A disappointing trip to Villa Mama's

 Villa Mamas - Saar

Yesterday we decided to go to Villa Mamas! We gave it a chance although we weren't very creative with our choices.

The place is room feels cozy giving off an impression of a clean cottage house in the European country side, although the first impression I got from reading about it was it revolving around Bahraini tradition.

The service was definitely off and below expectations. There wasn't anyone to greet us and take us to a table when entering the door. The place was packed on a weekend during lunch, however that does not justify it. When seated, and upon ordering, the waitress appeared to look glum and unhappy. There usually are empty plates on the table, and when we were served the food, we happily lifted them so that the servers can place the plates with food however they just LEFT us there holding the plates. We had to actually tell them to take the empty plates. Every time we asked for condiments, it looked as though it was a dreadful task for the waiters as they simply left it at our table and left without looking at us. Through the duration of the meal, we noticed that the head chef or owner, whomever it may be, was taking rounds around tables but ignored us. This is not an issue at all as I don't believe it is necessary but taking into account the service that we had, it only made things seem worse.

The place was beautiful, I liked that it was quite far than the usual 338 area. Our food were good but did not have anything special in them. My jog buddy and I ordered what I believe was some sort of cheese dish called Penne Mountain that had spinach and bechamel cheese while I wasn't adventurous at all and went for the creamy delight chicken. I don't think that the prices were worth it at all, and seems to be a bit exaggerated for the type of food they offer.

We had a side of fries just for the buds and my most exciting for that morning was the lemon juice. It was just amazing.

 
The total bill came to 20 dinars almost equally shared among our meals. You can find their menu at this link. I'm not saying this place sucks but that I haven't found something that I liked however others might find joy in the dishes served. I'll probably not come again as there wasn't anything there that compelled me to stay.

Greatest brownies ever made

I'm a fan of many DIY things, from deodorants, fixing car dents, to baking goodies .. no, I just mean food ..

So one field that I am focusing on is finding the right brownie recipe online, and oh yes I did. I've made them two days in a row and can't be any happier. I would like to attribute thanks to this website: AllRecipes

If you compare this to the website, I only changed the sugar measure, added coffee and removed the peanuts. And yes, added the sauce. The sauce is my mothers secret recipe to everything sweet and deadly, ever since I was a kid. Or at least part of what I think my mom's recipe is. (Hint: I don't imitate her cooking too well ..)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup white sugar
2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3. 2 eggs
4. 2 tsps vanilla extract
5. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6. 1/2 tsp baking powder
7. 1/4 tsp salt
8. 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or bar
9. Coffee option: 2 -3 tbsp coffee, 1 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp hot water, all mixed in a cup
10. Optional: white chocolate chips

Sauce:

• 1 can of condensed milk
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 3-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder or bar (up to you)

Directions:
Preheat oven, oil a 4x12 in. baking pan.

Mix everything from 1 - 8 in a bowl. Then you can mix in the coffee if you want to. Later spread it onto the pan, leaving some left in the bowl. Then sprinkle the optional chips and cover it with a thin layer of the brownie mix.

Pop that thang into the oven! at say 350-ish, medium heat. Let's say check on it in 20 minutes.

While waiting, get a sauce pan or anything that you would make sauce in. Low fire, throw in the butter. Once melted, pour the condensed milk. once slightly mixed, throw in the powder. Some of you might experience that the powder does not mix well. That's okay. All you need to do is keep mixing for 10 or more minutes. Change the fire to medium but you'll have to constantly stir it. Once you're satisfied with the thickness, switch off the fire, keep stirring for a bit then dip your finger into that sinful bowl of happiness to steal a taste.

Once the brownie is done, let it cool down then pour the sauce over it, let it cool again. In 20 minutes, you'll have the best time of your life! Cheers!

Here are some pictures for the eyes on your tongue.

The right hint of Thailand - Vegetarian

Thailand Restaurant - Adliya 338

Today we had an amazing lunch. My non-blogging buddy and I have started this exercise regimen to keep up with our eating lifestyle and decided that today we'd reward ourselves.

