Yo! Sushi in Festival City Center - Dubai

A two days weekend plan out of nowhere to go to Dubai !!

would never be faced by a No despite the tough midterms coming in the way
I took my books, laptop and packed my bags and drove all the way to Dubai to get out of the sick routine and try a new thing or two

While first day went nice between shopping, indian food and italians I wanted to try something extraordinary something as unusual as the Japanese food and so I asked my little sister who's more open to new options when encouraged

"How about SUSHI ?!"

sis: "ummm I'm not sure, I like shrimp and fish but when its raw .. I'm afraid we won't like it.."

me: "ya me too I mean I tried raw fish before but hey japanese restaurants has cooked options too and I mean come on have a look at the food rail !! and ... I miss eating with chopsticks lol !"

and so we went for it.

YOOOOO SUSHI !



the atmosphere was really great I loved the purple lightings and the japanese dolls

the eating policy was as simple as pick a dish moving on the rail and based on the colour you pay the allocated price
the prices ranged from 13AED for vegetables sushi rolls to 23AED for a combination of raw fish sushi

we were like "ok so we will pick the most good looking dishes and consider the pricing !"

Making the discussion for the first try took us more time than estimated for a regular lunch and there was no much time left to catch up the movie lol !

on each table you would see the most famous spice of japan ! WASABI !
I learned how to mix the wasabi with soy sauce in small plates back in Korea so I had something to amaze my sis with ;p



if you go to yo sushi make sure you take a slow eater who enjoys each and every bite !
the plates are really small and has around 3-4 pieces filled with different flavours which I wouldn't dare to take my other sister to altho she likes Japanese culture a lot!

Crab Onigiri my fav !

and there is this thing about asian food in general; is that few bites are enough to make you as full as someone who just ate a whole chicken !
I still hasn't figures out why yet but maybe its the secret for eating less and looking slim in asia hahaha~

if you've been to any asian restaurants nearby feel free to share the experience
I look forward to go for Korean and A REAL Chinese one in Dubai next time !

Peace,
Amna 

Book Review: Memoirs of an Arabian Princess

On mother's day I passed by the bookstore for a new book

and there it was on the shelf the book I longed to read ever since I heard the story of the first arabian princess to run away to Europe 

Princess Salme bint Saeed a.k.a Emily Ruete of Zanzibar 

her book titled "Memoirs of an Arabian Princess"

مذكرات أميرة عربية ترجمة الدكتورة سالمة صالح

I read the translated version

Zanzibar was a familiar place in my childhood, there were songs and jokes about Zanzibar but I was so ignorant about anything more beyond the name of Zanzibar. I later knew it was ruled by Oman in the past but now is under Tanzania's

In her book she gave us a golden chance of going back in time to know the extremely detailed picture of how life looked like not only as a Zanzibar citizen but as a part of a royal extended family

specifically speaking around the time of 1880's 

Salme stated that she never wanted to publish her memoirs before but instead wanted them to be a cultural reference to her kids who never knew anything about the Arabic environment she came from, and because her physical and psychological condition were in bad shape that she never thought she would live to tell her story.
This book is an interesting addition to my entertainment list, at some part of the book I could relate to the lifestyle and understood the luxuries they experience as a ruling family and at another I was reading new stuff. Every time I read a part I would rush to my mom and told her about Salme and ask her opinion or if she remembers similar stuff were done the same way by our ancestors. 

Through the book you can sense how bright salme was. She knew how to speak Arabic and Swahili then bravely learned how to write when all women were not allowed to learn more than how to read! Not to mention that the book was published in german language at first which means that Salme mastered it later in her life.

The most beautiful thing is that this lady never talked bad about both worlds she lived in; however, she did serve a great comparison of the beauty in both sides. She became a german citizen and changed her religion to christianity but never talked little about islam teachings nor arab traditions. She was literally a sophisticated woman. On the other hand, she described the wonderful friendship she made in Germany, the difference in lifestyles, weather and education that amazed her in Europe at that time. I enjoyed swinging back and forth with my imagination trying to see Germany and Oman back in time.

My mom was so happy my talk about Salme finally came to an end haha but I was so sad she didn't write much more details about her personal life in Germany, I bet it was so exciting and scary at the same time to be on your own in a foreign country and far away from your family after losing a husband.. 

A bow to every mother who shined in the dark sky and fought back the hardships for her children

R.I.P Princess Salme, you were a true legend

Peace,
Amna

Cooking: Smoked Salmon Creme Pasta

As a big fan of pasta I've been trying different types of pasta everywhere I go, few months back I discovered my love for smoked salmon and it was never perfect until I tried it with my favourite white sauce pasta !

