Problem in your bones?

It is about time I did another review of a doctor that I have mentioned earlier in a different context, but have visited several times since then. The doctor that I am talking about is Dr. Rajesh Bawari, an orthopedic surgeon who consults out of the Max hospital in Gurgaon several times a week.

Dr. Bawari has become more of a family doctor to my family now – by this I mean several of my relatives have now taken consultation from him and come out very happy. So he is the doctor I recommend without a thought when someone asks for a good Orthopedic doctor.

My cousin had some problem in his foot which was being incorrectly diagnosed for a very long time, which left him in a lot of trouble. However, Dr. Bawari finally correctly diagnosed it as Bone TB and treated it successfully. My sister-in-law had problems with her wrists with some cysts, and she also went and saw Dr. Bawari and is much better now. My mom consults him as well.

I recently had problems with my ankle and went and saw Dr. Bawari and am undergoing treatment for it.

The best thing I like about Dr. Bawari (aside from his medical expertise of course) is that he is a calm-headed doctor who is not given to theatrics (as some doctors are). He comes across as intelligent and has never induced any fear or panic in me or people I know who have consulted him. I think part of the job of a doctor is to give the patient a “peace of mind” such that the patient should feel that he/she is in good hands and there is nothing to worry about. This is something that Dr. Bawari does very well.

I would recommend Dr. Bawari with no reservations. If you are looking for a good Orthopedic doctor or surgeon in Gurgaon, do visit him at Max hospital. And do come back here and leave comments on how your experience was (good or bad).

Puppy hungry?

Gurgaon is full of dog-lovers. Even in the small apartment complex where I live, there are so many pets. Another thing that Gurgaon is full of is busy people. Everyone is super busy in Gurgaon – there are many households where everyone has a job. Finally, the third thing that Gurgaon is full of is traffic. Even if you did have the time to go out and shop, the traffic sometimes makes it so hard to do so.

Therefore it becomes very useful when a professional eCommerce service catering to pet supplies comes along and does a good job of it. Introducing DogSpot. DogSpot is a one-stop shop for all your pet supplies needs. Even though it is called DogSpot, and even though it has a focus on dogs, you can also find supplies for birds, cats, and other small pets.

The good thing about DogSpot is that they carry the best brands (alongside some local ones as well, but I won’t recommend them) – for example, Kong – I can tell you from personal experience of keeping 2 labradors from the last 7 years that nothing lasts like a Kong toy – you can be sure of the quality of that brand.

Another good thing is the variety available for all different pet needs and the easy to use website that they have. It makes it very easy for the user to quickly find the product you need and place an order – all from the comfort of your home or your office, without fighting with the traffic. This website delivers all over India, but they are based out of Gurgaon (which is why I am reviewing them here). I have used their service many times already, and the experience has been good so far. Once they were going to be late on the order and they were nice enough to call me personally and let me know of the delay.

However, the best thing about the service is not all of the above. The best thing is that this service is run by dog lovers. They are very knowledgeable about dogs. The DogSpot site has a question and answers section, a blog which has a lot of articles about dogs and pet ownership in general. In fact, if you call their customer care, they will even help you decide what kind of product you should buy for your dog. They really know everything there is to know about pet care.

So, if you own a pet, treat them today by ordering something from DogSpot.

It would be a blessing if the spa was good. As it happens, there are two Spas (at least) on Sohna road, and after having visited both, I only have a mixed review for both. Here it is.

Mystic Spa – this is a Spa in Ninex mall, and I think it is no longer called Mystic Spa – originally it was a franchise and the franchisee decided to reopen under their own brand name (I think it is called O2 Spa now, but I am not sure). For those who don’t know, Ninex Mall is the small shopping arcade near Fortune Select hotel. It has a couple of Salons, a couple of Cafes (including Costa Coffee), and some other miscellaneous stores (including a kids clothing store).

Anyway, back to the Spa. Now, this place is a Spa and a Salon – I have had a haircut here once, and it wasn’t bad at all. I have used the Spa services here multiple times (it is just too convenient since this place is walking distance of my house) despite the problems I have with this place.

So, what is the good part? The good part is that every once in a while, you get a masseuse who is really good. Twice, I have been assigned to someone named Nancy, and she is wonderful with her hands. Ask her to do some extra stretching routines, and you will come out feeling very refreshed and relaxed.

The bad part? The rooms are very small, the tables are not proper massage tables, the floor is always super oily, and the towels don’t feel so fresh. Their shower sometimes will have hot water, sometimes not. I have had times when there was no body wash and shampoo in the shower. There is not enough lighting in the shower. All of this would still be okay (because the massage is good mostly), if not for price – they charge as high as some of the better Spas in Gurgaon (even higher than some better ones). For a one hour massage, after some discount they apply, the price is Rs. 2000.

