Danderma's Blog, page 15

My Ramadan Tea Time Treats

If you’ve tried fasting before you’d know that the iftar meal when you break your fast isn’t the real target meal of your long day, rather, its imagining the moment when you finally sit in front of caffeinated drinks alongside desserts that keeps you going throughout the day! Everyone I know mumbles about iftar but raves about their tea time and because I have a tradition of celebrating my “Kubbayat el Shay” time I tend to post about it on daily basis on instagram. Now let me show you who and what sponsored my favourite time of the day during the first week of Ramadan 1435-2014:

First day it was the chocolate molten cake from the Gathering. The chocolate aroma wafting off the cake was maddening, I knew it was swimming in a pool of thick liquid chocolate and is topped with chunks of white chocolate. Needless to say we couldn’t wait until iftar time to deal with this fine luscious thing.

 

Not only was this cake delicious, it also came with a realisation: if you want to wake up properly after the hibernation of your fast throughout the day, eat chocolate. Its chocolate, and a proper amount of chocolate, that will wake you up properly. Not a flask of Arabian coffee, nor another flask of strong black tea will even come close. With that realisation, we drank the liquid chocolate with Arabian coffee as liquid mocha shot in the tiny coffee cups, we’ve drizzled fruits with the chocolate, we’ve dipped our fingers, and then licked the spoons clean. Here is an expressive video, highly recommended. Thank you The Gathering for this amazing concoction, mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah.

On the second day this lovely bowl from Al-yasra fashion that matched my Ramadan decorations perfectly!

Inside was a fine collection of modern Arabian sweets, some dipped in chocolate others made with date. A piece or two of these lovelies make a fine companion to a cup of Arabian coffee especially if you are on the go during Ramadan. Thank you @Alyasra fashion, mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah.

The next day there was a white box from The Time Tea Lounge that arrived just before iftar time.

Inside was an endless supply of chocolate squares, I couldn’t wait until tea time to dig into one.

At first I thought it was some kind of burnt caramel with chocolate and biscuits but it turned out to be salted caramel bites. The caramel is good and intense and the overall mix tastes somehow like “sahaoon” which is like crisp toffee discs with pistachios that my mom used to make when we were little, or like the crispy centre in the daim chocolates, same taste but liquid consistency. Thank you The Time Tea Lounge for the yummy squares, mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Also on the same day came a box of granola bites from Mama’s Eat and Glow.

Do you remember the post about their healthy basket from a couple of months back, in the basket there were granola bars? Well, these are the very same bars but are now bites sized and arrive in three flavours per pack. You can also mix and match granola bites and healthy truffles per pack, which they call the “neqsa” box.

The three flavours I got were the chocolate, the rose, and the pecan granola bites.

My favourite was, and still is, the rose granola bites. I’ve stated before that the rose bar tastes somehow like “Ramadan” and now that its actually the holy month of Ramadan, the fresh rose granola bars are just the thing to have after iftar with your tea or, in my case, during suhoor with a cup of tangy laban (buttermilk) or a cup of decaf latte and for some weird reason it goes really well with a cup of Nescafe, perhaps because Nescafe is like a comfort childhood food to me? I’m not sure, but I’m quite thankful for this delicious and healthy Ramadan treat from Eat & Glow, thank you guys! Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Lurking in the freezer, waiting for the right moment, were two boxes of fresh ice creams from Mama’s Kitchen! I was sent two flavours: one alphonso mango and another is “blueberry, banana, and kale”! Yes, Kale ice cream and I will talking about those two flavours in a post of their own soon. Thank you Mama’s Kitchen! Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Last but not least, was something that arrived just as I was setting up the iftar table yesterday, day four of the holy month of Ramadan. It was a big white box from Little Treats bakery.

Inside the white box was a big gooey chocolate tart! Now remember what I told you about chocolate? Its your best friend after iftar and I couldn’t be happier with the arrival of this chocolate tart.

The chocolate tart was scrumptious! I personally do not eat tart bases but I scraped off the topping and had it with a side of juice blueberries and had myself a chocolate-wakeup moment. The tart was amazing! Thank you Little Treats bakery, Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

And this concludes my first week of pigging out during the post iftar tea time in the holy month of Ramadan. No wonder I never seem to lost weight while fasting! Oh well, diet starts on Sunday.

