Danderma's Blog, page 16

La Maison Du Chocolat in Kuwait

A while back I was walking hurriedly in the Grand Avenues when I spotted a new cafe that was about to open next to the Cheesecake factory and the sign announcing the opening spelled “La Maison Du Chocolat”. When I realised that it was the one and only La Maison that’s opening for real, I almost started  jumping up and down and clapping with joy! I felt like I was back in Piccadilly street, rushing towards Fortnum & Mason and passing by La Maison’s doors on my way and doubling back again, pulled inside by the intoxicating aroma of irresistible chocolate.

I suppose there will come a day where we won’t be missing anything from London anymore, for everything will be readily available in the beloved Avenues mall! Last Saturday I was on my way to have lunch at Vapiano’s when I realised that La Maison was open and people were sitting outside having beverages and desserts so I made a mental note to come back after lunch and have dessert there as well, which is exactly what we’ve done. It was almost 3 P.M. when we finally went back and there was one last unoccupied table outside that we grabbed, the menus were brought over as soon as we settled in our chairs.

They have breakfast! Good location, amazing chocolate, and a possibility of breakfast! There were plenty to choose from as well, do you fancy chocolates, macarons, or pastries? It took us quite some time until we made up our minds and placed our orders.

What did we order? Well, we wanted to order the “Lemon Chocolate Tart” but it wasn’t available, so we ordered the “Lemon Quatre-quarts” which turned out to be a lemon pound cake. It was a tad boring and not that moist or flavourful at all but thankfully it was tiny. Thankfully the chocolate was quite delicious and satisfying and made up for the boring pound cake

And we also ordered the “Shpère” which should have been renamed to something like “chocolate bomb” for it was dangerously chocolate-y and simply lip-smacking!

So what is the Shpère exactly? Its light chocolate mousse, with caramel fondant on top of a crispy biscuit called “streusel”.

The Shpère looked so good and felt right at home in the grand Avenues! The location of La Maison is spot on and is the perfect cafe to sit us for people watching! I saw half the people I know walking by that afternoon before I even dug into the Shpère!

Now how was it? Absolutely delicious! The chocolate mousse was gorgeously velvety and you could tell the chocolate used was amazing. The centre gave a different contrast to the flavour of chocolate and the crunchy biscuit added a bit of texture and chew to the overall bite.

The Shpère is highly recommended. It disappeared off its plate in less that five minutes.

Now there is one thing you have to bear in mind if you decide to spot at La Maison for a bit of dessert, especially when its busy. Its nothing to do with the cafe per say, but the people walking about the avenues do covet the table you are sitting at so much for its gorgeous location therefore will not be afraid to hover over your head, hands on their hips and sighing every two minutes while staring you down as you drink your mocha or try and have a blissfully sweet bite of chocolate. It happened to us not once, not twice, but three times and thankfully each time they found themselves another table to sit at other than ours. Anyways, if you don’t mind such species bothering you to get you to leave then you are good to go, otherwise you might want to go at a less busy time.

La Maison Du Chocolat is located in the the Grand Avenues right next to the Cheesecake factory.

Marzo’s Delicious Purple Food

A while back I came to know about an instagram account of a new restaurant in Kuwait by the name of Marzo Food. A friend forwarded their account pictures, and it could have been just another food business popping up in Kuwait if it wasn’t for the distinguished lavender purple hue in almost all their pictures, which are mouthwatering and really, really good. Therefore, you can understand why I began to follow up on their opening news and how ecstatic I was to arrive home one day to see a big white bag from Marzo Food themselves.

It appears that Marzo food are finally in business and the day I received their bag was the very day they started their delivery service around Kuwait. I’m not sure if there is going to be a restaurant but for now the delivery will do. The bag had a nice bouquet of lavenders in a purple wrapping paper, a delectable-looking purple cheese cake which I guess was lavender flavoured, and three little plastic black pots that are too cute  to throw away so I kept them for myself after I emptied their contents.

A nice card with my blogs name on it plus a takeaway menu came with the lavender bouquet, they had to wait until later a bit for I couldn’t wait to pry the little plastic lids off the little plastic pots and check Marzo’s food out. On each pot there was a sticker that stated exactly what was inside and what where the ingredients as well, something I truly appreciate since with every year I age, there is one more ingredient my stomach cannot tolerate anymore. If you are wondering, this year its avocados :’(

Now lets see, in the first post there was Marzo’s Fusilli & Broccoli salad made with tricolour fusilli pasta, broccoli, roasted cherry tomatoes, asparagus, parmesan, and tossed with basil vinaigrette.

How was it? Really light, really tasty, and something I would definitely order for a takeaway lunch. Some people might think it is a tad bland or not that exciting but to me, its something I’d personally make at home and enjoy and I rarely find something as simple yet tasty around K-town. However, I do have to say that had I not read the word asparagus on the ingredients list, I wouldn’t know they existed for they were cut into too small pieces and I thought they were broccoli stalks.

Next pot contained the Tomato Mushroom confit salad which is roasted baby tomatoes and mushrooms with thyme, balsamic reduction, and olive oil. The salad was really good and cooked well. Personally, I’d order this as a side dish and not a salad on its own, perhaps mix it up with another salad or have it in a plate with several different salads whereas the pasta salad is a lunch on its own for sure.

