Butcher Shop & Grill : From South Africa to Arabian Peninunsula

The Butcher Shop &GRILL is the iconic chain of restaurants that incorporates a meat butchery within the restaurant!  It was established in 1996 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This distinction was the brainchild of Alan Pick, an industry veteran of over 40 years whose immense knowledge of butchery was pivotal for the Butcher Shop &GRILL's success. The concept of The Butcher Shop & GRILL  is more than just a restaurant: it allows customers to come by anytime during the day to buy superior meat from the retail butchery, or even take some meat home with them following their meal at the restaurant.

 It is rated a top restaurant in South Africa, selling an average of 8 to 12 tonnes of meat per week. 
B S&G expanded to UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain and recently KSA in the last few years.

The Butchery Display: Fresh Cut Meats served and cooked straight away to the plate.

Fillet Tenderloin Steak (240 g) for 128 Riyals.

Yokari : Affinity between Modern & Traditional Japanese Cuisine

Yokari...in Japanese means 'Affinity' .... this cultural affinity that brings together the historic Japan and modern Japan.. Perhaps that's why Yokari was named as such.
As it is clearly reflected in the meals served,  there is a lot of affinity in the type of cuisine offered.  You can taste the modern western flavors infused together with the Japanese traditional ones. Expect names of plates you have never heard of, but with some familiar ingredients like Mayonnaise, eggplant and tomate! Expect to be enthralled by an experience that will touch all your senses...because you really don't know what to expect.

Ebi Karaage  spicy dried fried shrimp!

Vapiano : An Innovative Pasta & Pizza Concept from Germany in Riyadh

Chi va piano va sano e va lontano

“Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano” the Italian proverb which means “If you have an easy-going and relaxed approach to life, you’ll live more healthily and longer”.  

It is true for some point. If we approach the things we love like family, friends, and food, we will truly enjoy our lives happily, and this could make us survive a little bit longer than being sad or near things that makes us sad.

I learnt this proverb during my visit to Vapiono, Riyadh (KSA) this Thursday. And this is exactly the attitude that Vapiano wants to deliver to their Vapianistis (Guests &employees) during their dining in experience!

Live Pasta Making فابيانو 

The ambience & vibrant decor makes you feel like you are eating at home.

I always tell my readers that I don't like to judge a restaurant by one visit. And this was my third visit to Vapiano. My first try was in August 2012 and my next visit was May 2013. And this was the third time where I got to be invited to there.

The restaurant has greatly improved since the last time I was there. From management and staff dedication, to the quality of service and food.

The pasta display on the entrance, the big black wooden board, and the fresh pasta making & cooking stations is what got me attracted to Vapiano when I came to Riyadh city. You can rarely find this mood, ambience, , eating experience and high quality in one place!

It really defines the future of fresh, casual dining, as this European chain exhibits a vibrant atmosphere, innovative restaurant technology and delicious and affordable menu! And If I wanted to sum up my food experience at Vapiano in 3 words I’d say this “Interactive, Fresh,  & Simple ”.

( For a quick view of my whole experience, check out my slideshow)

Fauchon Riyadh: A Unique Experience

The world of Fauchon had always been known in the world of luxury. It is not merely a gourmet food boutique. It is a place where your senses can experience the upgrade in food from desserts, pastries,

Fauchon is an old school since 1880 where the first boutique opened in Paris.. It's an iconic landmark in gastronomy.

So it's opening in Riyadh brought me a little sense of joy because hopefully I wanted to experience this gourmet touch, something that lacks deeply in the market of Saudi Arabia.

Em Sherif : A Jewel in Beirut

It is been a long time since I blogged. Working in the Food & beverage industry, makes you want to be more delicate while posting about your food adventures.
You would appreciate the brands more, the work behind them, the staff in the restaurant. And mostly the food recipes that were developed extensively to get this perfect taste.
You would feel more the pain, the hectic suffering each day to bring the customers the most delicate food experience. And that's why I was delaying many posts!

One of the brand that I fell in love with in my last visit to Beirut was Em Sherif.
It is a place that combines both simplicity and sophistication.

For the Lebanese Readers: In a world of discrepancies, Em Sherif is the place for someone to enjoy his outing. It is all: an entertainment place, a luxury place, and of coarse a place to satisfy the hunger. A hunger for good food, delicate music/ambience, and a relaxed pampering.

For the non-Lebanese, this restaurant will give you the true authentic taste of lebanese and oriental food in a palace like setting!

Chef Joe Barza at The Globe

Fine Dining in Riyadh is a rare thing to find. Only few places in this boring city offer an exciting and new experience for food connoisseurs. 

The signature restaurant of Faisaliyah hotel, The Globe, is unique among Riyadh restaurants. Encapsulated in the stunning golden geodesic orb that tops Al Faisaliah Tower. Sitting there you can enjoy a unique perspective of Riyadh city panoramic landscape, thus creating an unmatched saudi arabian fine dining experience.

I had a business dinner at the second “Globe Summit Series 2014” in April.

It was a very luxurious setting coupled with the art of Lebanese cuisine done by world renowned Chef Joe Barza.