Recently I've been watching an old drama (not so old from 2010 :P) with my little sister called "Pasta" I've already had a history with food cravings whenever I watch a korean drama and this one was the worst as my weakness is Pasta itself

to fulfil my craving I had it planned to have smoked salmon pasta for dinner and head to carrefour to pick up the ingredients !

so here is my simple recipe made for four servings:

Ingredients:

- 50g butter
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 230ml or 1 cup of skim milk
- 2 tablespoons of Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of frozen green peas
- 1/4 cup of mushrooms
- 150g of smoked salmon diced

- 250g Linguine 

- a pinch of Parsley

- 1/4 red or yellow bell pepper

- Salt & Black Pepper to taste  

Steps:

1- First we should cook the Linguine in a salted boiling water for 8-12mins, add one spoon of olive oil to avoid pasta sticking to itself.

2- In a skillet melt the butter then toss the onions and stir till tender

3- Add flour & garlic powder to the skillet and mix. Gradually add the milk and stir. Leave the mixture to boil then its time to add the cream cheese and mix until the sauce gets thick and smooth.

4- Now its time to add the veges ! add the peas, mushrooms, parsley & bell pepper and cook for few more minutes on a low heat. you can add salt & black pepper as much as you like here !

5- Add the smoked salmon and cook for 2mins or until the salmon turns light pink.

6- Divide your pasta in plates then serve the sauce on top and have it warm :)

*hearts hearts*

I hope you like it as much as my family did :)

peace,

Amna

Tofu and Skin Care

Yesterday I spent couple of hours surfing the internet fulfilling my curiosity about skin care remedies 

moving from one page to another not being convinced enough to try home treatments I thought to myself who is a role model of silky fair skin? 

If you seek google help all you will get is a bunch of lost answers and others depressing and giving it back to something we don't YET have control over "Genetics" 

I'm not a beauty expert but I can tell when something is not good for the skin and so this is what I noticed :

■ The genetics of korean people plays a huge role in making their skin the way it is however, it doesn't mean they have better skin than other people either. if you don't take care about your skin you will have a bad one whether you are a Korean or not

■ Food differs a lot from what we eat here. Most of the time the skin is a mirror what you digest.

I really adore the Korean diet, sometimes without noticing you eat more than 5 different kind of vegetables in one meal! 

Not just vegetables even relying on seafood that provides the skin with fatty acids plays a big deal.

and of course you know how koreans are soooo into

■ relaxing in Jjimjilbang(찜질방) public bathrooms with multiple rooms from heated to ice cold ones all help the skin remove its toxics ! :D

■ and theres also water consumption, most important tip I usually forget about :/

anyways on one meal a beauty secret was revealed from a male colleague - yup shame on me as a girl lol -

Its asia's most famous vegetarian dish

Tofu 두부!

I did know what tofu is before going to Korea but never cared enough to look for it nor try it at home
Tofu is bean curd; all natural from beans to beans
a very rich source of protein that has many health benefits including reducing ageing and giving elasticity to the skin, low calories and fats ! seems interesting huh ?

I remember going to a Korean village and watching the long process of making Tofu and participating a little which made me appreciate this food more! :D

I was determined to eat tofu again and thus I went out looking for one in my small city of Al Ain
and luckily I found three packets only in carrefour from which two were in bad storing conditions :/

hahaha ignoring the rest, here is the tofu from the imported food section !

for people used to rich spices Tofu might be weird and dull so you don't have to eat raw tofu you can simply add it to different recipes or simply season it with spices like the Koreans

so ya thats basically it for now I will be having spoons of tofu daily for a while and see how it goes :D

Have a good day !
Amna

Cooking: Chinese Night !

Cooking is an inspiration that comes at really awkward times! 
Its one of these nights where I craved Chinese Fried Rice! 
and of course it will always be accompanied by a main juicy dish!

I wanted to share the Chinese night with you guys
Chinese cooking style depends a lot on cooking your ingredients over a wok !

 you might be surprised by what you add to your Wok but its okay the weird ingredients were a shock for me too but it turned out to be fantástico!
Also another important ingredient is the soy sauce!
 when you want to go asian in cooking you must have soy sauce in hand ! It is the secret sauce to master the asian taste. And it is a great source of protein so ya health !

I wrote below the original source from where I got my recipes but I changed them a little to be easier for what I have in my kitchen and matching my preferences.

