Danderma's Blog, page 42
July 11, 2013
Dashing Diva’s Ramadan Gift
I received a lovely pink plexi box filled with nail and hand pampering goodies from Dashing Diva nail salon as a Ramadan Gift.
Inside the box is everything a girl needs to have a nice and quick nail treatment and feel the salon experience at home.
Thank you Dashing Diva for the lovely gift. Mbarak 3lekom el shahar o kil 3am o entaw bkhair 
Dashing Diva Nail Salon is located in Bneid Al-Qar. For more information you can follow them on Twitter (@FlexClubs) or instagram (@Flex_Resorts).
The Gathering New Ramadan Treats
More special Ramadan flavours are appearing everywhere, and this time two new special Ramadan flavours came from The Gathering. I’ve tried The Gathering’s molten cakes many times before and they are usually my quick on-the-go guilty treats since they are located right there in our Co-op. The night before Ramadan I received two heavy cream and Tiffany blue boxes of goodies with a card from The Gathering.
I loved the personalised card, they are always my favourite part of anything I receive and the thing that would last long after everything is gone. Thank you The Gathering.
What’s inside the boxes? The first box had the special Ramadan flavour molten cakes: Dates with digestive and pecans!
They arrived bubbling hot, the sugar aroma was maddening. I didn’t try the moltens personally since I’m not a fan of dates but my husband did and he says they are very good and kept saying very good with every bite! If you eat dates, you have to try them for sure.
The second box I opened had little pillow like fluffy bite-sized cheesecakes, they smelled of cinnamon which filled my nostrils and made me feel all warm and happy.
The little munchkins are the pecan and cinnamon cheesecake bites. They came with two plastic containers of chocolate sauce for dipping and happy mess making. Thank god I wasn’t fasting when I received the mini cheesecakes for I had to give them a chocolate bath right away!
The cheesecake bites were excellent, especially when dipped in chocolate. Thank you The Gathering for the lovely and delicious noqsa! Mbarak 3laikom el Shahar o kil 3am o entaw bkhair
The Gathering molten cakes and other sweet treats are available in Al-Zahraa Co-op and in Yarmouk Co-op and you can also order from them by calling +(965)- 67667721 or following them on Twitter (@_Gathering_) or instagram (@_Gathering_).
The Video of Project-X Bloggers Cookings Competition
If you’ve been reading my blog for more than a year you might remember that we participated in a bloggers cooking competition under the name of Project-X last June (post). I teamed up with my favourite Pink Girl and together we made the spiciest, weirdest, and frankly not that appetising dishes in the competition and came last :p I’ve almost given up on seeing the videos but lo and behold, a year later and they are finally released for the world to see.
The good thing is that as I watched the video yesterday I laughed, and I can tell that we were having a great time. What I remember is the laughter, and not the failure, and that made me really happy. I would also like to apologise once more to the poor judges for sending a too spicy dish their way and almost burning their taste buds off, their reaction is captured in the video w3liya! You can watch the videos of the competition on the Zain Telecom’s youtube channel (link) or watch the videos below…
This is day two, our day is what I’m posting first of course (youtube link)…
Day one dish one (link)…
Day one dish two (link)…
The finale (link)…
The videos are lovely! Good job and thank you guys who behind the Project-X competition: Basma Al-Musallam, Ahmad Al-Hendi, and Chefs Victor & Olga and congratulations to the winners once more
Chocolate & Macaron’s New Ramadan Flavours
Many companies and restaurants in Kuwait celebrate the arrival of the Holy Month of Ramdan by releasing special or limited edition flavours for their menu items. Earlier this week a big silver box from Chocolate & Macaron decorated with a huge lime green paper flower arrived on my door step. Inside were the new Ramadan flavours of their delicious macarons with a lovely white roses and tulips flower arrangement.
I loved the greeting letter that came along with the gift, I loved the flowers, what I loved most however is the new Ramadan flavours of macarons and there were two of them: the Omani Halwa flavoured macaron -yes, inside is halwa omaniya- and the baklava -baqlawa- flavoured macaron. The third macaron in the box was their chocolate macaron.
