Danderma's Blog, page 98

Gelato Italiano’s Little Colorful Gelato Gems

I had great plans for the past Friday afternoon. I had tickets to the Avengers 3D on the IMAX screen, we were to go out after Friday prayers, have a great lunch, watch the movie, maybe do a little shopping. All my plans were ruined however because come Friday morning I was like a rag doll in bed hit with one strong bout of the damned flu.

My Friday wasn’t totally wasted however. At around 12:30 PM a knock came on my door with delivery from Gelato Italiano. A white bag with two lovely pint sized ice cream boxes courtesy of Um 3zooz, the owner of Gelato Italiano.

In case you’ve been living underneath a rock and haven’t heard about Gelato Italiano, it is one of the first places in Kuwait that sells Italian like gelato and is quite frankly one of my favorites. I’ve always been a fan and I always pass by if I need a comforting gelato fix.

Its not the first time I’ve recommended gelato Italiano. Three times before I’ve taken oblivious   friends to Gelato Italiano and had them try the gelato, seen their eyes pop in wonder and the mmmm grunted out. Now I suppose its your turn, my dear reader, to take a peek at the contents of these containers.

Surprised? So was I! I had been expecting two pints of the latest Summer flavors. Instead I was met with gem-like colorful mini gelato bites that I personally call the Gelato Gems! That’s even better!.

Each covered gelato bite has a different coating and flavor. Don’t they look like gems found in some pirate’s treasure? I’ve tried these after I’ve seen them catered in Ansam’s sister wedding (post), ordered them and took them to a gathering were they were a big hit.

Since I’m already a fan I was more than happy to receive those little gems, each in a different flavor. You want to see one from the inside? Here is a strawberry gelato coated in milk chocolate.

The coffee gelato and the mango gelato bonbons where my favorite

I had to resist eating the other box. So it went proudly to sit on top of my ice cream stash. I am not nicknamed Danderma for nothing you know

Wait I’m not done. There was a white envelope with two little cards inside, this is the first card.

Ooh how generous from Um 3zooz! I’m so going to reclaim that the moment I can get out of the door again. This is the second card.

A Gelato Italiano loyalty card! AUUUUGH! One more loyalty card to add to my collection! I love loyalty cards and I’ve been nagging for them to become more popular around Kuwait and now I can say they are. Way to go, even though I’ve finished like ten of these already but I am so glad I can begin to stamp my purchases. So very happy indeed.

Thank you Gelato Italiano for making my Friday. The perfect start of summer gift indeed. To order Gelato Italiano’s little gems or try any of their feel good gelatos you can contact them on 22434434 or visit their facebook page (link), follow them on Twitter (@GelatoItaliano_) or Instagram (@GelatoItaliano), or pay them a visit in their main branch in Sharq, Ahmad Al-Jaber St., Bur Al-Jaz tower, Kuwait City.

Picture of the Week: Sarrayat

The weather has been acting up lately, all because its the season of “Sarrayat” which is equivalent to the Kuwaiti Monsoon season. This year however its raining mud! Big fat muddy rain drops that makes everything dirty, the sky is almost always tainted with yellow, and flu is attacking everyone!

Though I’m not looking forward to the summer, I hate summer, but I do truly wish this unstable weather would pass. I’ve had the flu since last Thursday and I am not getting any better for five days now even though I’m on antibiotics! At least in the summer we can hide inside the house with the AC all day long, happy and healthy…

Got a Blackberry? Get Free Coffee & Doughnuts!

Its been quite a busy couple of days! Lots of events, lots of invites and exhibitions. We’re guessing its because people are about to leave soon for the summer holidays. In any case I’ve gotten a call form Mr. Delivery informing me that I’ve got something and for the life of me I thought what could that possibly be?

I was not prepared to see a box of Dunkin Donuts? Why would Dunkin Donuts be sending me a box doughnuts? Maybe they have new flavors? I opened it at once.

And there lay a half a dozen box of freshly baked doughnuts with my blog’s name frosted on two of them. It made me go aww! What a nice gesture. The other doughnuts had Blackberry and * on them.

OK so what was that all about? This letter explained it all.

Every Wednesday, Starting next Wednesday 16 May, any Blackberry user in Kuwait can head to Dunkin Donuts and register their Pin to get free doughnuts and coffee for themselves and a friend. I think that’s a pretty decent offer indeed especially for people who adore doughnuts -my husband for example-. All you have to do is just go there with your BB. I wonder if the BB has to be functioning, I have two :p

Thank you RIM for the very thoughtful gesture. I truly appreciate it especially the personalization of the doughnuts part. Other companies would just email a dry press release, a couple of pictures, and in a superior authoritative tone asks you to post about the press realease, ASAP b3d. RIM’s gesture made me want to write about them. So nice of them indeed.

