Danderma's Blog, page 14

The Qerqaia’an of Ramadan 2014

One of the things many people prepare for, sometimes months in advance, is the celebration of Qerqaia’an and its giveaways. Qerqaia’an is an occasion that falls on the nights of 13, 14, and 15 of Ramadan where children would go from house to house dressed in colourful traditional clothes singing away while collecting candy from the houses they sing for. Also, families tend to send out sweets and nuts for loved ones in dazzling wrapping, the funkier the better, to celebrate the occasion in the name of their little children especially new born babies to the families. I personally look forward to that time of year and prepare candy in anticipation of the neighbourhood children passing by. I also put up a sign on the door stating that we do indeed have qerqaia’an ready and to go ahead and ring the doorbell.

Every year people are beginning to celebrate Qerqaia’an earlier and earlier and the celebration usually starts half an hour after iftar time which falls at sunset. The amount of passing children vary from one neighbourhood and area to another but we do get a few knocks of eager screaming children. This year I was especially blown away by surprise when one group of children who actually knocked screaming “Danderma Danderma”! Which was quite funny really! I asked them to sing and told them I will take a video of them singing while I distribute the candy, you can get an idea

So cute, no? Those are my neighbour’s kids whom I’ve seen before riding a carriage for a birthday, I posted about the carriage and the kids came back screaming Danderma I’m not sure if I’ve posted about them before or not? I should have! Anyways, welcome dear neighbours kids, please return back for every qerqaia’a, you made me truly happy!

Now this year let me show you the qerqaia’an I got, both from friends and/or well-wishing businesses around Kuwait. Lets starts with friends, the lovely Swera delivered baby Jojo’s qerqaia’an right to my couch where I was laying, dazed and hungry, one Ramadan afternoon, wrapped up in my comfy blanket and fighting the urge to sleep until iftar time.

Cute baby Jana was smiling in the card attached to the qerqaia’an box, wearing a traditional qerqaia’an dress herself. I loved how simple and to the point the qerqaia’an was, it can sometime get out of hand trying to impress people but I always care more about the chocolate of the qerqaia’an that I devour during my post-iftar tea time rather than the overall look and Swera’s qerqaia’an chocolates hit the spot just right.

Another gorgeous qerqaia’an I got was from the lovely Jumana for baby yousef’s qerqaia’n! Again simple and to the point with a great selection of chocolates plus one surprising twist: a kinder chocolate box with a sticker of Baby Yousef’s face on it! How innovative! I loved this qerqaia’an idea

Our fellow blogger Nafnoof who happens to be also the owner of Tiny’s Nail Spa sent over a jar of sugar coated almonds. We call them “Baith el Sa’aw” as in the eggs of a bird called Sa’aw and those that came with Tiny’s qerqaia’an were especially delicious! Yum! Thank you Nafnoof!

Costa Coffee of Kuwait sent over quite an interesting qerqaia’an themselves! A bag with a long cylinder, a cord with a pull me tag, and instructions on how to turn that cylinder filled with chocolates into a lamp complete with a miniature electric candle glowing green.

Very different indeed! Thank you Costa!

The diet centre also sent over a qerqaia’an gift of a pillow, topped by a round tin, and a wrapped book with a wooden spoon attached to it.

Inside the tin was a collection of healthy and low calorie Ramadan desserts plus dried fruits. The book was a healthy Ramadan cookbook by chef Hanouf Al-Balahn and cook Fawaz Al-Omaim which is very useful in case you were out of ideas for iftar or suhoor meals. Also, the beautiful pictures in the book were shot by our fellow blogger the artistic Journey Kitchen. A job well done Kulsum dear, keep up the good work! Thank you Diet Centre.

Last but not least was the Smartwood Furniture Factory qerqaia’an. Last year their qerqaia’n was a teeny wardrobe that was incredibly cute and perfectly manufactured. This year their qerqaia’an is a sleek wooden tray filled with quirky items from a time long past by Smartwood Furniture Factory! Very funky yet quite useful. Last year their qerqaia’an was a mini wardrobe.

Inside the tray was an old Kuwaiti lantern (sraay), a black abaya (cloak), a loofa with a black pumice stone, a jar of a favourite old-times sweet of mine called Barmait, a small tea pot, with kohl, the magic lipstick, henna powder, and dairam sticks. Thank you very much Smartwood!

And with this we conclude the qerqaia’an of Ramadan 2014! I’m going to miss the happy spirit of qerqaia’an! Thanks to everyone who remembered me this year, wishing you many happy returns

 

Do You Use Google+ ?

