Danderma's Blog, page 90
June 26, 2012
Update: The Stray Cat Situation
A month ago I wrote a post about a group of stray cats who had taken hold of our doorway (post) and asked for ideas on how to get rid of them. We began spraying the doorway with Clorex and Dettol so they sought refuge on the other side of the house. We could see them playing in the pots and hiding under the table. One weekend however, the small kittens disappeared all together.
When they disappeared, we felt thing pang of sadness because their mother was mewing her heart out, standing as close as she can to our door and mewing again and again. We thought someone had taken the kittens and left the mother, how cruel is that! The cat was clearly heartbroken. Three days later however, we were on the side of the house watering the plants when we saw this peeking at us!
How cute! And they are back! Where on earth were they? God knows! Maybe one of the neighbors took them in then discarded them! We realized we were very happy and relieved to see them. Their mother is still scary and hisses violently when she sees us but the little ones are so cute especially if they are alone, they love to play and peek at us!
Now we even named them! The one on the right in the picture below is lolo. She is very naughty and the most friendly of all three. She loves to peek at me wherever I go and she even waits for me to come from work and peek at me shyly every other day. The one on the left is Nefertiti. She is always aloof and very brave, wouldn’t leave her place however close we approach. She just looks at us in nonchalantly in a look that clearly says “Whatever”. The third one is the most cowardly of them all and we cannot even look at him without him running away. We don’t have a name for him because we don’t know him.
We gave them water and took turns taking pictures of the cats that night. Apparently my husband had been feeding them cheese behind my back near those pots but I didn’t say anything. They love the pots, and they follow my husband wherever he goes -Nefertiti and lolo do anyways, the third one is always hiding-.
BUT… in the morning after these pictures, I wake up to go to work to find THIS!
and then THIS! BAD LOLO!
Fish smell everywhere! G63! We sprayed the entrance again with clorex and dettol, yet the little ones seem to not mind the smell at all!!! My god those kittens are intelligent. They know we are being friendly so now they don’t mind us at all like before. I’m going to buy a cat repellent spray and use it at the door of the house. I don’t mind them being on the side though. After all, they will grow up and leave one day, right?
June 25, 2012
Picture of the Week: Summer Fruit
Summer is here, and so is the Raqqi! I’ve never been a big fan of watermelons growing up but somehow I realized it had grown on my. This summer however I found myself actually looking forwards to eating it, a new thing for me.
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I have many ideas for this summer’s watermelons: juices, salads, and desserts! I’ve already made a yummy juice the other day, I’m now trying to gather my bravery to have it as a savory salad. In any case, I’m happy raqqi is here this year.
Are you a raqqi fan?
Things to Do in Dubai: Zaroob Restaurant
For the past year all I’ve been hearing from people who frequent Dubai was Zaroob and Zaroob. I’ve seen the pictures and I liked what I saw, a middle eastern eatery so funky you can spend hours looking at the different decor details and yet discover something new.
Located in Jumeira Tower overlooking Sheikh Zayed Road, you cannot miss its pink and lime green logo. They have a lovely outdoors seating area that we must try one day in the winter insha2 Allah.
The inside is wacky! I wonder what this style is called, I’m so in love I want to copy the decor in my living room and rearrange it all over again!
The chairs are actually tanakat olive oil! Nice!
The wall drawings! Jongar! My favorite childhood cartoon character! Captain Majid! Whomever designed Zaroob had to be an 80′s child for sure, something I can relate to! I want that wall in my living room now shloon?
The restaurant was very busy indeed so we grabbed two chairs at the juice bar and waited. Check out Sindibad!
The fruits looked so fresh!
We waited for a long time but no one gave us a second glance. We changed our table to on with the olive oil tanks seats and again waited while we kept going over the menu.
You order by ticking what you want from the menu above. They have a vast selection of familiar dishes we love: Hummus, Fool, Falafel, Eggs, Fatayer, Saj, Koshari, Shawerma, etc. The juices are ordered by ticking the juice boxes in the place mats.
We ticked the boxes and waited until finally a waiter arrived. By the time he did we were nearly eating the menu. We placed our orders and took some more pictures. Check out the bread basket!
Thankfully the food arrived in a blink! First we ordered two fatayer bites: zaatar and cheese. They were OK but nothing special. I won’t order them again because there are better things to order from in the menu.
Cocktail juice! Or as I call it cocktail ma7thootha o mabrooka! I was craving it forever. Looks delicious. However, it was not cold at all, nearly hot! It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. If only it was cold 7safa 
All the food arrived at one afterwards. There was the meat shawerma drizzled with rob romman (pomegranate molasses) and my husband says it was very good. He polished the dish off.
