Danderma's Blog, page 103

Hashtag Burger Take 2!

Last week I wrote about the newest burger join in Kuwait Hashtag burger (post). The thing is being a vegetarian I didn't try the burgers of course but Dhari Al-Huwail & Amr Al-Refaei worked out something for me: A mushroom filling instead of the meat patty.

So I went back on Tuesday evening at around 9:50 PM but masha2 Allah they were out of fresh food already and were closing up! Note to the wise: make sure you go to Hashtag early if you want to eat something!

I went back Thursday evening at around 8 PM and the weekend rush hadn't yet started which was perfect as Dhari wanted to experiment with my vegetarian option.

The first one we tried was like this: first a few slices of onions went on the grill.

Then a few slices of the mushrooms.

A little bit of seasoning on the grill.

The potato bun was soft and ready for my lovely yummy mushrooms.

A slice of cheese on top of the bun waiting.

The top of the bun went onto the grill for a bit.

My mushrooms are ready now

Topped with a slice of tomato.

And voila! I had a burger of my own to eat

Bu Tootee however still opted for a meat patty.

and then we dug in

Was my vegetarian option good? VERY! So good infact that when Dhari asked me if I'd like a second one I said yes at once. This time we decided to assemble it in a different way

First came the lettuce, next came the mushrooms topped with a slice of cheese.

Then a slice of tomato.

and my second vegetarian burger is done

The second one was even better than the first one! Look how soft the bun is! Mmmmmm!

This is the thing about Solo & Hashtag that make them so comfortable and lovable. You don't feel like you are in a stuffy restaurant, you feel like you are at your own kitchen at home! Dhari & Amr didn't have to accommodate me but they wanted to and it turned out really really good!

Guess what? There is a jar by the register where the caps of the drinks are placed. These caps are then collected by a company and recycled into models and toys to be sold for charity like the one below. Nice idea mo?

And by the way, there is a little corner where locals can place their baked goods and desserts for diners to purchase and try and it also helps introduce them to the customers. Each home business gets a week! Very nice.

Thank you Dhari & Amr for my mushroom burger. It was really good and made me very happy If anyone else wants a vegetarian option they can have this mushroom one and trust me, its good!

Hashtag Burger is located right next to Solo Pizza Napulitana and are open daily from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM Saturday to Thursday. For more information and updates you can follow Hashtag Burgers on twitter (@hashtagq8).

April in Q8 Means: Sarrayat Thunderstorms

Last week we got a thunderstorm that signalled the start of the "Sarayat" season of rain we usually encounter in April. I have been wanting to capture a great picture of thunder since forever and I still am not able to 7safa! Takes a lot of patience with a sprinkling of luck. However last week I managed to shoot this picture of one lonely thunder bolt. It isn't what I want but its not bad for a failure like myself I suppose!

Lets just hope we get more of those thunderstorms during what's left in April. Do you have any tips on how to capture a great picture of a thunder bolt?

Blast from the Past: The Melodica!

Yesterday I was in the Iranian Market opposite The Friday Market when I stumbled across a tiny shop chock full of old and dusty stuff. It was amazing! Retro trays, bottles of old soft drinks, toys, chocolate tins, etc!

One thing I noticed hanging from the ceiling is this ancient musical device! I remember this! I've had one when I was in school at age 6 or 7 maybe. We used to call it "The Melodica" and it came with a pipe that we had to blow into as we tried to play it. As a result we were out of breath, covered with salaiva, and all what we could play was do re me fa sol la tee dooo!

If we were a bit lucky we would get to clap with two fingers singing tafa tete tatti tafa tetee ta. Sophisticated indeed! No wonder no Mozart was ever born in Kuwait :p

Do you remember the Melodica? Most likely you do if you went to a public school in the 80′s! I am not sure it continued past the invasion anyways

My account on Good Reads

Many people kept urging me to join good reads and I thought to myself that I have more than enough online accounts and places to check than I could possibly need. Then yesterday I have decided to check it out, which in turn turned into logging in using my Twitter account and now I have my own good read account! 

I have added many books (165 so far), reviewed some (31), and have found some fellow book worms like myself (7 w3liya). I have to say for a book worm who loves nothing more than books in this world, good reads is like my cyber heaven!

I think you know what I mean if you are a fellow book worm Now if you are interested you can follow me on Good Reads, just search for Danderma

My Picture Won in the Arch of Kuwait Challenge

ArchofKuwait account on Instagram has a challenge where instagrammers in Kuwait shoot pictures of places in Kuwait and use the hash tag #ArchOfKuwait to enter those pictures into the challenge. Arch of Kuwait then chooses from the best pictures entered and announce them as winners on their Instagram account plus they print them out and hang them in Solo Pizza's wall!

Guess who was chosen this week? Yes, yours truly! A picture I've taken inside Beit 7 while having breakfast there last Saturday!

Thank you ArchofKuwait! You totally made my week for sure! I can't wait to go to Solo's and look at my picture of the wall!

You can follow Arch of Kuwait on Instagram on @archofkuwait or view the winners on their website (link).

Shino '3adakom Elyoom?

Thursday is here and the weekend is about to start! What are you planning for lunch? Eating in the office? Bel zwara? At home? Skipping lunch?

I am craving a big plate of gorgeous crunchy fresh salad, with crispy greens and a tangy dressing that makes me go mmmm with every bite. Don't know where to have one though

What about you?

Huge Easter Kinder Eggs

Yesterday I was in Mishref Co-op when I found a plastic tray filled with huge Kinder eggs each one as big as a big KDD Qaymar carton. One of the Kinder eggs was cracked open and we could see that inside its the old Kinder egg with a huge capsule for the gift inside.