On the very last page of the #Room753 Bloggers Trip to Queensland, Australia itinerary there were a few conditions regarding the minimum number of posts per day regarding the trip using the proper hashtags across different social media channels. Conditions like “3 posts daily on Instagram, a post daily on twitter and Facebook” were easily met. However, I did notice they had a condition to post daily on a social media channel I’ve never heard of, let alone used before, called “Google+”. Apparently its used widely in Australia and across the world, for the other bloggers of #Room753 were using it to conduct meetings even after the end of their trip experience.

I personally don’t know anyone who uses Google+, and I had to admit that I barely log into my Facebook account anymore, the same goes for my foursquare account. I’m recently growing accustomed to using Twitter again especially after the suffocating political wave has receded a bit, buts its mostly instagram and the blog I’m using and even when I type in my blog and update my readers Kuwaitis would go “Shakhbari! Who reads blog anymore? Why don’t you quit!”. Because social media usage in Kuwait is subject to habbas, or trends, like everything else in our society, the trend is now to ogle fashionistas on instagram and make silly faces in the privacy of your snap chat contacts, hoping beyond hope that nothing you post over snap chat is actually saved somewhere. If you are to follow the Kuwaiti trends, then all you need to make it these days is instagram. If you are thinking on a more global scale, you would realise that though instagram has swept the social media audience off their frets, there are many other applications that are used and are quite popular all around the world.

Tumblr, for example, was a favourite of mine during a phase I’ve gone through earlier this year. I believe I’ve previewed the entire Sherlock series on Tumblr via moving GIFs before I even watched the series and I even stooped to the level of using the word “feels”, I was so horrified that I made myself stop. I love pin interest and it is quite interesting indeed but I barely have time to post anything there, I also was never very big on youtube postings but I realised it makes my life easier if I simply imbed videos I’ve uploaded on youtube to my blog so I’m beginning to post there, and after the last #Room753 Skype session when I returned to Kuwait I promised to check Google+ and here I am, staring at the screens and feeling very lonely indeed.

My point being, just because a social media channel is no longer popular in Kuwait doesn’t mean its time to neglect it like it never happened. Facebook is still strong all over the world, Twitter is still changing people’s lives everyday, and blogs are as interesting as they’ve always been, you just have to look a little bit harder and perhaps surrender to the fact that you might not find as many Kuwaiti blogs around as they used to be, which is both a blessing and a curse for the ones who might still be around are not posting recycled material in hopes of “making it big”. Keep the faith, keep doing what you are doing, and if you are on Google+ would you please let me know what the fuss is all about :p

The King & I at the Qpac, Brisbane

When I first received the itinerary for my #Room753 bloggers trip to Queensland, Australia I was especially excited by the prospect of one activity that falls at the end of Day 5 of my trip. I was booked tickets to go see the theatre show “The King and I” and there is nothing I like more than shows and performances. My excitement built up with every passing day, especially when I was asked what I was going to do by Australian people -and they are always friendly and asking after your trip even if you are just a stranger walking into a shop- and whenever I’d go “see King and I” they’d gasp and rave about it. 

After walking through the market earlier that morning one fine day in May, I crossed the bridge over to the south bank of the Brisbane river and went into the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Qpac) to pick up our tickets for tonight. The tickets took a while to find, apparently they were booked under the name “Nada Danderman”, but once they were found we were taken on a spur-of-the-moment mini tour of the Qpac building by Ms. Cindy Ullrich the publicity manager of Qpac.

The Qpac building is awesome! Modern like almost every other building around Brisbane and even thought it was built around 30 years ago it was grand and accommodated the crowds that filed in to watch the show really well, exactly like the theatres around Kuwait or what’s left of them anyway.

It felt really good, to dress up that night and waltz into the Qpac among other dressed up and happy theatre-goers, eager to watch the show and have a good time. Very cosmopolitan indeed. There was an outdoors area/cafe lit up with lights and people were hanging there waiting for the show to start.

Once we were inside there was also a big section for theatre drinks and munchies. We didn’t stop there though, it wasn’t very crowded for people were on time and already filing into the theatre but we were planning on having dinner afterwards and didn’t want to fill up on snacks.