I ordered a falafel sandwich. It was ok, nothing special. I don’t think I will be ordering it again.
Koshari was up next. A huge plate of Koshari was placed on the table. Again it was OK but nothing special. Still the Shawerma was the star of lunch.
Last but not least came the fool. I didn’t expect it to be that good but the presentation was very cool with a tiny fool 2odra and the works. So cute.
When I took the first bite I couldn’t believe it, we struck gold again! Zaroob’s fool is awesome! It was really really really good!
By then we were full which is too bad because I really wanted to try Zaroob’s Karak tea They say its very good.
All in all? It was a great experience. Insha2 Allah next time we are in Dubai I will go to Zaroob for breakfast and try different dishes + the fool. I loved the atmosphere very very much! The place was full and most of the diners were young Emarati people.
Zaroob’s service is the only thing I can complain about. The waiters were running all over the place and up and down the stairs, that’s why taking the orders was slow and the place is too small for more waiter. The good thing no one will bother you by hovering over your head asking you how was your food and you are trying to reply with a mouthful of half chewed food that its OK.
Zaroob is located in Jumeira Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road. For more information and driving instructions you can check Zaroob’s website (link), their facebook page (link), or follow them on twitter (@ZaroobDubai)
June 24, 2012
What to Do When Your iPhone’s Screen Breaks
Yesterday evening I was trying to shoot a video with my iPhone so I was trying to balance it on a narrow table when it fell, face down, on the ceramic floor. I picked up only to gasp when I saw the screen was shattered!
It had fallen before, a harder fall, and nothing happened to it. Why now? I immediately began to cry over my lovely iPhone now mangled into pieces. I took a picture of it and posted it on instagram asking for help, I was in tears, suffering a mild nervous break down with bile rising in my throat and some searing pain in the left side of my rib cage -which is still there for some reason-. My friends over at instagram helped me out a great deal and I got my iPhone fixed less than an hour later. I thought I’d share the knowledge.
First thing I called iCity, the workshop and the branches, but no one picked up.
Next I called wefix but they close at 7 and the incident happened around 8 PM.
Next, I was told there was a guy who does home delivery fixing service. You call him and tell him your problem and he will arrive at your doorstep and fix it for you. I did call him but he couldn’t make it until 9:30 PM the next day and I wanted it fixed immediately. Price? 25 KD. You can call him for your next emergency at 22623023 company.
I was told that in residential areas, inside the co-ops, there are technicians who can fix phones. Ones I’ve got were Shamiya, Khaldiya, and Yarmouk Co-op.
In hawalli, bin Khaldoon street, there is a store called “Chinese Michael” or Michael el9eeni. He had gotten a lot of recommendations but he doesn’t fix it immediately and there was no way on earth that I’d go to hawalli in the state of mind I was in.
People suggested that I take it to an Apple store if I am travelling and they can fix it or replace it for you. I will keep that in mind if, god forbid, it breaks again and I’m abroad.
Someone also suggested I buy the screen online and do it myself. Its supposed to be easy. Obviously I couldn’t wait but I like the idea. I’m going to order the screen and keep it for emergencies.
Last but not least, going to The ma6afee street (the one right in front of Al-Raya center in Kuwait city) was the option I had opted for. 20 minutes, 20 KD, and an authentic screen was installed instead of the broken one. The store that did it is called A-1 phone tel 2245925.
My iPhone was back into action, as good as new. I hated how it shattered into pieces, how the shards of glass were disintegrating and poking my finger tips. My dear iPhone, forgive me for I thought the glass you were made of was indestructable! Thanks to each and everone of you who adviced me of what to do 
Review: De Brand Chocolatier
Just before I was about to leave for Dubai last week there was a knock on the door and a big white bag was delivered to me. The name on the bag? De Brand Chocolatier.
Inside the bag there was a gorgeous selection of chocolates and a nice note.
I loved the note! Then it was time to check out the De Brand chocolates.
The nicely displayed chocolate gift box came with a LOT of different kinds of chocolates. The more the merrier for a chocoholic like me. Lets take it apart and see. First there were two hot chocolate making spoons: a dark and a milk chocolate ones.
Next were a few chocolate bars with interesting flavors like sea salt, chili, and sesame.
Next were the chocolate mints.
A box of faces of the world chocolate, each face a different shade and a different flavor, as diverse as the human population! Cute!
Are we done yet? Noooo! Two more chocolate boxes to go.
The bigger box had big egg like chocolates. How yummy do those look like?
