Lounge Loves: A Non-veg Dessert, ‘Wicked Little Letters’ and more

Women Beware Women

Given the hydra-headed beast that is Netflix’s recommendation engine, I often discover something I’d have been loath to miss only after I see the “Leaving Soon” tag. That’s how I recently watched Wicked Little Letters (2023), a thoroughly enjoyable British comedy set in the 1920s, where Edith Swan (Olivia Colman), a prissy Christian spinster, becomes the recipient of scandalously dirty anonymous letters. All fingers point at her potty-mouthed neighbour Rose (Jessie Buckley), a single mother and that too Irish to boot, but one “woman police officer”, brilliantly portrayed by Anjana Vasan, has her doubts. Although the culprit is revealed halfway through, you still want to watch it until the end for the sheer quality of the acting and the denouement. Don’t miss it before it leaves on 30 April.

—Somak Ghoshal

Here Comes Rain

In 2008, K-pop icon Rain was singing I’m gonna be a bad boy/I gotta be a bad boy. The R&B dance song, titled Rainism, is high-energy with a catchy beat and slinky moves. There are plenty of videos on YouTube, of Rain performing the song at various venues, including New York, where he’s shirtless. Given the popularity of the song, Rainism covers have been done by other Korean artists too, including BTS’s Jungkook and Twice’s Dahyun. Cut to 2026, and Bloodhounds (on Netflix). Jung Ji-hoon (Rain is his stage name) is the unrelenting villain in season 2, who runs an illegal and ruthless boxing league. He looks and dresses the part: menacing stare, slick hair tied in a tiny pony, snatched physique, and kitted out in turtlenecks and that Korean favourite: long coats. Talk of songs coming true: I gotta be a bad boy.

—Nipa Charagi

Marketing Drama

Recently, a friend shared a reel which, initially, I thought was a straightforward microdrama. Set in London, it shows a customer being reprimanded by the restaurant owner for flirting with a waitress. Towards the end, the customer asks the waitress for her number. Does she give? We will only know once the next episode drops. It feels harmless, mildly funny and oddly addictive—the kind of content designed to keep you watching for just a little longer. The “drama” is actually an episodic marketing campaign for a restaurant, part of a growing social-media strategy where businesses sell not just food or products, but storylines. In other words, a mini soap opera which is just marketing in disguise. —Pooja Singh

Digging Into A Non-veg Dessert

A good meal is made great when you end it with a perfectly executed dessert. A recent dinner I had at NĀVU in Bengaluru was easy proof of that. After my friend and I had scarfed down dishes such as the Miso Aubergine and Poached Fish, we ordered the intriguingly named Bone Marrow Crème Brûlée. Infused with bone marrow, it was the first non-vegetarian dessert I’ve ever had. Served with a slice of Begum Gruyère, raspberry compote, fresh fruit, honey and toasted brioche, eating it was messy but so much fun. We slathered the brûlée generously over the brioche and mixed it with the other sides. By the end, the plate looked like it had been attacked by two very hungry creatures. —Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran