Danderma's Blog, page 63

Tasting the Real Veal Burger

The other day when I was in 52 degrees I noticed a new burger place that recently opened with the name RV Burger. How is it any different? Well, this one is not “Beef” burger… its a “Real Veal” Burger. Two days later my husband got the chance to try it at home which meant I got to take a few photos for this post.

The order came neatly packaged in a cube cardboard box. The fries came hot and topped with parmesan cheese. I ate all of it on my own. Its very good but you better eat it hot because once it gets cold it gets a bit hard.

As for the burger, it was the RV burger which is the classic one topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, cheddar cheese and a special pinkish sauce.

The burger size is smallish and not very big. Its a good thing the man ordered more than one.

How did the veal taste? He says its very delicious with a solid patty consistency in comparision to other burgers that feel like its ground meat stuck together.

The bun was soft and he used up all the extra special sauce containers that came with the meal. He said it was a very good sauce.

Bo Throos was more than happy to grab himself a box and claims he liked the veal burger.

This is the bill, our total came to about 10 KD.

The Real Veal Burger, or RV Burger, is located in 52 Degrees in Tilal mall. For more information, location, and home delivery you can call them at, check their , follow them on Twitter (@RvBurgerQ8) or instagram (@RvBurgerQ8).

The New Avenues Before & After Pictures

I’ve always been fascinated by how things in life looked before and after. If I ever come across a picture of that nature, especially historical one, I’d be poring over it forever, looking at details and imagining the work and time it had taken to go from the before picture to the after picture.

I remember I once bought a book from Lebanon with a before and after war pictures. Pictures taken of places in Beirut during the war, mostly ruins, then pictures of the same places in the exact same angle after its been fixed up. I would gaze at the pages of the book forever, absorbing every details and marveling at how far the after war restoration in Beirut had come. Then I thought to myself: why not try to do the same with the Grand Avenues?

I have the pictures from the day we took the tour when it was still in construction last March (post), I’ve walked around the Avenues phase III as it was called back then, imagining how it would like when its done and people are walking, shopping, dining, and watching passersby. I went to the Avenues again last weekend and took some after pictures that somehow match my construction pictures. Check them out and click on the images for a bigger size with more details…

The Souk Fountain – Before in March 2012.

The Souk Fountain – After in January 2013.

Muji Grand Avenues – Before in March 2012

Muji Grand Avenues – After in January 2013

 Grand Avenues – Before in March 2012.

Grand Avenues – After in January 2013.

Soku Millions of Milkshakes – Before November 2012.

Soku Millions of Milkshakes – After January 2013.

The Souk – Before March 2012.

The Souk - After January 2013. 

Grand Avenues – Before March 2012.

Grand Avenues – After January 2013. 

The Mall – Before March 2012. 

The Mall – After January 2013. 

Prestige Ceiling – Before March 2012.

Prestige Ceiling – After January 2013.

Starbucks Grand Avenue – Before March 2012.

Starbucks Grand Avenue – After January 2013.

I have a few more before and after pictures that I’m going to share tomorrow insha2 Allah as I didn’t want to swamp this post with too many pictures and they still need a little work to be done. I hope you enjoyed these ones if you are like me, a before an after pictures gazing fan. Stay tuned

I am The Kuwaiti Woman Photography Exhibition by Tahani Alayoub

Yesterday I passed by a photography exhibition by the renowned Kuwaiti photographer Tahani Alayoub. The name of the exhibit is “I am the Kuwaiti Woman” and it showcases black and white pictures of different Kuwaiti women in the old times all from the 50′s and 60′s era each with a different pose and emotion captured in the photograph.

The venue of the photography exhibition is quite unsual yet very straightforwad and also contributes to the theme. Its in an alley “sekka” between two houses in Shuwaikh area where the photographs are hung on the walls of the two houses. The alley, or sekka, as per the photographer Tahani, represent a place where it joined the Kuwaiti houses in the era from which the photographs are. I never thought an alley could be transformed into a showroom before!

I took my time at the photographs, each and every one were sensational. You could feel the emotion, the whiff of the bukhoor, the sound of the old music while gazing at each one. The exhibition’s sound track of Kuwaiti oldies playing in the background with the trays of traditional sweets passed around all help put you in the 60′s mood. And look at this…

A gorgeous vintage green volvo from the 60′s! A beautiful well preserved car masha2 Allah that was showcased in some of the photographs. I love old cars! As a matter of fact I love everything old and vintage.

Look at the picture below, can you recognize the bottle the lady is drinking from? The one and only Bo Teela from yesterday’s (post)!

“I am the Kuwaiti Woman” is Tahani Alayoub’s sixth photography exhibition and if you are a photography lover you don’t want to miss it out. The exhibition was held since Saturday 2 Febraury and will end today Feburary 4. The exhibition is from 10 AM till 10 PM and its located in the alley between two houses in Shuwaikh B Area, Nasser Al-Kharafi Street right behind the official building where people go to register as Parlimant candidate.

For more information about Tahani Alayob you can check her website (link), follow her on Twitter (@TahaniTV), or on instagram (@TahaniAlAyoub).

