Posted by Kanga.
Menues usually have a few amusing items no matter how nice the restaurant is.
Appetizing? Stuffed baby chicken.
I didn’t realize sheeshing was a verb.
Archive for the ‘food’ Category
Menu Highlights
November 2, 2010Strawberries Around the World
October 23, 2010Posted by Kanga.
So, this picture is ridiculously blurry, but the security guard was none too keen on me taking pictures, so I only got one chance. You will have to take my word for it that it says “Strawberries USA.” 9.90 Dhs is about $2.70 for a pint. So, what does a pint of strawberries go for in September in the States?
We did not buy any. Even in the states the berries in the grocery stores are pretty tasteless due to being picked before they are fully ripe. Just imagine what they taste like after being shipped halfway around the world. Some aspects of globalization should be skipped altogether.
Risk Pays Off Again
October 22, 2010Posted by Kanga.
Once again, we wondered into a restaurant and took our chances. So far, this has always worked for us. The name of the restaurant is Barbecue Delights and the sign had flames on it, so I was a bit hesitant because I expected the menu to be full of foods laced generously with hot chilis.
Sidebar: Barbecue here has nothing to do with American style barbecue. There is no sweet tomato based sauce in sight.
I was delighted, however, when I saw that among the spicy Indian menu items there were Afghani menu items.
So here are the condiments, if you will, a bowl of yogurt, plate of cut veggies and a few sauces.
I don’t remember how this was listed in the menu, but it was basically some of everything. The rice was delicious. It had currents, pistachios and other tasty bits in it. There were several types of grilled meat – chicken, ground meat & lamb. Hidden in the rice was a lamb shank that was to die for. There was also a lovely long piece of flat bread and we had lassi (a salted yogurt drink).
We didn’t really need another favorite restaurant. There are too many already. However, whenever we are near Lamsy Plaza around lunch or dinner time, we know where to go.
Breakfast decadence
October 16, 2010
These pictures were specifically requested, so here they are. A while back DaddyBird discovered bacon wrapped sausages that also had cheese inside at the grocery store. They are amazingly delicious and decadent. These in the picture are not cheese “infused,” but are a homemade attempt by manually wrapping the sausage in bacon.
Then comes the scrambled eggs with onions and two kinds of cheese.
The noise of opening an egg carton and cracking eggs results in the following:
Here is the finished product. This is an occasional, special weekend breakfast. This is a heart attack waiting to happen.
Feasting on Friday
October 12, 2010Posted by Kanga.
Last friday we joined my coworkers for a traditional Indian meal. Most of it was too spicy for me, but I managed to survive and next time I will have a better idea of what to ask for more of and what to turn away.
This has to be the most biodegradable way to eat. No dishes, no silverware.
Well, the decor was interesting…
September 10, 2010
Well, we ate at Spur Steak Ranches restaurant. The steaks were quite terrible, but the lights shaped like teepees were fun. The decor was quite a mismash of Plains Indian motifs, Pacific Northwest Coastal Indian motifs and a little Inuit thrown in for good measure. (Word to the wise, don’t eat there.)
Not as appetizing as they may have thought…
July 15, 2010Posted by Kanga.
Somehow, the thought of eating that sweet little chick…
Burfi turned out to be a hypersugar bar.
Ayyy…Mrs. C!
Shawarma Loiter
July 3, 2010Posted by Kanga.
First, I should explain the origin of the “shawarma loiter” concept. It came from a dinner conversation with friends about shawarma – the quality, availability, etc. One friend asked the other his opinion, to which he replied “I’ve never loitered at shawarma stands.” The word “loiter” hit the funny bone of the first friend, so it became the running joke of the evening and by the end the concept of a shawarma loiter had solidified.
So, June 16th we had our first real shawarma loiter (or stroll) which consisted of meeting at the mall across the street from our apartment and then DaddyBird led us on a tour of some of the shawarma stands in our neighborhood. We paced ourselves by just buying 1/2-1 shawarmas per person per stand.
Shawarmas consist of pita bread rolled around shaved meat that has been cooked on an upright spit. Exact contents vary from stand to stand. There is often a sauce added and some put in veggies. Shawarmas in restaurants often have soggy fries added, but this is not convenient at the stands, thankfully. Stand shawarmas range from 3.50 AED to 5.00 AED (that’s $0.95 to $1.36). The 3.50 ones usually have veggies in them and the 5.00 ones are usually a little larger.
The spit/roaster is usually an electric device producing radiant heat on one side while the spit is rotated slowly. One near our apartment has a bank of coals instead of electric heat.
DaddyBird also included a historical landmark in our tour, the Burj Nahar.
This is one of the watchtowers that used to be on the outskirts of town. It has been preserved and there is a little park area around it.
Next stop was a bread bakery on a back street.
These men are sitting on top of the oven. Two are rolling out the dough and the third is putting it into and taking it out of the oven.
We ended our shawarma stroll at Al Mallah restaurant on Al Muteena street. One of our favorites. We sat inside for the very first time due to the summer heat and the fact that we were pretty sweaty by this point. The air conditioning was quite nice. Shawarma loitering should be a winter activity.
Betawi
July 3, 2010Posted by Kanga.
Last week we met up with friends at an Indonesian restaurant in the Karama neighborhood.
It started with a crisp bread with tiny dried fish in it.
Above is DaddyBird’s nasi padang. He says it was very yummy.
This is my oxtail soup. Sorry, I’ve forgotten the official name of it. I was just really happy to see it on the menu. It was very delicious. I even liked the green beans, which is rare.
So, in summary, we highly recommend Betawi in Karama. Good food for low prices.
Signs from the ‘Hood
June 24, 2010Posted by Kanga.
A creatively named restaurant. Hmm… wonder what they serve here.
Now you know what the royalty is up to.
Here’s an image I never expected to see in the Middle East. (This is actually in a mall not in the neighborhood.)
“Spur People – People with a Taste for Life”
Chicken Tikke so good even a chicken will eat it!
Chinees Food, speaks for itself.
We first saw Rio More tuna in a commercial during the previews at a movie theatre. Then I saw it plastered all over this taxi. The image of tuna in olive oil (greenish goo) is not very appetizing.
Living the Travel Channel 