Thanksgiving

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

It’s that time again and Thanksgiving is difficult to recreate when living abroad. First, you don’t normally get the day off from work. This year I did get the day off, but only because Dubai won the World Expo 2020 bid. The email telling me that I didn’t have to come to work was sent out 10:35 pm the night before, so no time to plan anything special.

Secondly, ingredients are challenging to find, although that seems to be improving. The number of restaurants offering turkey dinners seems to be improving also. This is what we opted for this year. I didn’t have high hopes, because our last restaurant Thanksgiving dinner was disappointing (in terms of food) at best.

This time the turkey was lovely – moist, tasty and plentiful. I ate almost everything and much like a real Thanksgiving dinner, I was stuffed to the point of pain. That didn’t stop me from having a bit of dessert.

We ordered one cheese cake with three spoons, so I didn’t eat all of this myself. It was nice, but not actual cheese cake. If you can pick it up with your fingers, it isn’t cheese cake. It’s gelatin dessert. Many restaurants here offer “cheese cake,” but what they actually serve is mousse or gelatin. Real cheese cakes are very rare.

It was a pleasant afternoon with good company, good food, and no dishes to wash.

Thunder Bolt and Lightning

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

We had a wild rain storm last night in Fujairah. The lightning was hitting close by. One hit was so close it was more like a pop than a rumble.

http://instagram.com/p/gsqylOpUjT/

The electricity went out all over town. At least in the buildings without their own electricity generators. We found ourselves in the dark except for the battery run light in the entry way. We expected it to take quite some time – hours, if not days.

I settled down with a book and a candle, but before I could finish reading the first page, the lights came in. That spoiled the reading mood, but it was pleasant since it was starting to get a bit stuffy and warm without any air conditioning or fans running.

Veterans Day

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

My grandmother and grandfather sent their three sons off to World War II. Happily, all three of those sons came home intact. My Uncle Ray served as a medic helping to transport wounded soldiers back home. My father worked in the Pacific as an airplane mechanic. Their younger brother, Marv was a combat soldier in Europe.

My Dad

World War II impacted everyone. It was part of everyday life. Those who stayed at home supported friends and loved ones in a variety of ways. My mother was a pen pal for several soldiers from her hometown. For those who might not know just what to write, the greeting card industry helped out.

We’re all behind you soldier! We’re proud to buy the bonds and stamps. We’re glad to pay the taxes! Because we know you’ll grab the foe…

and kick ’em in the Axis! Keep ’em flying!

The world is an imperfect and sometimes ugly place. Bullies have to be policed on the individual level and on the global level. This means that some have had to put their lives on the line and stand up to them. Being mostly a pacifist, I would prefer it if we all just did unto others as we would have them do unto us. Since not everyone does, someone has to do the kicking.

Totally Fabulous Fujairah Food Tour

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

Peanut Sandeko

The tour began at Nepal Kitchen House. Peanut sandeko, chicken momos, mutton momos, thukpa (noodle soup), chicken chili, chicken tass (chicken and puffed rice), and aloo jeera fry (potato, cumin seeds, cilantro) graced our table.

Mutton Kothe Momos

Then we took a brief break from eating to drive up to Al Hayl Castle.

This is the historical home of the Fujairah royal family.

Al Hayl Castle inner courtyard

We stopped briefly to check out a petroglyph. There are many in the hills, although rock quarries and development are taking their toll on these historical treasures.

Petroglyph

After a quick tea break, we were off to our next meal at Salu Salo, a Filipino restaurant tucked away in an alley.

Salu Salo Filipino Restaurant

Bicol express, Bopis, Lumpia, Pinakbet, and Kare Kare were our choices. Bicol express is a stew in a coconut milk sauce. Bopis is heart and lung sauteed in tomato, chili, and onion. Lumpia is meat filled fried rolls, Pinakbet is a shrimp and vegetable dish, and Kare Kare is an oxtail stew in peanut sauce.

Another tea break on the beach with tea in a clay pot – the best tea I have ever had – then, we were off to Zamarod Al Afghani Rice Bukhari Restaurant.

After a mixed grill, flat bread, and hummus meal, we were done in. With a cup of mint tea, our eight hour eating experience came to an end.

Pinoy Lomi House

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

We tried out another Filipino restaurant last night. We noticed it while driving down an unpaved alley on our way to the grocery store. In preparation for the “Totally Fabulous Fujairah Food Tour,” we thought we better check this one out. When we arrived the restaurant was about half full of Filipino patrons, which is a very good sign.

This is kilawin, a salad made with fish, turnips, cucumbers, onions, chili peppers, red bell pepper, and lemon. The fish starts raw and is cooked by the vinegar marinade. Very delicious (as long as I avoided the little pieces of chili pepper).

The dish on the left is caldereta, a beef dish. The dish on the right (name unknown) is made with bitter gourd and shrimp. These were DaddyBird’s choices and he didn’t want to share the caldereta with me, so we will need a double order next time. Very delicious. I’m not as crazy about the bitter gourd, though. It has earned it’s name.

This is bulalo. It is a very savory but simple beef soup. Next time I have a cold or flu, I will be requesting bulalo from this restaurant and seafood soup from The Oriental. That will make everything better.

For drinks, we chose orange flavored basil seed drink and coconut juice. The basil seed drinks, which come in multiple flavors, are interesting because the seeds are a bit gelatinous. The coconut juice is the most refreshing. The dish in the front is our dessert choice, a coconut and ube gelatin which also had corn in it. Ube is a purple yam that is used in many desserts and pastries.

Normally, all this would come with rice, but due to our semi-paleo diet, we are not eating rice. This will be a great restaurant for us because we can get dishes that fit our diet and fill us up.

We give this restaurant a A+. This meal cost us a whopping 65 AED ($17.00 USD). Great value and great taste.

Random Dubai Sights

Posted by Kanga. Please don’t reblog.

What is magnetic water? It looks like fun.

It’s amazing to see the amount of Halloween decoration this year.

Ah, Halloween. The holiday when tacky is perfectly acceptable.

The Marks and Spencer fitting room had this helpful sign.

Make sure to put your arms in the traps and adjust accordingly.

When you build a massive building – shopping mall with floors of apartments above it – you end up with huge view obscuring support columns in your food court.

Extreme Shawarma – Is this where the Avengers eat?

Those are SOME blue suede shoes.

Squirrel!

There was a whole rack of cartoon themed underwear all sporting tags claiming to be official Warner Bro products.

That’s the feature you want in children’s underwear – potential for bursting into flame.

The name Cartoon Fashion doesn’t exactly inspire visions of large women’s clothing. I didn’t see any cartoons in there.