FOODIES RULE THE WORLD
The 4th annual HT City Crystals Awards celebrated the best in food and drinks
Grand and sumptuous, with a generous dollop of entertainment — that’s what the Food Oscars of India — the HT City Crystals Awards 2012 were all about. Making the glitzy awards ceremony even more special were the who’s who of Delhi, who turned up on Wednesday evening at ITC Maurya to honour the best eateries in town.
The event had noted food critic and Hindustan Times’ advisor Vir Sanghvi conferring his own coveted awards, which were followed by the Peoples’ Choice Crystal awards to the best restaurants in twelve categories. A coffee table collectible by HT, Magic of Print, comprising the most memorable print advertisements of all times was also unveiled.
Entertaining the guests in the packed-to capacity Kamal Mahal, was singer Rabbi Shergill who belted out his popular number Bullaki Jaana, and the soul-stirring recent hit, Challa, that even saw Bollywood actor Lisa Ray hum the songs from the front row.
While city-based dance group Harry Chutney got the otherwise reserved chefs and celebs join the dancers onstage to dance to Gangnam style, ribtickling comedy by standup comedians G Khamba and Tanmay Bhat had the audience roaring with laughter. The finale act by India’s Got Talent winners Sumanth, 13, and Sonali, 7 from the Bivash academy got a thundering applause from all.
Wednesday night saw the city celebrate the much-awaited culinary awards — the HT City Crystals. The evening kicked off at the Kamal Mahal, ITC Maurya, with the editor of HT City, Sonal Kalra giving the welcome address. A coffee table collectible, Magic of Print, was also unveiled on the occasion by Rajiv Verma, CEO, HT Media Ltd. Noted food critic and HT’s advisor Vir Sanghvi awarded his favourites, followed by the Crystals. Performances by singer Rabbi Shergill, India’s Got Talent’s winners Bivash kids, dance troupe Harry Chutney and stand-up comics Tanmay Bhat and G Khamba pepped up the evening.