Two birthdays and a farewell!

Our team (Paid services-PET) is very popular for the team outings/dinners/lunches/potlucks in the entire AOL. Today, we had yet another team lunch. Currently Nitin, Rakshith and I are no longer part of PET team but our hearts will always be with PET. Isn’t it guys? I am sure you will all vouch for me on this.

This was the farewell lunch from Arpita alias Orpita to all of us. Arpita is bidding adieu to the organization for a better career prospects. I know farewells are not a happy occasion but we can always cherish the wonderful moments that we spent together. Thanks for the wonderful lunch at ‘Nukkad’. To top it all, we also celebrated Latha Mami's and Sowmya NS birthdays too. An awesome heavy lunch and chocolate ruffle pastry on the same day (what happens to the productivity-shall we blame it on the food?).

Arpita you’ll only be out of our sights but never be out of our hearts. The last three years that we spent together will always be in our memory. We had wonderful time with you. You are the sweet-little-fun loving-easygoing-hotmirchi-girl of our team. I am feeling bad because you won’t be around to notice my new clothes/accessories. I can’t flaunt them anymore :-( Jokes apart, we will surely miss you. We really appreciate for being a great sport for all the leg pulling sessions. We will also miss the sweets from Kolkatta. Wishing you all the very best for your future endeavors.

(Sorry Maami for the typo error)

(Chocolate facial for a beautiful skin)

Goodbyes are not forever.

Goodbyes are not the end.

They simply mean we'll miss you

Until we meet again!

La Casa

Bonding with your colleagues over team lunches are always fun. Though we see them every day, it makes a difference when it’s outside the workplace. We get to see everyone in an unperturbed frame of mind. We decided on a team lunch today (PET and KM) at ‘La Casa’ on Sarjapur road. Here is a small outline for those of you who missed it:

We reached the venue at about 1 P.M, thanks to Prashanth and Prasath for giving us a ride. The place looked cozy. As we walked inside we saw lots of plants and trees.The ambience caught everybody’s attention. We decided to dine outside in the midst of the greenery. As we had already gone through the menu on their website, we were ready with our orders (thinking it would save time) with some minor changes. We ordered for beverages, starters, main course and waited for them to serve us.

We waited for 30 minutes and there was no sign of food coming towards our tables. Everyone was agitated, I don’t know if the reason was summer's heat or hunger pangs. Finally we received our drinks, most of them had ordered for ‘Citrus mint’. The drink was a mixture of orange, lime and mint. Unfortunately none enjoyed their drink. I can say it was one of the most awful drink that was ever served.

Though everyone finished their drink, there was still no sign of starters reaching the tables. We were pretty surprised when we (Sowmya NS, Sharvari and I) saw our ‘Four Seasons’ pizza approaching us (I never knew pizza was a starter). It didn’t matter to us. As we were hungry we attacked the pizza without waiting for the starters. Then comes our ‘Creamy Tomato’ soup. That was yummy! We finished that, but still no sign of our salads.

We finished our appetizers and everyone got their main course items. Once we finished our main course, we insisted them to get our ‘Green Salad’ and ‘German Potato Salad’. They served us the green salad first, awwh what a disappointement!
Do you want to know why? The description for green salad on their website said, a fusion of onion, tomato, cucumber, carrot and green chillies, a Mediterranean favourtie. It sounds nice isn’t it? I don’t know if it was my expectation or the description, all we got was few tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and onion sliced and set on a plate. It looked like the ones that are served everyday in our cafeteria.

Then arrived the German potato salad (diced potatoes tossed in mayonnaise and cream). Well it didn’t look like that at all; all we could figure out is some pieces of salt-less potato (half boiled) immersed in yogurt. In simple words, it was our Indian potato raitha.
After all this, we still had two pending orders ‘Vegetarian Fusion Penne’ and ‘Vegetable Lasagna’; by the time we got it we had lost the appetite for that. As per them, vegetarian fusion penne is the ultimate in veggie fusion food. However, it was so ultimate that nothing went beyond two spoons from each of us plate.
Then for vegetable lasagna (sheets of pasta layered with vegetables and creamy white sauce topped with cheese) there were no traces of vegetables in that. The only contentment was, it was better than the penne; at least we were able to eat something.

All in all, this place is definitely not a good option for the vegetarians (Italian). I wish I could have included the reviews for non-veg food also.
How can I forget the desserts, we ordered for ‘Fruit Jackpot’ (thanks to Latha for choosing), it indeed was the only right choice. Next time you want to go this place, keep in mind to order your food at least two hours prior or else you can take a quick nap while waiting for your food.