Now the third pot had my favourite salad of them all: the potato corn salad! Grilled baby corn, potatoes, chives, and parsley in a creamy ranch dressing and boy was it good! I almost licked the pot clean! So delicious, you can actually taste the smokey flavour of the grilled corn, the tang of the ranch, and the texture mix between the creamy and slightly mashed potatoes with the crunch of the grilled baby corn is spot on! This salad is highly recommended and I wouldn’t advice you share it with anyone, its a winner for sure.

Last but not least was the purple cheesecake. It looked good, I’ll give you that, but does it taste good? I’ve had lavender cheesecakes before that tasted exactly like a bar of soap, lavender not being my favourite flower on earth either smell or taste wise. But I couldn’t resist a bite to see how it would taste.

The bite I had became two, and two became three, and before you know it the slice of purple lavender cheesecake was almost gone. Now the lavender in the cheesecake itself is barely noticeable, it gives the colour and barely any hint of taste at all, but the lavender in the purple lavender sauce on top of the cheesecake is flavourful and just right. Its not too subtle that you barely taste it, neither too much that it feels like a bar of soap, that lavender sauce is a winner and made all the difference. Oh and the cheesecake crust? Salty! If you like to mixup sweet and savoury, then this is the cheesecake for you!

Now imagine that amazing lavender sauce, and then imagine balls of crunchy luqaimat smothered in that sauce. Yes people, luqaimat in lavender sauce will be available on Marzo’s menu during the holy month of Ramadan and I personally cannot wait for that new and heavenly sounding concoction to meet my tea kubbaya after we break our fast. As I would say in Arabic, way7a qalbi!

Thank you Marzo Food for the lovely treat, I enjoyed every single bite and I look forward to ordering more from you, I am going to be a loyal customer for sure. Do have a look at Marzo’s heart wrenching beautiful pictures on instagram, they are well worth the wait! Marzo’s instagram account is (@MarzoFood) and their whatsapp number is +(965)-50020626.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

For a while now I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of really raving review about The Fault in our Stars. I remember I was in London when I first came to know about it so I searched the nearest Waterstones and got me a copy. Its been a while since I’ve last picked and enjoyed a book, I do not know why, but when I saw the trailer for the movie based on the book and knew it was coming out to the theatres last Thursday I knew the timing would be perfect if I could finish it on the very same day the movie came out so if I’m all hung up on it I wouldn’t have to wait long. I also posted the picture above on my instagram account and to my surprise I got asked to post my book review, never thought my humble opinions on books mattered to anyone but here goes.

If you read the back cover you would know what the book is about: a teenage girl with terminal cancer who comes upon a friend that changes her life. You’d expect a lot of tears and heartache as you read the pages, and it would be the perfect read if you have a heavy feeling in your heart that you want to relive with tears, but for some unfathomable reason I didn’t cry at all, not one tear!

Its not that the book is not sad, you know from the cover it is sad and there will be a death between the pages somewhere. Its just so honest, and heartbreakingly desperate, that somehow stops the tears from coming, at least in my case and I’m a notorious basket case. I can tell you that the book made me laugh, and laugh out loud, but despite what feeling it evokes in the reader, the overall story is good and well written with really big words even though I felt the last few chapters did drag on a bit, perhaps for the sake of suspense. However, in the end of the day you understand why the book was in the young adult section of the bookstore. I believe the hype surrounding it is partially because the readers are young girls and teenagers who would be shattered to pieces reading the pages and I warn you, if you are in a bit of a blue mood and cannot bear to read something sad, then this is not the book for you.

Now that I think the book was a tad overrated, I can tell you that when I closed the book I booked tickets and went to see Adam Sandler’s cheesy movie instead. I didn’t want to spend my weekend crying because of a movie and I have no intention of going to a movie just to cry like many girls around are doing, the teenagers of the nation are crying their eyes dry over Hazel and Gus and OMG-ing to everyone who would listen. Ah, to be sweet sixteen again!

Anyways, in conclusion the book is not bad at all but as I said, a bit overrated and I’ve read better. Expect a few laughs and even a few more tears plus a deep feeling of hopeless despair but its quite predictable, and also painful especially if you’ve been complaining about the things going wrong in your life and morphing into a drama queen/king, the suffering between the pages will put things back in perspective for you for sure.

The Brisbane Greeters Tour

My list of activities for the #Room753 bloggers trip started on the second day of my arrival to Brisbane, Australia with a breakfast meeting with Ms. Katie Goodall from the Digital Marketing team of Tourism & Events Queensland. To be frank I was a bit worried of being too tired from the flight and therefore sleeping in and missing my breakfast meeting but thankfully, and quite weirdly, I wasn’t jet lagged at all which meant that by 8:30 A.M. sharp I was standing on in Softiel lobby shaking hands with the lovely Katie.

After a nice breakfast and a few too many breakfast pictures for anyones liking, we finally went over the trip’s itinerary, point by point, and everything was explained to me in great detail. Katie was sweet and patient and before we knew it it was 10:00 AM which was the time set for the next activity of the day! Katie presented me with a blue Queensland bag chockfull of goodies which I’ve used when I finally made it to the Gold Coast so I will show you the bag’s content when the time comes. Thank you dear Katie, it was a pleasure meeting you the other day!