What about the flavours, did they taste good? Frankly I’m not a fan of baqlawa or pistachios or nuts, so the green baklava flavoured macaron didn’t make me reach for more. It was very good and tasted like baqlawa indeed, the filling is smooth and soft and quite juicy, but it wasn’t my favourite.
The Omani Halwa macaron is another story. As I write this post I can tell you that I’ve proudly polished off each and every piece of the halwa Omaniya macaron. When you pick up a piece of the orange-coloured macaron, your nostrils are hit with a pungent spicy aroma, cloves -mesmar- perhaps? Very unusual, and then you take a bite and the gooey smooth halwa texture melts away and as the sweetness of the halwa invades your sense, you know you are in big deep trouble.
Yes, it tastes as good as it looks if not a little bit better. Old and new, modern and traditional.
The crunchy texture of the macaron against the smooth texture of the halwa with a little pistachio to crunch on as a surprise from bite to bite really works! It tastes so good, you cannot stop yourself from reaching for a second, or third, even a fourth macaron. Quite addictive I’d say and not very diet-friendly. However, you have to be a fan of halwa to appreciate this macaron. If you are not a fan of halwa you might not appreciate how good the macaron is.
Thank you Chocolate & Macaron for introducing the Omani Halwa macaron to my life and for sending me the new Ramdan flavours of macaron to try. Akramkom Allah o mbarak 3laikom el shahr
Chocolate & Macaron new Ramadan macaron flavours are now available in their many branches around Kuwait. For more information you can visit their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@ChocoandMacaron) or instagram (@ChocoandMacaron).
July 9, 2013
Ramadan Mubarak :)
It’s official, the long awaited holy month of Ramadan will start tomorrow! 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: we will start tomorrow dewaniya girls, I’ve missed you and I look forward to tweeting during Ramadan with you since I barely tweet anymore -too much politics-.
Mbarak 3leekom el Shahar once more, I cannot wait for tomorrow
July 3, 2013
Mishref Co-op Ramadan Gift Box 2013
The holy month of Ramadan is almost here and for the past three or four years we’ve gotten used to receiving a big box chockfull of Ramadan supplies from Mishref Co-op where my husband has an account. I arrived home yesterday to a big fat colourful box tied with a pink ribbon, so heavy you couldn’t lift it on your own. At first I thought someone had sent me a gift box but looking closely I realised it had the Mishref Co-op logo on it! Never before have I seen a local Co-op distribute such a beautiful and well thought of gift before!
What’s inside? Let’s open it up…
The contents of the box were covered in a sheath of jade coloured satin. The thoughtfulness that went into these little touches is admirable.
Inside? Ingredients for a feast!
3 rolls of aluminium foil paper. bags of spices, five boxes of tissue paper, big foil packaging boxes to fill with giveaway food. A big bag of Vermicelli and three different bags of macaroni from Kuwait Mills Company.
A package of dates. Two bottles of Vimto, the official Ramadan drink in Kuwait. A bottle of almond sherbet and a bottle of rose water.
2 bags, 2 kilos each of grains making Yireesh and Harees, popular Ramadan dishes that I don’t know how to translate into English, or eat for that matter. A jar of saffron and a box of lipton tea bags.
A jar of vine leaves to make stuffed vine leaves, and a bottle of home fragrance.
Last but not least, a box containing 12 sachets of Maggi’s chicken vermicelli soup.
Quite a loot indeed! Whomever put together that thoughtful gift had really gone out of their way to ensure that each and every item is useful and of good quality. You’ve really done a an excellent job this time Mishref Co-op! I’ve thought your gifts wouldn’t get any better, but I was wrong! Now I cannot wait to see what will they be distributing next year!
I shared the pictures of the gift on instagram yesterday and I was surprised that many other co-ops never distributed any kind of Ramadan gifts before. I know Jabriya co-op does so every year, I wonder which other co-ops would do the same? Do they? If they don’t, they should, it makes people very happy.