We ourselves went inside the theatre and directly to our seat very smoothly, the doors were organised to enable easy access and there were many of them. We had good seats, smack in the middle of the theatre, and when we sat down beside two elderly couples they smiled and greeted us warmly. Photography wasn’t allowed inside the theatre or during the show but I did take this snap of the curtain before it opened up, there were some men holding burning torches and incense was burning away and right on time, the show started and there was barely time to blink, let alone pause to take a picture.

What can I say about the show? Dazzling? Mystifying? There was a lot of characters, a lot of lavish bling and the production was indeed legendary as the show’s pamphlet had put it. I suppose I was lucky to have my visit coincide with the tour of the King and I, I especially loved the performance of the King of Siam played by Teddy Tahu Rhodes and the Anna was played by the first lady of Australian musical theatre, Lisa McCune.

The play was long but quite delightful and it passed by in a blink, before you knew it it was over and the curtains where back down. We were dazzled and in a really, really good and happy mood. Once the play was over the nice elderly couple sitting beside us turned to us and asked if we liked the play or not. Dear sir and madame, the show was one of the best I’ve ever seen and I enjoyed it beyond my wildest dreams.

The theatre emptied up quickly and swiftly and before we knew it we were walking outside next to the restaurants in the South bank area of Brisbane. Because it was late the restaurants were either closed or closing down but we didn’t mind just walking about, enjoying the happy buzz we took with us from the play.

If you are ever in Brisbane do check out what is currently performing at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Qpac). I saw a production of Shadowland scheduled to show there and had I the time I would have booked tickets to go watch it as well. For more information about Qpac you can check their webstie (link) or follow them on Twitter (@Qpac).

Mamma’s Kitchen Kale Ice Cream

At the start of the holy month of Ramadan I got a call from Mamma’s Kitchen asking me to choose two ice cream flavours from their range of homemade ice creams and they will be sent to me to try. While reciting the flavours, I noticed quite an unusual combination: Kale, banana, and blueberry ice cream! I don’t know about you but I couldn’t miss the chance to try that combination! You wouldn’t think kale would make it into ice cream now, would you? Plus, kale and blueberries together as a flavour would make one hell of a detoxifying ice cream, no?

The other ice cream flavour that I’ve chosen was a no brainer, the Alphonso mango there was and I chose it without a blink of hesitation. With the Alphonso mango season already over I felt I needed something to stay with me as a reminder and keep me company until the season is back by god’s will and alphonso mango ice cream it was.

What do you think a Kale ice cream would look like? I thought it was dark green but it turned out a light green colour with swirls of purple and yellow for the banana and blueberry.

The moment of truth, to be frank I was wary of trying the kale ice cream on its own so I’ve decided to scoop it with the mango together in one serving dish.

Lets talk about the alphonso mango first, I don’t think there was any sugar added to the ice creams when made therefore it wasn’t very sugary. It was cold, creamy, and quite refreshing but the taste of alphonso mango was quite subtle, it is an ice cream and not a sorbet after all. The kale ice cream’s flavour was overpowering in the dish though, how did the kale ice cream taste like you ask?

Hmmm… how do I put it? The blueberries flavour was almost undetectable. You would think the kale would be a bit bitter or horrible tasting in an ice cream but it wasn’t, not at all. It added a peculiar edge to the overall flavour of ice cream but not in a bad way, it was quite nice actually.

My problem with the kale ice cream was the banana! I love banana, I live for banofees and banana cream pies, but I really cannot stand banana ice cream. I remembered that fact when I put a spoonful of the ice cream in my mouth to try and I was reassured it wasn’t some childhood flavour hangup, I really do not like the flavour of banana ice cream which in this case was a bit dominant over the kale and blueberries. When I posted about the kale banana blueberry ice cream on instagram I got comments from my followers that they loved the kale ice cream, it is not as weird or horrible as you’d think but you must like banana ice cream beforehand in order to like that one. It is not for everyone, I can give you that.

Would I try kale in ice cream again? Absolutely! Perhaps in a kale, blueberry, and watermelon ice cream or a kale, raspberry, and apricot ice cream rather than a banana ice cream but I didn’t mind it much, not as much as I mind eating real actual kale itself that is. If you are adventurous or looking into trying kale in a way you’ve never had before I would recommend you try Mamma’s Kitchen’s kale, banana, and blueberry ice cream.

Thank you Mamma’s Kitchen for the sweet and refreshing treat. For more information about Mamma’s Kitchen’s ice creams and other dishes or to order your next tasting adventure, you can contact them by calling +(965)-94444911 or following them on instagram (@mammaskitchen_kw).