I miss the old Kinder egg I love the new one, in fact I've been searching for it for years ever since I've tried it in Italy in 2004. But never did I think it would replace the old kinder egg! They should co-exist side by side not replace the old and much loved with the new!

Kokowawa. We used to call the Kinder egg kokowawa. I don't know why but I do remember when in the 80′s my father used to come home with a box of three kinder eggs and distribute it on me and my siblings. I remember the Smurfs era when we got smurfs in the gift. I remember the Pink Panther era which came with different pink panthers and pink panther stickers that I stuck all over my cupboard.

I remember in the UK the gift was miniature turtle statuses, green and made from clay! I even once got the tiniest set of real water colors with a tiny brush that my barbies had enjoyed painting with!

What did you call your kokowawa? And what's the most memorable gift you ever got from it? 7safa 3leha wallah

Blast from the Past: The Penguin on MSX

One of the most famous and loved games on MSX is The Penguin. Everyone I know would remember "El Ba6reeq" with the fondest gleam of their eyes! I remember back in the day that we didn't own the cartridge -I don't know why- but two of my cousins did  and luckily one of them was our neighbor so whenever I was at their house to play which was quite often I would play the penguin as much as I loved.

My favorite part happens to be when I fall into one of the holes in the ground and start buying stuff which was kinda unique for MSX games back then. Specifically I loved betting my fishes :p Maybe that's why my father didn't allow the game in the house after all come to think about it.

I still play the penguin on my MSX emulator and I of me.still enjoy it immensely. For those moment I play it I lose sight of my surroundings and feel like I'm a little kid again with nothing to worry about but not killing off my penguin with the rest of the summer vacation ahead of me

Do you remember the penguin?

Review: Breakfast at Beit 7

I received an invitation from the recently re-opened Beit 7 to come and visit for breakfast. So last Saturday we woke up early and headed over to Beit 7 to with our fellow bloggers Pink Girl & Chapter Q8 to try out their breakfast.

The last time I've been in Beit 7 was in 2004 and back in the day the area where Beit 7 is located was a dining hot spot. Then the 1st ring road construction had started and most restaurants had to close as they were not accessible.

Now its 2012 and after closing for a long period of four years they are back in business. What marks out Beit 7 is their decor: modernized traditional Kuwaiti style which I simply adore and is quite unique around the world.

After we were done taking pictures inside we headed to the breakfast table that was set up for us outdoors. The garden is vast and dotted with tables and chairs and flowers.

Beautifully set with colorful linen and fresh white roses which are my favorite flowers of all time.

We were handed the menu which to me seemed like the old one?

We placed our orders and I decided to share the continental breakfast I ordered with  Pink Girl. We first got our drinks: black coffee for me.

Fresh juices for everyone else.

Next came a bread basket with butter and green pesto. The pesto was a little dense so I'm guessing it was mixed with something like cheese perhaps?

The first order to arrive at the table was our continental breakfast. A basket brimming full with croissants, french toast, and pancakes with a side of jam, honey, and butter.

The french toast was good, it tasted like Lqaymat for some reason which I love

Also we shared a scrambled eggs dish. It didn't look much like a scrambled egg more like an omelet but it was good.

Bu Tootee ordered an omelete which he said tasted like baith elchalet, whatever that  means?

Next came the oriental breakfast. Platters of falafel, fool, and nakhi with a side of fresh veggies.

So we thought the breakfast was over by then. To our surprise platters we didn't order started coming in: first were the cheese platter.

Then came a saj platter with a side of fries.

And as we really thought we were done came this salmon platter topped with shaved celeriac.

Now we were really done and we began to say our good buy and thanks when Beit 7′s general manager Mr. Bassim Atallah appeared at the table asking about our breakfast and willing us to order some Turkish or French coffee. Me being offered coffee is NOT something I can resist so we all sat inside for our coffees. I asked for medium Turkish coffee.

Then we were bombarded with more platters of food! Strawberry Cheesecake.

Chocolate cake drenched with chocolate sauce.

Chocolate & Banana crepe.

and another chocolate filled crepe in another presentation.

and finally with a fresh fruits platter from Lebanon that is not on the menu.

We ate, we chatted, we enjoyed our coffees and desserts even more than we enjoyed our entire breakfast! We really did have a great time that morning. People who enjoy smoking shisha will be happy as they can serve it early in the morning.

Thank Beit 7 for the invitation and Mr. Bassim Atallah for your hospitality. We really did enjoy our time.

Beit 7 is located For more information you can check their facebook page (link) or follow them on Twitter @Beit7. They are located in Kuwait City inside the old Behbehani Houses right behind the entrance of the Catholic Church.

The Alphonso Mangoes are BACK!

Yesterday I was in TSC sharq thinking to myself that the Alphonsos are late this year as usually they arrive by mid March. When suddenly I saw a few boxes of Alphonso mangoes sitting there, waiting for me

I rush over to the top box and open it. Even though it did say Alphonso mangoes but I had to make sure. I grabbed a mango and smelled it inhaling deeply the sweet distinctive taste of Alphonso mangoes. I then grabbed the box and hugged it to my chest as I headed for my shopping cart.

Now the alphonso box is perched on top of my fridge waiting for the little emeralds to turn golden. I am also going on a Pre-Alponso Diet Diet. That is, I want to lose 2 kilos now so by the time my Alphonsos are ripe I would do nothing but eat Alphonso mangoes (that's the Alphonso diet) all day long. Oh how I love those Alphonsos