Danderma's Blog, page 44
June 23, 2013
The Lotus Biscuit & Biscuit Spread Weekend
Earlier last week I received a big brown box from Abdul Aziz Alghanim General Trading company, the distributors of the much beloved and very popular Lotus caramelised biscuits in Kuwait. So popular in fact that the company recently opened a Lotus Corner cafe serving Lotus caramelised biscuit products in Souk Sharq!
When I opened the box I expected to see a box of biscuits or two. What I found was a treasure trove for every biscuit lover in general and lotus biscuit in specific.
Boxes and boxes of Lotus biscuits in different shapes and sizes and packaging, chocolate coated even.
More boxes of another brand of cookies stocked by Al-Ghanim company as well. They came in carton boxes or in gorgeous coloured tins.
Not only biscuits, cans of fruit drinks as well in many flavours, mango anyone?
And the star of the box, the trendy Lotus Biscuit Spread.
Wait, not only the usual smooth biscuit trend, also the crunchy one! I didn’t even though that exists!
Consuming the biscuits will take a year or so since there were so many of them but the biscuit spreads were present at the Friday breakfast table alongside freshly squeezed orange juice, hot brewed coffee, and toasted pieces of bread.
At first we decided to only open the crunchy biscuit spread jar since we didn’t try that one before. Well, the pictures will speak now.
Who needs peanut butter when you have lotus biscuit spread? I realise the health benefits and the protein contents of peanut butter are more beneficial but there is nothing like a little naughty upgrade every once in a while. Then there was the jar of smooth biscuit spread, all lonely and waiting in the corner. I decided just to open the lid and express my love…
Perhaps a little spoonful won’t hurt? Mo?
After breakfast and doing the Friday chores, when it was finally my time to sit back and relax I felt like having a nice cup of tea with some of the biscuits, especially the chocolate one.
Tea? I like to drink my tea in a cup, with a golden colour and an almost see through consistency. I also think that Lotus biscuits taste better dunked in tea than coffee.
The chocolate lotus caramelised biscuits… the chocolate melted when finally dipped into the hot tea. Mamma Mia!
Thank you Abdulaziz Al-Ghanim Company for sending this lotus biscuit goodies box my way. I will have enough lotus biscuits for a year! Now tell me, which is your favourite lotus biscuit product? The original caramelised biscuits? The chocolate covered ones? The smooth biscuit spread? Or the crunchy one? Mine is definitely the crunchy one!
Lotus Caramelised Biscuit products can be delivered right to your door step, all you have to do is contact the distributor by calling +(965) – 22461564 or checking their instagram account (@LotusKw) or (@LotusCornerKw) for the Lotus Corner Cafe.
June 20, 2013
Dinner at Bice Mare
Thursday is finally here! What do you have plans for tonight? If you are a fan of seafood I recommend you dine at the newly opened Bice Mare in Marina Waves, Salmiya. We were invited there for a preview dinner the night before its opening last week.
It was a fine night to be out for dinner near the sea, warm weather and a cool breeze rustling the palm trees. Bice Mare is located at the second floor of Marina Waves, you cannot miss the place for the path is lined with giant candle lit lanterns.
At the door of Bice Mare we were greeted warmly and led to our table. The younger sister of Al-Hamra’s Italian Bice, the decor and the menu are different and gives you the feeling of being in a cruise on board an ocean liner, but the great ambience with excellent music is still the same.
Personally I didn’t taste the food for I don’t eat seafood, but from what I’ve heard and judging from my previous meal in Bice, the food is supposed to be really good and very fresh. The meal started with a complimentary tuna bite in a red sauce, I think I heard it’s melon sauce but I’m not very sure.
Next to arrive was the starter, a plate of Mazzancolle agli agrumi which is giant prawns cooked in citrus sauce.
Next was the Ravioli con aragosta, gamberetti e basilica which is lobster, basil, and prawns filled ravioli.