Lunch at Aria Restaurant, Brisbane

The second activity on our #Room753 Bloggers Trip to Queensland itinerary for day 5 was a confirmed lunch at Aria restaurant for 1 P.M. and that’s why I didn’t allow myself to pig out at the Farmers Market earlier that morning. After we browsed the market and picked up our tickets for that very night’s performance of The King & I, post coming soon, we headed back to Sofitel Hotel Brisbane to pray and freshen up before heading back out and walking towards lunch at Aria, a contemporary Australian restaurant co-owned and operated by Chef Matt Moran.

Aria is located at the Eagle Street Pier centre, a white complex of different restaurants and shops overlooking the Brisbane River that looks simply spectacular at night and I’ve been to twice already, once at night to enjoy the view of the Story Bridge and another while walking with Ms. Sue Norman from Brisbane Greeter’s. Aria occupies a fine prime location and is shaped like a big round disc with big glass windows overlooking the Brisbane river and insuring that every single table inside had a view of the river as well.

When we arrived for lunch we were greeted warmly at the door and lead to our table at once. Aria wasn’t very busy, not as busy as it was at night when we passed by and found the place buzzing with chatting diners, but it was nice and peaceful with business-type diners enjoying their lunch. The Brisbane stock exchange is just next door after all. Would you look at that view? How gorgeous is that?

Aria’s interior was modern, very chic, very pristine, with polite immaculate waiters and white table cloths on that table. Its the kind of establishment where you’d want to go and meet the future in-laws for the first time and make a good impression or to celebrate an occasion. Did I mention the view? I showed you already but in reality it was even more striking especially when a gigantic black angry cloud loomed over the story bridge and I adore those gigantic angry black thunderous clouds. It didn’t rain though, sadly.

We sat down and we were handed the menus immediately. The menu wasn’t that big, two pages, with one fish, poultry, meat, and vegetarian options each for starters and another one option of each for mains. It didn’t take us long to decide on an order, I had the vegetarian options while my husband decided to try the fish.

Once we placed our orders the menus disappeared and two wooden planks with pickled pineapples, nuts, and crackers made it to our table as nibbles. I especially loved the pickled pineapple and the overall presentation, I tried not to take too many pictures, it is a posh restaurant after all, but I couldn’t help it.

We also got served some really fresh, really wholesome pieces of bread with butter and the bread had some herb in it that gave it quite a kick. Caraway seed was it? I couldn’t place it but it was sharp and distinctive.

For starters we had the fig, rockets, and fennel salad with big shavings of parmesan. Unbelievably fresh.

Followed by my main, which is actually from the starters menu but I chose it as a main because I didn’t like the main option which was pumpkin. Look at this purple beauty: roast and pickled beetroot with quinoa, buffalo yoghurt and hazelnut pesto.

It was while I was taking pictures of the purple plate of art that I realised that Australians must really love their beetroots! You couldn’t blame them for the beetroots they grow over there were plump, juicy, and quite sweet. The overall concoction was really interesting and the portion was quite generous for a starter.

I especially enjoyed the puffs of buffalo yoghurt, they tasted like labna -yoghurt cheese- from back home which I was beginning to miss.

Also as a side dish for myself I’ve ordered a treats: truffle mashed potatoes! Needless to say the plate went back to the kitchen almost as clean as it was when first taken out of the dishwasher.

My husband had the fish main, a roast barramundi fillet with prawns, crushed peas, grapefruit, watercress and mustard puree.

At first we had to google what Barramundi was, we weren’t familiar with the name and it turned to be some sort of river fish. It was only when I was back home after the trip and watching last year’s master chef Australia and with contestant Samira’s debacle with the Barramundi that I realised it must be really popular in Australia, kinda like Zbaidi fish is to us in Kuwait.

My husband polished off his dish and announced he loved it, the Barramundi fillet was delicious and without one single fish bone, which is one of the reasons I avoid fish at all costs. When I was forced to eat fish as a child I hated finding pieces of fishbones pocking me as I ate and when I complained my paren’t would go “no try this fish there is not bone inside” and I’d try it and lo and behold, another fishbone poke. Oh and I couldn’t resist and stole half the peas off my husbands plate, the looked too green and vibrant not to try and they the best peas ever!

By the time we were done we decided to skip dessert and go have a walk outside, the weather was gorgeous, but a complimentary dessert plank was placed in front of us and we couldn’t not have dessert now, could we? Did I mention that I’m in love with the wooden planks of Aria? I wish I couldn’t have raided their kitchen and taken a couple of planks back home with me!