July 2, 2013
Frotune Cookie Boutique Ramadan Event
To celebrate the arrival of the Holy month of Ramadan, the quirky Fortune Cookie boutique held a special event to celebrate the release of their Ramadan collection. The theme was “After School” or as we call in Kuwait “Hadda” complete with school chairs and a KDD ice cream cart. The invitation itself is a replica of the wrapping of KDD’s raspberry ice lolly or as we call it in Kuwait, Toot looly.
On the day of the Ramadan event a KDD ice cream cart was placed outside Fortune Cookie Boutique plus school chairs. Very cute indeed and I did get the happy vibe from the end of school day, or hadda, where I was all free to go home again.
The Ramadan event saw the launch of the new Ramdan Dara’as. A Dara’a is a traditional dress worn by women in Kuwait during Ramadan and it’s usually colourful and heavily embellished and the ones Fortune Cookie boutique had on display fit the describtion exactly, with plenty of designs, colours, and shapes to choose from.
Not only Dara’as were there, also plenty of accessories to complete the ramadan look plus amazing home accessories designed by Baraka by Salah Zamani. Trays, tea cups, pillows, side tables, the works!
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The trays were dazzling! I could have bought each and every one of them and still wouldn’t be satisfied! The Grandizer and the Macintosh Quality Street ones were my absolute favourite.
Thank you Fortune Cookie for your invitation, the collection is gorgeous indeed and I loved the school Hadda theme! The Ramadan collection at Fortune Cookie Boutique is available now if you are still looking to complete your Ramadan shopping. more information you can visit their store at Olympia Mall, Salmiya, shop at their online store (link) check out their facebook page (link) or contact them via Twitter (@FortuneCookieQ8) or Instagram (@FortuneCookieQ8).
Olbaty Gergaia’an Boxes
I’m still setting up and preparing for the holy month of Ramadan which will be starting next week by god’s will. One of the things many people prepare for, sometimes months in advance, is the Qerqaia’an giveaways. Qerqaia’an is an occasion that falls on the nights of 13, 14, and 15 of Ramadan where children would go from house to house dressed in colourful traditional clothes singing away while collecting candy from the houses they sing for. Also, families tend to send out sweets and nuts for loved ones in dazzling wrapping, the funkier the better, to celebrate the occasion in the name of their little children.
Looking for the perfect Qerqaia’an box to send out during Ramadan is very important and families are always on the look out for new and different ways to present their Qerqaia’an. If you still haven’t prepared anything, there is a new business from the same guys who made the modern dowwa and tea stands, Jamrat Ghadgha (post). The name of the new the business is Olbaty, which transaltes to “my box” in English, and they provide sleek and modern plexi boxes with the child name’s written on the lid.
The box’s lid is firmly secured on top and the size of the box is perfect. Not too large and not too small. The fact that it’s see through leaves a lot of room for creativity in filling the box. The purple detailing on the box can be customised in different colours as well.
Thank you Olbaty for sending us a qerqaia’an box for my 3zizan The box is lovely and just right, modern and not overly decorated which leaves room for further decorating. If I was to make qerqaia’an boxes, I’d totally go for Olbaty’s boxes for sure and it’s not too late to prepare for yours now.
Olbaty’s boxes can be ordered by SMS or whatsapp on this number +(965) – 99440155. You can check the other colours and designs on their instagram (@Olbaty).
July 1, 2013
Ayar Perfumes Ramadan 2013 Gift Box
With one week to go until the start of the holy month of Ramadan people are starting to distribute Ramadan gifts to their loved ones. If you are still not sure what to give out as a gift or still searching, you may want to continue reading this post for the first early Ramadan gift I’ve received was from Ayar Perfumes and is quite a fine one indeed.
The Ayara perfumes Ramadan gift arrived earlier last week, in an elegant cream and gold bag.
Inside was a tall and compact clear plexi box, with engravings all around and a lid that doubles as an incense burner! Very handy indeed.
The plexi and its engravings were dazzling! I couldn’t stop gazing at it.