So, I only go here very sparingly. I would go more often if they were about half the price they are currently.

Asian Saga Spa – Now, this is the second spa I have visited on Sohna road. They have a website (http://asiansaga.co.in) as well. This spa is located in Omaxe Celebration Mall on Sohna road (this is the mall near the round about on Sohna road).

Facilities wise, this spa is a little better than the earlier one. The rooms are much bigger, and the shower stalls look very modern. They have separate cabinets to place your clothes (adding a touch of class). However, that is where it ends. I have been there only once and my first impression was not the best.

The massage was average (it was good in parts, but she just couldn’t manage to do my shoulders properly). She forgot that I had a 90 minute session, so was finished in 60 minutes. Then when she extended, she finished 10 minutes earlier. The shower stall had one of those hand showers, but the socket where you can hook it was broken. I waited for many minutes, but there was no hot water coming out. And when I stepped out of the shower I realized that the shower stall leaked (and leaked a lot) – there was water all over the entire floor.

Oh well. The one good thing is that they are priced right. For a 60 minute massage, the total is less than Rs. 1700. And when I went, they had a SnapDeal coupon available which saved me Rs. 500-600 (I don’t remember). I had a 90 minute session which cost me Rs. 1700 (including the cost of the Coupon).

Would I try this place again? Maybe. Not sure.

But, in any case, both these places are close by, so they are always options for me. Have you been to either of these? What are your experiences? Are there other spas on Sohna Road?

Pan Asian cuisine at Red Zen

We have a 19 month old daughter, and they have a 2 year old son – so it is an extra benefit for us if we go to places that are kid friendly (such as 361 that I reviewed some time ago). In this regard, this place takes the cake. At a lot of places, you need to ask whether we can get child seats – here things were a little bit different:

• We arrived, were seated.
• Immediately, two people brought two high chairs for children (and good quality ones like we would have at home – not wooden stools).
• One of them took my daughter from me and seated her nicely into the chair and strapped her in.
• Then in a couple of minutes, they arrived with utensils for kids (plastic colorful plates, kid friendly forks, and plastic bowls). This got my daughter busy immediately with the stuff. Good.
• Then they came in and asked if it would be okay for them to provide plain noodles for the kids (free of charge).

I tell you, no other restaurant does this. I have had us be charged for bread that we have asked for our child in restaurants before.

Now for the other important stuff. The food is good. Period. We ordered a bunch of things and they were all very tasty. The pricing is on the higher side (though not that high). You can take a look at the offering on the menu and their prices at Zomato (Red Zen menu).

The only bad is that the place is VERY poorly lit. I think they went overboard with the low lighting theme. On one hand, low lighting gives you a little more privacy and separation from other diners – on the other hand, it can be very depressing and dull. If they want to keep the lighting low, they should definitely provide some lighting source at each table (candles perhaps).

In any case, I would totally recommend this place for a good time (that makes two recommendations, since our friends recommend it too).

Photo by ThaisWellnessCentre

Yesterday I found myself really yearning for a foot massage. And I then happened to find myself in the Ambience mall in Gurgaon. Well, it just so happens that there is a foot spa (whatever that is) in Ambience mall – Aroma Thai Foot Spa. Off I went to check out the place. First thing first – I am not sure why they call themselves a foot spa. They offer the full range of body massages as well other than the foot massages and reflexology treatments. Anyway, as I said, I was in the mood for a foot massage – so that’s what I asked for.

The bad first

Here’s my review:

It started by my calling the hotel to see if reservations are available (you never know). As it is with 5 star hotels, I got a very helpful lady who talked me through the dining options they have, and then passed me on to 361 when I said that’s where I want to dine. I was handed over to an equally helpful guy in the restaurant. He asked me the usual details (when I am coming, how many, etc.). There were two things that stood out in this interaction – one, when I told him that we have an infant, he suggested that we take a booth instead of a table (the sofa would make it easier to manage); two, I mentioned that I would like a table with a nice view since I am treating my mom for her birthday and I want her to enjoy it as much as she can, and he said “birthday?” in a funny manner.

Three Sixty One

Well, we arrived at the hotel. I have to say one good thing about this hotel. It is different. Their reception is on the 5th floor and the rest of the hotel is below the reception. So, when you enter, you drive up a beautiful lane to get to the fifth floor. Anyway, to get to the restaurant, we took an elevator down to the first floor. The restaurant itself is very spacious, and can seat a lot of people. The tables are very far away from each other which gives it an even better feel of openness. It has a very nice view of the huge reflection pool that the hotel has. We had two tables waiting for us (a booth, and one with a nice view of the pool). We chose the booth.