The next activity on my itinerary was a two tour of Brisbane with Ms. Sue Norman from the Brisbane Greeters. The Brisbane Greeters are locals who not only love Brisbane; they’re familiar with the hidden corners and interesting locations of Brisbane. The tour is run by volunteers who are local to Brisbane and usually starts at Brisbane’s Visitor information in Queen Street Mall with up to 6 people but because I was being spoiled my tour guide was waiting for me in the hotel and it was only Sue, myself, and my husband.

Sue was very friendly and we hit it off immediately, walking an talking and it felt nothing like a tour at all, it was like meeting someone you know and walking down the streets of Brisbane with. We descended the Sofitel’s escalators down to central station and across the street to the ANZAC square, after explaining about the ANZAC square we crossed the street, went through a few churches, and straight into a church, the Cathedral of St. Stephen.

Though the cathedral didn’t look that big from the outside it was huge from the inside. Built in 1863 with huge pillars, stained glass windows, and some worshippers praying in silence. It was very hush hush in the main building, then in a smaller building there was a smaller area dedicated as a shrine to Mary MacKillop which as I understood from Sue was Australia’s first and only nun to become a patron saint and used to worship in this very place. The statue of Mary MacKillop was made from hundred-years-old tree that was carved to finally resemble her and is very different and interesting to look at.

Once out of the church we went towards the banks of Brisbane’s river, we walked alongside it, a perfect quite morning with people jogging and going about their business. It was very peaceful and lovely.

Then we reached Brisbane’s city botanic gardens overlooking the shores of the Brisbane river. The botanic garden was set up as early as 1828 as a farm to grow and provide produce to the settlers of the colony in Brisbane. I’m not sure if there are still produce being grown around but the garden is spectacle indeed.

Endless plants and trees, some I’ve never seen before and I believe are native to Australia only. It was very quiet and there were young mothers walking their babies in strollers or people simply reading or sitting there, lounging under the shade of the trees. I could have sat on the chair in the picture below and stayed, staring at the Brisbane river, forever.

Up from the gardens and towards Queensland University of Technology where Brisbane’s first government house is still standing and is now used by the university of events and functions. The government house was built in 1862 to accommodate the first Governor of Queensland, Sir George Bowen with his family.

The old government house is charming! The old walls, the offices inside the building, even the servants quarters in the basement are all there. If you love history as much as I do then you will be happy to walk around the government house.

Then right in the middle of the old building there is this quaint little cafe set in the an airy and open courtyard surrounded by plants. We decided to take a coffee break and sit there, surrounded by students chatting and studying.

The cafe itself was very nice with plenty of delicious looking dishes to choose from. I kept comparing it to the sad excuse for a cafe we have in Kuwait, thank god in the last two years of my university days we had Starbucks and McDonalds to compensate!

Look at my iced Mocha! How delicious does that look? I wouldn’t mind going back to university just to drink that mocha everyday!

Hello from Me & Sue! I look very sleepy in this picture. Sue also told me that in this very building the famous Australian cake the “Lamington” was invented. The lamington is a cake with chocolate frosting and coconut shavings that you can find in almost every cafe and the story goes that at a function held in the government house by Queensland’s governor Lord Lamington the chef faced a disaster in the kitchen and was short on frosting -or something- that she improvised and created the cake the way it was today and named it after the governor.

I had planned to go back to the little cafe before I left Brisbane and try the lamington cake, I also had planned to meet some of the Kuwaiti students in the university over there as per their request but I ran out of time and never made it back, that’s something I truly regret to this very day. I can still taste the mocha and feel the cool breeze and the happy chatter around me. I miss Brisbane, yes there I said it. After the cafe and the old government house, we headed to Science & Engineering building of Queensland’s University which is this newly built modern structure that is all glass and steel and reminded me very much of the 4KH building of our own Engineering building in Kuwait’s university where I spent most of my college days studying.

In the very centre of the building there is this massive screen that doubles as a virtual aquarium and that’s also interactive. You can touch the fishes and they will somehow react to your touch.

Inside the building you could see students everywhere, working on computers that are facing big floor to ceiling windows that overlook a vast green space, such a marvellous building to study in!

Out of Queensland University of Technology and that envious Engineering building and crossing over a bridge towards the trendy south bank area of Brisbane’s river. The view is beautiful!

On the south bank they have these walkways that tunnels of flowers, we call the flower bushes majnoona which means the crazy one in Kuwait because it tends to grow crazily but I’ve never seen it bloom so vibrantly before. I wonder what its called in English?

Through the tunnels passing by numerous restaurants and shops, and finally we made it to the Stanley Street Plaza which is this open area surrounded by interesting looking restaurants and cafes.

If you lift your head up you will see this friendly circus fella balancing on a unicycle, forever suspended above the diners in the plaza!

Inside the information centre in the plaza there is another circus related statue.

From the plaza we headed towards the Brisbane wheel and the local TV channel ABC building and the Queensland Performing Arts centre.