The box is stunning! So beautiful I couldn’t stop taking pictures but then I had to because I wanted to see -and smell- the perfumes inside. The lid comes off easily and the contents of the box are kept in place firmly with another engraved plexi base so they won’t wobble off while moving the box.
The contents of the box are two kinds of marshoosh -room and fabric sprays, one small bottle of Arabian perfume, and one jar ma’amool -perfumed incense-.
From my previous experience with Ayar perfumes I can tell you that their marshoosh ma’amol combo smells so, so good. Throughout last year I’ve gone through all their bottles and jars of ma’amol more than once, which in my case is a wonder given that I have a huge stash of incense and Arabian home fragrances and perfumes. In Kuwaiti, their perfumes “khaneena”.
Thank you Ayar Perfumes for the lovely sleek Ramadan gift, you’ve truly outdone yourselves this year and I cannot wait for your first store in Burj Jassim to open. Wishing you the best of luck and Mbarak 3leekom el Shahar.
Ayar Perfumes gift box made me happy, and it will sure make anyone who appreciates perfumes very happy as well. To order the Ramadan gift box from Ayar Perfumes you can call 55501991 or follow them on their twitter account (@AyarPerfumes) or Instagram (@AyarPerfumes).
June 27, 2013
Dinner at Solo Pizza Napolitana
Today is Thursday! The weekend is upon us and I’m badly craving some Solo Pizza Napolitana for lunch. If you know me, you know how head over heels I am in love with Solo’s Pizza. Ever since I’ve taken the first whiff of their wood-baked pizza aroma two years ago, I’ve never looked back twice. I’ve been there last week, It was a busy night for Solo, busier that I’ve ever seen it with a queue of people sneaking out the door and waiting outside in the unbearable hot June weather for a table inside. I sat there, a lizard crawled on the wall and scared me, but I stood my ground, inhaling the pizza aroma and remembering exactly why I consider their pizza to be my favourite pizza in Kuwait.
There is the usual items on the Solo Menu that I know by heart, and there are always the daily specials that change according to season and ingredients availability. I love how the guys at Solo know my order, down to my soft drink preference, by heart. They know that I always start with the Lulu salad, with the tangy berry dressing, and the ring of garlic bread with cheese.
The ring of garlic bread with cheese is a newish addition to the menu, a year or so old, but I’ve never featured it on my blog before nor did I mention how I deal with it. How to Solo the Danderma way? Well, first you eat half your Lulu salad. Then you tear off a piece of cheesy garlic bread. Good luck with that, it takes a while to untangle yourself from the strings of really fresh, exceptionally good Mozzarella cheese.
You take that piece of garlic bread, once you untangle it, and dunk it in the berry dressing of the salad. Wait a bit until it soaks up the goodness and then take one cheesy, garlicy, berry dressing infused tangy sauce. Way7a Qalbi!
Of course by the time you are done soaking garlic bread pieces in the salad’s dressing your pizza would have arrived. My pizza is either a Margherita or a Funghi. Always and forever. Do you think the pictures look good? I don’t, but I know the pizza is ten times better tasting than what a picture might suggest.
The special of the week was Mergellina! A no tomato sauce pizza with cherry tomatoes and shreds of Stracciatella cheese, a very creamy version of Mozzarella, almost like a Buratta but more stringy.
It was unbelievably good! The cheese made all the difference. Do go and try it while it lasts if you fancy a change from the same old traditional cheese on tomato sauce pizza.
Look there, on the wall! A picture of my picture of the lulu salad and garlic bread bites that won from the Solo Graph competition!
I always end my meal at Solo’s with double espresso and the Nutella Pizza but I was too full that day. Till next time, I’m bringing myself a banana to stuff the Nutella Pizza with, perhaps some caramelised crunchy walnuts too. I can’t wait to go back, I always can’t wait to go back, and the good thing is that they’ve decided to open up for lunch from 1 P.M. until the start of the holy month of Ramdan!
For more information and for Solo Pizza Napolitana’s location you can check their website (link), follow them on twitter (@SoloPn), or on instagram (@SoloPn).