The small one, which I had attacked mercilessly, had smaller chocolates stuffed with yummy things.
Would you look at that?
The bag came with a catalog chock full of different types of chocolates plus De Brand’s information.
Thank you De Brand for the chocolates. I’ve enjoyed every morsel I had. I wish you the best of luck in Kuwait.
De Brand Chocolatier is opening soon in the Avenues Phase III but they already can cater to your needs if you call 99496222. For more information you can check their website www.debrand.com or follow them on Twitter (@DeBrand_Q8) or Instagram (@DeBrand_Q8).
Did you meet SimSimi?
A few days ago I noticed pictures of some yellow chick-like thing that began popping everywhere. A little search in the App Store revealed that the little fella is called Simsimi and his application is the second most popular free App. I downloaded the app to check him out.
Simsimi is a talking robot. Or rather, an application where a programmed bot with Artificial Intelligence techniques is on the receiving end to chat with you. You talk with Simsimi and he replies.
So what the fuss is all about? You see, SimSimi is a learning bot. As more and more questions are asked of him he gets to learn how to refine his answers. You can also teach him answers to certain questions. Therefore, you can never expect what he might reply back. Check out the Terms of Service
Talking with SimSimi is a lot of fun in both Arabic and English. The fellow has issues! The first thing I said to him was hi and he blew up in my face :p
Talking with him in Arabic is even more fun given that he has already been taught hilarious phrases, even naughty ones!
If you talk to him a bite more, he can even produce a BBM pin! Someone have obviously taught him that, we can always find ways to abuse things. Anyways you can teach him whatever you want, he will learn it!
I did teach him a phrase or two, very tame ones though there are children using it. I remember back in college in Artificial Intelligence class we had a similar project making a responsive bot that was a psychiatric who will listen to you and reply to your problems, learning as he goes.
SimSimi is a naughty little fellow but you can be surprised at what he throws back at you! Be creative and try to teach him more things, he’s so cute and, well, kinda addictive :p
June 23, 2012
A Cosey Dinner with a Friend…
Last week one of my dear friends came over for dinner. I was really excited given that I had a few things I wanted to try out and let me say it must have been the easiest dinner I’ve ever put together! The first thing I put out is, of course, flowers.
I need to go shopping for some new vases for Ramadan soon.
Next, I had some baby pizza qay9ar and baby zaatar pizza on the table for us to munch on before dinner as we said our hellos and caught up with each other. We almost skipped dinner because of them.
It was the first time I’ve used my new pieces by farah bowls as well. I couldn’t wait till Ramadan.
As for the dinner? Well, the only thing I’ve made was the Raspberry Mojito and the Watermelon cooler. The Raspberry Mojito was gooood
The rest of the food I just had to unpack and place on serving plates. God bless 6alabat.com which I’ve used to order dinner one hour before my friend’s arrival and voila, I had a table full of food plus dessert too! Can you guess the restaurant :p
There were plenty of food but frankly I was too hungry to take any more pictures. After we had a lovely time over dinner, it was dessert and tea time. We opted for white tea with mint instead of the regular black tea.
It was the first time I’ve used my beautiful PBF estekanas as well. Each of us had a selection of mini desserts to dig into. Can you guess from where? Also ordered through 6alabat.
This is not from Taw9eel though :p
Tea is served, sowalef are continued.
My lovely friend has also brought me a funky housewarming gift from Fortune Cookie! How cute! I love Fred’s quirky items. Thank you Chill I loved them :*
I love throwing dinner gatherings! There is nothing like a cosey dinner at home with friends.”The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” as quoted from the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. He couldn’t be more accurate.
Review: Humbah Restaurant Opening
We were invited yesterday on a pre-opening sneak peek of Humbah, Kuwait’s newest burger joint.
Humbah is not entirely new per-say. They’ve made numerous appearances around Kuwait with their moving burger van. However, the actual restaurant in Shuwaikh is supposed to open today at 4:00 PM which is about an hour ago.
The logo is very funny, of an obese guy on his back with a burger on top of his bulging stomach. I’ve always wondered why a burger place was called “Humbah” which means mango in Kuwaiti. Apparently the fat guy in the logo is called Humbah! Meet him and his family.
Ya7leelha the familia made me laugh! His sister Miteena (fat), his cousin Butambah (again, fat). His sister’s friend who loves 7akooka (the burnt rice found in the bottom of rice pan). Each and every family member has his own burger of course.
My companions debated the order of a while and while they did I checked out the left side wall of the restaurant were a modern version of a Juke box is available, only its an iPad concealed in the frame. Nice! I want a similar one for my home!