We also met the Ibis, the bird that has this long black beak and is simply EVERYWHERE! A few Brisbanite consider him a pest and I will take their word for it, he is no cute pigeon.

And there, underneath the Brisbane wheel, was where our tour ended and we said our goodbyes to Sue. Walking around Brisbane with Sue was a pleasure and is quite different than walking around on your own. It feels somehow that you have a friend you know in the city and that alone makes the city more approachable and less alien. Thank you Sue very much for your time and the tour, we had so much fun!

Brisbane Greeters belongs to worldwide Global Greeter Network program with similar tours run by locals around the world. The next time I’m in a new city I’m definitely going to check if they have a Greeters tour in that city. I wonder why there isn’t a Kuwait City greeters around? Then again we barely have any tourists but perhaps one day in the future and maybe after we see the formation of Dubai Greeters.

Thank you Brisbane Greeters, keep up the good work! For more information regarding the Brisbane Greeters you can check their website (link) or their Facebook page (link).

A Lovely Ramadan Tray from Hirfa

Since the holy month of Ramadan is upon us and is only seventeen days away by god’s will, its all about Ramadan everywhere in Kuwait! People, myself included, are in the process of getting ready to celebrate Ramadan’s arrival and with every passing picture, smell, item purchased, or a morsel of food tasted my excitement is building up, I cannot wait until Ramadan is finally here. Therefore you can imagine my joy when I received a wrapped up tray with boxes from a local business, Hira @Hirfa_q8.

Hirfa is a small Kuwaiti business specialising in hand painted home accessories and table ware. Their designs are fresh, young, modern yet traditional. Looking closely at the paintwork you can tell its very precise, clean, and will not wash away with the first contact with water. My tray came with four cylinders with lids topped with a crescent moon handle and painted with dangling stars and crescent moons. The tray itself had a drawing of a crescent mood and stars, very Ramadan-esque indeed.

On each cylinder/box there are written words like “7abb” which means seeds and sebal, baithan, festeq, all Arabic names for nuts which are peanuts, almonds, and pistachios respectively. The idea is to fill the cylinders up with nuts and seeds which are consumed in handfuls on daily basis in Kuwaiti households and these cylinders might very well be the funkiest nuts and seeds holders I’ve seen so far in Kuwait.

I love the attention to details in the tray, check out the trays handle and the lovely crescent lid handles.

The cylinders would make a lovely and different plus useful qerqaia’an giveaway! Qerqaia’an being a is a traditional celebration during the 13th, 14th, and 15th nights of the holy month of Ramadan where children dress up and sing while going from door to door to be given candy, kinda like an traditional Halloween without the ghosts. I think you can customise the writings on the cylinders to say the child’s name, elegant funky and to the point!

Did I tell you there was a handwritten note from the girls behind Hirfa, Anwar Al-Sabah and Fajer Al-Bader? I always love the notes the most, thank you girls for making my day

Thank you Hirfa for the lovely Ramadan tray, its already taken a centre stage on my coffee table waiting to be filled with ramadan goodies. Mbarak 3lekom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owwadah la faqdeen wala mafqodeen

For more information regarding Hirfa and what they have on offer for both Ramadan and qerqaia’an you can contact them via whatsapp at +(965)-99003666 or follow them on instagram (@Hirfa_q8).

Movie Review: Maleficent

When I saw the trailer for Maleficent I actually groaned. Looks like another remake of an old fairy tale movie but this time its by Disney and starring Angelina Jolie, so why would I want to watch an updated version of The Sleeping Beauty just because its trending these days to change the fairy tales? I never liked Sleeping Beauty to start with, and even though the movie came out in Australia while I was there and there was a big bed with purple flowers displayed at the door of the cinema celebrating its release, I didn’t even waste a moment of thought towards not watching it.

I stood my ground, not caring if I watched the movie or not, until I saw everyone, and by everyone I mean every female I know, gush about the beauty of Maleficent and how I was crazy refusing to go see it. It was until of one my friends who told me she was dragged to the movie herself and she came out wanted to have horns like Maleficent that I decided I might want to check the movie out, I mean how bad can it be? Right?

The mistake I made was thinking the movie was a remake of the sleeping beauty fairy tale. If it was, they would have called the movie Aurora or something. The story is not about the sleeping beauty, it is about the supposedly evil villain, the once good fairy turned evil Maleficent, which I have to admit was quite an interesting angle to tell the story from. No one cares usually about the villain and what their journey to evil was all about. In this movie’s case, a very important lesson is very tangible: there are two sides to everyone, and you can even find good in bad people or bad in good people.

There is quite a twist however to the sleeping beauty’s fairy in the very end and I know many women who saluted the path it had taken, but quite frankly I thought it was a bit creepy and a tad lame. To each their own I suppose. In any case, it isn’t the greatest movie ever produced and its been a tad overrated especially with that feminist twist, but its Angelina’s beauty and performance as Maleficent that is breathtaking and keeps pulling us women back to the theatre simply to gaze at her. Would I watch it again or want to own it on DVD? I doubt it, but I did enjoy Angelina’s performance and overpowering gorgeousness and her apparent age and time resistance and I did have trouble looking at my reflection in the mirror afterwards for quite a while.

