Danderma's Blog, page 37

Beautiful Dubai During Ramadan & Eid

This post is to remember the very last day of Ramadan 1434 and the first days of eid I’ve spend in Dubai in 2013. Dubai was quite busy as usual, hot and humid during August for sure, but the festive mood was indeed in the air with Ramadan decorations and eid celebrations. 

We arrived on what was supposed to be the last day of Ramadan, expecting tomorrow to be the first day of Eid. We checked into our hotel, dropped our bags, and then went out for our first meal of the day in The Mall of the Emirates followed by Arabian coffee and desserts in the Gold Cafe. Mall of the Emirates was all dressed up in lit up moons and stars to celebrate the holy month.

The next day it turned out to be Ramadan still. With nothing better to do and the weather being extremely hot and unbearable, we roamed Dubai Mall until it was iftar time, watched the Internship movie (post), and then tried to find a place to eat our iftar meal at sunset.

Later on, we took our bottles of water and watched the Dubai Mall fountain dancing happily.

The weather was very humid, so we went back inside and had our last post-iftar tea and coffee time of Ramadan 1434 in Cafe Bateel (post). A fine meal ending to a fine month that we will truly miss. Their Tiramisu is so, so good by the way.

Then it was Eid time. Dubai was very crowded with people celebrating from all nationalities, sometimes it was too crowded in malls that you couldn’t possibly walk around. Personally I spend my eid in Kinokuniya bookshop, Dubai Mall

The Bamboo Stick an amazing Arabic novel by local Kuwaiti writer Saud Al-Sanousi was 6th in Kino’s best selling books chart.

My humble first book in the old cover

Tried out Tim Hortons for the first time, it was good but I won’t be craving it or missing it so badly anytime soon.

A walk in Souk Al-Bahar, beautiful colourful lanterns everywhere.

I also did buy a few old 80′s anime DVD’s for myself.

searched around Dubai for a good karak (spiced tea with milk), but couldn’t find a decent place. I need recommendations for next time.

Saw this horrific sight at a restaurant’s window, reminded me of Sindibad for some reason.

Driving along Jumeirah road during sundowns, the colours of the sky and lit up buildings were spectacular.

And on the second night of Eid we saw the crescent moon at sundown. Hello there!

It was a memorable trip. I wish Eid was during the good weather months though, it would have been much more fun but I suspect much more crowded as well. Expect a few more posts about my trip to Dubai in the upcoming days. 3eedkom mubarak o 3asakom min 3owwadah

 

Movie Review: The Internship

I’ve seen the trailer for this movie a while back and I knew it was one movie I really wanted to watch. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are two salesmen who lose their jobs and they look everywhere but can only, and miraculously, secure an internship at the one and only Google. Having to compete against a herd of geeky genius seniors with zilch knowledge of how computers work, you know their internship would be one long interesting adventure.  

The movie came out in June and I expected to see it in Kuwait anytime between June and July. When that didn’t happen, I expected they’d be showing it during the Eid period. When that didn’t happen either I hoped they’d still be showing it in Dubai by the time I went there for my eid holiday and lo and behold, they did! I was lucky, I watched it on the very last day before the eid which is when they took it off the movie theatres. It’s beyond me why this good and seemingly interesting movie wasn’t shown in Kuwait. Are we censoring comedy and laughter now?

Anyways, the movie was really good and quite funny. Not hilarious ROLF funny but it did have it’s LOL moments. I’m not really a fan of Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson but they played the part of elderly and lost amongst the youngsters very well. The best thing about the internship was Google of course, it made me ache inside and wanting to intern in Google or at least have a similar workplace around here. The movie is about new beginnings and finding yourself and your true calling even after you think it’s too late and that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything including interning in Google.

Funny and hopeful, my kind of movie. It’s definitely going in my DVD shelf when the DVD comes out. I hope they make a sequel and they should, I’d be the first to book a ticket to Dubai and watch it.

Lunch at Vapiano in Dubai Mall

For the past Eid holiday I’ve been to Dubai for a miniature summer break and change of scenery. One of the restaurants I look forward to dining in when in Dubai is Vapiano. I’m not sure where the franchise originates from exactly but I’ve only tried it in Dubai before and it’s always busy with diners. In fact, I’ve tried to dine there twice during the holiday but the seats were full and only on the day before last did we manage to get a table for lunch.