The food

We ordered some Thai red curry, some dumplings, a tandoori starter, and some other dish that I don’t remember. The food was quite simply delicious. The drinks were well-mixed (we had ordered a mix of cocktails and mocktails). They served very fresh and very tasty bread (3 or 4 types) while we waited for our food.

The service

This was even better. I can easily say that this place had one of the best services that I have ever seen in a five star hotel. The people serving us were all very friendly, very confident, always smiling, and very good at conversation. We had 4-5 people serving us at all times. If I wanted something, I just had to look up and I would catch someone’s attention who would promptly come over to see what we needed. We felt very pampered.

Our daughter is 18 months old. She was being a little difficult just as our main course arrived. One of the servers just walked over and offered to take care of her while we ate. We accepted. He just took her (this was a busy restaurant with most of their tables filled) and started taking her around the restaurant, showing her different things, having her meet his different co-workers. It was great. As I said, we felt very pampered.

In fact, even as we had arrived (not even ordered our food), a chef came over (out of no where) and brought over a plate with 4 chocolate pieces on them for our daughter. He offered her the chocolate, which she loved because these were all different colors and shapes.

When we were done, and I called for the bill, they asked us to stay put – they had a cake ready for my mom. I always love it when a restaurant does that. And this being The Oberoi, the cake was right up to their standard – it was delicious – simply delicious.

I think their hospitality is their best offering by far.

The price

Food for 4 people, mix of drinks cost us around 5 grand.

For a 5 star hotel, the type of service they have, the kind of ambiance they offer, I think that is not too unreasonable – in fact, I think that’s a good price.

I will definitely return.

photo credit: Swaminathan

Over two years ago, I had written about an early learning center by the name of Intellitots - back then, I had good things to say about it. Back then, they had a nice little facility (which I had visited), and a very unique little program for parents and children. A lot of time has passed since then and Gurgaon now has a huge number of day cares, play schools, pre-schools, etc. A lot has also happened at Intellitots since then, and all of it looks very good.

Intellitots now caters to a much larger age group of children. They have programs from 6 months up to 13 years – covering parent child programs, preschool programs, music, art and drama clubs, speech, hands on learning, and fun camps. Recently, they have also moved to a newer, bigger, and better facility in DLF Phase IV with a lot of open and green area. The classrooms are air conditioned (which I prefer if it was for my kid).

The child to teacher ratio at Intellitots is 7:1 (that’s 1 teacher for every 7 children) – that sounds great to me (Intellitots claims that it’s the best in Gurgaon). They have live music in classrooms, specially trained staff for activities such as musical drama, story telling, baby yoga, and phonics instruction. They even allow parents to volunteer for conducting such activities, and to interact with teachers and watch assemblies.

According to Pooja Goyal (director at Intellitots):

Learning happens when there is an emotionally safe climate and a rich, stimulating environment. That is exactly what Intellitots attempts to provide through our trained educators and a playful, engaging environment conducive to learning.

One of my friends visited the facilities at Intellitots and she also had very good things to say about them. If there is anything wrong with Intellitots is that their courses are always filling out very quickly, so one needs to inquire well in advance when trying to enroll your kids with them.

Another good thing I like about them is the TotShop. The content for some of these are actually created by Intellitots themselves. My daughter (18 months) loves to listen to the audio track of the CD that is on sale on that link (Down in the Jungle).

Finally, I will leave with a quote from one of the parents whose child used to go to Intellitots:

July 2010 my husband and I brought a very disturbed child to intellitots….  He was afraid of the word “school’ because of a negative experience at another school…. By the end of the academic year, he was a confident and happy child. He danced with joy and spoke beautifully on his graduation day. He has now moved to a big school. Everyday when I see him coming home happy and excited, I thank Intellitots for the foundation they gave my son!

Anyone looking for a good learning place should definitely give Intellitots a try.

As usual, we went straight to Max (we like Max hospital). And at the OPD registration desk, we asked for an appointment with whoever was available in the ophthalmology department. I was in a lot of pain, and the person behind the desk could see that. I was holding a cloth on my eye. He asked me to wait a bit, and then within a few minutes told me that no doctor is available in this department.

I was shocked. For a multi-specialty hospital to not have an eye specialist available during normal working hours was something I couldn’t imagine. It was around 11 am when we visited Max. But this is not even the beginning of what was wrong with this picture.

Anyway, since I had to get some attention very quickly, we got out of that place and went to the Eye-Q Super Specialty clinic near galleria market. One thing I have to say – those guys took one look at me, and got me to jump the line to immediately see the doctor.

The doctor confirmed the corneal abrasion and bandaged my eye, and so on. Overall it was a decent experience there. A couple of days later my eye had healed, but I continued to have a blurry vision, so I wanted to visit a doctor again.