P.S. Maleficent’s lipstick is a shade called “True Love’s Kiss” by MAC and is SOLD OUT EVERWHERE! I want it even though it would look horrible on my complexion and I suspect would clash with my teeth unless I whiten them several times :’(

Lunch at Milano Restaurant, Brisbane

My lunch at Milano Restaurant and cafe located at the George Street end of Queen Street Mall was the first ever meal I’ve consumed in Australia. It was at 4 PM on the day we arrived, we had woken up late and by the time we walked and explored we were famished and I was at the doors of Milano and there were empty seats outside so we just happened to grab a table and collapse on it.

The location of Milano is excellent and its airy and open with plenty of seats and wherever you choose to sit, you can be certain that you’ll be watching the world go by in Queens Street Mall. Thankfully the service was quite quick and within seconds of us grabbing seats, even thought it was a busy Sunday, we were handed the menus and flipped them open at once.

We were so hungry we could have torn the menu apart and added salt to it and eaten it, but thankfully there were plenty of delicious Italian dishes to choose from. It didn’t take us long to decide and we placed our orders almost immediately. Thankfully, the orders came out fast as well and soon we were munching on our appetiser: a very delicious tomato bruschetta, so fresh and vibrant and drizzled with plenty of balsamic vinegar while the soft lightly toasted fresh bread slices were a tad drenched in olive oil, the excellent type.

Needless to say it was devoured in an instant.

The tomato bruschetta was followed by a fresh and crunchy salad of rocket leaves, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and pears in a vinaigrette sauce. Another very successfully and extremely fresh dish. The food luckily happened to be as good as the location of Milano!

Then came the pizza, a Margarita, and it was simply the best pizza I had in Australia. It was really delicious and hit all the right spots a pizza should.

By the time the pizza had arrived our hunger was subdued a bit and we were able to enjoy the luscious cheesy slices slowly, munching away and watching happy people go about their business. The weather was cool and delicious, the food was good, the location was spot-on, and it all meant we had a really good tim

Though we stumbled into Milano by the force of sheer hunger, it proved to be one of the restaurants I had enjoyed dining in during my trip. If you are in Brisbane and looking for a restaurant and happen to be upon Milano’s then grab a seat and do enjoy your meal. They also happen to open later than other eateries around Brisbane if you are looking for some takeaway after ten. For more information you can check their website ().

Exploring Brisbane, Australia

When we woke up on what was going to be the our very first morning in our #Room753 trip to Australia we found out it was 11 A.M. and that the breakfast at Sofitel Hotel was already closed for diners -they finish at 10 A.M.!-. Starving and with nothing planned for the entire day ahead we decided to take it easy and just explore Brisbane on foot as far as our tired and jet-lagged feet would take us. An hour later and were descending the Sofitel’s escalators which took us directly outside the entrance of the historical Grand Central train station and across the street from the ANZAC Square.

To cross the streets of Brisbane you will have to wait for the pedestrian light to go green and once it does, there would be a loud high pitched noise urging you on and a timer displayed above the red pedestrian sign so you’d know exactly how long you’ve got to get to the other side of the street. I found it especially helpful when you are engrossed in checking your smart phone while waiting and then the light turns green for you. I loved the fact that it was so easy to get everywhere in Brisbane on foot and I spent most of my stay walking around the streets of Brisbane. I also noticed that almost all street crossings have the name of the street written in Braille language on the side of the traffic pole.

Even the street signs come in many languages, including Arabic! It felt weird reading the Arabic signs but also quite welcome, like my language and presence was of importance to the city of Brisbane.

Now back to ANZAC Square, its this beautiful wide green historical square with a shrine and a burning flame at the top to remember the Australian and New Zeland Army Corps who fell during World War II. During our stay we came upon a lot of Brisbanites spending a quite time in the square by either reading, chatting, walking, or having lunch.

They have these big trees shaped like bottles which as I learned later as shaped this way because they retain water to use later, somehow like a plant camel or something. I wonder if these water saving trees can live and survive the desert climate of Kuwait?

And check out this lounge chair sharing thing they had going as well.

After walking across ANZAC Square you can walk down the street and two minutes later you find yourself at a crossing which leads straight into a mall called “Queens Plaza” which is three stories hight and houses brands like Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, LV, Tiffany & Co., Sass & Bide, and many more.

I didn’t spend much time shopping in Brisbane, though there are plenty of shops around and some are even from popular high street brands like FCUK and Top Shop but there are better things to do in Australia then spend all your day shopping. Plus, all the stores had the “winter collection” which won’t necessary do to shoppers from the other side of the planet. However, I did make a stop at Chanel and I was blown away by the extremely friendly staff and their hospitable treatment.

And I even found the Chanel Camellia Espadrilles that I couldn’t find anywhere else! Those gorgeous pink ones belong to my little sister now. When I asked for a VAT form, which is called GST in Australia, they said there is none. You just take the original receipt to the airport and that’s it!

Exiting Queens Plaza you find yourself smack in the middle of Queen Street, a half a kilometre of pedestrian only street with shops on either side and is actually called Queen Street Mall and is a pleasure to lose yourself in among the happy and relaxed shoppers. Did I mention that everybody wears a smile in Australia and would greet and wish you a good day or morning just because they happen to cross your path?