If you’ve never been to Vapiano before, here is how it works: you are handed a card when you enter the restaurant then you take your seat and take a look at their menu. Afterwards, you place your order of pizza, pasta, appetisers, drinks, or dessert and all are added to the card you have. You then are handed an electric device that should vibrate and glow red when your order is ready.

You don’t usually have to wait long for your order to arrive. I love watching the cooks in the open kitchen preparing the food. I love how interactive the restaurant experience is, getting up yourself and getting your own food and not having to wait to be served.

A little plate of baguette slices to nibble on while the order arrives. I always dip mine in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

And no meal is complete without my diet coke. I only allow myself to drink it once a week or if I’m travelling.

Now shaking and glowing red, it means the food is ready.

Picking our first course from the counter… I love getting up and moving around in a restaurant, not sitting stiffly at the table and eating only.

We always have the Insalata Mista with vinaigrette sauce to start.

For my main dish I always order their Primavera with fusili pasta. Chockfull of vegetables and is very, very good.

Their pizza is also excellent though I prefer their pastas.

It was an excellent lunch on that hot summer day in Dubai. The service is fast since half the time you are serving yourself and moving around. Plenty of activity and people watching with good food. Vapiano also overlooks the Dubai Mall fountain and Burj Khalifa and during the winter time dining outside with the fountain and burj views would be spectacular especially if the fountain was on, playing and dancing to the music.

They say Vapiano is going to open in Kuwait soon, next to elevation burger in the Avenues mall but from my previous experiences I don’t think diners in Kuwait would like to serve themselves. It always works in the first few months but then they’d prefer being served directly from the menu. I for one am looking forwards to moving about the Vapiano branch in Kuwait and getting my own food. Hopefully the food quality would be the same too.

Vapiano is located in the lower ground level of Dubai Mall right beside MORE Cafe.

Alberdawny’s Iftar Feast & Eid Gift

For the last iftar meal I’ve had in the holy month of Ramadan in 2013, I was surprised by Al-Berdawny Palace Lebanese restaurant. Five minutes before iftar time the most beautiful Eidiya ever was delivered to my iftar table. Eidiya is the gift given out to people during the Eid, which is the official Islamic holiday that comes when the holy month of Ramadan is over. Alberdawny sent me a little table called tabliya, wodden with colourful tiles on it’s surface and decorated with a Lebanese tarboush or traditional cap with a black tassel, plus three big Alberdawny boxes filled with delicious Lebanese dishes from their menu.

I loved every detail of the little table, from the crystal encrusted red tassel to my blog’s name on the side to the flowers placed by the tarboush. The gift was put together by Events by M, a business by two girls who do event planning and gift services in Kuwait. I’ve seen their work before and I was always impressed by their creativity, you can see for yourself by checking their instagram account (@EventsbyM).

Now for the food, Alberdawny sent me an entire meal with salads, cold and hot appetisers, a main dish, and dessert! All the popular Lebanese mezze were there: hummus, muttabal, waraq enab -stuffed vine leaves-, patata harra -spicy potatoes-, and an excellent, lip smacking muhammara!

Tabbouleh and Fattoush salads of course.

Plus arayes and kubbeh.

For the main dish there was a big platter of grilled kebabs, meat cubes, and chicken tawooq, enough to make the little stray kitten toota and tafeeda go haywire and jump up and down while the food was brought into the apartment.

I gave toota and tafeeda a piece of chicken each, then the stronger kitten tafeeda ate toota’s food. I looked out to see toota sitting on the law chairs mewing softly and giving me that look, wanting her share of the grills! Heartbreaking

By the time I took those pictures, set the table, and fed the cats -both very happy- it was time for the iftar meal. I was surprised to find loaves of hot pita bread fresh out of the over with our meal, something I greatly appreciated.

It was a fine iftar meal indeed, so tasty and fulfilling. Alberdawny’s food was excellent indeed. As for the post iftar meal tea, we had the dessert they sent over, Alberdawny’s Um Ali. Sweet, warm, and delicious!

Thank you Alberdawny for your beautiful eidiya and the delicious feast! You really made the last day of fasting in Ramadan 1434 memorable for us. 3eedkom mbarak o 3asakom min 3owadah

Al-Berdawny is located in Salmiya, baghdad street right opposite the Yacht club on Gulf Street. For more information you can call 25661117/8, check their website (link), follow them on instagram (@Albredawny).

