charges an exorbitant Rs 2,700 for the fish, it is still one of their most popular dishes. The fish is first pan seared, which helps lock in all its juices, adds colour, flavour, and gives it a a beautifully crisp texture, then placed in the wood fired oven. It is served with asparagus, mashed potato, hollandaise sauce and flakes of truffle. Sea Bass, which was was taken off restaurant menus across the globe in the early 2000s, is rumoured to be endangered. Perhaps that is what makes it so expensive! Also available at: Koh (InterContinental, Marine Drive), Aurus (Juhu)

Lobster The Tandoori Lobster at Mahesh Lunch Home, according to assistant manager Russel Raphael, is one of the most popular dishes at their Juhu outlet. The lobsters served here, sourced from the Gulf of Kutch, are trawled in from the deep seas every day. Once you’ve placed your order a lobster, 15 to 20 minutes is the least you will have to wait as lobster meat is typically boiled for that long before it is served.

While the tandoori flavour is popular for obvious reasons, lobster meat is delicious served with just butter, pepper and garlic too. And the best part — lobster is available all year round.

Also available at: Mahesh Lunch Home (outlets across the city), Aurus (Juhu), Trishna (Fort) pic/madeeha Attari

Hilsa Not so much a ‘sea’ food, this river fish so synonymous with Bengali and Oriya cuisine, is also known as Ilish. But a word of warning for those not so familiar with this variety — beware of the tiny bones! True blue Bengalis complain about city restaurants’ lack of expertise when it comes to getting the hilsa right.

Most often served steamed with mustard and chillies in a banana leaf, the flavours might seem too strong for the uninitiated palate. Oh! Calcutta serves a boneless version — a great place to start. But Calcutta Club and Bhojohori Manna, both in Oshiwara, are good too and far cheaper. Also available at: Bong Bong (Bandra), Hotel New Bengal (CST)

Bombay Duck If you’ve lived in Mumbai long enough, you will be able to recognise the smell of dry bombil. Lines of the fish drying on bamboo logs is the quintessential picture of any of the city’s Koli zones.

The skin-and-bone fish, misleadingly called the Bombay Duck, is typically eaten salted and dried. Not everyone may have the stomach for this slightly slimy fish. But the batter-fried version, served at most seafood joints in the city, could win over even the most squeamish. Also available at: Gajalee (across the city), Highway Gomantak (Bandra East), Fresh Catch (Mahim) 

From faraway waters

Spaghetti Al Caviale This butter tossed spaghetti comes with a decadent sprinkling of caviar (or caviale as the Italians say it). The caviar, tossed into the warm spaghetti, infuses is unique aroma and adds flavour to the pasta. Price: Rs 925 without tax Where: Serafina   Ragout of Escargot Snails on your plate — can’t get more French than this. At Aurus they serve it with wild mushrooms and vol-au-vent (a puff pastry of sorts). Price: Rs 725 without tax Where: Aurus, Juhu

hone or computer. Light switches, appliances, and even your garden are just a click away.

1. Harvest Geek HarvestBot SensorStation

Now a Kickstarter project, this garden sensor points to the future of the connected home with a small waterproof gadget you place in the soil. It measures water, air temp, humidity, light intensity, and soil moisture to help you make decisions about watering and care.

Sensors connect to a BaseStation that feeds information to the web and mobile apps. Like any worthwhile connected home gadget, the Harvest Geek system can also send you alerts about weather conditions, such as an overly sunny day when your garden might require extra watering.

2. Ford MyEnergi Lifestyle

One important trend: the car is now becoming an integral part of the connected home. In the US, Ford has started an innovative 'proof of concept' with Georgia Tech called MyEnergi Lifestyle.

It all started with a computer model, of course: engineers found that using a Ford C-MAX Energi electric car, along with products from Eaton, Whirlpool and Nest, a homeowner could save as much as 60% in energy costs and about 9,000 kg in CO2 (a 55 percent reduction).

