Comfort Food

I was bone tired today. Too much work and stress. I went out of the office a little late slowly making my way home inspite of the heat. I arrived in our flat a little 15 minutes later than my usual time and then just lie down for awhile. My body is weak and so is my spirit. I'm in such a depressive mode :-( ZERO. I was quiet the whole time and after dinner just allowed myself to shed some few tears...Missing home? Probably or work-related. I am very much critical of myself especially if I am not satisfied with my own work performance. Even my webbie friends did not lift my spirits - bryanboy can't seem to make me laugh and the angry birds just makes me more frustrated. Anyway, around 10:30PM I asked Mario if we can get out of the flat and just walk around. But food is what I have in mind. I remember my sister Margaret who always asks me to stock-up some 'comfort food' at home like Lay's chips or chocolates. But I am throwing my diet out of the window just for tonight.


I asked Mario if we can go to ZaatarWZeit. I have always been meaning to go there because of the great reviews and it is just a minute walk from home. 


It didn't disappoint. The place is very comfy and the food is great! It is like a fast food joint aka Mcdo or KFC sans ordering at the counter. We ordered while sitting down but the ambiance is relaxing and casual and the music is hip.  We ordered their specialty - wraps! It's not the usual Shawarma thing nor the wrap sandwiches you casually buy around 'refreshment' stores. What's special about it is the dough used in the wraps. I heard from our server, Joyce (Filipina), that there are customers who has been asking them their ingredients which remains to be a secret. 
Mario ordered coffee while I ordered their lemonade. Their lemonade is a yum and i was not disappointed. Though some restos offer freshly squeezed lemonades, this one has a zing! 


I have no cameras and no Ipod with me so I wasn't able to get a picture of the place. However, I promised to go back since they will be open 24 hours as per demand. I felt a lot better. :-)


So it's almost past bedtime when we arrived back home. I opened my Ipod for my nightly Bible reading. I am so much in awe by this Bible apps from iTunes. Anyway, today's passage was about Moses asking by God to bring His people out of Egypt. (Exodus 4:10-12). Moses was in a dilemma because he is not a public-speaker but God said He will teach him what to say.... I read some of the notes some readers posted and I am in empathy with all of them. It all gave me strength to know that when God asks you to do something, He has already made a way to do it for you inspite of our weaknesses. I know that my way of coming in the Middle East is a calling and a blessing from Him and that gives me comfort. So what should I fear???


I am blessed! :-) 

Techie Hype

I never thought I would see the day that I will be so much into the web. You see I am just an ordinary citizen with basic and ordinary knowledge of the Internet and techies. I do have an FB account, a very inactive Twitter account, and an old and unvisited Friendster account aside from my YM and MSN messenger which I used in my previous work. I do have a basic mobile phone which I used to make calls and text or sms. Other than that,for whatever my mobile phone's worth, is unknown to me. It's either I do not have the time or I just don't care enough.


Coming to Abu Dhabi though has changed all that. Don't get me wrong. It is not because of the cheap electronics or the convenience of getting one nor is it because of the Internet services provided (only by 2 major telecom providers - Etiselat & Du) which, in fact, has most websites blocked due to "malicious contents" BUT probably because the Internet or the web is the most fastest, reliable, and up-to-date tool for communicating outside of this world to families and friends. And since most of the people living here are expats, it is a very common thing that each household or person has a laptop or PCs stashed inside their homes or beds.


So coming to Abu Dhabi, my laptop is a new world on its own...I got to create my blog thinking it will be a way for us to show my family and friends what we have been up to here in Abu Dhabi. Facebooking is just not enough to express all this and I wanted selected few to know about it. Then I got so involved with my Twitter account having followed this famous fashion Pinoy blogger, bryanboy, who introduced me into a new level of the fashion world. Then my husband gave me an Ipod Touch 4th Gen so everything has been mobile! Making me more updated about my cause and my loves. The Apps in the iTunes Store became so addictive so I am not foreign to Angry Birds =) Oh and I love The Bible apps. It is the ultimate Bible reading,planning, and diary all in one with different interpretations.  After that I became a blogger reader and also got myself involved with eBooks. Now, I have just signed up with Google+. If you are not familiar with it yet, it's because it is not yet well-publicized and is still in its pilot stage. Google+ will be the newest and coolest by far than FB and Twitter as I have seen and tried.


Too many things to do that's why i kept a note to monitor usernames, passwords and emails. 


Everything, everything is just one click away and I am, to say the least, is a very busy person =)

Daiso

Just found out a Daiso Store here in Abu Dhabi and in Al Wahda Mall again..It's on the Ground floor level tucked away in a corner of the mall..

I am already familiar with the Daiso stores since there are plenty in Manila but are usually small compared to this one. So going inside, is like an all-in-one store all imported from Japan. You can buy almost everything and mostly for AED7.00 only! 