Stayha Lebanese Restaurant’s Bloggers Ghabga

Last week I received an invitation from a newly opened Lebanese restaurant in Kuwait, Stayha, to attend a special bloggers Ramadan dinner or ghabga as we call it in Kuwait. The  event was handled by non other that our dear friend and fellow blogger Ansam who did a very good job indeed from invitations to hosting the dinner. The invitation came with two little jars filled with Lebanese goodies, each blogger got a different thing than the other.

Mine had a jar of mixed olives and a jar of Labna balls in olive oil. Two perfect things I’d personally eat for suhoor or breakfast.

Why is the restaurant called Stayha? Stayha, in the Lebanese dialect, means the roof and because the restaurant is situated on the rooftop of a building in Salhiya area with roof seating and views of Kuwait’s skyline the name stayha would make very much sense.

The rooftop seating area is spectacular indeed, perfect for the good weather season in Kuwait which should start in about a month or two.

At the door of the restaurant we were greeted by the restaurant’s owner and gusts of bukhoor -burning incense- blowing our way which gave a homey feel to the low-ceilinged, big window-ed cosey restaurant.

 

As I sat to a long table of bloggers, I was handed the restaurant’s menu to choose my drink. Meanwhile, the first of the dinner dishes where arriving from the ghabga’s set menu.

A look at stayha’s brick over preparing their freshly baked pita bread.

And the usual Lebanese mezze platters. Everyone was raving about stayha’s hummus which is usual hummus mixed with muhammara but I couldn’t eat for I was still too full from my iftar meal and could barely breath.

For a main dish there was a platter of kebab with minty yoghurt sauce.

And the star of the table was the Stayha cocktail juice. How good does that colourful cup look?

I had to leave when the hour nearly struck midnight so I didn’t get to see what desserts they had on the menu but I did see a spectacular fruits arrangement before I went out. How lovely!

I had a really good time and I enjoyed seeing my fellow bloggers again. There were so many I’m not sure I said hello to everyone though so hello again if I missed anybody. I’d love to visit Stayha again in the winter and have dinner on the roof when the weather is good. That is of course if they would have a non-sheisha smoking section on the roof and yes they serve sheisha in the restaurant but in a separate section. Thank you Stayha restaurant for your invitation and warm welcome and thank you dear Ansam for organising the event, impeccable as always

Stayha Restaurant is located on the roof of Noor Al-Salhiya building right across from Salhiya Complex in Kuwait City. For directions and more information you can contact them by calling +(965)-22455000 or follow them on instagram (@Stayha).

Mamma’s Kitchen Homemade Ice Creams

The start of the holy month of Ramadan brought with it a new culinary business selling wholesome home cooked food just like your mother would prepare. Launched under the name of Mama’s Kitchen, the new business offers a variety of dishes for suitable for iftar or suhoor meal. On the menu they have appetisers, main dishes, salads, and desserts. 

As an ice cream junkie fasting in the summer heat, I was more than happy to receive three of Mamma’s kitchen homemade ice creams to try in three distinguished flavours: Rose Water & Pistachio, Salted Caramel, and Orange Blossom & Sahlab.

I got out my ice cream-eating utensils and cups and got ready to have some fun. There is nothing as good as delicious cold ice cream in the summer, or winter, or any other season for that matter but the summer days feel just wrong if they weren’t enjoyed with lots and lots of ice cream.

The first flavour, and the most intriguing was the rose water & pistachio ice cream, decorated with teeny rose petals.

The texture of the rose water & pistachio wasn’t exactly creamy, it was more of a granita than an ice cream but it was delicious all the same. I hope it also means there is less cream and fat involved.

A few scoops here and a few scoops there, filling up the glass and topping the lot with pistachio pieces and tiny dry roses. Yummy!

It was very rosey and refreshing indeed, ice cold and had that middle eastern ramadan-eque touch of flavours.

The next flavour, sahlab and orange blossom, I didn’t get to try or photograph well as I was running out of time. It did have the same granita like consistency that is similar to the rose water & pistachio ice cream. My husband placed scoops of it on top of a hot Kunafa slice and he says the flavour -and the combo- was really good. What is sahlab in English by the way?