The main course was a Filetto di Rombo, carciofi e tarufo nero, zucchini e carote which is a backed Tubot filet with artichoke, black truffle, zuccini and carrots.
The finally which I did taste was a trio of bite-sized desserts. A raspberry cheesecake, a tiny tiramisu bite, and Bice’s famous panacotta.
Right this instant I’m craving Tiramisu, rather badly! I think I will be making me some for this evening.
After a lovely night, we left home with a bottle of fine olive oil which is most highly appreciated.
Thank you Bice Mare and Ghalia Technology for extending the invitation and your warm hospitality. It was a lovely night indeed.
Bice Mare is located Marina Waves, Salmiya and are currently open for dinner only from 7 P.M. For more information or for reservations you can give them a call on +(965) – 22244525 check their website (link), or follow them on instagram (@Bice_Mare).
Book Review: Inferno by Dan Brown
Have you ever read a book that captivated you, so strongly you didn’t want to put it down? When, if you were reading it, your eyes decided its time to sleep you’d force them open so you could continue reading because you couldn’t bear not knowing what will happen next? Dan Brown’s latest novel, Inferno, is that kind of book.
The last book I read for Dan Brown was “The Lost Symbol” and I didn’t like it at all. I can’t even find a review of it in my blog. However, five minutes after I picked up this book on the day it was released -I was lucky to be in London, it’s not available in Kuwait yet- I went to the nearest Starbucks and read the prologue and I knew, just knew, this book is going to be good and much better than The Lost Symbol. I decided then I wanted to read it uninterrupted and never had the chance to do so until last week, and I’m glad I did.
Professor Robert Langdon wakes up disoriented and with amnesia in a hospital bed in Florence with no recollection of why and how he got there, he discovers that he is in danger when he is all but killed in the hospital and he flees with the help of his doctor. When he discovers a strange and ominous object hidden in his jacket, he keeps running around the historic monuments of Florence trying to elude his killers and decipher the clues left in his way in a race against time to save humanity from a terrible fate.
The book is really good, laden with historical facts and clues as any other previous Dan Brown book. Inferno is almost as good as The Da Vinci Code. The ending of The Da Vinci Code is striking, the ending of inferno kind of stretches along plus inferno deals with real time crisis that can effect the planet rather than trying to life the veil of an old secret. In inferno, you the reader are as baffled about what’s going on as Robert Langdon since his amnesia prevents him from knowing what is going on and who to trust so together, you and Robert discover that things are not what they seem to be, or as Dante would put it ‘O you possessed of sturdy intellect, observe the teaching that is hidden here… beneath the viel of verses so obscure.’
Highly recommended and would proudly reside on my books shelves.I could almost imagine Tom Hanks acting out the scenes as I was reading, I can’t wait for the movie. You may want to have google ready by your side so you can see what the book is talking about. By the way when you are done reading, notice that the last word of inferno is “stars”. You’ll know what I mean when you are done.
June 19, 2013
The British Designers Collective Pop-Up Store
This year I was lucky to pass by Bicester Village while 4th annual British Designers Collective Pop-Up Store was open. Every year the shop opens for a brief period in the Spring and showcases carefully chosen pieces from distinguished British Designers in affordable prices.
Hosting designers like Mary Katrantzou, Hussein Chayalan, Roksanda Ilincic, Holly Fulton, David Koma, and Jonathan Saunders, the interior of the shop on its own is a work of art, all steel and wood coming together to present a wacky yet stylish shop. Each item displayed in the shop -the displays themselves are awesome- may very well fulfil its destiny as the shop’s slogan “Future Vintage” spells.
How gorgeous is this red lips couch? I want one in my living room to replace the ugly lazy boy!
Some of the pieces that caught my eyes…
Looking out the window of the pop-up shop is a mannequin dressed in this gorgeous baby blue tulle dress! Its designed by Hussein Chayalan in 2000. It’s breathtaking!