I also appreciate that they have sent it to as many bloggers as possible. Many other companies would play the “I contacted/invited you once, now your services are no longer needed, moving on to the next” move which I truly despise. Every single blogger I know have received a similar personalized box and every one was very happy. Good job RIM, and thank you, both RIM and Dunkin Donuts. Best of luck.

For more information regarding this promotion you can check Blackberry Middle East facebook page (link) or contact either Blackberry (@Me_Blackberry) or Dunkin Donuts (@DunkinDonuts) on Twitter.

Habba Alert: Lotus Caramelized Ginger Biscuit Spread

Scoot over Nuttella, Lotus Caramelized Ginger Biscuit Spread is the new hit spreading around K-Town.

Remember when I posted a few weeks ago about the Ginger Lotus biscuits that every man in Kuwait adores and most women do too -men more than women though from my encounters-?

Surprise of all surprises, the very next day I found on Instagram that there is a new product, from the very same biscuit maker and this time its the Lotus ginger biscuit smooth spread, just like Nuttella! I think it was Basma 13 Cups who had it first and then people went haywire over it.

Everyone is asking min wain o min wain. I am not moved for I didn’t like the biscuit in the first place and I’m not even a Nuttella fan but my poor husband has been making puppy eyes at the Instagram pictures and when we were last in TSC he was nagging “did you see that spread anywhere? Did you? Wainah? Mo ehnee?” Maskeen his heart is set on it.

Well, those jars are not available yet in Kuwait which makes it even stronger as a habba.  But Basma 13 cups had announced on Instagram yesterday that a guy called Marwan is going to bring some back home within 3 weeks and if you want it you can call him on 66188028 to reserve your own jar.

Anyways I’ve told you, Kuwaitis who have it are going gaga over its taste. Kuwaitis who don’t have it are going gaga over getting a jar and tasting it. The Lotus Caramelized Ginger Biscuit spread is the new Nuttella and I have a feeling its going to be that way for a very very long time.

Check out Diet Ninja’s Post about how good it is and what it went with (link). I also borrowed the photo above from his blog bs I know Sensai 7leew ma ygool la2

Aaya Perfumes Gift Set from Zafaf Magazine

We got a knock on the door, and there was a black bag with a “Saja Perfumes” embossed in gold on it. I was puzzled, who would send me this?

Inside was a copy of Zafaf magazine. Flipping through I noticed lots of articles, tips, and directories for every bride to be in Kuwait. Nice! I didn’t know we had such a magazine in Kuwait. I like that!

And a very sweet card.

Plus this golden box with Aaya perfumes written on it.

What woman doesn’t like perfumes? I am a sucker for perfumes, particularly Arabian ones (post). So when I opened this box my heart did a somersault of happiness, for there were not one, not two, but three bottles of perfumes inside!

Oud Flower, Purell, and Black Oud. I grabbed each one and began to spray and take a whiff immediately.

The first bottle I’ve grabbed, naturally, was the Black Oud. It smelled good, but oud wise it was very light and I like my oud very bold. Its great for summer though because you don’t want to overwhelm people with a strong oud scent. My husband who is less of an bold oud fan keeps spraying himself with it.

Purell, with a limited edition phrase written on the bottle, was very nice. My husband took that away too and kept them in his section of the perfumes.

This one, Oud flower, is my favorite and it smells really, really, good! I loved this one  A LOT!

I wonder where Ayaa perfumes are located, and whether they are Aaya or Saja perfumes? I am a bit confused. I truly want to go and try the rest of what they have on offer. I remember I’ve read about them before somewhere but for the life of me I cannot remember where? Would I recommend these perfume? You bet. Would they make a good gift for a perfume lover? Absolutely. Especially given that it came with Zafaf magazine so if you know a bride to be or want wedding giveaways or incorporate those in your wedding you might want to check them out, especially since they are not that well known or widely spread in Kuwait.

Thank you Zafaf and Mirna for sending this lovely bag my way, you really and truly made my day. You can know more about Zafaf magazine from their website (link).