Dinner at The Euro, Brisbinae

After the exciting and frankly quite exhilarating trip to see the Koalas in Lone Pine Sanctuary, we returned to the Sofitel Brisbane by taxi and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. However, our #Room753 blogger’s trip itinerary wasn’t done yet for day four of our visit, for we had dinner reservations at 6:30 P.M. at The Euro, a chic European style brasserie that belongs to the Urban Restaurant family, a renowned and award winning restaurant in Australia. 

The restaurant wasn’t that far from the hotel but since we thought it was far we took a taxi as recommended in the itinerary. 6:30 P.M. on the dot and I was out on the pavement, taking one picture after the other of the restaurant’s entrance: plenty of metal, quite detailed and coloured glass. Very modern and very beautiful indeed.

The restaurants awards where evident on the glass door, and you could also see the distinctive interior of the restaurant. Metals, brick walls, wooden details, and gorgeous colourful light fixtures.

We were seated in a matter of seconds and warmly welcomed. The restaurant wasn’t very busy at first but then as the time passed the almost all the tables were full and buzzing with chatting diners. As we read the menu we were asked about our drinks and we asked for some refreshing virgin fruit cocktails. Mine came all lemony and minty and was just what I needed after a long happy day.

The menu wasn’t very large but thankfully there were enough vegetarian options for the both of us dining that night. We placed our orders and a short while later a freshly baked piece of bread with olive oil was brought to our table for us to nibble on until the food arrived, which thankfully didn’t take long. We were famished!

My husband started with the “Pumpkin veloute, herb crème fraiche, and roasted pumpkin” which in texture resembled a pumpkin soup or perhaps a heavy-ish pumpkin dip.

The pumpkin dish arrived with a side of really delicious crackers.

My starter was a “Heirloom baby beetroot, Milawa chèvre, pickled onion, and beetroot puree” and up until that point I didn’t know that Australians are very fond of beetroots, which were extremely fresh by the way.

For a main dish my husband got the “Mushroom pearl barley with goats cheese, tempeh crumb, and sautéed mushrooms” which perhaps doesn’t look -or sound- that appetising to diners, not like a juicy stake would to carnivores that is, but it was hands down the best tasting dish of the night! Really creamy and with different contrasting textures all blended with the earthy taste of mushrooms.

My main dish was the pasta, tagliatelle with swiss brown mushrooms topped with parmesan cheese. Less adventurous but taste wise it was really good and quite comforting.

Nothing like pasta to bring warmth back to your heart

And my husband also ordered his comfort food, shoestring fries with aioli.

By the time we were done eating we were too full to order dessert and quite sleepy as well, all we wanted to o was to walk back to the hotel and crash until the next day. We did have a great time, the atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed and happy, cool and laid back yet not pretentious, and the food was good and wholesome.

Now if you are ever in Brisbane and looking for a good meal, you can pass by the Euro which is located at 181 Mary street. For more information you can check their website (link).

The Gifts of Ramadan 2014

To celebrate the arrival of the Holy month of Ramadan many people exchange gifts with each other and if not gifts, then at least a food item “neqsa” during the two main meals of the day “iftar” or “suhoor”. When I was a child I lived in a loving neighbourhood where neqsas between neighbours was common and there wouldn’t be a day passing without some neighbour sending out a neqsa in our direction, my favourite always being Luqaimat or mini homemade pizzas or cheese pastries. Times have changed, and so did people, but the tradition of Ramadan’s gifts didn’t thankfully. Let me show you the gifts I got this year in order of their arrival…

First things first you’ve already read about my Ayar Perfumes acrylic dhow which is both spectacular  and beneficial. Thank you Ayar again for your lovely gift!

Then Dean & Deluca’s, yes the Dean & Deluca, sent me a gift basket chockfull of Ramadan goodies!

Inside the basket were bottles of Evoo and Balsamic vinegar, two cooking ingredients which I’m constantly out of and was about to buy for Ramadan but didn’t have to, thanks to D&D.