Now on this plank you see an orange truffle shaped like a Hershy’s kiss, a piece of flavoured marshmallow, and really delicious and quite light almond biscuits. That piece of orange truffle was, perhaps, the best tasting most succulent piece of chocolate I’ve tried in Australia! There should be an Aria chocolatier selling these heavenly drops, they are that good!

We had a memorable lunch at Aria on that cloudy fall afternoon. With every passing day it seems I’m missing Australia more and more. If you are in Brisbane or planning to visit Brisbane soon then stop by for lunch at Aria and enjoy the gorgeous view, the fresh delicious food, and that killer orange truffle. Aria is located at 1 Eagle Street, Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane and you can check their website using this (link).

Ghabgat Ramadan 2014 #غبقةـحضرتنا

I’ve been intending to post about my very first Ghabga of Ramadan 2014 for a few days now but unfortunately my blog was acting up a bit and I’m finally able to access everything. Anyways, last Friday we decided to gather around my apartment for a relaxed Ramdan ghabga, ghabga being the party Kuwaitis throw between the iftar and suhoor meals where women dress up in their traditional embellished dresses we call dara’a and they spend their time nibbling on yummy food and drinking an endless supply of Ramadan beverages.

My version of the ghabga is for the tired working people who just want to relax. We were dressed up all right but not to the nines and what we wore was comfy, light, and definitely loungable. We had yummy nibbles, and we decided to just lounge on the floor and watch the Ramadan series together, especially the show of the moment Saraya Abdeen.

Just before the girls arrived I had laid out cups of some easy dessert we call the Magician’s cake. Its basically layers of biscuit and liquid chocolate that is chilled in the fridge and takes absolutely no time to make at all. Perhaps one of these days I will share the recipe on my blog.

Of course there was tea and tea was the first thing to be drank and finish up during the ghabga. You can never have enough tea during the holy month of Ramadan.

Next to the tea was this box of little flavoured waters we use with the tea like Palm Tree Water (leqqa7) and rose water among others. Have I ever explained about those waters we add to flavour our drinking water and beverages before? No? Then I might as well add it to the list of future posts. Tea with palm water is just too good not to post about. Yum!

What else? I went to the Danish bakery to pick up a tray of mini sandwiches that I’ve ordered just for the occasion, the theme was finger food given that people are usually too full after iftar to want to eat something heavy. While waiting I found these freshly made warbat desserts, triangles of folded and fried filo pastry filled with cream and topped with sugar syrup and ground pistachios. I’m not really that fond of warbat but I couldn’t resist purchasing those, they were simply glowing!

From the Danish bakery I also got a box of luqaimat (fried dough balls dipped in sugar syrup) and tiny atayef (folded pan-cake like dough stuffed with cream or cheese, fried, then dowsed in sugar syrup and ground pistachios). All three stood proudly waiting for my guests in their three tired stand next to my tea tray.

Yummy!

We also had another three tired platter filled with teeny tiny pizza qaisar, which was the first to disappear entirely off the table by the way, plus delicious stuffed vine leaves from Wow.

Oh and here’s the platter of tiny bite-sized sandwiches from The Danish Bakery! They were stuffed with foul (fava beans), labna, cheese and chutney, aubergines, spinach, potatoes, cheese and rocket, and I think also chicken.

My table was ready, a bottle of chilled water was also waiting, Arabian coffee was boiling in its machine, and incense was burning. At 8:30 P.M. on the dot my friends arrived, each bringing joy to my little apartment.

No one arrives at a ghabga empty handed. My dear friend Pink Girl arrived with a bag from Chocolate & Macaroon.

Inside was a box of muhallabiya and qamar deen dessert topped with candyfloss and ground pistachios! They sure did look stunning.

However after tasting them I think the grainy texture of the pudding meant it was ruz eb laban (rice pudding) and not muhallabiya. If you are a fan of ruz ib laban you would want to try them out yourself.

My friend Jacqui arrived with a bit round Kunafa from Kunafat jeddi and I was seriously craving Kunafa! Look how luminous it was, and so very good

Last but not least was my friend Swera‘s amazing pistachio yoghurt cake that she ordered days before from Pick and finally did manage to have it delivered for that day. If you didn’t know already, this pistachio yoghurt cake is sold out for days in advance and is simply impossible to order for its currently the number one cake in all ghabgas in Kuwait.