The fourth annual British Designers Collective Pop-up store opened up in early May 2013 and should stay open for 8 weeks, which means you have until the end of June or Early July to visit. If you are in London for the summer, you must pay them a visit.
The British Designers Collective Pop-up Store is located in Bicester Village, UK and you can get there from London by the train from Marylebone station. For more information and for directions you can check this (link).
What Happens if you Can’t Pay for your Restaurant Meal?
This may be a strange matter to ponder but I can’t help do so. When we were children reading comics or watching old movies, when people cannot pay for their food in a restaurant the restaurant makes them either peel the potatoes or wash the dishes until the price of their meal is paid off.
Now, as a person I have my own share of obsessions and insecurities, perhaps a tad more than other normal, therefore whenever I sit down at a restaurant I always get a fleeting panic attack, sometimes at a subconscious level, about not being able to pay for my meal at check time and I might end up washing the dishes afterwards. Piles and piles of dirty dishes, perhaps for days on end.
Paranoid? A little, but the situation can happen. What do restaurants do if they present you with the check and somehow it turns out you can’t pay at all? You lost your wallet, or you don’t have cash on you and your card won’t work? Do restaurants smile and wave you off? Do they ask for something in exchange, like a phone or a watch or a civil ID until you get your money? Or… well I have to ask, excuse me, do they make you wash the dishes? Do they make you wash the dishes? Do they?
Did you ever find yourself in this situation? Unable to pay for your meal in a restaurant?What would the restaurant really and truly do in that situation?
June 18, 2013
Breakfast at Véranda of Harvey Nichols in The Avenues
Back again at one of my current favourite restaurants in Kuwait, but this time I’m trying it for breakfast for I’ve seen pictures and the pictures beckoned me over to the Grand Avenues and up the Elevator of Harvey Nichols. When I went it was a weekend morning, and I was there at 9 A.M. expecting to see an empty restaurant -and an empty Avenues- but to my surprise the Avenues was bustling with activity and Véranda had a fair amount of diners enjoying their breakfast in the calm quiet atmosphere. We were lucky to get a balcony table overlooking the Grand Avenues walkway.
Véranda’s breakfast menu wasn’t very large and contains a few items off the lunch menu like the watermelon salad (post). It didn’t take us long to decide on what to order.
Of course, no breakfast is complete if it didn’t start with orange juice or coffee. The coffee was good.
We were chatting happily as we waited for our breakfast to arrive, it is also notable to say that our server was polite, professional, friendly, and put up well with our endless picture taking. Morning time in the Avenues is one of the best times to visit, you can sit back, relax, and watch happy weekenders enjoying their day off.
Next to arrive was Véranda’s excellent basket of freshly baked bread and toast with jam and butter.
We didn’t waste much time attacking the bread basket, we were starving.
Next to arrive was the Arabic style breakfast, with falafel pieces, labna, and grilled halloumi slices.
My order was the scrambled eggs, avocado, and brie cheese on croissant. It was scrumptious! So good, I actually wanted to order a second one after sharing the first with my fellow diners!
We also decided to experiment and improvise, making sandwiches out of the Arabian breakfast and the bread from the bread basket and the croissant from the scrambled eggs dish.
The finale of that scrumptious breakfast had to be something sweet so we ordered the only kind of pancakes on the menu which came with labna for some reason and the cutest mini bottle of maple syrup.
The obligatory pouring the maple syrup shots in every breakfast post.
Getting the labna involved…
Sadly the breakfast pancakes tasted meh. They weren’t bad per say, but they weren’t fluffy and didn’t induce the feeling of OMG I can’t stop eating this dish. I personally wouldn’t order it again. The rest of the breakfast however was very delicious and if I could, I’d go and have me a scrambled eggs, brie, and avocado croissant right now. We were so relaxed and enjoying our breakfast, it was nearly midday yet we didn’t want to get up and leave.