Also in the basket was a box of fresh baklava, a box of dates, a slab of white chocolate, and two very important ingredients for Ramadan: tea leaves and ground coffee! Thank you Dean & Deluca for a gorgeous and also quite beneficial basket! Mbarak 3lekom el shahar

And because you can never have enough perfumes around the house. Al-Marshoud Arabian Perfumes also sent me a box chockfull of perfumes plus beautiful incense. Thank you Atyab Al-Marshoud, Mbarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owwadah

Then there was a gift from Al-Salhiya Clinic, a small traditional wrapped up little pot with a greeting.

Inside the little pot was Zalabiya, which is this addictive and really delicious traditional sweet of deep fried colourful dough dipped in sugar syrup. Needless to say it didn’t last long after the picture was take -it was pre-Ramadan-. Thank you Salhiya Clinic! Mbarak 3lekom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owwadah.

Next came my very own Ramadan schedule from my beloved Jacqui, thank you lovely Jax :*

Followed by this lovely decorative bowl filled with traditional sweets from Al-Yasra fashion. Thank you Al-Yasra, Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owwadah

Boubyan Bank, sent me this walking watch plus an invitation to participate in The steps walking initiative that takes place on daily basis during the Holy Month of Ramadan from 4 PM until 5:30 PM. The idea behind the initiative is for Boubyan Bank to donate 1 KD for every five rounds walked by a participatnt and the donations go for cancer patients in Kuwait. Quite a beautiful initiative, I promise I will be passing by soon! Thank you Boubyan Bank, Project 5 Miles, and The Steps, mbarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Also, That Al-Salasil Bookstore via Ghaliah Technology sent me this cutely wrapped book inside a colourful traditional Kuwaiti dress we call thoub.

Inside was a copy of a traditional Kuwaiti cookbook by Suad Radhi. Thank you That Al-Salasil and Ghaliah Technology, Mubarak 3lekom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Kuwait Oil Company also sent me a nice Ramadan gift box.

Inside was a paper copy of the Holy Quran, A recording of the Holy Quran on a CD, A pen that can also be used on touch screens, Incense, a booklet of prayers, and a book to track your Holy Quran reading during the month of Ramadan. This is one of the best gifts I’ve received and is really very useful during the holy month of Ramadan. Thank you KOC, Mubarak 3lekom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

The Palm Restaurant also sent me an invitation/dining voucher to be used during Ramadan. Now this is not any boring old invitation, when you open it up you are met by the retro jingle from the restaurant ads in the 80′s! Very cool indeed! Thank you Palm Restaurant, Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

My dear friend Habooshi always remembers me with a gift during Ramadan and this year her gift is as gorgeous as her good soul

First things first, the tea flask

The tea flask comes with 6 tea estekanas, a traditional Kuwaiti tea cup, that are filled with crunchy munchies -seeds and nuts- that usually accompany your tea time. Also mushroom chocolates, saffron, dried fruits, and a booklet about self improvement that looks quite interesting! Thank you dearest Habooshi, embark 3leech el shahar o 3asach min 3owadah :*

And last but not least, another gift from Boubyan Bank but this time its because I’m their client and not because I’m a blogger, a big white Fauchon box sent to me by my first personal account officer Dalal Al-Mutawa.

Inside was the freshest most delicious collection of stuffed dates! Thank you dear Dalal and my bank Boubyan, Mubarak 3lekom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

Thanks to everyone who remembered me with a lovely gift in Ramadan 2014, you really and truly made my day. I’ve also had desserts sent out as Ramadan gifts but those delicious gifts will have a post of their own and will most probably be published after iftar so my dear readers don’t get hungry. Stay tuned

Ramadan 2014 Preparations

I’ve been quite busy for the past few days trying to put together what is needed to welcome the arrival of the Holy month of Ramadan. Knowing that once I’m fasting I won’t be able to be as active, the weather was 52 C hot yesterday, I tried to finish up as much as I can before the start of Ramadan with the general idea being to hide at home and never venture out except to go to work and back. Now let me show you around my humble preparations.