Armed with the Brisbane Inner City App, we made our way along the Queen Street Mall, taking in the sights, the modern and traditional building facades, and the beautiful fall refreshing cool fall weather, and the hustle and bustle of happy shoppers walking about their business or sitting down for some lunch. There was a particularly interesting shopping area called Brisbane Arcade that has been there since 1923 and would be a pleasure to walk into for people who are hung up on History like myself, quiet a story behind it too but you’ll have to read wikipedia to know more.

This building’s decorative butterfly facade was one of the most interesting and beautiful I’ve ever seen! If you look closely you can make out the shape of the butterflies and at night there are colourful digital butterflies flying all over the facade and its simply gorgeous and no I couldn’t take a proper picture of it sadly but you’d have to see it in person to appreciate it fully!

At a news stand we came across I saw all these Australian Women’s Weekly magazines and cookbooks and I realised I was actually in Australia where my favourite cookbooks come from! I think the first time I ever owned a cookbook it was one from Australian Women’s Weekly and I simply love them and there they are! All displayed right there in front of me in the middle of the shopping street!

And I looked up from the news stand to find “Hungry Jacks”! I think Hungry Jacks is the Australian name for “Burger King” and for some reason it reminded me so much of “Hungry Bunny” which was the previous name of “Burger King” in Kuwait.

We had to share a picture of Hungry Jacks on instargram of course.

And check out that net chock-full of different balls! It is actually a competition, guess the number of balls inside the net and go to Brisbane City’s Facebook to participate and you could win something football related.

Oh and do look down when you are walking down Queen Street Mall, you’ll find poetry everywhere!

You will also see artistic pieces in every corner around Brisbane! Art and yellow bicycles you can hire and drive all around like the Barclays ones in London. A great way to help transport people everywhere, reducing traffic and keeping people in shape as well!

How gorgeous is this golden sphere/shell thing? It took me forever to photograph because people keep going inside it and hiding!

We even came across a peaceful demonstration on our first day in Brisbane, something about students benefits being slashed down if I’m not mistaken.

Once you are done with Queen Street Mall you can cross the street and head to Brisbane Square where the Library & Customer Center are located. On that day Brisbane Square was busy with a sort of used items market where people had brought luggage and opened them to sell different items of clothing, house ware, toys, and some handmade stuff.

Check out the retro comics! Some of them which date to the 1970′s are sold for $8 only!

Also found everywhere in Brisbane: coffee shops! I suspect there are more coffee shops than restaurants and delis in Brisbane and you can find them everywhere, even down that little alley!

On our first day after we had lunch in a pizza restaurant called Milano located in the middle of Queen Street Mall -I’ll post about it later- we went inside a big mall with a big department store called Meyers and it kinda reminded us of the malls in Switzerland located next to train stations where you can find everything from supermarkets to pharmacies, cafes, and restaurants. We found Target, Mrs. Fields Cookies, and Gloria Jean’s coffee where I was once given a coffee training course in Kuwait!

At the top of the mall there was the Events cinema where we went to see our first movie in Australia, Bad Neighbours!

Its also worth noting that you can find 7-eleven at every corner in Brisbane. We used to frequent it at night, attacking the ice cream freezer for dinner.

In case you didn’t know, the currency in Australia is Australian dollars and it has this cool clear square in the corner that you can see through! Never seen any currency like that before!

Another of my favourite places in Brisbane? The King George Square where the Museum of Brisbane is located. I never had the change to actually go inside the museum but I loved the square very much especially at night. The clock on the tower on top of the museum would chime every fifteen minutes and I fondly remember a hot afternoon where we sat down drinking an iced Mocha while the clock was chiming, watching passersby all around. I have it on video, I hope it works!

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We used to make a habit of going to 7-eleven for ice cream then walking to the square to find a seat and enjoy our guilty pleasure.

And after ice cream we would walk back to Sofitel via ANZAC square, which is also beautiful all lit up at night.

 I miss Brisbane :’( Its going to take a long time for me to get over my crush on Brisbane therefore expect a lot of posts in the coming days and more of my #Room753 Bloggers visit to Queensland, Australia!

Lunch at Joori from Beirut

Just before I left for Australia I received the “rosiest” invitation to the opening of Kuwait’s newest Lebanese restaurant, Joori from Beirut. I wasn’t able to attend the opening, but I’ve watched the beauty of the restaurant via my fellow bloggers pictures of the place on instagram and I knew I wanted to try it as soon as I was back home, which I finally managed to do last weekend.

In case you didn’t speak arabic, Joori is the Arabic name for the rose. If you’ve been driving on 4th Ring Road with Jabriya on your right, you might recognise a modernised Arabesque style cube building that was being built right on 4th and as luck would have it, a new entrance into Jabriya was also made just beside it, that would be the newly opened Joori from Beirut. There are plenty of parking spaces around Joori and across the street there is a big empty lot that can double as a parking area so the fact that its located in the traffic impossible Jabriya shouldn’t be a problem at all.

