And Foreigner is getting fat.
Ok, maybe not fat, but definitely chubbier than I used to be and decidedly more squishy than I’d like to be.
Undoubtedly, a part of the reason for this is the canteen at work. The food is goooooood. It’s not amazing, sadly, but it is good considering it’s canteen food and cheapity cheap cheap cheap.
Every day there are at least three different kinds of salad, soup, a couple of curries (which are made with proper spices and everything, I crunched down on a cardamom pod the other day) and various other “regional” dishes that cater for all the nationalities that work where I work. It’s pretty groovy and very difficult not to eat loads.
They also do deserts. They have a whole display case of deserts that look a-may-zing. Cakes and mousses and doughnuts and… this
What this is I’m not entirely sure. Maybe a different angle will help…
Nope. Doesn’t help.
In the office, we agreed that the most likely answer was a frog, or frog-like creature, that had been run over. Note the bulging red eyes…
… and the delightful addition of cherries in the mouth, which I like to think of as the guts being squeezed out while the poor creature was mercilessly squished
What it definitely is, is some made up of scraps of pastry that were quite possibly left over from making something (or somethings) else and while this appeals to certain waste-not-want-not sensibilities, I cannot help but question the sanity of the mind that conjured up and then executed this delightful sweet-treat.
AHEM! Moving on.
So yes, Ramadan is coming, and in fact might already be swinging by the time I get round to posting this entry* (am so excited, got a friend coming to stay this weekend). What with O being Muslim flavour I am quite used to the whole fasting thing, and even kept him company by attempting to fast myself last year, but the one thing I am sure of is that Ramadan is going to be a very different experience in Abu Dhabi than it is in the UK.
Some things that I do know:
> Eating/drinking/smoking when in public is out of the question (not that the smoking is an issue for me anymore, 2 months and 14 days without a cigarette today!).
> Restaurants, cafes and other places of consumption that are open to public view will be closed between sun-up and sun-down.
> Shops and things will have odd hours, but what these are I don’t yet know.
> Getting a cab anywhere at any time is going to be EVEN MORE of a nightmare than it is now (woe, woe is me!).
> There are going to be massive Iftar (break of fast) feasts laid out across the city. Hotels will charge and mosques will not. Anyone is welcome to these and I cannot wait to try one out. Iftar tents will be accompanied by music and shisha tents. I imagine it to be like a big, month long party.
> Night becomes day with everyone coming out after breaking fast and staying up late late late.
I’m looking forward to this, my first Ramadan in a Muslim country. I’m going to try fasting again and see how I go without drinking in the heat (by far the worse out of not eating vs. not drinking).
It will undoubtedly be an experience and one which I will, of course, tell all and sundry who are bored enough to be reading my ramblings here.
And don't forget! Run-over frog-like creature sees and watches you...!
*Ramadan actually starts on Saturday, so Ramadan Kareem everyone!
Ok, maybe not fat, but definitely chubbier than I used to be and decidedly more squishy than I’d like to be.
Undoubtedly, a part of the reason for this is the canteen at work. The food is goooooood. It’s not amazing, sadly, but it is good considering it’s canteen food and cheapity cheap cheap cheap.
Every day there are at least three different kinds of salad, soup, a couple of curries (which are made with proper spices and everything, I crunched down on a cardamom pod the other day) and various other “regional” dishes that cater for all the nationalities that work where I work. It’s pretty groovy and very difficult not to eat loads.
They also do deserts. They have a whole display case of deserts that look a-may-zing. Cakes and mousses and doughnuts and… this
What this is I’m not entirely sure. Maybe a different angle will help…
Nope. Doesn’t help.
In the office, we agreed that the most likely answer was a frog, or frog-like creature, that had been run over. Note the bulging red eyes…
… and the delightful addition of cherries in the mouth, which I like to think of as the guts being squeezed out while the poor creature was mercilessly squished
What it definitely is, is some made up of scraps of pastry that were quite possibly left over from making something (or somethings) else and while this appeals to certain waste-not-want-not sensibilities, I cannot help but question the sanity of the mind that conjured up and then executed this delightful sweet-treat.
AHEM! Moving on.
So yes, Ramadan is coming, and in fact might already be swinging by the time I get round to posting this entry* (am so excited, got a friend coming to stay this weekend). What with O being Muslim flavour I am quite used to the whole fasting thing, and even kept him company by attempting to fast myself last year, but the one thing I am sure of is that Ramadan is going to be a very different experience in Abu Dhabi than it is in the UK.
Some things that I do know:
> Eating/drinking/smoking when in public is out of the question (not that the smoking is an issue for me anymore, 2 months and 14 days without a cigarette today!).
> Restaurants, cafes and other places of consumption that are open to public view will be closed between sun-up and sun-down.
> Shops and things will have odd hours, but what these are I don’t yet know.
> Getting a cab anywhere at any time is going to be EVEN MORE of a nightmare than it is now (woe, woe is me!).
> There are going to be massive Iftar (break of fast) feasts laid out across the city. Hotels will charge and mosques will not. Anyone is welcome to these and I cannot wait to try one out. Iftar tents will be accompanied by music and shisha tents. I imagine it to be like a big, month long party.
> Night becomes day with everyone coming out after breaking fast and staying up late late late.
I’m looking forward to this, my first Ramadan in a Muslim country. I’m going to try fasting again and see how I go without drinking in the heat (by far the worse out of not eating vs. not drinking).
It will undoubtedly be an experience and one which I will, of course, tell all and sundry who are bored enough to be reading my ramblings here.
And don't forget! Run-over frog-like creature sees and watches you...!
*Ramadan actually starts on Saturday, so Ramadan Kareem everyone!
3 comments:
I think I would struggle with the no drinking even in the UK! Good Luck!
Im intrigued by the flattened frog - did it taste nice?
You know Sailor, I didn't even try it!
Sadly, while the deserts look fantastic in my work canteen, they all taste like stale cardboard.
Thanks for the luck!
Oh how annoying. I hate it when a dessert fails to live up to expectations :(
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