And believe it or not, because it was melting by the time we were done cutting and photographing it and we decided to put it back in its cool box until we are done with the savoury nibbles, I forgot all about it and did not try it myself! Yes, it was inches from my hand, there was plenty of it, and yet I didn’t get to try it! Now I’m afraid I will have to wait until the end of Ramadan until it becomes available again for order.

Oh and needless to say, we drank our Arabian coffee by he cup, not by the tiny fenian like normal people do :p

It was an amazing night at home with friends, a relaxed and long waited ghabga where we ate and laughed and talked and watched Saraya Abdeen show together. We also took endless pictures and decided to use the hashtag #غبقةـحضرتنا to refer to the way the actress Yusra talks in the TV series. Always a pleasure having you guys at my place.

Would You Use a Tester’s Lipstick?

Though I’m not much of a makeup fan I do stock up on makeup every now on then as the need arises and the trends sway. The latest trend being the Maleficent makeup by Mac which was sold out all over the world and was restocked once by Mac in Kuwait but by the time I went it was all sold out again. If you were lucky you’d come across an almost empty lipstick with a bit of remnant Maleficent red that you could try but that’s about as far as you’d go with trying on Maleficent’s makeup. 

Which brings me to the centre of this topic, now if you are going to try a lipstick tester, how would you try it on exactly?

All my life I’ve tried shades of lipsticks by smearing tester lipstick on the back of my hand. Never before did I ever think it was appropriate to lift up the tester lipstick to my lips and just “try it” by coating my lips with the colour and smacking them in front of the mirror together for a final touch. I never thought people did that in the first place, I personally thought all humans trying tester lipstick on face of planet earth used to do so by applying the colour to the back of their hands like I do.

Until one day, I was in a makeup store, and there was this lady painting her lips in glee, it kinda brought back memories of Ursula the sea witch from the little mermaid painting her lips by squeezing a sea creature then tossing him away! I was appalled, then disgusted. It is one thing touching the lipstick to your skin, disgusting enough that it will be touching several skins, and its a totally different thing to having that lipstick touch your lips, and your saliva, and god knows what food particles that had just passed through! Could you get sick by trying on lipstick? If that lady had the flu that most likely every single woman who used the lipstick on her lips afterwards g63 would have the flu for sure!

Am I paranoid? Has it always been this way, women trying on lipstick by applying it directly to their lips? How do you try on a lipstick tester in a store before purchasing it? To be frank after I’ve seen that lady try it on I’ve been reluctant even to try tester lipstick on the back of my hand. What do you think?

Brisbane’s Farmers Market

When we woke up on Day 5 of our #Room753 blogger’s trip to Queensland, Australia we realised we had a busy itinerary for the day and it started early. Because I love farmers markets so much, the first thing I was going to do that morning was to take a stroll in Brisbane’s very own Jan Powers farmers market which is held every Wednesday from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. 

Because the Jan Power farmers market is located at the very end of Queens Street at Brisbane’s Square, which is a short walk from Softiel Brisbane where we were staying, we decided to have a relaxed morning stroll after breakfast in Queens street until we reached the market. Because it was early morning the market wasn’t very busy yet but by 10 A.M. every single vendor and booth were open and ready for business.

Was it a coincidence to come upon a bagel booth on the very first moment of my walking into the market? It made me feel both very familiar and very homesick, for I remembered the farmers markets back home that I love. I didn’t linger long at the bagels booth, there were plenty more to see around.

A farmers market it was indeed! There were endless booths selling the freshest of Australian produce! If I wanted a pineapple I could have gotten hundreds of them from several different farms around the market!

There were also several juice stands and yoghurt with fruits booths around, I almost kicked myself for already having breakfast before coming to the market.

How good do those strawberries look?

Or those seedless watermelon wedges? I’d love to sink my teeth into one right now!

I now realise that I’ve met the now famous trendy red bananas back in Australia!

OMG! I wanted to dive right into the very bottom of that pile of grapes! I adore grapes

Oh and you could see bunches of flowers everywhere too! Bright, fresh flowers full of life and beauty.

The bakeries! Don’t get me talking about the bakeries! They were heartbreakers! With huge loaves of bread, voluptuous sandwiches spilling over with their ingredients, and cake stacks as tall as myself. In various bakeries you could also buy yourself some fresh pastas and in almost all bakeries, you can find an acrylic screen between the baked goods on display and the shoppers which I personally think is a great idea. You could see but you couldn’t touch yourself or contaminate the food on display with whatever is flying by from the crowds.