Fearless Encounters Premier in Cinescape

I was invited yesterday to attend an exclusive preview of one of Kuwait’s most recent movies “Fearless Encounters”, directed by Mr. Talal Showaish-Salem. Fearless Encounters is a 55 minute documentary honoring the Kuwaiti Oil Firefighting Team.

In case you haven’t heard about the Kuwaiti Oil Fires, they were set a light when the Sadam Hussein ordered them to be burnt before the liberation during the Iraqi invation of Kuwait in 1990, resulting in one of the biggest crimes against nature and turning Kuwait’s sky black for a long time.

The footage from this film were shot 20 years ago by the Kuwaiti filmmaker, Talal Showaish-Salem, who spent 6 weeks with the team in the horrific inferno. Telling the inside untold story of the Kuwaiti oil firefighters’ heroic Fearless Encounters. A great thing to watch given that I personally can’t remember much regarding that matter. I do remember an woman engineer, Sarah Akbar, being in the papers back then, that’s all.

I was really looking forward to go, unfortunately by night fall I was feeling so ill I couldn’t get off my couch so sadly I had to stay home. However, I cannot wait to see the movie. I love documentaries, specifically local ones where people work together to do good for the country. It fills me with an amazing sense of pride and I cannot help but supress my tears. It reminds me that there is still hope, wel deniya lel7een ebkhair.

Fearless encounters will be shown in Cinescape theaters across Kuwait starting Thursday 10 May 2012. I can’t wait to go see it. I urge you to go, so you can see, you can feel, you can think, and you can teach the new generation of a past that must not be forgotten.

Thank you Talal Showaish-Salem for the invitation o qawwak Allah.

Fortune Cookie Boutique’s Invitation… Zoo’3a!

I wasn’t having a good day yesterday, I wasn’t that feeling well. However my spirits were lifted and my mood transfored BIG TIME when I saw this on my coffee table.

What’s this you say? Technically its what we call “9efer6as” in Kuwaiti or a stacked Bento lunch box in English.

From who? Fortune Cookie Boutique.

What is Fortune Cookie Boutique? A very hip online store that opened their first branch in Olympia mall. Their stuff is very cool and trendy. This clutch I got from them the last time I was there (post).

What’s inside? Lets open the 9efer6as now, shall we? The first layer had the store’s card.

And this is the back of the card, the Event invitation.

Yes, this entire bogsha is an invitation to the unvieling of the Ramadan Collection at their store -a zoo’3a land on its own btw-. Below the invitation card, comes the cookie… Recogonize the guy?

Ramadan collection wasaal wasaal! Looool!

For the min wain lovers. Little treats by the way is one of two favorite local cupcake bakeries of mine in Kuwait.

Ana 3abali khala9na. Innovatinve packaging, a cookie, colorful sequins and the invitation card. Mako shay b3d. As I was packing the 9efer6as up I thought to myself “Could there be something else? Don’t think so but lets take a look”.

 

Oooh this is crazy! Shino hatha! What a treasure! With a personalised gerge3an song sang for me :’)

My childhood’s candy! OMG! I feel like I’ve stepped into a baqala in the mid 80′s!!! Right up my alley! And this… AUUUUGH! This tube will have a post on his own! Where did u find this?!

Memories memories memories! Shakhbary the Burger Candy!? Still there?

I remember when the Burger Candy first came to Kuwait, right after the liberation 1992 maybe? The baqala that used to sell it was called Edhbaya or something and right next to KES in Salwa so when we picked up my siblings from KES they would insist on going there and buying this candy. We were crazy about it!

Oooh do you remember this one? So electrifying!

7alawat elrawtha! In the five days I’ve actually been to kindergarten in Kuwait I remember this lollipop being handed out to us when we were good Its one of my favorite lollipops -that and Chupa chups chocolate and milk one :p-

Remember this gum? So tasty and you can eat it in three big bites :p I must have swallowed hundreds of little boxes in my childhood :p

And this tiny chocolate

Jelly Cola! Bombom’s Jelly cola b3d! You’ll understand bombom if you grew up reading majalat mickey, the Egyptian one

Oooh Fruit Pastels! My all time favorite candy! Btw now that I am a grown up I dislike all types of chewy candy, more of a dark chocolate truffles kinda girl, but this one is an exception to that. My favorite candy of all time

I will leave you with more pictures. Yes I stayed up all night taking pictures of the invitation while munching on the goodies inside :p I felt like a kid again and if you know me, you’d know how important that was to me and how happy it made me. If I had a kid I’d probably copy this idea for his Ramadan Qerqe3an!