 I was checking the make-up alley and an Arabic woman wearing an Avaya asked if it's any good. Told her I've no idea and just smiled...But when i wore a denim hairband she asked me to buy it since it does look good on me...Hahaha...I did. :-p

Assorted hair clips...

 Ready-to-use reading glasses...

We also bought this one...

 Kitchen wares...

 Assorted storage boxes...

Every time I visit Daiso store I find unusual knick-knacks that still amazes me :-)

SMILE

When Mario and I visited Al Wahda, we came to a stall that says "Operation Smile".  It seems familiar and so I know why. I have already came across this organization back in Manila. It's an international organization with a good cause.

Their cause: 'Operation Smile provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe'


A young volunteer assisted me inside their booth and showed me around. They have various activities for kids to help raise funds.

And they have souvenir items for sale. I bought a camel stuffed toy for 25AED. It will be one of my 'pasalubong' to Anjel.

Going around the booth I was surprised and happy to know that they just had a recent mission in Davao last March. 

Before leaving, I promised the young guy to share this with friends and hope that they will continually help and touch the lives of children with just a 45-minute operation for a smile of a lifetime!

Visit their site at: http://www.operationsmile.org/about_us/

La Brioche

Yesterday, Wednesday night, Mario and I decided to have our nightly walk. We do not really have any idea where to go but Mario wanted to have coffee. He wanted to go to Starbucks but I wanted to go to somewhere new. So Mario suggested we visit La Brioche, a French restaurant famous for its breads and pastries. If you remember my previous blog about my birthday presents, you will see a birthday cake from La Brioche given to me by my office mates. I have heard so much about this cafe so I am very eager to visit the place. It's along Najda Street and near to where I work. 

  

Inside the rustic place...

Pastries....

Our orders..

I didn't much like the black currant custard cake. The currant is too sour and the custard is not sweet enough for the sour taste. Their coffee is quite okay as I have ordered cappuccino but comes in small size.

Next time, i will probably try their pasta and stick to the cakes :-)

Mario and I decided to go home and call it a night. It's a long weekend so no rush and passed by the park...Beautiful night!

Taxi Scene

I forgot to mention that on our way home inside a cab, our driver blew a horn on the car in front of us. Though it was late, traffic is still large. By the way, most Abu Dhabi taxi drivers are reckless and drives too fast, I just don't know why, and our driver is not an exception. 


So anyway, our driver said that the car in front of us is owned by a rich sheik. So my husband asked why he knew that. According to our driver when the plate number has only 2-3 numbers, it's expensive and owned by sheiks..So my husband already engaged in a conversation, told him that in his own country (meaning the Philippines) car plates are identifiable by color like green plate is for privately-owned vehicle, yellow for public transportation, red plate for government-owned vehicle,and so forth. As our driver was also saying something about "In my country........" and since, I cannot understand what our driver is saying, my mind drifted off somewhere not far not paying attention to what the conversation is about and only half listening to my husband's yes and nos.


Eventually I turned to Mario and asked..."Naiintindihan mo ba sinasabi niya? Sigurado ako hindi"....And Mario said..."Hindi. Um-oo ka na lang" which made me laugh! So i let him enjoyed the conversation. On our stop, we thanked the driver and went off the cab. 


I noticed my husband's puzzled look. So i asked him what about. He said "Did you heard what he said? How he pronounced the word government? I could not almost understand what he is pertaining to." So we had a little laugh at that. 


Word of the day: Government              Pronounced as: Gover-na-ment

Bloomsbury's

Mario has been sick over the weekend so I thought we will be housebound for two days. But yesterday late afternoon, he said he is feeling better and requested to go malling, our usual weekend activity. So off we went to Al Wahda Mall. So far this mall has been awarded as no. 1 mall in Abu Dhabi. See for yourself why...

The ambiance feels so great and very classy. So it just feels right that in the middle of the mall sprang Bloomsbury's. It's a new cupcake store with a tie-up from Bea's of Bloomsbury, "London's most fashionable Bakery". What's new? According to Abu Dhabi week magazine,' Bloomsbury's aims to combine Eastern and Western flavours to create indulgent cupcakes with a contemporary British twist...' 


So entering Bloomsbury's is like going into a different dimension...

I checked out their displays...

 

  

 We ordered German chocolate cupcake for Mario, chocolate as usual, and mine is one of their all-time fave Diabetics' dream. It's a banana cake with cream cheese on top and pecan nuts..

 And i ordered English black tea. Very nice presentation...

  

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" - CS Lewis

The tea, made of fresh leaves in a bag, is dipped inside this delicate tea pot and is timed before drinking. You can ask for more hot water for second or third infusions. 

So busog!

Mario doesn't want his picture taken coz' he looks ill...Anyway, i enjoyed eating the cakes as much as the tea and will definitely go back. Though with Mario, it's just so, so...I swear I need to exercise after this treat =)