The building is simply gorgeous! I’m not sure what do you call that architecture style, modern Shami? Modern Syrian? I should be brushing up on my architectural knowledge but there is one thing I know for sure, its a building I would gladly move into and call my own home! All big windows and glass with traditional touches fused together immaculately complete with huge ornate iron doors that can be heavy to open.

There are two storeys in Joori’s building and both have plenty of light streaming in through the windows but we chose to sit in the very heart of the restaurant underneath the big skylight and next to the fountain in the middle. Reservation is not needed by the way and the restaurant though was busy during the weekend lunch hour but there were a few empty tables that can seat walk ins. I have to warn you though, you could walk in a bit of a daze for your eyes would be devouring the beautiful interior of the restaurant especially the area underneath the skylight.

The interior of Joori is stunning! All white, high ceiling, sky light, plenty of light, subtle touches of navy blue that provide both a touch of colour and a good contrast to the stark white walls, and dangling lanterns! It was hard concentrating on the menu, in fact the waiter came to our table three times, but we were just sitting there taking in the beauty of the streaming light, the soft droplets of water of the fountain, to notice we need to order.

I want to live there! I want this area to be my living room! I wouldn’t even want to get out of the house! Did I not mention the one really awesome thing about Joori? It is smoke free which means no shisha and no smokers where around, ruining your dining experience with the fumes of their disgusting uncontrollable habit! I wish all restaurants had that “smoke-free” rule. Restaurants are for consuming food and not inhaling poisonous smoke fumes by force. I salute Joori for such a considerate step.

I loved the blue hue of those glasses! The stood out perfectly against the white walls and soft light.

When we finally tore away our eyes from the beauty of the interior, we found the menu to be quite vast with lots of traditional dishes plus variations of those dishes.

As we placed our order a metallic bowl of freshly baked bread was placed on our table.

The dishes didn’t take long to arrive at all. First to arrive was the Joori fatouche salad which was the traditional fatouche with a tangy yoghurt dressing. I love that fatouche. We didn’t order tabbouleh because previous diners said it was just OK whereas the fatouche was really good so we went with the fatouche and I’m glad we did.

The dips we ordered were the Joori Hummus and the “Medabes Moutabbal”. I don’t seem to have pictures of the mouttabal made with dibs roman “pomegranate molasses” but the Joori Hummus was made with what I suspect is grilled red peppers and plenty of pistachios. The hummus was good, and quite different, but it lacked that oomph touch to the taste that made it exceptional. The Moutabbal was quite average as well and didn’t leave an impression on me.

The stuffed vine leaves were good and tangy, but could use a bit more stuffed as they were a bit under-filled and a tad flimsy. I however do appreciate the serving plates above and below, the blue and white matched the overall look and feel of the modernised traditional Joori.

The cheese rolls or roqaqat jeben. They were OK, not bad but not amazing either.

The thyme potatoes are potato wedges with a thyme “zaa’atar” dressing. They were cooked in a way that made them quite puffy and crunchy but even though they were thyme fries, the taste of the thyme was barely noticeable. They also came on a white plate which didn’t match the rest of the dishes that arrived before it.

On the menu they had meat arayes and cheese with meat arayes but I asked if they would make me only cheese arayes and they said they could. They were OK but a tad on the dry side. Also, it came out on a white plate again and with a wedge of tomato as garnish which wasn’t that appetising to be honest. That was my main dish by the way.

The other main dish we ordered with the grilled chicken tawooq with mushroom sauce which was actually recommended to us by the waiter. When we asked what came with it on the side they said nothing so we ordered some vermicelli rice to go along. The vermicelli rice never arrived though thankfully it was removed from the bill without us asking and the waiter did apologise about it without us saying anything. Now, the chicken with mushroom sauce arrived looking like that…

The portion was big, plenty of herbs, grilled to perfection, the chicken was quite white and delicious -according to my husband-. However, the mushroom sauce was made by canned mushrooms and didn’t ad much to the taste. A plate of rice or mashed potatoes would have gone perfectly as a side, or perhaps some garnish to dress up the order, but there was none of course. Judging by others reviews and how good the chicken tasted, it seems that the grills are excellent, just skip the mushroom sauce if you are dining at Joori.

Because the atmosphere was so relaxing and delightful at Joori, we wanted to prolong our lunch and stay for as long as we could and therefore we ordered tea and dessert. If you are sitting by the window at noon it can get quite sunny and tad hot but not that bothersome, I didn’t mind it one bit, it is summer after all and I enjoyed my mint tea and ordered the “Othmanliya with ice cream and pistachio sauce” for dessert.

The othmanliya was OK but it was more of a “booth” ice cream with a crunchy vermicelli cup and a drizzle of pistachio sauce than a “othamanliya” in the sense of othmanliya, which is the Kenafa’s cousin. You’d have to wait patiently for some of the ice cream to melt in order to drench the vermicelli and soften it a bit or else it would be too hard and crunchy and it could use a bit more pistachio sauce. Order this one if you are craving ice cream because this order is all about the booth but if you are craving Kenafa they have it in cheese and in eshta “cream” so you are better off ordering them.

Our bill came to about 29.300 KD for all the dishes above plus a diet coke and a lemon with mint drink.