Véranda is located on the first floor of Harvey Nichols Kuwait overlooking the Grand Avenues walkway in the Avenues Mall. For more information and pictures you can follow Harvey Nichols Kuwait on instagram (@HarveyNicholsKuwait) or view the instagram hashtag #VerandaKuwait.
Event: Vintage 55 Store Opening in the Avenues
Last week I received an elegant invitation to attend the opening of the second branch of Vintage 55 in The Avenues mall. The invite came in a wooden box and wrapped in dark green ribbon.
Inside? Lots of black printed tissue paper and a Vintage 55 T-Shirt. Since I have an incurable addiction to T-shirts -and denim-. I knew I wanted to check the new Vintage 55 branch out.
When the day came I took my trusty camera and went to the new Mall district in the Avenues. Right down the corridor from Lush Kuwait is Vintage 55.
And vintage it was indeed, the shop was chock full of things I like… old books, quirky robot figurines, and T-shirts!
Thank you Vingtage 55 for sending your lovely invitation my way. I liked the shop very much and I know I will be shopping there again for sure.
Vintage 55 is located in the New Mall District of the Avenues Mall. For more information you can follow them on instagram (@Vintage55_KW).
Home Baked Pizza with HomeSlice Ready Pizza Dough
There is nothing I adore more than baking pizza at home. It reminds me of my childhood, when I used to sneak to the kitchen and grab handfuls of grated mozzarella cheese while the pizza was being prepared. I usually almost always have pizza ingredients ready in the fridge but the one thing that’s always missing is fresh pizza dough. I don’t have the patience or the skills to produce an excellent dough so I usually bake pizza at home once a year only.
Two weeks ago, I was in the Supermarket and I found myself standing at HomeSlice’s Pizzeria stand selling their pizza dough, tomato sauce, garlic bread, ready pizzas, and salads. I gazed at the pizza dough and though to myself ‘Why not?’. So I took home two to try, one white dough and one whole wheat dough. Both cost me about 800 fils.
An hour before I prepared the pizza for lunch I took the pizza dough out of the fridge and kept it, unopened, in room temperature. As I washed and cut my vegetables, pre-heated the oven to 230 C, and grated my block of cheddar cheese the hour was almost over.
Setting up my dough…
All I had to do is sprinkle a hint of flour on the table, cut open the plastic package of the dough, and then knead the dough a bit. I then used the wooden thingy to spread the dough out and try and shape it into a round pizza base.
Not bad eh? Almost round! I placed it on my pizza baking dish. OK it looks deformed but I’m not selling it!
Next it was time to bring out the tomato sauce!
As I said I usually have a jar of home-made tomato sauce in the fridge so I can have Spaghetti Pomodoro whenever I crave it (recipe). However, I do update the tomato sauce a bit so it would be more suitable as a pizza sauce. I use the hand blender to mix it until its smooth, add a bit of ketchup, sometimes a dash or two of tabasco, and plenty of dry herbs like oregano and thyme. The velvety smooth pizza sauce would also go into another jar saved for pizza making -on dough, on toast, on tanoor bread, you name it-.
All I have to do after kneading and shaping my dough is spread some tomato sauce on top. A generous amount for me, I like my pizza juicy.
Looking goooood!
Next, spreading my pizza with my ingredients of choice. I like my pizza with red and greed and yellow capsicum, fresh mushrooms, green olives, and sweet corn. Sometimes I add red onion slices but I didn’t have any that day.
Next comes the best part… cheese! I use packaged grated mozzarella which adds the stringy quality to my pizza plus I grate a block of yellow cheddar cheese to add some flavour as mozzarella alone can be a bit blah. Then top the collection of cheeses with some dry thyme and dry oregano.
Sprinkling away…
Et Voila! My pizza is all prepped up and ready to go into the oven as I clean up and set the table while the aroma of baking pizza wafted to every corner of my home.
