Oct 08 2012

Saffron Indian restaurant – Saint Louis, MO

Now that I am back in Saint Louis, I have been trying a bunch of different restaurants than the ones that I had frequented when I lived here before. Seeing as Indian food is one of my favourites, I have been to several different places in the area in search of good ones. There are a few really outstanding Indian restaurants in the greater Saint Louis area, and they are all great for different reasons. In particular, there are several Indian places on Manchester Road near motorway 270. One such place is Saffron.

Saffron, like many of the others in the area, offers a lunch buffet throughout the week, and on the weekends. A friend of mine and I decided to try it on Sunday afternoon, and we were pleased with it overall. They had many of the “traditional” Americanised Indian dishes (like Chicken Tikka Masala, and curry chicken), but also had a few lesser-known items on the menu. For instance, one of my favourite sides–which is traditionally eaten as a breakfast food–is idly (or idli). They are wonderful with some of the sweeter chutneys like Tamarind/Date or coconut.

Saffron Indian Restaurant - Saint Louis, MO
Click to enlarge

Though they had idlis, I didn’t find them to be all that appealing due to their rough texture. I’m used to idly having a very doughy texture, and being very soft (almost squishy). These were more porous and firm. Not to say that they were bad; they were just different than I was used to. One very nice aspect of the buffet was that they offered plenty of fresh fruits, which are lovely when eating some spicier dishes. This is one of the few Indian buffets that I’ve seen with fresh fruit readily available, and would be one of the reasons to go back.

Overall, whilst not my favourite Indian buffet around, Saffron is definitely worth a visit. As everyone’s tastes and preferences are different, you may find that you really enjoy it. If you do, great; if you don’t, keep trying until you find the place that you love. 🙂

Cheers,
Zach

Oct 05 2012

Disney Nature – African Cats review

Several months ago, Amazon had a “Deal of the Day” for the four-pack of Disney Nature’s films, which included the Blu-Rays for Earth, Oceans, Crimson Wing, and African Cats. At the time I didn’t have a Blu-Ray player–heck, I didn’t own a television–but I thought that the price was far too good to pass. Now that I have a television and Blu-Ray player, I decided to use African Cats as the first viewing, and I was completely blown away!

Disney Nature - African Cats

The picture quality (commonly known as PQ on fora about Blu-Ray and AV equipment) was absolutely incredibly on this release from Disney Nature. The audio quality is not really something that I can adequately judge, as I am just using the built-in speakers on the television. Though they are decent enough, I’ll leave audio quality reviews to those with appropriate sound systems.

African Cats, which is narrated by the fantastic Samuel L. Jackson, follows two different cat families–a pride of lions, and a family of cheetahs. The portion revolving around the lions focuses on a particular pride led by Fang, and their constant territorial battle against Kali and his sons for the land that they call home. The other consecutive storyline follows Sita, a single mother of five cubs, and their struggle to survive in an environment where threats are present at every turn.

Like the other offerings from Disney Nature, African Cats tries to balance information and entertainment value, and I think that it does so quite nicely. There are informative narrative blurbs, panoramic views of the savannah, cute shots of the cheetah cubs play-fighting with one another, and some scenes that tug at the heartstrings as Layla (the mother figure of the lion pride) recognises that her health is quickly fading. Overall, I found this film to be one of the best yet from Disney Nature. Though there are some violent scenes, they are to be expected in a documentary about wildlife, and should not deter you from watching it with the family.

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Cheers,
Zach

Oct 04 2012

Omnimount Echo 50LE media table

This past month, I decided that it had been far too many years since I have owned a television. Though I don’t really watch any TV programmes, I am a film buff, and would like to watch them on something other than my monitors. Even on Dell UltraSharp U2711s, it’s just not the same. Anyway, I’ll review the television in another post sometime soon.

I quickly realised, though, that I would also need to purchase a stand or table on which the TV could sit. Being a minimalist, I was looking for something that was rather unobtrusive, and that was devoid of any gaudy elements. I searched on a bunch of different sites, but couldn’t find anything that fit the bill. Then, I found the OmniMount Echo 50LE. It could accommodate up to a 50″ television (in width, so really a 55″ would be just fine), it was low-profile in both terms of height and depth, and it was essentially elemental. It was also available in an espresso colour, which I actually preferred, but the majority of my furniture in the sitting room is black.

In terms of build quality, this stand is the exception to the rule. Despite not being real wood, both the quality of materials and the craftsmanship are outstanding! It took no more than 30 minutes to assemble, and there were absolutely no problems with the assembly. After a quick polishing with a rag, it was ready to go. I decided to put a piece of black vinyl under the television stand, so as to not scratch the table underneath it.

Overall, I would say that it has the following pros and cons:

Pros:

  • Beautiful glossy finish that isn’t highly reflective
  • Outstanding craftsmanship and build quality, especially for the price of under $200 USD (~€150)
  • Easy assembly
  • Low-profile design that doesn’t draw attention away from the television
  • Nice bottom shelf for components

Cons:

  • Could be ever-so-slightly taller (maybe only 5cm or so)
  • Glossy finish does bring out fingerprints and dust

I really had to reach to find some cons with this unit, and would highly recommend it for someone with a minimalist approach to furniture, or someone who is trying to make the most of a small room.

Cheers,
Zach