360

July 10th Saturday

I’ve mentioned several times that I love the heat here, as I have neck and shoulder joints problems either because of many years of computer work or the cold weather close to the North Pole. The heat is healing me, I can tell, thanks to the Lord! Now I have to say precisely I like the DRY heat, not the HUMID heat. It was humid today, especially along the coast where we live. Our apartment windows and car windows were covered with streaks of water and fogs last night. It felt like we were in Hong Kong, the skin is sweaty but the hair is smooth. The forcast was 36 degree and the humidity was 56%, but with the heat factor it felt like 46. It is funny that we have wind-chill factor in Canada that makes -36 feels like -46 sometimes. To be honest, I prefer 46 dry heat than 36 humid heat.

We went to IKEA and found it was exactly the same as the one in Calgary! I felt like being at home again. We bought a white wire storage shelf for our laundry room.

On the way to IKEA, I took the photos of these interesting buildings or houses on the high way. Do you like the roofs? I love so much!

After four hours of furniture hunting (living room shelves), we were so tired that ExploreMan suggested to have dinner at 360 Mall. He had never been to this mall before, so this was an adventure for all of us. (I did not like the idea in the beginning as I am not a fan of food court in Calgary.)

Once we entered the mall, the classic music (piano) told me that this is a high end mall. On the left side there was a French restaurant that looks elegant. I told the boys that I preferred something not European, not American and not Oriental, so I went to the reception and asked for advice on Middle East food. The lady and the gentleman were extremely friendly; and told me that there were two Lebanese restaurants in the mall. After I chose the one that I could not pronounce (but it sounded very romantic), the gentleman offered twice to lead us to the restaurant. It is called Zahr El-Laymoun (Does it sound something sweat?), and it is on the first floor (we called it second floor) beside an Italian restaurant and a Sushi restaurant.

The restaurant is decorated romantically. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the venue! The waiters were so friendly. Even though the menu was written in English, we had no idea what items they are, as the food names were translated by sound, not by meaning. So the waiter came over and explained one by one. Still confused enough, we did “mini-mini-mani-moo” for the appetizers and main dish. Here is what we ordered:

Seasonings for the bread:
1. Sesame, dry thyme, sumac powder with olive oil
2. Coriander seed with salt and olive oil

Appetizer: Warak Enab (cold dish) and Rkarat Hallou (not dish)

Sauce by the meat: Lemon garlic sauce

After dinner, we walked around and found that there are tons of food lounges around besides 13 restaurants in the mall! One of them is called Kurdo where several men working as a team. One swirled a flat bread onto a dome looking stove/oven. When the bread is baked well one by one, he spin the bread into the air and the bread traveled and landed in another man’s hand. The second man inserted meat from the grill post and some sauce and spices and fresh herbs into the bread; and the third guy folded the bread and lay 4 of them on a electrical grill. The “sandwiches” looked so delicious that we wished we had had another supper! We got to try this next time. When I asked if this was Lebanese food, the third man said, “Kuwait!” Then he asked me if I was from Japan or China. After I told him I was from China, he said, “Ni Hao Ma?” I gave him and the grill a big thumb up! He was so proud of his work.

Guess what, I saw “Banana Republic” and “BCBG” here in 360! - two of my favourite stores. On the top floor we found a roller coaster! I saw less black outfits at night here and the ladies were dressed extremely elegant than daytime. It seems to me that this mall is a busy city and everyone in Kuwait comes to this mall at night.

Old Faithful