That’s the famous Australian cake, the lamington, whose story I posted about in the Brisbane Greeters Tour post.

Also in the market I came upon those colourful Turkish ceramic bowls and plates, in every size and colour combination possible. The seller was indeed from Turkey and he was very friendly. I fell in love with lime green ceramic bowls but I knew I couldn’t travel around Queensland without the risk of breaking them. I still had nine days till my flight back home!

On a paleo diet? These munchies would suit your life style for sure.

I came upon a both making fresh popcorn in different flavours right then and there, oh how I love popcorn

Cornish pasties? Now this feels like I was back in London!

I had a great time at the Jan Powers farmers market in Brisbane. It was getting a bit busy as the day progressed but still quite enjoyable. Shoppers were quite organised and sellers knew how to handle the shoppers request in an orderly manner. It wasn’t much different from the farmers markets back home except for the selection of produce available of course and the shoppers were more laid back and relaxed and quite orderly. Now I regret not getting those huge loaves of bread and brining them back home with me.

Jan Powers Farmers Market is held every Wednesday at the George Street end of Queens Street in Brisbane. If you are lucky to be in Brisbane on a Wednesday, do give them a visit and, trust me on this one, go with an empty stomach!

The Suhoor Meals of Ramadan 2014

I once heard a respected Kuwaiti dietitian lecturing about eating the suhoor meal during the holy month of Ramadan and how if you eat a huge meal for suhoor it will somehow make you hungry during your fast while if you eat a really light one you will be much less hungry during your fast. I’ve never been too big about suhoor, in my youth I skipped it all together for I never felt that much hunger before going to bed and there was no way on earth that I’d wake up in the middle of the night to eat something before going back to sleep therefore I have no problem with having a light suhoor per say and I make sure its as light as it can be and involves some dairy product like yoghurt or laban drink (buttermilk). Let me share with you what I’ve been having for suhoor this Ramadan so far and if you have any ideas for something light and satisfying, please do share!

Because its summer and the season for watermelons, which are juicy and high on water content, they’ve been a regular on my dinner and now suhoor menu. I love to have chunks of watermelons topped with low fat greek yoghurt and crushed unsalted nuts. I’ve added a handful of blueberries the other day and the dish of goodness became even more delicious! Highly recommended and you will definitely not feel much thirst the day after.

Another favourite suhoor of mine, which I don’t have very often because it contains milk but I absolutely love, is a box of fitness cereal with some semi-skimmed milk and a banana. Again, you won’t feel much hunger or thirst the next day probably because of the presence of the banana but it is indeed high on my list of favourite suhoors.

Another favourite suhoor of mine is a bowl of half a cup of boiled chickpeas with half a cup of low fat yoghurt, preferably greek yoghurt. Boiled chickpeas are available in all local co-ops in Kuwait and I get mine from them, never canned. This time I added some pomegranates to add a touch of sweetness and they were indeed awesome. You can add a squeeze of lemon and some ground cumin as well for extra taste, if it weren’t Ramadan I would have added a handful of chopped parsley but I don’t fancy picking up my teeth for hours afterwards.

One of my dear friends Habooshi decided to send me a suhoor meal neqsa this Ramadan. Hers were mini foul sandwiches, foul being mashed fava beans cooked with spices and tomatoes. I love foul

She also sent me a big plate of balaleet, a traditional Kuwaiti dish of sweet vermicelli cooked with sugar and saffron and topped with omelette style eggs. Thanks be to god, I was never a fan of balaleet or I’d be 20 kilos heavier! I do love the eggs on top though but I don’t eat eggs during the month of Ramadan, they somehow make me sick during iftar time -god knows why!-. My husband adores balaleet and he polished off that plate in no time. Thank you lovely habooshi :*

If I’m on the go, which thankfully this year I am not, I usually have a frozen yoghurt parfait with granola and berries. It takes a few minutes to purchase and you can have it from almost any corner around Kuwait these days. The country is studded with frozen yoghurt outlets!

Another favourite suhoor item of mine especially during the weekend is two pieces of whole wheat toast topped with labna plus slice of green olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mint leaves with a cup of decaf Nescafe made with skim milk. I make this when I miss breakfast so its like having breakfast for suhoor kinda meal. Another combo I love is a Mozzarella sandwich but I might leave that to another post later on in the holy month.

