Monday, April 23, 2007

Of Wine and Segmentation.

Here’s an interesting article I found in a recent weekend edition of Business Standard. It combined wine, consumer behaviour and marketing – quite an eclectic combination.

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What Category Are You?

One might define "wine-minded people” as those who prefer to savour their wine rather than to only guzzle beer or spirits.

The “PKK” (piye-khaye-khiske) culture of India is almost a cliché: you start the evening late, drink till even later, and leave the moment the food is done. In contrast wine-minded people (as yet more a Western behaviour trait) start early, have their dinner early, and sit afterwards chatting (an perhaps drinking). And in all likelihood they will have a glass (or two) of wine with their food.

In the West research has shown that people who drink wine have a higher level of education and income than, say, beer consumers. That does not, of course mean that if you drink wine you will be more successful – it merely indicates that as one becomes more successful, one’s taste changes towards more sophisticated things, wine being one of them.


Of course, even among wine consumers there are many segments, which could be by the prices at which they buy wines, the frequency of wine consumption and/or the knowledge of and motivation to buy wine. Project Genome was an effort in 2005 at psychographic segmentation of wine consumers in the US by Constellation Brands (the largest wine company worldwide)

This research posited the following segments:

Enthusiasts: People who are passionate and knowledgeable about wine – connoisseurs, perhaps, but in a positive sense, who like to read and research the subject, and are likely to have a cellar at home. They are distinct from

Traditionalists: Older, still knowledgeable but inclined to stick to known brands, wineries or even regions. Then there are the

Image Seekers: Don’t know too much about wine but like to feel both sophisticated as well as adventurous. Another category is the

Savvy Shopper: This lot looks for value (not necessarily the cheapest drop), and are willing to explore new brands and regions. They are not to be confused with the

Satisfied Sippers, who are not knowledgeable at all, and will buy any basic wine they are comfortable with. Lastly there is the

Overwhelmed Wine Drinker (the vast majority in India, I suspect) who just pick up whatever wine is pushed or catches his or her eye or sticks in mind.

Now that we have a fairly wide range of wines available in India, it would be interesting to see how the marketing people divvy-up wine consumers in India – and what brands would fall under which basket.

My own experience seems to indicate that the old 20-80 rule applies here too: not more than 20 percent of wine consumers really know or care much about what they’re drinking and the vast majority are either image seekers, satisfied sippers or just plain overwhelmed.
Sooo – we’ll drink a drink a drink – to Lily the Pink a pink a pink. Cheers!

By Alok Chandra
Publication: Business Standard

Column: The Wine Club
Page: Spend
Date: April 14, 2007

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Rajdhani - Crawford Market (Mumbai)

All these years I never thought that I’d go ‘ga-ga’ over pure vegetarian food until I came across Aaswad and this next restaurant I’m about to write about – Rajdhani.

The first time I ate at Rajdhani I was floored – immensely impressed with what I had eaten. It was an invitation extended to me by a close friend, L. I knew that for the purposes of reviewing this joint, I had to go back there, which I eventually did – twice. Rajdhani serves amazing, authentic Gujarati thalis. In fact, that’s about the only thing they serve – thalis.

The term thali refers to a meal consisting of small portions of a minimum of 4 to 5 dishes, which include starters, main course and dessert. A thali is a traditional Indian meal and is available across the country. Depending on the geographical region and culture, the contents of the thali change.

The last time I visited Rajdhani was about a fortnight ago after half a day of shopping at Crawford Market for costumes G required for an ad film she was working on.

From the moment you walk into Rajdhani, you fall prey to their shock-and-awe methods. Firstly, the stark contrast between the noise levels of the market outside and the calm atmosphere inside strikes you. The secret to this is that the waiters are not allowed to shout out the orders. They’ve developed a unique, comprehensive, customized sign language which eliminates any need to verbalise the orders.

Rajdhani brings alive the near forgotten art of waiting. As soon as we took our places at a corner table, a swarm of polite waiters gathered around us with the starters. What I must mention at this point, before I move on, is that everyday there is a different set of dishes that are served.

The starters, that day, included Dahi Vada – a cold appetizer (lentil based savory balls smothered with fresh curd and sprinkled with spices like, chilli and cumin powder, chaat masala and tamarind chutney) and Kanda Kairi Bhajiya (Onion and Mango Fritters). A teaspoonful each of Red and Green chutney (sweet and sour condiment) were also served along with a pinch of salt, a slice of lemon, sliced raw onions and mango pickle.