It was decided to go to Thailand restaurant for lunch, which I've only visited once or twice in the past with barely any memory of taste. Today's selection were vegetarian and did not give into any disappointment. Instead of the tables that were in the common area, we decided to take an intimate room that had around 3 tables. It was very pretty and gave people some privacy. It felt great as I normally prefer to cross my legs and the table option allowed for it with some space below to allow your legs to dangle.

The service was not too bad however there was a moment when we only managed to call someone after maybe 3 bell rings. The food however was delish. My default for Thai food would always be red curry fish with coconut milk however this time we had veggie green coconut milk mildly spicy, which emphasized on the coconut milk. The fried tofu was a good addition and the soup mixed with the garlic rice just right. 

I actually forgot to mention that we started off with spring roll and thai toast appetizers. The spring rolls had clear thin noodles that played around with the texture and the toast were perfect to balance out strong flavors of the main dishes.

The final dish was the pad thai which also exceeded my expectations. When I normally have pad thai, it always feels dry and has this bitter taste however this was contrary to it. It may possibly not be authentic but I guess that all depends on individual preference.

The food was washed away with a glass of rose house wine that is sweet and not too bitter although I would have preferred to have Thai Ice tea with the food.

The food we had was good for three people. Definitely worth another visit.

Address: Villa 7, Osama Bin Zaid Avenue, Manama
Cuisine: Thai
Contact: +973-1771 7040
Website: http://thailandrestaurant.org/

Date of Visit: Saturday, April 11 2015 at 2:30pm

1 Fried Spring Rolls (2.5)

1 Veg Thai Toast (2.5)

2 House wine Rose (3.4)

1 Garlic Rice Small (2.5)

1 Green Veg Curry Small (3.9)

1 Pad Thai Veg Small (3.2)

Service Charge 12%

Tax 5%

Thailand Restaurant received an OFS of 4.1!

Tom Yum at Yum yum

Pad Thai (Yum Yum Tree) - Tubli

Me and my buddy usually jog behind Tubli Mc's and always pass by this restaurant. There are times when cravings just overcome you and you just have to eat. So for this day, we had a little treat after our hard calorie-burning regimen. I ordered myself a tom yum soup while my buddy got herself some curry.

The tom yum was actually delish, with a hint of salt burn to the heart. Although it was salty, I really did enjoy it. It was different from the soups you get at Thai restaurants and probably very far from being authentic. It costed BD 2 for vegetarian I think.

I actually had to wait quite a long time for the food to come. The only thing besides the waiting that annoyed me were the herbs they put in which were sharp. I don't know what they called them but it interrupted my bliss moment every few minutes. Otherwise, it's something good whenever you crave for salty food. I would only go there maybe once a year.

Address: Tubli
Telephone: +(973) 17874300

This restaurant, which name is unconfirmed, gets 3!

Scrumpalicious Persian

Isfahani - Juffair

 

I had amazing Irani food with my granny. This is the first time I go to Isfahani as it never much appealed to me. I'm not an expert in this cuisine or even middle eastern but I can tell you I had the BEST chicken kebab ever! It tasted not too soft and not too hard, and the infusion of flavors which are not really flavors but the actual flavor of chicken kebab. RIP English descriptioning. It's called Chichen Juja Kebab and I opted for Saffron rice. Delish!

My granny is on a mission to find the perfect Aash but she appears to be slightly disappointed. The place is nice, the service is average and meaty food I assume are the best.

Towards the end, eyes over tummy, we ordered fellouda Iranian ice cream and it was interesting. The shavings felt milky and icy altogether and it came with a lemony and cherry flavored syrups which you could pour over.

 

All in all, its a place I would go buy. The prices are worth its value and with the few people going in during the times I coincidently pass by Juffair, it would be a nice place to relax.

We also had complementary soup, we ordered some drinks and mutabel with their delicious bread for starters.
 

Prices:

Mutabel -1.00
Ash - 1.40
Isfahani Juja Kebab - 3.20
Saffron rice
Chellow Kebab - 3.00
White rice
2 Fresh mango juice - 3.00
Soft drink - .40
Felouda Iranian icecream - 1.2

Total - 13.20