Now lets see, two element that define my Ramadan iftar time are Arabian Coffee and Arabian perfumes. Starting with the coffee, which is the fuel to fasting muslims in Kuwait after a long day of fasting in the smouldering heat, I usually relay on others to bring me coffee or purchase it from Dallah’s bakery. Sometimes attempting to make it at home but to all my efforts and different mixes and methods, it always turns out horrible. Even though I’ve never succeeded in making Arabian coffee the aroma it spreads around the house as it cooks slowly on the stove is maddening and very Ramadan-esque so this year I’ve set out to get me one of the newest inventions of the Arabian Coffee world: the Yatooq Automatic Arabian Coffee maker.

I know Yatooq has been there since last year but it wasn’t available per say. It was always sold out and ordering it online didn’t guarantee anything. I’m glad I waited though for I was able to get the 2nd version of Yatooq coffee maker not the first one which reportedly almost always malfunctioned according to everyone who used it. Its also available in most major Supermarkets, I’ve seen it in Saveco and Al-Salam Co-ops but I’m not sure which version I saw.

The plan was not to use Yatooq until the first day of Ramadan but my dear husband didn’t wait for me and used it on the very next day of us purchasing it. However, it produces a much better version of coffee than the one I usually make but still not the best ever Arabian coffee like my friend Habooshi’s. Yesterday after Iftar we started the coffee machine up and the aroma was maddening

Now for the second element of my definition of Ramadan. I have a huge stack of Arabian perfumes and I tend to top them up every now and then but this year I received two amazing packages from two distinctive perfumes makers in Kuwait: The Acrylic Dhow Perfumes set from Ayar Perfumes and this lovely box set from Al-Marshoud Perfumes. Thanks to both Ayar and Al-Marshoud, I am all set for the rest of Ramadan and beyond, perfumes wise.

Muslims usually break their fast with dates and water, my husband loves dates and makes sure he has a newly purchased packet of dates residing on our dining table all through Ramadan. I personally don’t like dates and wouldn’t know one kind from another so its my husband’s job to buy and prepare his own dates. We bought so many kinds this year, I don’t know why!

And because one bow of dates isn’t enough, we went to Saveco and got some more varieties of stuffed dates from a Saudi brand Al-Alwani. Some dates are individually packed and can be taken with you wherever you go, another one came in a big clear bowl that I’ve placed on my Hirfa Ramdan tray along with other hidden goodies beneath the silver and gold lids.

Last minute shopping was done last Saturday. I went to the co-op and Sultan centre during the afternoon where I thought no one would bother going, it was too hot! To my surprise, the co-op was a battle field and I barely made it out of there without strangling anyone. I did get enough food to last me two weeks so I wouldn’t have to go out again.

I also found those interesting looking foil pans that would prove useful for sending out food during Ramadan especially food that needs reheating. I hate it when people send food in their actual pans and expect you to bring them back because it is considered extremely rude to bring them back empty and whatever they are returned with must be home cooked so you can understand the predicament. Use those people, thank you!

Walking through the Avenues for a last minute shopping spree, I also found these gorgeous colourful bishts. Most women of Kuwait wear a traditional embellished dress called “Dara’a” during the holy month of Ramadan and every year dara’as made by local girlies skyrocket in prices. I don’t personally wear Dara’as but I love bishts which are like a cape you can wear over a dress or jeans and you wouldn’t look out of place. Bishts are not cheap either, but these ones I found were lovely and cost only 30 KD, 25 after haggling and 20 KD if you buy more than one.

I got me two, in my favourite colour green and in pink. You can find them in the old souk of the Avenues mall.

Of course returning home I sat down and started preparing my Ramadan samboosa, I’ve posted about them before but in case you couldn’t find them here is how I prepare the Ramadan samosas.

Oh and what is Ramadan without a version of Kuwait Mill’s newest cookbook in your hands? Yes, there is a new one that I bought as soon as I heard about and its called “Lugma” which is Arabic for one bite.

The book is in both English and Arabic languages and I had a fine pre-Ramadan weekend sifting through its recipes while sipping tea in my favourite mug and eating a melting soft ice cream sandwich.

On the first day of Ramadan, as expected, getting to and from work was a complete disaster. All roads where blocked up with cars even though I get off work one hour after all government workers do. Yesterday, it got too hot while driving my car temperature meter read 58 C! Needless to say all I can do once I return home is crash into bed and sleep off the heat stroke I’ve suffered while driving.