Alright so I started by making :

Chinese Fried Rice

The trick about chinese fried rice is to use cold rice cooked couple of hours ( maybe days ) before and this works great for me as usually we have a lot of rice leftovers from lunch which saves a lot of cooking time!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

oil

2 eggs

3 drops soy sauce

3 drops sesame oil

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot 

1/2 cup frozen peas

4 cups cold cooked rice

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

Steps:

1-  Fry onions in wok until they turn light brown and remove from heat.

2-  In a small bowl beat eggs with the 3 drops of soy sauce and sesame oil.

(I didn't have sesame oil so I used a little sesame seeds to taste)

3-  Fry the egg mixture in wok to make an omelette then flip when one side is cooked. Remove from heat and chop it into small pieces.

4-  Heat oil in wok and add carrots and peas ( in my case I used mixed frozen veggies) and stir for couple of minutes.

5-  Add the rice and green onion and stir fry for another few minutes until all mixed well.

6-  Add a little drops of soy sauce to the rice mixture then stir in the chopped eggs and serve warm !

Now that the rice is ready I was wondering which type of chicken to prepare and ended up educating myself about :

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:

for marinating chicken:
vegetable oil for deep frying
1000g boneless chicken breasts cubed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of white pepper
1 cup cornstarch

Others:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 green onion chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 red/green whole chillies ( you can add more but 2 is good for mild heat)
half orange zest
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon rice vinegar ( I used white vinegar )
1/4 cup soy sauce 
pinch of sesame seeds

2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water 

Steps:

1-  Marinate chicken: Beat the 2 eggs and add the cubed chicken breast then sprinkle with spices ( salt, sugar, white pepper). add the cup of corn starch and mix well - preferably with hand - to assure that all cubes are coated with the mixture.

2-  In hot oil, deep fry few cubes of breasts until floating and golden yellow. keep the chicken to cool for few mins then start the second time frying until golden brown then drain on kitchen paper to cool.

3-  Over high heat add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large wok. add green onion, garlic, chilies and orange zest for 2 mins till the garlic is golden and chilies are brighter. Add sugar ginger and vinegar, soy sauce, sesame seeds and wait for it to boil. cook for more 3 minutes.

4-  Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of water and add it to the mixture on the wok. Keep on cooking until you achieve a thick mixture ( sauce ). Add the already fried chicken cubes and reduce the heat to cook for couple of minutes until the chicken absorbs the sauce.

Wooooh look at that yum yummy:p!

So thats it ! My favourite two for now and my first Chinese dishes :) 

Enjoy your weekend Everyone

Bon Appétit !

Amna

References:

1- http://www.food.com/recipe/chinese-fried-rice-38748

2- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/general-tsaos-chicken-ii/

Actor Song Joong Ki (송중기) visits UAE !

It was another ordinary day at UAEU when girls started gossiping about Arrirang club poster broadcasted all over campus 

"Have you heard the news? they will be hosting that handsome Korean actor !"

I do love Korean people but I've never been into Kpop and Kcelebrities or wtever u call them.. so I didn't knew who they were talking about. when I saw the poster I was like no way joseeeee~ they are bringing the brainy guy from running man ! 

송중기오빠가 오고있어요?!

I mean do you know how famous this guy is in Korea?! this guy is on Lotteria (I call it Korean Mcdonalds) soda cups and burger menus !!! 

Alright thats a funny description as he is now assigned the Korean Health ambassador but hell ya he is something huge in Korea!

two days ago we were saying Noooo way it must be a rumour, it must be a lie but oh no it wasn't !

I hesitated whether to go or not cuz I wouldn't wanna get in the middle of hysterically angry fans or stuffed among hundreds by the entrance ! yet there was a thing in my heart telling me to go ! I took a place in the long line with my close friend and earlier that morning she said she had a dream that we went inside and took part in the organization process .. I laughed at her n told her to shut up lol

As always fans giving the organizers a hard time and we were told to get out of the hallway and wait outside.. we were really pissed off cuz we stood in line and respected the rules and look where rules got us! My friend Cloud said lets just go home but again that feeling told me to stick around a little longer so I told her lets wait for a second chance and that when our friend from the Korean club showed up and asked us to go inside with her and be part of the organizing team !

I don't know how all this happened but I got hold of my friend's arm and we made it smoothly .. it was fate .. it was our luck !

I was like whooooh chinguya next time you should really dream about something bigger and from now on I shall respect ur dreams ! xD

Anyways we took care of the entrance to the theater and were able to distribute signed pictures and seat numbers professionally ! oh and on one corner we set up gifts for Joong Ki collection. I wanted to give him something from UAE to remember us but I thought naaaaa I guess his fans will take care of that and they indeed DID !

