UrbanZing.com Viewed and Reviewed!

So when I was asked to review urbanZing.com I was a little skeptical I must say...a brand new site? Will it be useful? Why should I or anyone else for that matter use it. But I was curious to find out what services it offered so I clicked the link that was sent to me a landed on the site. I was in for a pleasant surprise! I was really happy with the way the site provides so many different services together, and all of it for free! When I first checked it out, I was curious and I searched the site for more information. And soon enough I got all the info I wanted, and more. Here’s my story on making my life simpler with Urbanzing.

After signing up, a simple enough procedure which gets over in about 2 minutes, I entered the site. First, I checked out my city index. Kolkata, a beautiful city with great places to eat, drink and be merry. The best thing about this website is the streamlined way the sections are separated in, and the delineations clearly noting the different sections like “food and nightlife”, “shopping”, etc. I tapped on the search bar, and randomly entered a name. Whoa! When I entered just the initial few letters, a list was automatically generated, showing the names of all the places beginning with the letters. I selected the one I wanted to check out and the information about their location, together with the phone number was clearly etched there.

I clicked in the link to a restaurant and landed on a page dedicated to that restaurant. On the page was a weird little button called “Checkin”. Curious, I decided to click it. Automatically it took me to a page where I was asked to put in certain details like when I was going to check in and at what time. When I put in the day and time, it asked for my permission and automatically posted it to my facebook profile wall, the fact that I will be ta that restaurant on the day and time I had entered, so that my friends and family could see where I was going. This I thought was awesome; saves me a lot of “you did not tell you were going to … for dinner”

Then I examined the restaurant page more carefully. It was full of information on the restaurant, including timings, menu, pictures, prices, address etc. You could actually send any detail of the place to your phone via sms and the location with details would be sent to your phone within a few minutes. Also, you can check up the place by locating it in the map. A lot of places have helpful reviews written by users and the editors which can recommend certain things about a particular place. You can follow their hint, or discover a new joint yourself and review it, letting others know about your preference.

Best of all you can find out what are the different types of food served in your city and look up restaurants that serve these cuisines. You can also sort the results by locality, and find the places nearest to your house or workplace, if you want.

You can also plan a party here, the plan a party section lets you send the details of a party you want to invite your friends to, and send them online party invites by filling out the details. The invites would be sent fast enough and the RSVP can be made online too.

If you are the owner of any restaurant or similar business, you can be a part of Urbanzing by promoting your business on the net, and get some publicity for your place.

All this, just in one website. Be sure to check out Urbanzing for a lot more cool stuff you can find out.

SAPO, a Chinese Restaurant with a difference!

Kolkata, West Bengal, March 1, 2011 --

Kolkatan's have long had a love affair with Chinese food, probably much more than with any other type of food. And this is evident from the long line of Chinese restaurants that are opening up in every nook and corner of the city.

Be it big or small, flashy or not all these Chinese restaurants have one thing in common. No matter which one you pick you are guaranteed to find your usual supply of chilli chicken, chicken Manchurian and some more items that are staple of every Chinese restaurant. Now don't get me wrong, I love the traditional Kolkata style Chinese fare. And I do have my moments of craving that can be satisfied only by the typical Kolkata style Hakka chowmein and chilli chicken. But I still feel that Chinese restaurants today, with the same old dishes have lost their uniqueness. The same menu and same taste is being served up at almost every Chinese restaurant these days. Barring some places, it is almost impossible to tell the food of one Chinese joint apart from another.

But in the middle of this clutter SAPO stands out for its spread of unique and authentic, Chinese food that you can probably only find in China or very exotic Chinese restaurants around the world. SAPO is one of the newest additions to the long list of Chinese restaurants in Kolkata. At SAPO you'll find a pleasant variety of Chinese dishes cooked using ingredients ranging from, prawns and duck to lamb and pork. Sapo not only serves great traditional Chinese food, but also boasts a menu of exotic items. It is the only restaurant in Kolkata to serve authentic Hong Kong style dimsums and a spread of truly exotic Chinese dishes. SAPO boasts, master chef Chen Yen Pao who has trained with top culinary professionals from all over China and India to perfect the art of authentic Chinese cooking. Chef Chen Yen Pao loves to cook authentic Chinese food without changing the recipe too much. He believes fresh ingredients, attention to details and the skills of a master chef are all you need to have the best culinary experience.

SAPO in Chinese means Clay pot. Chef Chen has worked out a secret recipe for his signature Clay pot dishes which he has perfected over the years for a result that is simply mind blowing. A special exotic item menu is carefully prepared by the chef to give the customers a taste of real China. Some of his special dishes include the Clay Pot preparations that are served bubbling hot in a clay pot over a glowing flame with fresh meat, prawns or vegetables in the Chef's special sauce. Another favourite that the chef swears by is the Peking Duck. Peking Duck is one of the most famous dishes of China. The duck is marinated in herbs and spices and cooked in a special oven for a thin and crispy outside and a juicy and succulent inside. The duck is then sliced and served with hoisin sauce and spring onions; Another dish that the chef recommends is the Khue Neuk, which is a pork dish where pieces of pork is steamed for hours with special spices and herbs, till the flavours get infused in every fiber of the meat and the meat just melts in your mouth. It is then served with Chef Chen's special sauce, for a heavenly taste that you'll never forget; One of my favourite dishes from the exotic menu is the STEAMED NOODLES (YAM MEIN). It's a dish that is served all over China as a healthy but extremely tasty variation of the traditional wok tossed noodles. For this dish the noodles are steamed with green vegetables seasoned with garlic and then topped with your choice roasted pork or chicken; This is a great option if you are looking for something tasty yet healthy. The exotic menu also has a lot of other tasty and interesting dishes that you must try!

Sapo has been rated by urbanZing.com as one of the best Chinese restaurants of Kolkata for the great taste of its food and impeccable service of the restaurant staff. Whether you are a foodie, food critic like me or a casual diner you will love Sapo's food, service as well as the quiet and cozy ambiance, not mention the central location right next to Vivekananda Park.

*Dimsums are different varieties of steamed and fried dumplings and other delicacies. Dimsums come from Hongkong where they were traditionally eaten at breakfast time, however with the rising popularity of dimsums in United States, and Europe dimsum is now served any time of the day.

-Review by mona_lisa