeles, California • 90034 • 310-836-1269
>> DIRECTIONS <<

And while you’re over there thrift shopping and eating Indian food, might as well stop by the Musuem of Jurassic Technology which is also nearby. It’s probably L.A.’s most unique, imaginative museum consisting of fictitious displays. It’s a great and freaky. So there you have it, UnHip LA does the Wessside: Govinda’s, The Goodwill, and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. You might even forget where you are.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology
www.mjt.org
9341 Venice Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232
four blocks west of Robertson Boulevard in the historic Palms district of Los Angeles across the street from Main Street, Culver City.
See Map

(310) 836-6131

PS The LATimes also recommends eating at Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine for their $4.99 lunch specials. Tara’s is near the other stops mentioned above and is number 16 on the Time’s recent Delciious Deals list. I plan to try it someday.

Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine, 10855 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 836-9696.

The Unforgettable Tour

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:49:54 +0000

On July 26, 2008, the first family of Indian Cinema (the Bachchans), Preity Zinta, Madhuri Dixit and more Bollywood superstars come to Los Angeles for a song and dance concert. Wow! Tickets start at $59 and the show starts at 7:30 pm, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Tour website: www.theunforgettabletour.com

Tickets: www.superentertainmentinc.com

This tour will undoubtedly will live up to its name.