Fortune Cookie Boutique’s Raman collection will be available starting tomorrow Thursday 10 May at 5 PM. Their store is located in Olympia mall. For more information you can shop at their online store (link) check out their facebook page (link) or contact them via Twitter (@FortuneCookieQ8) or Instagram (@FortuneCookieQ8)

Thank you Areej Al-Kharafi for the most beautiful, most nostalgic, most delicious invitation I’ve ever seen :*

Book Review: Bar6aman el Nuttella by Fatima Al-Owwa

While I was browsing jarir shelves looking for whatever book I can buy here I was pulled by the name of this book, The Nuttella Jar! Now who wouldn’t want to read about something with a Nuttella jar? The book however looked so tiny and it was a collection of short stories so I thought it might not worth buying. I put the picture in Instagram and asked whether I should buy it or not.

I did, and I’m glad I did. You see short stories are an art and not every writer can pack an entire story in a few pages where the message is loud and clear! The book has 12 stories, all about poor crushed housemaid in a certain moment during their lives. The one with the Nuttella jar was actually so good, the description so accurate it makes you understand why the thing is so universal.

My personal favorite was the one with the little girl working as a housemaid who really believed the rats could grant her a wish, Cinderella style, after being allowed to watch the Cinderella movie in Dinsey channel.

The writing is light and flowey, in a mix of Arabic and Egyptian dialect, and I found myself laughing outloud with every other page. I truly enjoyed this book. The one downside is that it has only 12 stories and I wanted to read more!!! I would recommend it for a quick light read, especially during bedtime when you cannot afford to read too much or you will be late for work the next morning, then this is the book for you.

Blast from the Past: The Rambo Game on MSX

In the 80′s two things were a big hit: Rambo and the MSX. It is no wonder that MSX had a Rambo game back then and given that I was -and still is- a Rambo fan I loved the game so much. So much in fact that I think the cartridge was fried from being overly used and it stopped working a short while after we bought it. 7safa 3leeh

The game was so primitive yet so much fun and not that hard to play at all. In fact I think it was one of the shortest MSX games ever! You could finish it in half an hour or so.

Rambo come with a knife by default but goes around killing the blue guys and collecting weaponry. A grenade, a machine gun, a bazooka if I am not mistaken, an arrow with some bows. Then throughout the game he can change between the weapons which back then was something very astonishing.

Rambo also gets bitten by a snake at some point and must rush to the hospital for some medicine or else he’ll die, the ominous and repeptitive soundtrack doesn’t change however throught the ordeal.

Rambo not only walked and killed, he could ride boats and even drove a red jeep. When finally he could free his mentor he even rides a helicopter to take him away for safety, which is the end of the game. But…

You see when we were young we always got to the helicopter part, but then the helicopter gets hit and falls down and we would lose My dad tried everything to move the helicopter out of the firing’s way but it was no use. Then he even went and bought us our first joystick thinking we could use it to steer the helicopter, it was no use, the game was fried, and we gave up.

Twenty years later, I figured out why we didn’t win. We should have bombed the thing that hit, forgot its name in English. In the picture below that fired at the helicopter. A laser beam weapon or something.

I bombed it, I got Rambo into the helicopter, and I finished the game successfully! I almost cried from happiness, it took me 20 long years but I finally did finish the game, lol :p

Do you remember the Rambo game on MSX? It was one of my favorite favorite games ever!

Recipe: Honeydew Melon & Yogurt Cup

This is not a recipe per say, and its not even mine. My husband has the tendencie to go bersek at the fruit & vegetables section in the Co-op and buy things in bulk then we would be stuck. So we were contemplating what to do with one of the huge Honeydew melons he bought when he came up with the instruction to make this, hence the so called recipe was made.

Ingredients: Half a Honeydew melon (or cantaloupe), a tub of low fat or fat free yogurt, a tablespoon of honey, some mint leaves, and some loose pomegranate seeds.

How to? Mix the honey and the yogurt. Scoop out the pulp of the melon with a tiny ice cream scooper, make into little round scoops. Put in a seperate bowl, then drizzle with the yogurt-honey mixture. Add the pomegranate and mint and voila you are done.

 

 If it was me I’d add a tiny pinch of chilli pepper on top but I’m allergic to melons so I can’t have any

Its so easy to make, so quick, so light, and looks lovely. Very summery indeed and perfect for a quick breakfast or a light dinner. You can add whatever you want with the mix, mayabelah shay

All gone, bye bye. That was one deicious dish

Shraykom?