2017 has been quite a year! It's a year where a lot of things I have worked towards seemed to come together into one cohesive form. Being a freelance journalist with a niche in F&B, travel and people stories among other things, this has been a year of some great experiences and interactions.

#RDPEats and #RDPDrinks for the year started with a trip to New Delhi and a superlative experience of the curated 19 course menu at Masala Library. If there is ever an indulgence you want to give yourself in the national capital, you should head here. Soon after, I was invited to Mumbai, to be a part of the judging panel for the Living Foodz Epicurean Guild Awards 2017 (am on the panel for 2018 as well) and I managed to take time out to experience The Bombay Canteen and the amazing work that Chef Zac has going on in his kitchen. Our prayers for the souls of those departed in the horrendous Kamala Mills fire recently and for those injured as we head into the New Year. This was also the year, I had a chance to try out the breweries in Pune and some awesome Kolhapuri food; Went into the bylanes of Hyderabad to try out biryani that has legendary tales made of it, gone back for the prasad at New Delhi's Bangla Sahib Gurudwara.

While exploring Kashmir, still on the bucket list for me, being able to experience the breads of Kashmir through the hands of an authentic Kandur, right here in Bangalore was lovely thing. Orzuv Hub in Whitefield is where you need to head out to, to taste this bit of Kashmir. And if you happen to catch Khalid of Parvaaz playing his solo sets there, you are in for a treat.

2017 was also the year when millets got a huge boost and I was invited to be part of the promotional campaigns working in conjunction with the State Ministry of Agriculture. It is really good to see how the movement has spread across the country and we are coming full circle.

2017 was also the year, I began #RDPCurates - beginning with a meal at Siam Trading Co for close to 30 guests. A meal that had live counters as well as a 15 course sit down tasting menu of some ancient palace recipes of Thailand. The second such event was at Sanchez Restaurante and Cantina, with a hands-on cooking experience and storytelling from the Chef's personal travels.

#RDPWrites saw so many brilliant interactions with those from the culinary world - Indian and international - Chef Gaggan Anand, Masterchef Gary Mehigan (for the second time), Chef Atul Kocchar and can I leave out the gorgeous Madhur Jaffrey, at the recently concluded Tasting India Symposium in New Delhi. I was invited to write a tribute to the food of Bangalore on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Bangalore Times (Times of India)


There are so many more experiences that make up what 2017 was for me. But what I realized is that Bangaloresrestaurants.com has now grown. It is more than just Bangalore and more than just restaurants. My work has now become a way of life for me. No what where I head out to, I am always on the lookout for great experiences - from hole-in-wall eating experiences, to travel spots to 5 star experiences and everything in between. I have grown to be able to tell these stories better from all the journalistic work I do. So a single experience brings out so many possibilities in terms of stories to share! How many people can be that lucky? The RDPLife as I lead has become a beautiful coming together of my work and personal experiences, each of which I love documenting and telling stories about.

And so, it is with this post that I would like to tell everybody - Bangaloresrestaurants is now going to be TheRDPLife - Because life has been good and all that work has come to a great singular point. And the stories you will continue to read here perfectly encapsulate my life, TheRDPLife.