The last ice cream was the salted caramel one. Creamy, caramel-y, sweet, rich, and with just the right salty tang to it, this is definitely my favourite.

Thank you Mamma’s Kitchen for sending those lovely and delicious cold treats my way! Mubarak 3laikom el Shahar o 3asakom min 3owadah

For more information on the what Mama’s Kitchen has to offer you can contact them on +(965)-94444911 or follow them on instagram (@MamasKitchen_Kw).

 

Luqaymat Awasha

In my never ending search for great tasting Luqaymat during the holy month of Ramadan, I always get one reply from people: order from Lugaymat Awasha. My experience with them varied with time. One time they’d bring me great luqaymat and the next time horrible ones. The Luqaymat, or fried dough balls drenched in saffron and cardamom syrup, are my absolute favourite Ramadan dessert and since I don’t know how to prepare it and I was craving it like crazy I’ve decided to try my luck this time and call Luqaymat Awasha to order some.

Only, when I called the number of Luqaymat Awasha, over and over and over and over for two days in a row, no one picked up. It either gives a busy signal or no one answers. I’ve searched high and low about Awasha’s location, or other numbers, and to my surprise I found none on the internet so in a stroke of good luck, I called another number I found for them, the Fintas branch, and asked them for Awasha’s Khaitan address. Khaitan is just across the street from Alzahraa where I live.

After a long drive in Khaitan Area and a few missed turns I finally came to Awasha’s place. A tiny space right next door to an American school in block 7. The guy in the Fintas branch who gave me the address told me not to go, Khaitan branch never opens before sunset which is iftar time. I found that ridiculous, if Fintas branch is open then Khaitan branch is open as well, they just don’t pick up the phone and I’m going to them personally.

I found the Khaitan branch open of course, if you want something done you have to do it yourself apparently. The place is tiny but neat, selling all different kinds of sweet by kilo. The guy working in the branch was a bit wary that I was taking pictures and was too tired to talk -I complained about the Fintas guy, he just shrugged!-. I ordered a quarter of a kilo of luqamat which costs about half a KD or 500 fils! Ya balash! Here’s their menu.

I didn’t have to wait long, I think I was inside for only five minutes. The service is quick, they weigh the luqaymat and give them to you, you pay your half KD as they wrap the luqaymat and that’s it! Looks like we made it and we are reunited once more, my favourite Luqaymat and & I

Then I went home to see this little beautiful shy sticky dough ball peeking at me shyly from between the folds of the nylon wrapper. Hello there gorgeous!

How were they? They were GLORIOUS! Crunchy on the outside, doughy on the inside and quite sweet. Some luqaymat were a tad burned and crunchier than the rest, so always look for the lighter ones if you want to limit yourself to the daily dietary quota of 3 luqaymat only. Yummy yummy I’ve got love in my tummy YUMMY!

Luqaymat Awasha are located in Khaitan Area block 7 right next to the American School there. They do deliver if you are ever lucky enough to get them to answer the phone but it’s better if you drop by yourself, and believe me they are worth the trip. Their phone numbers are 24710800 or 24710900.

The Cronuts Craze Has Arrived to Kuwait

Cronuts, the latest culinary trend and most viral food craze across the globe, are a product of a marriage between a croissant and a donut. This new treat was invented by chef Dominique Ansel who, in May 2010, began selling his cronuts to the people of NYC and they’ve been the IT dessert sensation every since. The cornets are supposed to be unbelievably good. So good, in fact, that the people of NYC have been have been lining up for two hours or more to get their hands on a cronut ever since they’ve been introduced to the world.

Imitations of the croissant-donut hybrid filled with custard and topped with glaze have been popping up everywhere and The Baking Tray of Kuwait wasted no time trying to introduce an imitation of the cronut to the Kuwaiti foodies. I say imitation because the word cronut is copyrighted and you cannot use it unless you are referring to the very same Ansel Bakery bought cronut. Last Friday my friend Swera decided to bring Baking Tray’s imitation of cronuts for our gathering to try and see what the fuss is all about.

Baking Tray sells two kinds, Dark Chocolate and Custard. Dear Swear brought over both and as we sat around our tea cups chatting we cut each kind in half and tried them.