And with that I think I’m done! Its now the first day of July and day 3 of the holy month of Ramadan and time is sure flying fast! Traffic, heat, and thirst but the moment you break your fast you know and you feel deep down in your heart that you are thankful and blessed to be surrounded by people you love. I have a couple more posts regarding Ramadan I’m preparing, then I will be posting about other things so you don’t get very bored. Wishing you a lovely peaceful Ramadan.

My Personalised Ramadan TV Schedule

We have a Ramadan tradition of waiting for our dear Jacquies to provide us with a list of all Ramadan TV shows, with timings and broadcasting channels, and this year she didn’t disappoint at all! Not only did she provide everyone with the full Ramadan 2014 TV Schedule on her blog, she even succumbed to my whims twice and made me a 1) iPhone friendly version and 2) my very own personalised one with the shows I was intending to watch. How great is that girl? She’s my shining star if you ask me, love you Jax :*

Now here are everyone’s lists, remember that I took them from her very own blog The Couch Avenue and if you decide to share is, please do mention the source and do not attempt to remove the watermark -happened before-. Hopefully if you right click on them you will get the bigger more readable versions but if not, because my blog is acting up lately and needs some tweaking, then head over to the very source of the lists and download them from her blog post.

Oh and speaking of series this is what I think about them so far, lets start with the Kaleeji ones: I didn’t get to see Raihana, I did watch a bit of Thuraya’s but it made me fall asleep, it believe time would be the judge on that one. El3afoor was OK, I cracked a smile but it somehow felt very much like last year’s show Abu Almalayeen. I personally don’t think there is anything else worth watching and wasting my time on. I think I’d be sticking with the Egyptian shows which are all shown on MBC Masr so its the channel to stay on this Ramdan.

What else? Embratoriyat Meen is a hoot, I laughed all through yesterday’s episode. I saw only a few glimpses of Adel Imam’s show, typical Adel Imam I’d say and time would tell on that one as well. Saraya Abdeen was something else entirely, a huge production that is quite distinctive and film-like, but the episode is one and a half hours long and there are just too many languages spoken -Arabic, French, Italian, Broken Arabic in a Turkish dialect-. Plus, people are complaining about the inconsistencies in the historical facts. I believe it was meant to be something like the Turkish drama Hareem Al-Sultan but with an Arabic flair this time. All in all, I enjoyed it but I don’t think I will be watching it daily because seriously one and a half hours every day on one TV show is just too long. If I had that much time on my hands on daily basis, I’d rather be watching Sherlock instead!

Thank you dearest Jacquie for the lovely schedule and for my very own personalised one :* Now for next year, we want it to be in the form of an app with iPhone alerts Now if you excuse me, I have my very own schedule to check.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Good morning and welcome to my favourite most anticipated month of the year, the blessed holy month of Ramadan! Even though I suspect would be keeling over with thirst by the end of the day -did anyone notice the hair-dryer like outside air this morning?- I am enjoying ever moment of it and I’m very thankful to god for the chance to relive Ramadan again with everyone I know and love alive, happy, well, and in good health

On this blessed occasion I would like to wish all my blog readers, my family, my friends, my loved ones, and  everyone I’ve met and dealt with through the blog a very blessed Ramadan. Mbarak 3leekom el shahar o 3sakom min 3owaddah insha2 Allah 

I also would like to point out that I will try to make my “food” posts here and on instagram start by 5 P.M. during Ramadan and I will try to make them healthy and beneficial. Plus, I have a special Twitter Dewaniya announcement: though you girls have kept silent for the past few days you were all on my mind and I will be around later on today if you are interested in picking up the dewaniya from where we left off! I’ve missed you and  I look forward to tweeting during Ramadan with you!

Mbarak 3leekom el Shahar once more

Ayar Perfumes Ramadan 2014 Gift Box

The holy month of Ramadan is almost upon us and preparations for its anticipated arrival is on full gear. Part of my Ramadan preparations is making sure I have full stock of my favourite incense and marshoosh -perfusmes- for my after iftar rituals which include my tea time, coffee brewing, and beautiful incense aroma wafting through my little apartment. Two Ramadans ago I was sent a box of perfumes from Ayar perfumes and I fell in love, head over heels, and restocked that box again and again. Last year their perfumes gift box was shaped like a “mubkhar” or an incense burner and was absolutely awesome. This year however their Ramadan gift box topped all previous years and won the trophy for most creative acrylic gift box for sure!