Barza prepared several personal dishes from his select menu. Though we asked to meet the chef, the chef left and were not able to see the live cooking demonstration that the event planners promised us that he will come.

Elevation Burger

When you enter Elevation Burger, you will read about its particular vision is to be much more than just a burger restaurant. Their aim is to provide an "elevated  burger" that is fresh and flavorful, made of the highest quality and sustainable ingredients. Elevation Ventures are located in Gulf countries (Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Manama) and across 12 states in USA since 2003.

Cooked with Delicious and Good Intentions

We, the millennials, the tech savvys and social media addicts, are a nation of aspiring cooks! At least that's what most of us write on our Twitter bios, share on Pinterest boards, and post as Instagram photos, yet-honestly-we barely have time for cooking daily... Nevertheless, most of us rely on social media to choose food, whether through restaurants' reviews, recipe's blogs, or friends' comments about products. But our social media profiles can go beyond just sharing individual food photos, recipes and reviews. Social media has been rising as a crucial aspect in the communication between consumers and the food brands on one hand, and between consumers and health care practitioners on the other... 
How do food companies and food experts deal with social media?Well, that is what I explored and wrote about in Cloud961 issue number 5.

Download full issue here

Featured in " Culinary Blogosphere of Lebanon"

In  its October Issue, Cloud961 interviewed 3 bloggers from the culinary blogosphere in Lebanon on why  they started a food blog, how blogging about food can make an impact, and everything in between. The bloggers were Strawberryblu ( Cynthia Bu Jawdeh), No Garlic No Onion (Anthony Rahayel), and Pearl's Powder ( Loulwa Kalache).. Yep that's me!

Read full interview here

Tea Gschwendner : Ritzy as Its Name!

"Make things happen, explore distant shores, and most of all, drink tea."

With this philosophy,  Albert Gschwendner and his wife Gwendalina turned their dreams of a teashop into a reality in 1978.

And it was this tea shop that I discovered in the middle of a very dull country. Because if there is anything that can bring me joy in Riyadh, is discovering a new cuisine or an exquisite food shop.

Gschwendner was one of them and it is now on my Top list to see and check every time I am in the Kingdom tower doing some shopping.

Gschwendner. Yep, it is German. And I admit that the name is a bit hard to pronounce and actually google later when I wanted to write this post. But this name turned out to be as lavish as the products inside!

The small shop in the kingdom is in the ground floor, and you can see a teapot boiling outside as if greeting you to come inside and explore a new world of Tea leaves. And this is exactly what happened. The teapot was enough to attract me inside and discover this Tea Haven!

Hundreds of Tin drawers with different types of dried  tea leaves from around the world!

And another thing that caught my attention, was a small stand with brochures. There it was the " Book of Tea". I grabbed it. And asked the salesman if I can take it with me. He welcomely acknowledged that and poured some tea for me and my family.

Sunset Sea Dinner at St.Elmo's

St. Elmo's Logo!

"I am the sea. In my depths all treasures dwell. Have they asked the divers about my pearls?" the Egyptian poet Muhammad Hafiz Ibrahim.
I have always had a special fond to the sea, its mystery, and its untold stories..All because my name is pearl.  I had built a myth inside my head since I was a little girl that I was indeed from the sea. Lunatic? Maybe. but such mystical illusions do make the best stories later.Yes, I believed the sea was my  home, and to it I will return someday. Everything that reminds me of the sea makes me live this myth again..

This time it was not the sea itself, nor a ship, nor Corrine's Bailey Rae " The Sea" song, neither the Little mermaid movie, neither the famous sea navigator Jacque Costeau nor a small shell I picked up from the shore. This time the sea experience was from a whole restaurant that embraced the concept of the SEA from the floor to the ceiling , from the plate to the cup!

Zaytouna Bay

Sea Food Night!

Featured and written by Strawberry Blu and Pearl's Powder

Shrimps Ratatouille! 

After the revamping of the luxurious Phoenicia Hotel Beirut’s Mosaic restaurant, the restaurant is aiming to take us on a voyage to a new country to visit the folklore, traditions, costumes and mostly taste the exquisite cuisine.
The week I and Cynthia ( from Strawberry Blu) visited was the French cuisine promotion with the 60’s Photo exhibition at Mosaic.

Nothing is more memorable than smell

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell.  One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town.  Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years.  Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once.  A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth."  ~Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses.

For me , entering a restaurant is not just a meal occasion, it's a sensual ritual for exciting all my senses, then my nerve buds, up to my neurons , then encrypting this stimulation into my memory storage area.
And if this ritual didn't happen, then the restaurant failed in making me a memory.
And if it failed in making this memory, this simply means : " the food wasn't great". And, although I am a food scientist ,  where one would assume that would be easy  for me talking about a restaurant , its menu and its food. But it is not. Because I tend to talk about almost all the factors that affect eating.  You will notice that as you read below.


The couqley bistro- restaurant  experience for brunch, was one of those vivid memories that had successfully been processed and stored. As you enter, you are overwhelmed with the smell of home  made omlettes and pancakes, and so you  evocatively remember the Sunday mornings where you used to wake up late , smell something delicious and enter the kitchen to see  your mother preparing for you,  your favorite breakfast: Pancakes.  Bringing back  this picture is worth it all.