On the beat of Titanium the order was placed and I took a few pictures from around the restaurant.
We didn’t have to wait long for the food to arrive.
Two burgers, two fries. The first one was the Miteena which is the sister’s burger. It comes with mushrooms batted lightly in batter.
The fries come in slathered in a pinkish sauce called the tweet if I’m not mistaken.
The only complaint I heard last night is that the fries portion is too big. Maybe they can have it comes in different sizes?
The next burger was the Hakooka, the sister’s friend burger that is. It comes in ink black bun. I’m not sure why the bun is black, is it just food coloring or squid ink, but it sure looked different. Good different that is. 9ej 7akooka!
Hakooka comes with a “crunchy sauce” and as you can see it looks crunchy indeed. I don’t know why it reminded me of Monica’s moist maker layer in the Turkey Sandwich she made in Friends. They say its good as well.
Both burgers were devoured happily. According to my companions it was really really good and worth the hype.
As we were about to leave we wrote with markers on wooden panels on the walls where other diners had already left their mark. Here is what I wrote
The good news is that Humbah is now open. You can jump in your car or have someone pickup whatever you crave. The location is in Shuwaikh, right past A2z if you keep it on your left, besides Alkelha restaurant.
Thank you Mr. Mubarak Al-Sabah for your invitation and kind hospitality. For more information regarding Humbah and proper directions you can call them on 24911115 or check their website (link) or their facebook page (link) or follow them on twitter (@HumbahKw) or Instagram (@humbah).
June 21, 2012
Exclusive Deal from Blimpie for Danderma’s Blog Readers
If you are both a reader of Danderma and a fan of Blimpie then you are in for some good news. When you are at the counter you can get a free 6 inch sub when you purchase any kind of combo meal. All you have to do is mention my blog name ‘Danderma’ and you will be set to go
For more information about Blimpie you can follow them on Twitter @BlimpieKWT or Instagram @Mods_IFF or check their facebook page BlimpieKWT
Thank you Blimpie!
A Visit to Book World by Kinokuniya, Dubai Mall
Do you know what’s it like to have one of your dreams come true? The rush of emotion that engulfs you in sheer happiness, knocking the breath out of your lungs and transforming you into an emotional heap?
I had that feeling last week. One of the reasons I wanted to go to Dubai so badly was to check out my first book in Kinokuniya. Something I wasn’t able to do since its release there. I have seen pictures and people have told me about it, but I didn’t truly believe it until I walked through Kino’s doors.
Deliberately I didn’t ask about the location of my book. I just grabbed a basket and started browsing around in a nonchalant manner. It didn’t take me that long until my eyes fell on it though, it was in the local interests section.
The moment my eyes fell upon the book, my book, I didn’t recognize it. Then it clicked in my mind. Next thing I know I sank to my knees in front of the book shelf and started wailing. Big fat tears of happiness I couldn’t comprehend. That moment in time made me realize I had fulfilled a dream of mine, the proof is right there in front of me. I took pictures, I sat on the bench opposite the book for a long long time and kept coming back. Gazing at it the way lovers gaze upon their significant others while they slept.
A while later, a long while later, I was done checking every single shelf in Kino. I went back to see my book with a basket full of books of all types and genres. I had to put half the books I wanted away though because we didn’t have enough space in our luggage to bring them back. I gazed one last time at my book. It struck me as I checked out its neighbors that it was entirely surrounded by tales of oppressed women from the Middle East. Was that all we had to show for? Tales of oppression and semi slavery by our males? Even though my Dathra is not all happy and roses but at least it might paint our little part of the world as something more than males locking up their females and females going the distance in the shadows just to gain their freedom. We do need more books from local writers out in the open. Less ominous ones that is.
While in Kino, I had encountered around 30 other Kuwaitis browsing for books. On my instagram account many people were happy to see Kino’s picture and liking it, wishing we had a similar bookstore in Kuwait. Why can’t we? No, really, why can’t we? What is it that we have against reading? Censorship? Really? Is that it? Or is it because no body cares much about books? I want a proper bookstore to open in Kuwait. One I could lose myself in, one catering to all needs and genres.
What does Kino’s have written above its book displays? Its the first verse ever from the Quran. In case you didn’t know this, the first word ever uttered from the Quran was Eqra2 = Read. Read! We WANT TO READ! Let us read. For the love of god, someone help us read :’(
Anyways, Kino and Amazon dreams fulfilled, now I dream of seeing my book in Waterstones UK insha2 Allah. Ameen!
