Pakorakorner | A personal portal with a strong Asian Indian flavor on a whole range of topics.

Gulistan Restaurant34579 Alvarado Niles RdUnion City,CA,94587Telephone: 510 471-6536If you are a big fan of Pakistani food and a frequent visitor of Shalimar or Pakwan in the bay area, I recently discovered an alternative that you might want to try. The place is relatively small, clean and homely. It appears to be family run and the owners are Bangladeshis. So if you like Bengali food, Gulistan might be an interesting option especially because of some fish menu items. Price-wise, this restaurant ...

Next time you are reading the NY Times and don't know the meaning of a word, all you need to do is double click on the word and a window pops up with the answer powered by answers.com. Really cool feature. Came across it by accident!

Treat this as anecdotal evidence. Air Deccan has show dramatic improvements in its ability to fly on time. In the past I have noticed that their flights were almost always late. They also had a serious image issue. A friend of mine said "Give me a call just before the flight takes off and another call just after you land. Only then you can be sure that Air Deccan has actually landed!" If my most recent experience is any metric, ...

Dubai has been in the Western media for many reasons of late (the Dubai ports scandal, the recent Nasdaq deal, the burst of construction etc.). None of these reports ever talks about the challenges of everyday living in Dubai. Nothing prepares you for the big mess in the Dubai airport until you actually experience it.A grand sprawling airport equipped with all the so-called latest features fails to do a decent job of handling the crowds.The flight boarding area (gates) for ...

Kids Castle in Newark is a great place these days for kids birthday parties. The owners have given it a face lift recently. The various play things have been fixed and re-organized. There is now a giant screen on which they can play movies, TV etc.Desi pizzas are an added attraction (this has been available for a while). Pav Bhaji pizza being my personal favorite. Beer is a recent addition too. Nice way to spend an evening with friends and ...

With the consistent growth in the India economy, domestic air travel has dramatically increased and competition among Airlines has become cut-throat. It is understandable given that there are plenty of new airlines and a glut of travelers. Unused to handling such high traffic, the airports around the country are struggling. The result is that over 40% of the flights are late according to a recent study. My personal experience with delays on domestic airlines in India was 100% and this ...

If you are interested in non-desi food in Chennai, check out Cedar's in Kotturpuram (I don't know the exact location, if I am not mistaken its not far from Gandhi Mandapam) which serves Lebanese food. The food is excellent. The restaurant feels more like a house with an upstairs, terrace etc., so you don't feel like you are eating at a restaurant, which is nice. There was nice middle eastern music playing all along. ...

Once in a blue moon is here! Check out the news report about the origin of "once in a blue moon" (which btw is today in the US!). It is supposed to be the second full moon in a calendar month.

If you are looking for a place to enjoy some snow, close to the bay area but not as far as Lake Tahoe, Bear Valley is a great option. It is not as crowded as Tahoe and is definitely more kid-friendly. If you are into wines there are quite a few wineries in the area too. The drive to Bear Valley is through Sonora, a quiet and pretty town.

Kids Castle in Newark seems to made a dramatic recovery since its slump a couple of years back. Many of the toys in the arcade appear to actually work now (hopefully this situation lasts). The "desi" pizzas (particularly the pav bhaji) are excellent. Its a good place for a family dinner outing or for a kids birthday party. The crowds appear to back as well.