We had barely finished with the starters, when the main course dishes arrived - Gobi Capsicum (cauliflower and capsicum vegetable mix), Tandliya Kairi Bhaji (gherkin and raw mango vegetable mix), Batata Sambaria (spicy potato curry) and Gatta (gram flour dumplings in a yoghurt gravy) and 2 types of dal (lentil curry) one slightly sweet and the other fiery. These were served with a choice of Indian bread – Methi Theplas (a gujarati staple – a wholesome, filling version of parathas made from mixed flour), Phulkas with pure Ghee (light and puffed up unleavened Indian bread with clarified butter) Puran Poli (resembles a roti stuffed with a sweet filling and is eaten as a snack, dessert or as part of the main course, depending on which part of the country one is in; popular in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat). We barely had time to pause and catch our breath when a waiter arrived with a platter full of dessert dishes and stood politely beside our table. His assortment of desserts included Aamras (ripe mango pulp), Amrakhand (a semi-soft sweet and piquant dessert made from whole milk, cardamom and mango pulp) and Gulab Jamun (an extremely common and popular Indian sweet dish made of milk based fried dough soaked in sugar syrup).

This was a meal fit for kings. The heightened sense of satisfaction was further enhanced when another waiter arrived with a large ornate copper bowl and a jar of warm water to wash our hands. We were too full to get up any way!

With a price tag of Rs.150 per person, it’s slightly steep by thali standards. But then again, it’s no ordinary thali. This one’s totally worth it, for that occasional visit.

Restaurant Class: Premium
ADDRESS:
Khandani Rajdhani – Gujarati Thali Family Restaurant
Near Crawford Market,
Opposite Mangaldas Market,
Mumbai – 2

Tel: 022 2344 9014, 022 2342 6919
Email:
rajdhanicm@encorehotels.net

Branches: Nirmal Lifestyle, Mulund: 022 5688 8088. Malad: 022 2878 0022. Nasik: 095 253 2594241. Baroda: 091 265 2793535

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

I’ve reviewed a reception!

This one will stand out in my series of posts, so far. It’s not about a restaurant or a bistro but a wedding reception! I must say that it impressed me so much that I decided to write a post about it.

A colleague of mine was celebrating his wedding which was held about a week ago. The invite for the reception stated the venue as ‘Sagarmatha’ – Opp. The Afghan Church, Colaba. Aha! A South Mumbai do. Hmm. Interesting. Wouldn’t it be fun getting a taste of that part of Mumbai, I wondered.

A couple of friends and I set out for the reception well past nine in a cab, briefly stopping for a moment to pick up a bouquet from a Pedder Road florist. About 10 more minutes into the ride we realized that the venue was not in the usual Colaba area but in Navy Nagar – a place which made me feel that I was in an entirely new city altogether. Clean roads, neat dividers and footpaths and a high frequency of white vehicles with red and orange beacons.

We found the venue without much difficulty and braced ourselves for what we thought would be a crowded and raucous affair. As soon as we entered what greeted us was this large expanse of green, decorative lights (not too much, not too little) and the Arabian Sea beyond. What a sight that was. It wasn’t too crowded either.

On the left, the buffet had been arranged alongside the starters counter. The evening belonged to the starters, really. Breadsticks and Fondue, Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad, and Green Caesar Salad with gourmet tomatoes led the spread. These were closely followed by bite-sized pieces of Crepes with a choice of Mushroom or Mixed Vegetable white sauce. However the dish that imprinted itself in my mind was the esoteric Baked Potatoes and Blue Cheese! You cannot get more ‘South Mumbai’ than that!! They were delicious, though.

The Indian appetizers at the ‘chaat counter’ received some well deserved attention from me. Although I really was not in the mood to eat these snack items at that hour – it was past ten at night. All varieties of chaats were available along with a whole section dedicated to ‘Golgappas’. Now I must make a note here that I’m not very fond of Golgappas or Puchkas (the name for golgappas in Kolkata). P jumped at the chance and R joined her in relishing the sweet and sour liquid scooped up in little brittle puris stuffed with lentils and potatoes. I gave into the temptation and tried out one, expecting to recoil in alarm as soon as I had tasted it. But nothing of that sort happened. What followed was a mad frenzy to gulp down as many of those tasty little things as possible.

After downing a couple of glasses of apple juice to cool down the effect of the spices I had just devoured, we moved onto the main course area. There were only a couple of non-vegetarian dishes. One of them, Hyderabadi Mutton Raan (spicy mutton dish with large meaty chunks of mutton in red sauce), looked quite appetizing to me. The vegetarian section was well stocked with Malai Mutter, Veg Kolhapuri, Dal Tadka, Veg Pulao (brilliant!), Stuffed Bitter Gourd and Crisp Fried Okra. The Malai Mutter and the okra dish were my pick among all the other dishes at the reception.

Overall, a fine reception. Two thumbs up for the venue and food.