Ipad for a menu card? New cafe ushers in edgy technology

In the age of smartphones and touch screen console TVs and where experimentation is the name of the game, new hangout zones are utilising latest jazzy technologies like ipads to reach out to the younger generation.

With its bright orange decor and adjustable lights, an iPad wall that serves as a menu card and a washroom that sports a video booth, a new cafe-cum-bar launched here aims to combine various lifestyle trends, music, entertainment and food that are currently in vogue with the new Gen Y.

"We constantly connect with the youth through their passions and interests. We have been at the forefront of introducing unique formats and discovering fresh avenues of youth engagement," says Prem Kamath Head, Channel V, which has opened the dining and hangout zone in New Delhi.

The cafe-cum-bar called Spot allows musicians to display their talent from a wooden stage in the cafe, or from a larger open air stage outside.

"Under the 'Open Mike' theme, we offer school and college students, young bands, musicians or anybody who wants to display their singing talent a platform to do so," says an official from the cafe which plans to invite various music bands to give concert performances at the space that will be converted into a bar during night-time by customising the music and lighting.

A bowling alley and space for art shows and jam sessions are also in the pipeline.

Even the walls of the restroom have not been untouched by the 'burst' of creativity with sudokus, puzzles and comic strips.

A quirky Ipad menu, lets visitors record messages and shoot videos in the 'video booth' of which a chosen few would be edited and

telecast on the channel.

The front facade of the cafe is in the form of an arched ceiling with artificial turf.

An alley leads to the wall- a space that flaunts the latest gadgets, accessories and trends of the youth.

It also sports an iPad where customers can check emails, update their facebook status and scroll through the menu.

The glass wall in the lounge area with multi-coloured chairs would soon be digitalised and customers can play their favourite games.

There is more to the hi-tech cafe with the latest touch screen TVs where customers can write messages and 'Tully Vision' a marquee text that displays funny remarks and messages posted by customers.

In fact, every corner and artefact of the place has an unconventional title.

Food is also a central element of the cafe with a menu full of bizarrely named dishes such as a Thai dish called Thai Kwon, Do a chicken dish named Strip Tease, a corn meal called Bhutta Singh, a prawn fare which goes by the name of Jhinga Jhingy and drinks such as Rumsay Brothers adn Margmeimrita.

Other dishes go by names such as 'Munni ki Badnami,' 'Sheila ki Jawaani,' 'Jhinga la la,' Son of a Peach and so on.

Officials at the music channel say they plan to undergo a nationwide expansion over the next couple of years.

"Our aim is to make Spot a cult hangout destination across the country," says Kamath.