Kerala Castle: a hidden gem for authentic Malayalee cuisine

According to Wikipedia, 42% of the UAE population is made up of Indian nationals. Out of this big majority, a major chunk of UAE’s Indian population hails from the South Indian state of Kerala.

With Malayalee tea-shops and restaurants in every nook and corner of the country, you’d be hard pressed finding a UAE resident who hasn’t had Kerala cuisine some time or another.

I’ve had my fair share of dosas, chicken chukkas, and appam with chicken stew.  Yet my friend Hema, a native of Kerala, kept insisting truly authentic cuisine from her state was far more diverse than that. So last Thursday, she took us to Kerala Castle; a casual family-style joint in the heart of the residential area in Al Nahda-2, Dubai.

Kerala Castle review (15)

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Iftars 2015: Tried & Tested by Tezzy!

I’ve been fortunate to have attended a number of Iftars this Ramadan, and it’s been pretty challenging keeping the weighing-scale in check!

Living in Dubai, foodies are truly blessed with the plethora of dining options and today’s post is a round-up of some of the scrumptious Iftars I’ve had the pleasure of trying this past few weeks.

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Iftar at Panorama Restaurant, Emirates Grand Hotel

On Tuesday evening, we had a media invite for Iftar at Panorama Restaurant, Emirates Grand Hotel. Centrally located on Sheikh Zayed Road, the restaurant boasts of great views from the 43rd floor.

Image taken from the restaurant's website.
Image taken from the restaurant’s website.

This was my first time at Emirates Grand Hotel, and I was therefore unsure of what to expect. I read a review on Zomato where a contributor had given Panorama Restaurant a scoring of 4.5 out of 5 for being the perfect choice for an intimate, undisturbed date. However, as a media event, our Iftar was far from ‘intimate’ and every table was packed!

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Celebrating Tanabata at Toko!

Tanabata (七夕, meaning “Evening of the seventh”), also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. – Wikipedia.

Legend has it that on this day, two besotted lovers, Altair and Vega, reunite on the cosmic plane. In Japan, Tanabata is a National holiday. Streets are decorated with colorful paper mache, and special wishes are written on tanzaku paper and hung on trees for good fortune.

Toko, the multi-award winning contemporary Japanese restaurant hailing from Sydney (Australia), offers modern ‘izakaya’ style dining in an impeccably designed setting. We were there last night, and yes! We even got to place our wishes on the wishing tree!

toko dubai review (17)

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Ralph Lauren Romance

A freshly picked bouquet of flowers from the garden, a summer’s walk down a sandy beach, fresh white laundry blowing in the wind. A whiff of Ralph Lauren Romance is subtle, clean and feminine.

Fragrances manage to evoke special memories. I used to wear Ralph Lauren Romance during my late teens. A forgotten scent, I was given a gift box of the eau de toilette inclusive of a body lotion by my very generous aunt who is visiting from Canada. Suddenly I’m 17 again; yet the subtle floral scent seems to agree with my adult self just as well.

Ralph Lauren Romance review

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Suhoor Smoothie: a beautiful blend with blueberries!

Suhoor is the early morning meal Muslims the world over wake up to before the crack of dawn. It is a very early breakfast before bowing down to prayers and asking the Almighty for acceptance of the fast.

We have been enjoying far too many extravagant Iftars this Ramadan, and I am taking the Suhoor meal to nourish from within. To fulfill my ‘5 a day’, a smoothie is a sure-fire way to quickly consume a number of fruits in one sitting.

Last night I came up with a delicious concoction, and wanted to share the recipe with you least I forget it!

blueberry smoothie for suhoor avocado chia banana

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Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Eye–Opening Serum Review

I’ve been doing a number of late-nighters in the past couple of weeks. Not that I’m complaining; the month of Ramadan has brought with it a string of social invites, and although these have been a wonderful change from the usual routine, the impact of less sleep has been taking a toll on my eyes.

Sunken, sleep-deprived eyes with droopy lids are never in vogue, and despite my best efforts, squeezing in more shut-eye hours has been challenging.

And then I got introduced to yet another lovely product from the Kiehl’s range: the Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Eye–Opening Serum.

Kiehls super multi corrective eye opening serum review

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