Dandydish

A favorite with a few of us at work has been Vitamin located in Rawdah whenever we feel like a quick light lunch. I have been going to this place for more than a year now and although not exceptional, the place is just right for that quick working lunch. The place advertises itself as a Lebanese joint and the menu consists of the same usual suspects. The various simple but deletctable pastes like Hummus, Mutabbal, Baba Ganouj, Mahmara and the likes. There is a small grill counter with the various skewers with different kinds of meat layered on it. There is another small counter where you can order your own sandwich with the various stuffings displayed. Then there is the juice counter with a multicoloured fruits hogging the available space. There is one counter with the meal of the day. This is like your combo and changes everyday. There are usually 1 or 2 kinds of rice, a couple of curry dishes and some meat or fish grilled or fried. You notice that everyone walking in usua...

I am not sure if I liked the place or hated the place. The place in question here is the Bab Al Yemen restaurant at the Al Zahra area. 3 of us from work decided to beat the afternoon heat by going out for lunch. It took some courage for us to venture out in this heat, but since our friend, Mr H had no issues driving there, we decided to venture go out after a really long time. 20 minutes later we were parked outside the restaurant. Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised at the decor. Now, I have not been to Yemen ever, but the place looked like a very neatly done Yemeni house with some very old artifacts thrown in to give it a complete feel. It was very traditional with a modern and neat look which held us in awe. We were told we would have to wait for 10 mins, which was testimony to the fact that this was indeed a popular joint. We were then given seats on the first floor of the singles section, which was spacious but fairly empty, unlike the seating on the ground floor wh...

This weekend our Canadian friends had invited a few of us for pancakes and deserts to celebrate the Canadian independence day.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Day ) The venue was Flapjacks, located in the Rawdah district. Sharp at 7.00pm when we arrived, most of the guests were already there. A big table for the twenty odd guests was set on the first floor meant for families. Our host had managed to get some Canadian flags to set the mood right for the evening. The venue was good, although a tad too dim for my liking. The menu cards were superimposed on the table. But as I said it was so dim that most of us had trouble deciding on our food. After struggling with our mobile phones that doubled up as torches to illuminate the table/menu, all of us finally managed to order our drinks and food. The menu consists of mostly pancakes, broken down into regular and sweet, waffles, sandwiches and salads. The server’s discomfort highlighted the fact that they were not ready to handle such a...

An experiment by the wife which turned out to be a brilliant concoction of taste and texture. Cottage cheese marinated in home ground spices on skewers and grilled in the oven. Accompanied by cottage cheese salad and sliced pears.

The long absence from my last post is attributed to the summer here in Jeddah. It has started. It is getting really hot here, so much so that we have been avoiding stepping out most of the week. But finally we decided to venture out as I felt a part of my life missing without being able to taste some of the wonders that Jeddah restaurants have to offer and to be able to post it on the blog. So 4 of us decided that we needed some local flavor to soothe our systems and the unanimous choice was Montazah Al Nakheel (Palm gardens) located along the Jeddah cornice. We were introduced to this place by our Saudi friends in Jeddah, a wonderful couple who appreciate the finer things in life. From the first time we were there, we have been going there at least once every fortnight. Nakheel is basically an outdoor restaurant and a huge one at that. Going by the crowds that gather here every evening, I presume that this is indeed one of the most popular joints in and around this area. The food the...

For those of you who have not visited the Belajio resort located in the Jeddah cornice, I have only one advice. Please GO. This is the kind of impact this place had on us. I mean really, it was one hell of a fantastic evening. Wife and I accompanied by our partners in crime Mr. & Mrs. H decided to start the beginning of the week by having dinner at Belajio. None of us had been to this place before although we pass by this place almost on all our weekend visits to the cornice. Calls were made and a table booked. We were informed that they had four restaurants within the complex. 1.) Crystal: Fusion cuisine 2.) Dar Al Qamar: An open air restaurant serving Arabic/ Indian cuisine 3.) Layalina: Lebanese cuisine 4.) Tea garden: An enclosed restaurant facing the red sea offering a mix of cuisines, a la carte. All four places serve the essential shisha J We decided on Tea Garden owing to the temperature in Jeddah right now and thought the air conditioned comforts would be better than sitt...

Some things are best left unsaid. Let the pictures below do the talking. This is how it was described This is how it looked Description Fabulous end product. Location: Haagen Dazs, Red Sea Mall, Jeddah