Participants, to be selected soon, use a mobile app that recognises your locale and can automatically use a Value Charge mode for the best utility rates.

3. Vivint Whole-home System

A powerful whole-home automation system, Vivint has one main control system for home security and temp, but the web and iPad apps give you unprecedented control. You can use a template like 'aggressive energy saver' to lower the heat automatically at midday and at night.

There are presets for quickly moving a pan-tilt cam in your living room to look out of the window with one click. And a unique door lock system means you can lock one door in your home and have Vivint lock every other door automatically.

One interesting feature is that Vivint uses gear from Alarm.com and D-Link for more unified automation. For now it's available only in the US and Canada but we hope they plan for worldwide domination soon.

4. Whirlpool Smart Dishwasher

This fully automated and connected Whirlpool WDL785SAAM dishwasher uses a technology called 6th Sense Live. You can activate wash cycles remotely using the web or a mobile app.

The Energy Adviser system shows exactly how much energy the appliance is using so you can adjust usage time for a better rate. You can also check the total time you've used the appliance and check on maintenance schedules.

The app even lets you know when the dishes are clean. Remote control features use Wi-Fi, but the energy consumption features require a smart grid in your home.

5. Nexia Home Intelligence

One of the best features of this smarthome system is that you can install the components yourself. The Nexia Home Bridge connects to your existing router.

You enrol devices like door sensors, thermostats, front door deadbolts, appliance modules, and security cameras by pressing one 'plus' button on the bridge.

All components are available for control in a web app or using an iOS or Android app (phones and tablets). To install a sensor, you can use an adhesive material to place it on a door or window, which means no complex measurements.

6. Belkin WeMo Light Switch

Many home automation systems like those from Vivint use the Z-Wave protocol, which maintains a steady connection when you install multiple devices. (They link to each other to create a stronger bond.) The Belkin WeMo Light Switch connects to your existing Wi-Fi router and lets you turn the lights on and off with an app.

Unlike many home automation kits that do not tap into the electrical current of your home directly, this switch replaces an existing light switch. (The install is easy, just make sure you cut the power first.) You can then schedule lights off and on and set triggers using other WeMo motion detectors in the same room.

7. Netatmo Connected Weather Station

This home weather kit includes two sensors (one for indoor and one for outdoor) that monitor temperature and air quality.

You can pull up an iOS or Android app (designed for smartphones and for tablets) to see a quick report on current indoor and outdoor temp, air quality, carbon monoxide level, humidity, barometric pressure and several other readings to help you monitor your home.

The apps can be configured to send alerts when the Netatmo senses a dangerous level of air quality or carbon monoxide. You can also view a report on fluctuations over a set period, and share reports on social networks.

8. Netgear VueZone

This smart video surveillance system is incredibly easy to set up. There's an included Wi-Fi bridge for your router. You place the cameras near the bridge and turn them on.

They sync automatically, and the replaceable battery lasts six months. The cameras, about the size of two thumb-widths, pop into a round holder that sticks to any surface.

You can network up to 15 cameras, see the video feed from Android or iOS devices, and even get an email when the camera detects motion. (At that point, you can view a 10 or 40 second video clip.)

9. Detroit Electric SP:01

Available in the fall, this amazingly curvy EV sports car (now being engineered in the UK) has an interesting perk for homeowners. The car itself will run for about 280 kilometers on a charge, which helps reduce carbon emissions on your way to work.

But at home, the car can act as an emergency back-up generator. In a power outage in your area, the car automatically senses a change on the smart grid and can provide power for appliances, heating and lights for about 24-48 hours.

The car will also be highly connected, offering apps you can use to monitor charge levels and even adjust charge time based on the lowest rates.

10. Kohler Moxie Showerhead + Wireless Speaker

We've covered the garage, the living room, and even the garden. But what about the shower? This Bluetooth showerhead connects to your smartphone or tablet to stream music.