Last but not least this was my suhoor last night. I was in Sultan Center when I found a few remaining alphonso mangoes. I smelled one and it almost brought tears to my eyes as I realised the season was over. I didn’t hesitate however, I grabbed the fragrant mango and took it home with me for a suhoor bowl of granola, nuts, low fat greek yoghurt, and fat juicy chunks of alphonso mango

What about you? What are you having for suhoor? Dishes that are light and will keep your hunger and thirst on check for as long as possible?

The Palm Palace Restaurant Iftar

Remember when I posted about a singing invitation card from The Palm Palace Lebanese restaurant that arrived on the very first days of the holy month of Ramadan? The one that played the jingle from the 80′s ad?

Given that I am knackered fasting in this weather -today it’s like a sauna outside, humid and hot!- I didn’t venture out of the house except to go to work and once to visit relatives, therefore I chose to use my voucher to order Saturday’s iftar. We called Palm Palace at around 4:30 P.M. and placed our orders, they told us the food will be delivered at 6:15 P.M. which is just fine given that sunset is at 6:51 P.M. I then watched TV, set the table, and prepared my camera for the arrival of the food.

The food delivery was running late, considering the state of the streets of Kuwait before iftar time I was almost expecting it. By the time the clock read 6:40 I’ve decided to get a glass of ice cubes and lemon slices and fill it up with diet coke to accompany my meal. My husband ordered a Laban (buttermilk) drink from The Palm Palace so the diet coke was just for me and it was so cold and fizzing with bubbles.

It took a while for the food to arrive, actually it arrived exactly at 6:51 P.M. as my husband was on his way out to the mosque. For a moment I was worried the food won’t arrive at all and that I was going to have nothing to show for our iftar meal except empty plates with dates and water but thankfully my anxiety was subdued by the sight of those familiar white and green food boxes.

I wasted no time plating the food on serving plates and making little mezze plates from the orders. I believe the best and most delicious thing about Lebanese, or all shami cuisines that is, the the vast selection of delicious and fresh mezze on the menu. Now lets see, there were fried kubbeh balls and stuffed vines leaves, plus endless bags of fresh pita bread.

We also ordered the staples: hummus, moutabbal, tabbouleh, and fattouch.

For main dishes we ordered two selection of arayes: cheese arayes and meat arayes. Arayes being pita bread stuffed with a mix of cheese or meat and grilled on coals and are very delicious -the cheese ones-.

And for my husband the mix grill platter.

We also ordered the dish of the day which is Kibbeh bel laban, I personally love the tangy yoghurt sauce of the kibbeh and usually mix it with the rice, if I could find a space in my stomach after polishing off the mezze that is.

While I was plating up the dishes, our stray cat Aanzaroot was mewing her head off and trying to break into the house and jump on the food. After she realised she wasn’t going to come inside she decided to wait at the door, given me hungry cat eyes and mewing softly to let me know she was there and she wanted some food -even though she had already eaten lunch!-.

Finally, iftar was served and all I had to do was wait for my husband to return from prayers. The food smelled so so good.

And while waiting I fed the cat some chicken tawooq and a piece of meat. She gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow. Poor aanzaroot

The Palm Palace Restaurant are also famous since the 80′s for their labneh, which is like spreadable yoghurt cheese. We ordered the labneh for our suhoor meal, I love labneh sandwiches for suhoor.

Now how was our iftar experience?

Well, the delivery was really late but you can excuse them for they couldn’t control pre-iftar traffic and I know for a fact that they have one of the fastest delivery services around Kuwait, usually under 30 minutes on normal days. However, they did forget the Laban drink. The also don’t deliver any kind of desserts which would have been lovely as after iftar treat since you are ordering in.

Food wise, everything was fresh, clean, light and not heavy at all, and really delicious. Even though they delivery was late the food was hot and ready to eat right away and the portions were generous and could easily feed five or six diners. The meats were grilled to perfection and I did enjoy my cheese arayes and mixing the tangy laban sauce with the fluffy rice. One thing I didn’t like at all however and that was the stuffed vine leaves. They were quite different than what I usually order and they tasted really weird, perhaps its only that time to my luck because I don’t remember them tasting that way before. Overall, I’d recommend you either join them for their iftar buffet at their restaurant or, if you don’t feel like going out, order the food in for suhoor time.

Thank you The Palm Palace Restaurant for a lovely iftar meal. The Palm Palace Restaurant was fully renovated just a little while back and serve both an iftar and a suhoor meals, buffet style at their restaurant in Salmiya, Hamad Al-Mubarak Street. For more information you can give them a call at +(965)-25756331 or follow them on instagram (@PalmPalaceRestaurant).