Bo Teela Drink Shop and Antique Bottles

Once upon a time in the old Kuwait town the people of Kuwait drank a soft drink that they called “Namleet Bo Teela”. I’m not sure if they had Cola back then, but I know that the older generations speak fondly of the “Bo Teela”. Bo Teela means “The one with the marble” but I never understood exactly why until I stumbled on a newly opened drinks shop in the traditional souk section of the Avenues with the name “Bo Teela”.

You should see the amount of people, mostly in their fifties and above, who stopped by and took a look at the menu. The store is tiny and decorated in a traditional way and because its small we had to wait a while outside so the people inside would get served then leave because there is no room.

The menu has a lot of juices, shakes, smoothies, and cocktails but I was most interested in the ones that came inside the “Bo Teela” bottle. I wanted to know what the fuss was all about!

The Bo Teela bottles were displayed on their own in a bucket filled with ice and came pre-filled with three flavors only.

The flavors of the bottled Bo Teela drinks are Namleet which is lemon flavored, a blackberry one in deep purple color, and a strawberry one that was pink colored. If you wanted anything else off their menu it had to be in a boring old plastic cup.

I chose the lemon flavored blue Namleet one. It was cold and after we paid I took a few pictures of it. I also understoon why its called “Bo Teela” or the one with the marble all these years ago.

Apparently the bottle comes without a lid but its sealed off by a piece of round marble, just like the marbles kids play with! It took a while for us marvelling at the bottle cap and then when we pushed the marble into the bottle it opened with a fizz sound. Wanasa!

I walked around the old souk of the Avenues drinking the blue soft drink, which was quite strong and tangy and really lemony, unlike 7-up where you can barely taste the lemon. It was good and I felt like I was pushed back in time, literally.

The amount of soft drink inside the bottle wasn’t much, perhaps less than 250ml, but the bottle was too cute to throw away after I drank it so I kept it and kept gazing at the marble inside. People in shops were also intrigued and kept shaking the bottle and wondering how did the marble get inside?

I went online and discovered that method of pushing a marble inside a bottle to seal it is invented by Hiram Codd, and English Engineer in 1872 (wikipedia). The bottle is officially called a “Codd Bottle” or “Codd-Neck Bottle” or “Marble Stopper Bottle”. The bottle is beautifully retro so I’ve decided to keep it and use it as some sort of decorative piece.

Bo Throos who spent the weekend with me was going out of his mind thinking about the marble inside the bottle and how could he get it out! He just wanted to play he says when I caught him trying to break the bottle to get the marble out. Naughty Bo Throos!

Bo Teela Drinks Shop is located in the Souk section of the Avenues Mall. I’m going back for sure to try the other two flavors and collect more bottles. Great idea and smack perfect location for such a modernised twist on a retro store concept.

The Festive February Lights are Lit

Every year on February Kuwait’s buildings light up in celebration of the National and Liberation day celebrations. Every where you look you see lights lights lights. I haven’t been around with my camera in a few years mainly because I don’t know how to take decent night photographs and apparently I still don’t know. But this year I couldn’t resist so bad photographs or not, I decided to share the pictures anyway.

Of course Bo Throos had to go around to see the festive lights with me. Here he is posing with baitik tower

Beautiful mo? In reality its even more beautiful. Happy 52 National Day and 22 Liberation day Kuwait.

Pledge: Help Save Noor’s Life

I received an email from a blog reader asking me to post about her friend who is in a dire need of help to save her life. Noor Rahman, a 17-years-old Pakistani girl living with her family in Kuwait, was diagnosed in January 2012 with Leukemia. She underwent chemotherapy sessions, seemed to be getting better, but then she had a relapse in December 2012 and is now admitted to the hospital since 10 January 2013 and needs a bone marrow transplant.

None of her family members were a match for the bone marrow, and in Kuwait and Pakistan they don’t perform  bone marrow transplants from non-relative donors. The only hope for Noor is to be treated abroad in Europe or USA with a bone marrow donor which is a very expensive procedure that is also painful and lengthy. The estimated cost of Noor’s treatment is around KD 50,000.

Noor’s family are asking for help. They want to spread the word so that maybe someone kind and generous would extend a helping hand and help Noor. She’s only 17. She should be dreaming about graduation, signing the yearbook, saying good bye to her high school friends, and choosing a college to attend. She should not be suffering from cancer in a hospital bed with a treatment she cannot have because of money restrictions.

If you can help Noor or know someone who can help Noor, please share! You can share the post, instagram it, tweet it, facebook it, spread the word so maybe a big company, bank, or a generous person can help out. If you don’t know anyone, you can always pray for Noor.

Please help Noor. You can check the facebook page Noor’s family set up for her here (link). To view a copy of her medical report you can click here (Page1) (Page2). You can also contact her family to ask for more information or arrange with her parents to visit Noor in the hospital and talk to her or one of her doctors. You can contact her father Mr. Khalil Rahman on 97541718 or 99372164 or her mother Mrs. Shazia Rahman on 99372164 or her friend who emailed me Miss Abeer Sarwar 66152946.