How were they. Well, they had the texture of a croissant but not so much the taste and they did resemble donuts a lot. They were gooey, flakey, and sweet but also quite heavy, we were four girls and we shared a piece of each but couldn’t finish them. If I may say so myself, I thought they were fine. Not earth shattering, nor would I particularly start craving them anytime soon. I’ve never been a fan of donuts before so maybe that’s why. Yet, I’m still willing to stand in line for two hours at Anesl’s bakery in NYC to taste his trademarked cronuts and get a taste of why is everyone going gaga for his fried and glazed croissants filled with custard.

These imitation of cronuts have been selling in Kuwait like crazy and they are always sold out, the cronut craze seems to be viral indeed and I predict it’s only a matter of time before we see them in every bakery in town. They are worth a try for sure, to have an idea on how it would taste and why is everyone raving about it. You can order them by calling Baking Tray’s call center at +(965)-1842887 if you are lucky and they haven’t already sold out for the day.

Now, who is going to NYC and bringing me back a real trademarked cronut from Ansel’s bakery to try?

Flex Gourmet Ramadan Gift

Last week I arrived home to find a tin of diet-friendly sweet goodies by Flex Gourmet. Inside were pieces of dates and petite fours, something to have on the side of your post iftar coffee.

Thank you Flex Gourmet for the sweet gift. Mubarak 3lekom el shahar o kil 3am o entaw bkhair 

For more information regarding Flex Gourmet you can call them on + (965)-22661696, follow them on Twitter (@FlexClubs), or instagram (@Flex_Resorts).

My Relaxed Ramadan Ghabga

It’s been a while since I’ve had friends over. I’ve been too tired lately and with all the Ramadan fasting and meal preparations I haven’t had a moment to relax. During the holy month of Ramadan people gather for a “ghabga” and there are many ghabgas going around. A ghabga is a dinner party between the iftar meal at sunset and the suhoor meal at sunrise. People gather, dressed up to the nines and looking their best, and lavish culinary creations are usually present as well. I thought of having a more relaxed version ghabga of my own to sit and chat with my friends.

The most important things in any ghabga are the tea and Arabian coffee. Water and/or juices also play a big rule. People are usually still too full from the futoor yet are thirsty and looking for tea and coffee to help them focus. Of the caffeinated drinks, there were plenty

Do you see the donut in the right side of the picture above? That’s not any old chocolate donut, these are Baking Tray’s imitation of the famous “cronuts“. I don’t want to write too much about it here so wait for my next post which would be talking about it.

For munchies I’ve ordered the teeny versions of the famous Kuwaiti heartthrob food item, pizza qay9ar or caesar’s pizza. They taste just as good but their small size means guests wouldn’t be able to stop reaching for the bowl to take just another last one. They are perfect for gathering and dinner parties, I usually place them in small bowls between guest seats the way other people place bowls of mixed nuts.

More munchies: cheese fatayer, za’atar pizza, mixed sandwiches, nachos salad, pasta salad, and rocket & pomegranate salad.

There wasn’t much on the savoury side but the sweet side was loaded, people always crave sugar after iftar! I had little glasses filled with different desserts from The Danish Bakery like muhallabiya, red velvet, mango trifle, rose muhallabiya, and my ever favourite the bannoffe.

We also had a bain narain Kunafa with cheese from the kanafani, complete with it’s own heating platform. The kunafa was bubbling hot and hissing throughout our gathering and we attacked it mercilessly. Always a crowd pleaser.

The star of the ghabga, however, were these awesome luqaymat made by the mother of our friend 7amad Qalam and sent to me just before iftar time. Lugaymat, which are fried dough balls drenched in saffron and cardamom syrup, are a favourite Ramadan desserts and are very hard to make. Good lugaymat are also very hard to find and these ones I got?They were AWESOME! One of the best luqaymat I’ve ever tasted!

Each luqayma is perfectly round and fluffy, crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside, a perfect balance that many luqaymat makers lack. The dough balls were lightly drenched in sheera, or sugar syrup, and then topped with toasted sesame seeds. Everyone who tried a lugayma went “mmmm where did you get these from!”. Thank you 7amad and thank you very much 7amad’s mum! Teslam edeenich these luqaymat eyaninoon masha2 Allah

We had an awesome time with my friends, Pink Girl, Jacquies, and Swera