This year’s Ayar perfumes gift box arrived in a huge carton with a satin ribbon handle on top and a personalised handwritten card -which I adore!-. The box is designed in a way that you can hold it and carry it into your recipient with the clear side of the box showing the gorgeous acrylic setup containing the perfumes. I don’t know about you but I was almost clapping with joy when that box entered my house and its definitely an eye-popper if you decide to go with it as a gift yourself.

It wasn’t hard to unbox the gift from the carton box, the perfumes of the gift are arranged in an acrylic dhow and the bottom of the dhow is laid with bright white pearls. Simple and clear yet elegant. Very modern yet very traditional with strong connections of Kuwait’s past of sailing dhows and diving for pearls. It is a beauty all right and it took me a while to get over my endless gazing at it.

Now the surprise was that sail of the dhow was engraved with my blog’s name, Danderma! Wow! Never before did I have my name on a boat’s sail, or a boat, but perhaps that’s about to change now I loved the personalised gesture very much!

Now for the contents of the box, it had two marshoosh or room, furniture, and linen sprays that are Jibla and sharq.

Also one perfume, Lamar. One jar of high quality Spanish saffron, and one jar of Al-Dana ma’amool -incense-.

Dear Ayar perfumes, you’ve truly outdone yourselves this Ramadan! The pearly acrylic dhow is breathtaking for sure! Thank you very much, mubarak 3lekom elshahar o 3asakom min 3owwadah

Ayar Perfumes have finally opened up a store that you can go and visit in Burj Jassim, Al-Soor Street, Kuwait City. Also, you can place your order for the Ramadan gift box from Ayar Perfumes by calling +(965)-  55501991 or follow them on their twitter account (@AyarPerfumes) or Instagram (@AyarPerfumes).

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

From the moment I announced I was going to Australia almost every comment I got refereed or asked about the one and only cuddly Koala! Everyone on earth, or so it seems, is smitten with the cuddly bears that are not really bears and somehow you cannot say the word Australia without a picture of a cute Koala manifesting in your mind’s eye! Even as I announced I was going to see the Koalas I got requests on instagram to post as many Koala pictures as possible, that’s how much the cuddly little “marsupial” is adored. Its also possible that children of my generation who grew up with a toy store whose logo was a yellow Koala and watched a cartoon about a little girl who befriends a Koala and another cartoon that is actually called Koala have a little more reason to love and appreciate Koalas I suppose.

On a fine Fall morning in May we made our way according to our #Room753 blogger’s trip itinerary to the Cultural Center Pontoon which is located on the boardwalk outside the Queensland State Library and the GoMA on the south bank of the Brisbane River. Once we reached the pontoon we boarded the Miramar Cruise and departed at 10 A.M. sharp, sailing across Brisbane’s River towards Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

You don’t really have to go to Lone Pine on the cruise, you can go by taxi, but the cruise was a more fun and exciting way to start your day. Your fellow cruisers would be excited, the captain is excited, and for the length of the cruise which is about an hour and a half as you pass by the sights on either side of the Brisbane river you have a live audio commentary/tour guide that explained what where you looking at when you passed it and its historical significance.

Not to mention that the houses overlooking the river are breathtakingly beautiful! Especially the modern ones!

The Miramar we were cruising in has a bit of history of its own. It was built in Brisbane and launched in June 1934. At that time she was Brisbane’s largest launch with a total length of 39 metres and has been transporting visitors to Lone Pine ever since. She is the oldest vessel in constant survey in Queensland if not, as they believe, in all of Australia.

And just as expected, at 11:30 A.M. sharp we arrived at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary! I could barely contain my excitement, I wanted to see a Koala at once and thankfully it didn’t take long at all to get inside the sanctuary.

Lone Pine is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary, there are around 130 Koalas who call Lone Pine home and not only Koalas, but a lot of other animals that are native to Australia and you cannot find anywhere else.