Get well soon Noor. May Allah heal you insha2 Allah.

How I Share My Good Morning Mood?

 

Good Thursday morning! The weekend is finally upon us and I’m feeling all cheerful and happy. I’m not usually a morning person but when I do wake up in a good mood I tend to show my unusual happiness in one way or another. Last time that happened, I turned my cocoa cereal and bananas into the smily face above, smiled at it, and then attacked it

I do wish you a very happy weekend, tomorrow is February, the month of festivities in Kuwait, and that on its own is a cause of celebration. Rejoice, be happy, and have fun.

Where would you escape to if you could?

Every once in a while when life gets a little too busy, I have this urge to drop everything, pack a bag, and go AWOL. I fantasize about escaping somewhere where I know no body, see no body, talk to no body, and be totally and 100% on my own. I would take a few books with me and some coffee, perhaps my iPod, then then spend endless days just with myself relaxing and reading and dreaming.

Once I fantasized about living by a lake. Yesterday it was a fantasy of wanting to escape to a big green park with a bench like the picture above. Great weather, greenery, scenery, and perhaps one squirrel to keep me company. I remember once wanting to escape to a hotel in Switzerland that had cabins deep inside a lake, I actually made reservations to go there with my husband only when we arrived in Bern there was a snow storm and we had to cancel.

Is there anything like a vacation destination for people to totally escape other people? Stay in seclution without anyone disturbing you? Do you ever get the urge to drop anything and vanish? Escape for a while? If so, what is your dream destination? I need ideas for future endeavours.

Things 2 Do in London: Neal’s Yard

One of my favorite spots in London has to be Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden. Its a little secluded courtyard accessible by a narrow alley with only a barrel on top of the entrance to guide you in.

As you walk through the alley you can see bursts of color at the end, then you stop and take a long long at this wall art which I’ve posted about before (post). So creative, so beautiful.

As you continue your way into the courtyard, you are momentarily shocked by the amount of color surrunding you. Its like stepping into a rainbow! Every where you look, there is a vibrant shade of juicy color and immediately it lifts your spirits up.

In the couryard you will find a few shops “Neal’s Yar Remedies” and cafes with outdoorsy chairs “Salad Bar”, “La Piazzetta”, and a juice place. You could even walk in with a cup of coffee or a takeaway from pret and sit on the barrel centered benches and relax for a little while in the peace, quite, and color.

There is also a cute little salon with a facade decoration of butterflies! Groovy!

Just outside Neal’s Yard there is Neal’s Yards Dairy shop with big slabs of fresh cheeses. Sadly all my pictures of it are shaky but its also a great place to pick up a lip smacking slice of cheese if you are a cheese lover like I am. Oh and this little old fellow inside the pizzeria says hello and awaits to welcome the customers!

Neal’s Yard is located in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden. Its the perfect place to stop for a breather and some photos or to drink a cup of coffee in peace away from the noise and crowds.

Baraka by Salah Zamani’s Furniture & Home Accessories Exhibition

Last week I received a distinguished invitation to attend Baraka by Salah Zamani’s 2013 Furniture & Home Accessories Exhibition to be held in 52 Degrees. A yellow tray with pink Arabian calligraphy printed on it and a the invitation printed on a vinyl covered piece of fabric. Very nice indeed.

I’m already a big fan of Baraka designs. When his first collection of painted pots came out and I saw them in Lenotre two years ago I loved them so much Lenotre actually sent me one of their pots (post) -shameless I know but they were so pretty!- So yesterday I took Canon my trusty blog partner and headed to 52 Degrees to check the exhibition out.

As I expected, the baraka exhibition was an explosion of colour and patterns joined artistically together and the end result works! So many pretty thing, I didn’t know which way to look first.

There were trays, colourful trays, printed wooden trays, and a few of the painted pots. I wanted a coloured tray so badly but I made a promise to my husband not to buy any for a while. I, err, have a slight tray collection addiction that I need to get over. So not the time to do so

Then there are the side tables! Quite frankly they were the stars of the exhibition, they stood out in every corner, colourful, different, and with tons of details. I would have loved to buy each and everyone of them. Check out the cushions with the Arabic writings too!

Then of course there were the sofas. Each one unique and won’t be remade again. The detailing, the fabrics, so pretty! The rainbow one is my absolute favourite!

Baraka are also known for their cabinets where each drawer is different and jumbled up but in the end it works. How pretty is this one?

More pretty pieces…

For the opening night there were traditional Kuwaiti munchies plus a live band playing music.

I had a great chat with the designer Mr. Salah Zamani yesterday, I do wish you all the luck, your creativity and artistic talent is astonishing masha2 Allah. The Baraka by Salah Zamani 2013 Furniture and Home Accessories Exhibition is on from 28 January until 30 January in 52 Degrees (location and info). For more information you can contact Baraka designs by telephone +(965)-66680008, by email (DesignDar@hotmail.com), or check Baraka’s instagram account (@BarakaSZ).