Gifts coming from the early batch of girls !

Anyways when all seats were taken and the hall got full it was time to start the event ! I truly appreciated the host of the event who was a korean speaking in Arabic ! Arabic is not an easy language yet she managed to read the whole script using only Arabic !

the first part of the event was for watching our oppa's new movie "Werewolf" 

I totally liked it so sweet so emotional I started crying very hard as the movie contradicted with a recent drama in my life, ommmmo it was really a good cry x)

During the movie my friend said "I wanna study movie production !!!" xD

me went like "oh ..... I wanna marry a KOREAN !" lol

Directly after the movie oppa came inside to greet us and the shock was drawn all over his face. He stated that he was expecting to see Korean fans living in UAE but turned out to be only locals! he was so humble and talked very well and as almost all Korean men he was very shy :)

Taken by my friend Nouf from the Korean club !

and funny thing is that girls were listening carefully to his words and happened to answer in Korean at some points that he asked in Korean .. oh do you speak Korean !!!!! and the whole place was like "nehhhhhh xD" !!! 

The man was literally shocked, poor korean celebrities still don't know how famous they are in Arab world lol !

and as for the crazy moments one fan girl wanted to run on stage to give him red roses and were stopped by 4 people! I couldn't help but stare with open mouth but then I felt sorry for her a bit but seriously woman ...

another girl right behind my seat had an emotional break down and started crying and laughing at the same time then making heart shape by her arms saying "saranghe oppa" hahaha

but you know I didn't mind these actions at all, in my opinion i think its pretty normal and gives the day a sense of humour! maybe cuz I've been to more crowded public concerts and gatherings and I've seen much crazier people before..

sad thing is some people didn't accept the new culture or even tried to give it a chance like supervisors and employees around who were surprised by the girls reaction that they worked as party spoilers and gave negative comments all the event long !

We are all humans; We all shall respect each other and honestly people learn to have some fun from time to time its an element to become an understanding mature person !

  

hehehe signed Photos of our handsome guy :p

Anyways I went back home feeling happy and just satisfied. We haven't had food since 12pm that day but we didn't get hungry at all ! we did something willingly and out of passion.. I caught a glimpse of my beloved home Korea :)

나는 너무 행복해요~

Thank you Arrirang Club Thank you Korean Embassy! 

Being the first to change is never easy despite the negative comments, stick to what you believe as you will be the future of development and becoming a global figure

I hope Song Joong Ki Oppa had a great time in UAE too and we wish to see this sweet guy around again :)

Peace,

Amna  

Finally an Apple user !

This all started last Wednesday when a tragic incident happened to my ancient laptop who lasted with me for around 4.5 years ! I was working so hard at night till 3 am; watched an episode later, then went to sleep for couple of hours

My hard disk crashed !! :(

I'm really grateful for the IT support for being able to extract my data from the broken disk

I really wanted to change my laptop when I graduate to open a new page for my life after graduation but life surprises you when you least expect it and well that happens to almost all things you plan for!

I was confused between choosing Mac Pro or Mac Air

either way I was gonna kiss Windows goodbye

analysing my needs I figured that my uses will be well taken care of using Mac Air as I'm not a heavy user to go for pro..

 so I went to Sharaf DJ and the sales person gave me a second thought with the new model of Mac Pro, the features are better, weight is lighter than the old pro and price is closer only 1000DHS difference.

It might be funny but I don't like the black frame around the screen in Mac pro and I didn't like how thin is Mac Air .. in fact I don't like very thin technologies as I don't trust my femininity with it lol 

and YES these preferences seem so naive but it does make a difference and NO I'm not so dumb to go for an expensive technology based on outer shell only !

I went home took a second opinion and more research and then settled for that choice

for now I'm still exploring the new features; I thought its gonna be really bad shifting from Windows to Mac but it was just fine !

Unboxing Mac

the long lasting battery is an awesome feature because now I don't have to carry heavy charger in my bag :D

 customisability, speed , weight, elegant look, retina technology, backlight keyboard .. are all features I loved and the list is still growing~

I only have a complain about the price but friends said its worth it and that what I want to discover by time..

for now I got some more discoveries to make, praying this Mac will last with me for the next 10 years

p.s: I don't know why but ever since I got a Mac I get the feeling that Steve Jobs picture on his book is glowing lol

which reminds me I should go back and finish reading his book !

Peace,

Amna