I went to Max again (on Tuesday), this time because the doctor who had been recommended to me works out of Max. Her name is Dr. Poonam Sharma, and I came back with a good impression of her. Well after my checkup, she asked me to come back and see her on Saturday.

Here’s my conversation with her from that point:

Me: “but, doctor, you don’t sit here on Saturdays”

Doctor: “no, Saturday is one of the busier OPD days; I am always here on Saturdays”

Me: “but, you were not here last Saturday”

Doctor: “I was here. I was looking at patients all day”

Me: “but, doctor, I was told at the OPD registration desk last Saturday at 11 am that no one from ophthalmology is available to look at me”

Doctor: “…. “

She was speechless. She asked me to fill out the feedback form. I have to admit, I didn’t. I was in a hurry to get back home.

However, I find it unbelievable that Max hospital denied me medical care,  by lying to me (knowingly or unknowingly) about the availability of a doctor – especially given that I was a in a lot of pain.

But it happened.

I am VERY disappointed in Max Hospital.

So, I was really happy to see that there are online businesses that let you shop for fruits and veggies from the comfort of your computer. And so far, I have tried two of them, and I will talk a little bit about both.

Disclaimer: both these services will be charging you more than the market rate of the goods you buy. I think that is natural. The pros are that you can order late at night, or from your office – it’s one task off your list of to-do’s.

The first and my recommendation from the two choices:

Farm2Kitchen (www.farm2kitchen.com) has a decently designed website and carries a very decent selection of fruits and vegetables. While on their website they say that they deliver to a limited number of places (and my location was not one of them), when I placed the order, it arrived the next day (they also offer same day delivery under certain conditions).

Another thing that they offer, which is a good idea is “Automatic Orders” – it’s like buying fruits and vegetables through a subscription service – you basically get a pre-defined bouquet of goods every week at a designated time. This way you don’t have to remember to order your most commonly used things.

Pros: the following is what I liked about Farm2Kitchen:

• Quality – the fruits that were delivered were of an excellent quality. Better than what we normally get from the local market.
• On Time – I received the goods I purchased on their site the very next day.

Cons: the following is what is not the best about them:

• Price – they are priced higher than the market and also their competitor.
• Progress updates – I wish they were giving better updates on my order. For instance, I would have liked to be called before the order left for my house the next day (what if I wasn’t home).

All in all, I still like them better, and will repeat with them.

The second service looks to be a more established player in this area, but doesn’t get my vote:

MandiFresh (mandifresh.co.in) is also a nicely designed website, and offers a comparatively larger variety of things that you can buy. I placed an order on this website as well, and the same fruits that I ordered on Farm2Kitchen.

Their stuff is priced lower on average from Farm2Kitchen – however, when they arrived with my order, it was sent back. The chikoos were all squished. The best part about it all is that the guy never came back with the order, and I wasn’t called by them – no apology note, or anything.

To top it all off, I received an SMS saying “your order has been delivered” – or something similar.

Pros: here’s what I like:

• Price – closer to market price, but looks like it represents the quality – or maybe it was a one-off chance with them.
• Better established – they have a lot of good things on their site which makes me think that they have a better handle on things – just need to improve quality.

Cons: what I don’t like:

• Quality – when I shop online, I expect that I will receive good quality since I am not physically present to inspect the purchase. They really need to improve this.
• Customer service – like I said, no one got back to me about the non-delivery/non-acceptance of that order.

For me at least, I am not ordering from them unless I am desperate.

If you try either of these services, or have tried them in the past, please do leave a note here on how you liked or disliked them. Thanks.

This is where Juassa comes in.

Juassa is located in the brand new shopping complex at the corner of the road to South City 2 (next to Fortune hotel; in front of Vipul Greens). For me, it’s a convenient 10 minute walk (gives me an excuse to walk as well).

The salon itself is great. Large area, doesn’t look crowded (bigger than most of the salons I have been to). Well lit, clean, and shiny (it’s new). The chairs were comfortable.

The guy who cut my hair was competent (I was happy with my hair cut). I was offered bottled water the moment I sat down to get my hair cut.

The hair cut was Rs. 200 (for men), which I think is very reasonable. I went on a weekday, and there wasn’t any waiting, but I am told (by my wife) that weekends can be crowded.

About the only thing that I didn’t like was that before starting, the guy who was cutting my hair got my hair shampooed. It turns out that the shampoo was charged extra (Rs. 100) – now if it was a charge, then I should have been given an option to say no. The way he simply asked one of his helpers to shampoo my hair made me think that it’s part of their process (in fact, that’s how I am used to it – this is what the other salons I have been to do).

Anyway, I will definitely be a regular there – since it is so conveniently close to home. No parking hassles. No driving hassle.

BTW: they have a full menu of services for the ladies.