The12-Hour Coffee Shift

Given the business of everyday life,social networking these days is often confined to the online world.

Given the business of everyday life,social networking these days is often confined to the online world. We meet,greet,poke,like and socialise on the World Wide Web with ease,mostly,while on the go. But if you are looking to sip on some coffee,brew a conversation and bond over bites with friends in the real world,heres a place worth checking out. Toy Hotels Brew & Co is a new cafe in the city that aims to take social networking out of the digital realm but with some connections (read free Wi-Fi for guests) still in place.

Keeping with the uniqueness of the hotels theme it presents itself as a fashion hotel swanky,dressed up in stark white and black with bursts of pink on the couches. At 40 covers,its compact and the modern curves and lighting goes well with the contemporary theme. The bar on one side is attractively designed and dishes out more than just coffee.

The menu is international and brings in a mix of Italian,Asian,Mediterranean and Continental quick bites. Since its a cafe,it is styled essentially like a Tapas menu and keeps away from elaborate and fussy main course meals. The bruschetta al pomodoro,that we tried,was simply done but tasted good. For vegetarians wanting to try new flavours,the caramelised schezwan cottage cheese wont disappoint. Those keen on a more meatier meal,the Indonesian chicken satays were succulent and smothered with peanut gravy.

Despite being a cafe-style menu,the dishes border on gourmet meals and the chef seems to lay a lot of emphasis on presentation. On recommendation,we tried a chicken katsu curry,a popular Japanese dish. It brought in chicken,which was breaded and fried before being dunked into the curry. Paired with rice,it was a complete meal and a lip-smacking one at that.

To keep up with the social network theme of the cafe,owner Saanya Verma wants to host digital events on a variety of subjects on regular basis. For starters,to give a fillip to these activities,the cafe has announced a prize of an iPad 2. The winner,informs Verma,will be

selected from among those,who walk into the cafe,take their picture,upload it to their Facebook page and tag Brew & Co. We will also conduct weekly contests on Twitter and Facebook and prizes will include free dinners and coffee, said Verma. Also,unlike most other cafes that shut shop by 11 pm,Brew & Co will

open as early as 10 am and will not shut until midnight.

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Meal for two: Rs 650 Location: The Toy Hotel,SCO 165-167,Sector 34 Contact: 4033333

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