Spring break here he comes…my dear chef Kevin. I was excited to see my youngest son, so eager to know what had transpired from his 6 months studies in Culinary Arts Academy of Switzerland. I was looking forward for this moment, to see the changes, physically, mentally and gastronomically speaking.
I also braced myself by going to the gym everyday and get a balanced diet before this moment comes, because I know very well that our common ground is …FOOD! huh..eating is fun but gaining weight is not 🙂
So here it is, Enjoy our Food Trip:
First stop: Our Kitchen, though I have 4 burner stove at home, only two are working, with 16 guest on Friday “brunch”, I was thinking he wont make it on time but I was wrong. First ,only one stove works because one of our friend decided to show his expertise in Lebanese cuisine. Chef Kevin was very cool, answering all our questions, teaching us how to cut and do simple plating. At the same time he was also learning how to do lebanese dish “wara en áb”(grape leaves with rice and meat). It was fun working with family friends and most of all-seeing chef kevin doing his thing with gusto, I am relieved that he is happy where he is at this point of his life.
We are grateful to our family and friends and of course,to our guest server, Ashley Gabriel. Yes, they did survive all,… kidding aside, it was an enjoyable day!
and this how preparation of Wara enáb looks like:
Second stop: Being away for six months who would not crave for “Shawerma” ? An arabic sandwich stuffed with chicken or beef mixed with arabic garlic sauce,parsley ,tomato, pickled cucumber and french fries.
Third stop: Business Lunch at Outback steakehouse, situated along thalia road in Teatro Mall. The bread crust is dark chocolate brown in color , hard but so soft inside was delicious, though Chef Kevin was not amused completely, he went along eating his steak. He commented that the soup is like an instant soup out of maggi bouillon cube.:-)
Fourth stop: Raj- Finest Indian Cuisine, located at Thalia road serving indian and continental cuisine. We opted for indian super spicy meal! yummy and chillin hot!
The fifth and last day of eating out, feeling already bloated and can not imagine the hours I will spend in the gym, once this is all over, huh!
Mayrig, is an armenian restaurant serving armenian and mediterrian cuisine. He asked, Where is Armenia? oh well I really don’t know but according to my research :Armenia is landlocked in the South Caucasus. Located between the Black and Caspian Seas, the country is bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan, and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.(Wikipedia)
Anyhow, the place is along Andalus district, it looks like a private villa restaurant, a refreshing site along the corniche area.I like the Armenian tabouli as cold appetizer.
Well that’s all folks, till Chef Kevin comes again!
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And so what’s new Jeddah, I had the opportunity to be invited four years ago to the JS prom and last night was not a different one. Parents were present to support their daughter and son, School staff and the guards are on look out too, after all we are in a very conservative country. JS prom was like a beauty pageant where there were judges to decide who will be the King and Queen, Prince and princess etc. I did not witnessed the turnover ceremony (I was late), but I heard it was great!
When we were looking for a place to stay, we came across a restaurant that prepares “Kabsa”-an Arabic dish made of rice mixed with traditional spices, either with chicken, camel, goat or lamb.
October 30,2012 -After a spectacular sunset at the top of Al Ula plateau , the following morning we decided to visit the ruins of mud brick houses of Al Ula. Its so sad to think that this houses were not protected or secluded to keep its history.
Slow down Camel crossing… Road trip to Madaín Saleh
As the sun rises up, we stop for a while for breakfast. We are 10 adults and 4 children in 3 cars. My two brothers are with me and a very good friend of mine who also packed his sense of humor which made the trip more enjoyable.
As we get nearer to the place, more curvatures are evident on the road with has the road sign “slow down, camel crossing” wow! As if were passing “School zone, children crossing”. This is good, because I heard a lot of accidents happened at night when suddenly camel cross the road and bumps the car.
We filled our KIA van with gasoline twice, and I can’t help not to mention that our friend’s car is Hyundai Matrix which I didn’t see him filling it, so I said “let’s buy that kind of car tomorrow immediately “joke!
Ten hours driving with 3 stops and still full of energy. 
Al Ula is a small town which is about 22 km away to Madaín Saleh. It‘s beautiful place surrounded by valleys, plateau, green palm trees and sandy mountains.
The gate opens at 10 in the morning and closes at 6 in the evening. 
Those visitors who doesn’t have permit were not allowed to enter the gate.
Madaín Saleh featured 131 monumental rock-cut tombs spread out over a vast area (I’m not sure how big it is) we only noticed the numbers when we started taking pictures. 
There was no brochure or map to guide us where to start. I think they should open the gate a bit earlier for the guest to look around and appreciate the place more.
I noticed that the outer forms are finer and decorative than the inside.
We left the place around 4 pm and went to checked – in to Arac Hotel. This time we were in a hurry to catch the sunset at the biggest and highest plateau in Al Ula. The road to Al Ula plateau is narrow and soaring high, so we decided to be all together in one big car. It was a thrilling experience to chase the sun which stunningly shines reflecting the golden sandy mountains.
October 26, 2012, Eid Al adha, We celebrated our holiday at sand dune . It was a breakfast in style ! We met at 5:30 am, surprisingly everyone came on time, eager to catch the sunrise on top. Our leader maintained a speed of 100 kph almost (joke, he wanted to go fast, as the sun rises fast ahead of us) Anyway, what matters most, we did reach safely and had a great time!
Continued until Al shifa stone cave and off again on sunset. Hopefully we can continue to go abha or even madain saleh (joke again) we have to cool off and end the night. Cheers!
October 18, 2012- overnight camping with my dear friends, please enjoy the scenery camels, sunset and sunrise, flowers and our wacky poses!
at sunrise
Abaya is a long loose black robe traditionally worn by Muslim women.I have seen the evolution of the design from 1987 to the present. When I first came to Saudi Arabia, Abaya is not a must for non-Muslim foreigner to wear in public. We usually go out in public with modest dresses , blouse and trouser. We started to wear abaya and tarha in public during Gulf war. At first, I refused to wear black, so I wore blue abaya then dark brown until later on, I wore the traditional black abaya and tarha (black headscarf). I also got used wearing it, that sometimes when I’m out of KSA, i felt naked on the first day without wearing abaya.. strange but I guess its true!
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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