I enjoyed my lunch at Joori very much. Some of the dishes need a little more work plus some sides and garnish on the plates wouldn’t hurt either but the food is not bad at all. I can imagine myself, coming back again for a light lunch followed by some afternoon coffee and Kenafa and sitting in the centre of the restaurant again underneath the sky light with friends chatting and enjoying the interior and the atmosphere for sure, the place is simply exquisite. For more information about Joori Restaurant you can contact them on +(965)-25335167 or follow them on Instagram (@Joori_Restaurant).

Sugar Overdosing in Chocolateria San Churro

Because I’m still editing the pictures of my trip to Australia I tend to be working on an instinct base rather than a logical or a time base for editing. After editing and posting about the star-studded skies of Mount. Tamborine I began editing the pictures for one of my favourite chocolate cafes in Australia, Chocolateria San Churro, which is a place I’ve been to almost on daily basis whenever I got the chance for I couldn’t get enough.

The first time I saw a Chocolateria San Churro was in Brisbane south bank area. It was night time and we’ve just had our first dinner in Australia complete with desserts when we decided to walk to Sofitel Brisbane where we were staying and explore the area on foot while we were heading back. When we passed by Chocolateria San Churro, the little store was full of life and laughter, with every single table occupied even the ones on the pavement and you could tell it was the place to hang out and enjoy your time even thought it was late in Australian standards -almost 10 P.M.- and every other restaurant was either closing down or preparing to.

We so wanted to grab a table and enjoy what’s left of the night but we were too full and we had a busy day the next morning so we had better get going and come back another time. Somehow, whenever in Brisbane we tried to go San Churro something would happen and we wouldn’t be able to make it. On the last night there, we made a point of not having dinner before going to the play “The King & I” which is a five minute walk away from Chocolateria San Churro.

However, by the time the awesome play was over and we made it to the San Churro the store was closing down and they only allowed takeaway so we went home in a taxi because we needed to pack and get going. However, on our first night in Gold Coast we stumbled upon San Churro again and when we did, we wasted no time at all grabbing a chair and sitting down and we continued to pass by almost everyday until we went back home. That’s how fun and good and delicious it was.

We made up for lost time in San Churro surfer’s paradise, but it was only on the very last time we were there did I take proper pictures using my camera and not horrible ones using my iPhone. You never get used to the fact that you are ordering something from the “winter” menu when its all about summer back home but the last day of May was indeed the last day of fall in Australia and the first day of June is the first day of winter, whatever season it was, the menu was still irresistible and for the last day we decided to say farewell with a pang!

The lovely thing about San Churro, or actually most restaurants and cafes in Queensland, Australia, is that they have big floor-to-ceiling windows that open up, allowing people who dine inside quite a lot of fresh air and the feeling of being half in and half out of the restaurant. You could have a window “bench” complete with squishy pillows to recline on and enjoy the fall breeze as you stuff your face with chocolate. You could also choose to take almost everything they have on the menu, and they have plenty, for takeaway or grab some of the goodies they have as souvenirs or gifts to enjoy back home but nothing beats sitting down and enjoying the hubbub and happy spirit brought on by consuming chocolate.

Whatever you fancy, sugar related, Solo Churro would almost always have it! They have fine chocolate, macarons, cakes, cookies, truffles, fine chocolate, drinking chocolate, coffee coffee coffee, chocolate fondue, ice cream, and of course churros!

Back to our last time at San Churro, we knew it was time to order the “Chocolate & Churros Tapas” for two which comes with, well, a miniature fondue with strawberries and brownie pieces, truffles, chocolates, churros, and fried truffles!

How good does that look? Zooming in…

Zooming in some more, to that pot of milk chocolate in the middle…

Because it was the last day we had to say good bye to the macarons as well! Salted Caramel, cookies & cream, Raspberry chocaron, and lemon chocaron! A chocaron being a macaroni dipped in chocolate btw.

In case you were wondering, they are so good we actually took some back home for the trip back home and ate half of them before checking out of the hotel and the other half on the plane and no they never made it back to Kuwait, or even out of Australian air space for that matter.

And because there were too much chocolate on the table, we opted for some coffee to go with our chocolate and churros instead of chocolate drinks, which can be as thick and delicious as chocolate soup btw. My favourite drink at San Churro was the Spanish latte made with condensed milk, so very good

The best thing San Churro had on the menu? The churros! Thin and crunchy, with just a hint of a chew, and doused with cinnamon and sugar, just the way they are supposed to be.

No wonder I came back to Kuwait with two extra kilos added to my weight! Can you blame me though?

Is there anything I didn’t like? Well yes, the Red Velvet ice cream had a weird rough texture to it which I didn’t like and also this little fried truffle though absolutely delicious was too heavy on my 30-something old stomach. If I was a teenager I would pop these good greasy things like pop corn but not now, not anymore.

Gleeful, that’s how I felt going through the doors of San Churro and that’s how I’m feeling now looking at the pictures all these miles away. I would get on the next plane back to Australia just to have some churros with a cup of Spanish latte one last time. I really and truly miss Chocolateria San Churro, can’t anyone bring it over here? Pretty please? Enough burger places already :’(