The speaker snaps into the showerhead using a magnet, so it's easy to install and remove for charging. Any Bluetooth device can stream music, including Android and iOS phones and tablets. You can also remove the speaker and use it in any room of the house.

se, but if you're still having to charge up more frequently than you'd like, Windows 8 has lots of settings and tools that can help make its power go further.

50 Windows 8 tips, tricks and secrets

These options are easy to set up and configure, and you'll see a big difference in how long your device lasts between charges.

Although we're using Windows 8 here, there are similar settings available in Windows 7, Vista and XP as well, so you can use these tips to extend the life of an older laptop battery too. Let's get started!

Step-by-step: Boost your battery life

1. Check your battery life

Windows 8 makes it easy to keep an eye on your battery, no matter which part of the OS you're using. The first place to look is the Lock screen, which displays your remaining charge along with the time and date. If you're using the Start screen, you can see the battery status by flicking the right-hand side of the screen to access the Charms bar. If you're on the desktop, you can see it in the Taskbar.

2. Adjust screen brightness

The screens of mobile devices use a lot of power, so one quick way to prolong the life of your battery is to turn the brightness level of the screen down. To do this, bring up the Charms bar and select the 'Settings' charm. Click or touch 'Screen' and a draggable bar appears, where you can quickly adjust the brightness of the screen. This is also handy if you're working in low light levels.

3. Adjust Center settings

Windows Mobility Center is designed to make it easy to change computer settings when travelling, and is a great tool for optimising Windows 8 devices. To get to it, type Mobility into the Start screen and select 'Settings'. Click on 'Windows Mobility Center' to open up the program. From here you can change a number of settings that will help prolong your device's battery life.

4. Mute the volume

It might not be the most obvious thing to do, but you can make a big difference to the battery life of your laptop or tablet if you lower - or, even better, completely mute - the volume of its speakers when you're not listening to music or watching a video. This means that precious battery power won't be used up powering the speaker and pumping out sounds when you don't need it to.

5. Change the power settings

The Windows Mobility Center lets you change your laptop's power settings quickly and easily. The default choices are 'Balanced', 'Power saver' and 'High performance'. 'Power saver' tweaks the settings for a longer battery life, but at a slight price when it comes to your device's performance. The 'Balanced' plan lowers performance only when you won't notice the difference.

6. Advanced power settings

You can tweak the power settings by going to the Start screen and typing in power. Select 'Settings' and then 'Choose a power plan'. Select the power plan you want to edit, then select 'Change plan settings'. You can then alter various settings, such as how long it takes for the screen to dim when not in use, or how long it takes for the laptop to go to sleep.

7. Create your own power plan

From the Power Options window you opened in step 6, you can also create a new power plan to suit your specific needs. Select 'Create a power plan' on the left-hand side of the window, then select a power plan to use as the basis of your new one. Give your new plan a name, then select 'Next'. Now you can adjust the settings to your liking. Once you've finished, click or tap 'Create'.

8. More advanced settings

You can access even more advanced power settings if you're confident drilling down further into Windows 8. From the Power Options window, click or tap 'Change plan settings' next to a plan, then select 'Change advanced power settings'. From here you can change settings that determine when to turn off your hard drive, how USB ports are used and much more.

9. Turn off wireless

If you're using your device away from a wireless network, you can turn Wi-Fi off to save your battery power - there's no point in having your laptop hunt for a network that isn't there. Bring up the Charms bar in Windows 8 by swiping from the right-hand side of the screen. Now click 'Settings', then 'Change PC settings'. Click or tap 'Wireless' and then change 'Wi-Fi' to 'Off'.

10. Enjoy a better battery life!

Now that you've followed these steps, you should see a noticeable improvement in your battery life. You don't need to do each step to see a benefit, and be sensible with them; having your Wi-Fi switched off is inconvenient when you want to go online, and a pitch-black screen will mean fewer charges, but will lead to eye strain. Find the right balance and you'll be happy.