All posts filed under: Food

The Old Fashioned

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adjective: old-fashioned 1. In or according to styles or types no longer current; not modern. 2. Favouring traditional or conservative ideas or customs. noun: old-fashioned 1. A cocktail consisting chiefly of whisky, bitters, water, and sugar. The origins of the cocktail has been greatly contested and little has been documented, but what we do know is that back in the eighteen hundreds a letter was written to a New York newspaper asking what a cocktail is. The newspaper responds with these four elements… A mixture of spirit – any spirit – plus water, sugar and bitters. Therefore, ‘The Old Fashioned’ is the original old fashioned cocktail. No one really knows if the first old fashioned cocktails contained rye or bourbon, but it seems that most bars prefer to reach for the bourbon sooner than the rye. However, there seems to have been a surge in Old Fashioned variations in bars all over the world. I guess you could call it ‘a modern old fashioned’. One reason that could be said for this recent interest in modernisation …

Shamsuddin – Iranian food in Satwa

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Originally by I’m Not a Fiend Aahh, meat. Sometimes I love the stuff. Sometimes I go weeks feeling completely ambivalent about it. Sometimes I read depressing articles and the thought of meat consumption makes me feel sick. Sometimes I eat Iranian food and remember just how beautiful meat really is. How could I ever have thought otherwise?? Those Persians know how to treat meat right. You haven’t experienced tender meat till you’ve had a good Iranian kebab. So I was excited to spot Shamsuddin on Satwa Road recently. It’s pretty bare bones, but that’s just the way I like it. Basic furniture. Tissue boxes. TV on the news channel. Two guys running the whole place. The guy working the grill must have been someone’s son, a baby-faced meat apprentice. Shamsuddin don’t even have a menu. Just decide if you want mutton or chicken, minced or pieces. Simple as that. The rest will come to you. In the face of such choices, we ordered a plate of everything. A housemade laban, heavy on the fresh mint, kept …

A great little farmer’s market with a big offering

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 Last weekend FNND took a trip down to the farmer’s market on the balcony (next to the car park) of the Emirate’s Towers, she left the house wondering as to the potential of this alternate version set up by Baker and Spice. And what a lovely surprise! There are few things nicer on a weekend that lazily browsing through a market, however small, with an abundance of fresh vegetables, eggs, breads and pastries, delicious coffee straight from Ethiopia’s farms, pure cacao and lucuma (who ever heard of that? it’s a very delicious source of vitamin B) and spiced Yemeni honey. Each vendor had their own story to tell, the founders of the companies were there to tell you about their food, including the owner of Baker and Spice who set up the market. Fat Nancy spent the morning talking food, coffee, herbs and honeys, learning about Ethiopia, farming in the UAE, Yemen and South America. It was great. Coffee Planet with their range of speciality coffees. The Indonesian was FNND’s favourite after a tasting of all …

The life of cacao in 10 pictures

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In the 18th century the Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, renamed the cocoa tree giving it the Greek name Theobroma Cacao, now its official botanical name, which literally means ‘food of the Gods’. The cocoa tree has broad, dark leaves about 25cm long, and pale-coloured flowers from which bean pods grow. A native of the central and South American rainforests, cocoa trees are now cultivated in many tropical locations around the world. Two methods are generally used to establish cocoa tree plantations. FNND visited the Ecuadorian Cacao farms to bring you photos of  the life of cacao. From humble seedling to rich, gooey chocolate – in 10 pictures…

Govindas Restaurant where vegetables are the dish of the day

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In many countries, eating meat is part of the national identity. Think of Australian barbecues, American cowboys and South African gatherings where chicken is considered to be a salad! Of course, there are many parts of the world where vegetarianism is widespread, largely because of religious principles and dietary laws. Hindus, Jains and Taoists all advocate vegetarianism to a greater or lesser extent, and this has a positive effect on the availability of vegetarian food in India. Statistics have indicated that Indian people have the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world and most restaurants in India clearly distinguish and market themselves as being either “non-vegetarian”, “vegetarian”, or “pure vegetarian”. But can a”pure vegetarian restaurant” please a staunch meateater? Fat Nancy took a trip to “Govinda’s” to find out.   Welcome to Indian restaurant  ‘Govinda’s’ It is in an area called Karama, in Dubai. As we entered the restaurant, we all noticed a giant fake tree climbing above each of the tables. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is maybe style over substance. But wait, …