There are so many animals to see that for a moment, you are lost deciding to go see the Kangaroos or the Koalas? Koalas always win in my dictionary though so I headed in their direction at once.

On your way to the Koalas you do pass by a lot of animals, like those lizards lounging by a pool.

Or this aloof looking bird, in a world of his own looking faraway. I think his name is the kookaburra but I’m not sure.

Err, thanks for the warning!

Now this bird is quite unique! I’ve never seen anything like it, so colourful with a Jurassic air about him what’s with the solid crown on his head and all. His name is the Cassowary and according to a father talking to his children about the bird, they are natural predators and have talons so sharp that they can disembowl humans with one swift swish if they feel threatened. I’m not sure if he was joking or not, but the look of horror on my face was 100% genuine. Needless to say I didn’t linger by his cage long.

There is an open area called “The Kangaroo Reserve” where you can walk side by side with animals freely. As we entered the area I was surprise to see this big ostrich walking on my very same path and came face to face with me like you’d come face to face with another fellow human being!

Apparently they are not ostriches, they are emus, and I had so much fun with this blue necked curly haired one as she posed for me and I took pictures of her. Hello gorgeous curly! The curls are too adorable

And then there was a Kangaroo, and squeals of delight as I saw my very first Kangaroo! For some reason he was lounging on the floor, with little joey’s feet sticking out of his pouch, and he wasn’t that big! I always thought Kangaroos were as big as horses but they are not. Some are really tiny and they look like a cross between a friendly dog and a cute rabbit with a really long tail.

And there are more and more of them! Most of them lounging around and one of them actually came to us, looked at my husbands hand in a clear gesture that said “feed me”, and when he realised we didn’t have food he gave us a look and jumped in my direction and I screamed and ran out of his way. His bounce is scary!

Perhaps because we weren’t feeding them the kangaroos weren’t so much interested in us. We approached them and they just looked on, nonchalant, like the one below.

Moving on, I really really wanted to see a Kangaroo, I looked up a tree and found this instead! Poor snake food!

And then I saw this! And I almost jumped up and down with joy! And he was sleeping! Awwwww

After taking about 500 photos of the sleeping Koala, I moved on to see more! This one was awake and happy for sure, scratching himself and stretching.

And there was another neighbour, sleeping. Did you know that Koalas, which are not bears but marsupials, sleep for 20 hours a day because of the leaves they munch on as food?

Here is another one

And another one! And I saw a baby Koala with his parents but by the time I whipped my camera they had moved on from the branch!

I also saw this fella roaming along with the visitors, watching the Koalas, not contained inside a cage if you are wondering.

As part of my #Room753 bloggers trip lunch and a chance to take a picture with the Koala were both arranged for me. However, since I was itching and scratching halfway during my visit my husband volunteered to take a picture with the gorgeous cuddly cute cute cute Koala! I wanted to take him home and make him my friend!

Then it was lunch time, and to our surprise the lunch deal that was arranged for us was a “Halal BBQ” with a “Vegetarian Option”! How considerate! And this young man from Lone Pine was very helpful, cooking the BBQ and not minding the one million pictures I took around him. He even offered to take out pictures and he took not one but two great pictures! Thank you

And while you lunch you sit on these tables surrounded by more Koalas! You could barely concentrate on the food, for every two seconds you’d go awww and take another picture of a sleeping Koala

And lunch was served!

That’s my vegetarian lunch btw.

By the time you finish lunch you can go back to the visitors centre for some souvenir shopping and to purchase the Koala photo. I got me a Boomerang!

And with that our lovely trip to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was over. We headed back to the entrance and took a Taxi back to our hotel Sofitel Brisbane which didn’t take long at all. We arrived back at the hotel tired but exhilarated with joy, we’ve met the Koalas and Kangaroos AT LAST!

If you happen to be in Brisbane, Australia and you are thinking of taking the Miramar Cruise to visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary I suggest you check their website (link).

Red Bananas, Yellow Watermelons!

I’ve been seeing pictures of tiny red bananas and bright-yellow watermelons on instagram for a while now, apparently they are the current two fruit trends in Kuwait at the moment, Kale and quinoa taking a backseat for the moment. Now, I wasn’t planning on actually pursuing the two fruits who swapped their colours with each other, but I was at Saveco last Saturday shopping for Ramadan supplies when I came upon the Red Bananas and I remembered they are the “it” bananas at the moment. 