6 to 8 minutes later inside a pre-heated 230 C oven, and I ended up with this beauty.
Do you think it looks good? You should taste it! Hands down it’s the best home-made pizza I’ve ever made. I could eat this delicious pie every day of the week for lunch, dinner, and breakfast too! 
Great job on the ready-made dough HomeSlice! I didn’t think it would taste that fresh and soft but it did. I liked the white dough better than the whole wheat one though, the white was softer in comparison. I’m happy to have the option of just grabbing a ready-made dough -and a really good one- whenever I feel like it, turning it into a favourite home-made dish of mine. I would totally recommend it to anyone who like home-made pizza or want a fun fuss free pizza night gathering for example.
P.S.: I paid for the pizza doughs myself, from my own money, an entire 800 fils. In case you were thinking this is a paid promotion or something, rest assured it’s not.
June 17, 2013
The New Westfield Stratford City Mall
Westfield Stratford City isn’t new per-say, Europe’s largest shopping mall was opened in September 2011, but I’ve never had the chance to actually make the trip before. When I finally did taking the Jubilee line, I realised it is indeed very huge, complete with a Holiday Inn hotel next door.
The architechture is similar, all modern and glass and still and really big. Though initially it seems to have the exact same stores at the other Westfield, I noticed a huge Primark and a very big Victoria’s Secret, two stores that weren’t in the first Westfield mall.
Up the viewing platform and gazing at the horizon. See the strange looking red tower in the distance? That’s the Olympic Park now renamed Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park and is being renovated into an awesome modern park/technology city/university. The north of park is supposed to open up in July 2013 and the rest of the park is opening by Spring 2014
There are many, many restaurants but we were in a hurry and it was a long day already so we opted to grab a quick bite from Comptoir Libanais (post) in the food court, and I don’t usually eat in food courts but this Westfield’s food court was very bright and airy.
The outdoors area of Westfield is very big, but it was a bitter cold day and we were shaking as I moved from point to point trying to take decent pictures.
Is it better than the old Westfield? Well, frankly I prefer the old one, it’s cosier and smaller and somehow I knew how to navigate it. This one is too huge but with one important advantage, you don’t have to cross the road or walk outside to get into the underground station. The Stratford City station on the Jubilee Line opens right at the basement of Westfield. For more information you can check their website (link).
What’s Inside a Nespresso Capsule?
Ever wondered how the contents of the Nespresso capsule brings you joy every morning by producing your coffee fix? I had very few limited edition Dark Chocolate Nespresso capsules left in my possesion and I was being very stingy with them. One day the inevitable happened and my machine chewed up the capsule somehow and wouldn’t produce any coffee. I replaced the capsule and the machine worked fine but I was left with this deformed capsule that wouldn’t produce me coffee. It felt like such a waste, but then I decided to dissect it and see if somehow I could salvage its precious contents.
Don’t you hate it when they are all chewed up? There should be a device that retains the Nespresso capsules shape if they are unused and just mutilated. That’s more important than scaling the coffee machine, who is to blame in this by the way!
I took a sharp edged kitchen knife and slowly made a slit in the foil covering of the capsule. Immediately ground coffee particles began jumping out, happy to be let out of their eternal foil prison.
Ta-Da! This is what’s inside, enough ground coffee to make you one espresso cup. Do you ever reuse your capsule? I know some people do, especially those who like their coffee on the weak side. Anyways, so inside is just finely ground and completely sealed ground coffee.
Now that I have the coffee granules, I am thinking of the best way to brew me a cup, and quickly before the coffee granules lose their flavour. I’m either going to cook it up Turkish style or use my trusty French press. I wonder though if I can open up another “healthy” capsule and put whatever ground coffee inside and perhaps find a way to seal the foil topping again and try and use it in my machine? Would melting the foil do? I will have to do some research but maybe Nespresso should produce a fill your own reusable capsule as well. Why not?