I hesitated for a moment, should I try those bananas? How do I even know they are ripe, or over ripe? What would they taste like? The prospect of them tasting like strawberries -in my imagination of course- and the fact they are so cute and tiny and each is almost as tall as one of my fingers made me wrap them up and take them to the weight section. It was while I was waiting for my turn to weigh the red bananas that I saw the yellow watermelons.

Intrigued, I picked the yellow watermelon up and somehow as I was examining it began imagining that it would taste as sour as a lemon. Comparing the price tag between the tiny yellow watermelon (about 1.5 KD) and the thrice as big boring old red watermelon (700 fils), I’ve decided that only red bananas would do for now. Perhaps next time.

Now back home, the red bananas joined the yellow bananas on my fruit bowl and they are indeed too cute to eat. I however had to taste them at one point, its not sensible to let them rot and be mummified just because they are cute, I began peeling one and I noticed right away that they had the bananas inside had the slightest red tinge to its good old yellow.

How did it taste? Well, they are bananas for sure. Same old bananas only there is a slight and barely noticeable fruity flavour to it, like the taste of bananas when used in jelly cups or bananas swimming with other fruits in a fruit salad bowl. They aren’t that different in the end and I certainly don’t see what the fuss is all about.

Perhaps they have more nutrients? Or some extra good properties? Or maybe just because they are different and cute? I’m not sure exactly but one of my followers on instagram told me that the yellow watermelons that I didn’t try are actually even sweeter that the red ones therefore I’m going to try them next for sure.

Have you tried the red bananas or the yellow watermelons? What do you think?

Visiting Queensland’s GoMA

My next thing on my list of activities for the #Room753 bloggers trip came after I said good bye to Brisbane’s greeter Sue Norman and headed off “lunch at your leisure” which I’ve spent indulging in a chocolatey lunch at Max Brenner over at Stanley street plaza, followed by a trip to Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art GoMa!

The GoMa is located in the South Bank area of Brisbane River and design of the building is eye-poppingly modern! If I’m to build a house one day I want it to be designed in a similar architecture. Its very befitting as a gallery housing modern house indeed.

The interior of the GoMa is no less striking than its facade, all high ceiling and steel with a touch of wood here and there. Can’t I just move in and claim it as my home?

Upon my arrival to GoMa I was to announce myself at the information counter and wait for tour of GoMa’s current exhibitions, which is exactly what I’ve done and that’s how I met Ms. Lauren Kelly who showed me around the beautiful GoMa. We started with a cinema theatre they call cinémathèque, unbelievably modern but I sadly have no decent pictures, where they show the works of influential filmmakers and artists all year round. Next, we made it to the Children’s art centre and specifically to the Jemima Wyman’s pattern Bandits exhibition.

The Jemima Wyman children’s area was so colourful, so vast and filled with a million or so shapes, that I wanted to simply sit down and start drawing something myself.

There is a lovely wall lined up with different kaleidoscopes! You yourself can become part of the kaleidoscopes by looking into something like a little camera or a mirror! It’s gorgeous! I loved kaleidoscopes as a kid and apparently I still very much do!

Moving on from the Children’s art centre to the indigenous Australian art section. Its interesting to see how the aboriginals, which are perhaps the oldest society on planet earth -50,000 years-, have expressed themselves through art even in everyday items used.

And from the Indigenous Australian art section we got into the Seen + Heard collection which according to the museum’s guide is a “Cross-over between popular culture, music, sound, and visual art”. Very contemporary, very different, and quite enjoyable indeed.

Thank you Ms. Lauren Kelly for taking the time to show me around the GoMa, I had an amazing time indeed. If you love art and want to spend a quite afternoon during your stay in Brisbane then GoMa is a destination you wouldn’t want to miss. The GoMa is located in Stanley Place, Cultural Precinct, South Bank and if you need more information about the place of the many changing exhibitions or movies shown throughout the year you can check their website (link).

P.S. Don’t miss the gift shop! It is AWESOME!