Fusion - New Age Sushi

Japanese food, specially sushi, has been my favorite cuisine for the last decade, and on average I will have sushi for dinner twice per month if not more.

I am a loyal customer to MAKI, so its #1 on my list.... and then I pause to think which sushi place comes next on my list after that.. but I've just realized earlier when I went to Fusion Gourmet Japanese Restaurant, at the Galleria 2000, for dinner that I was missing a lot!

Basically Fusion has this new concept to it... its a Japanese restaurant with a Hollywood-esque! Its unique! I have not seen something like that in Kuwait!!! I loved it :-)

The complimentary dish served was tuna and cucumbers... I'm so picky when it comes to tuna... but this was a bite of heaven!!!

The menu was uninviting and it put us down when we were browsing through it, but the service really made it up! We were told that the menu was old and is in the process of changing, so we were given some amazing suggestions... all of which were as promised, delicious! I mean all the food we ordered was really REALLY delicious! We ordered two salads -Salmon Avocado and Crispy Crab-, one edamame, a falafil like potato patties, chicken teriyaki, vegetable fried rice, new age epi tempura, and volcano maki.... One word; Exquisite!!! ALL OF IT!

I would strongly recommend those potato patties and the new age epi tempura!!

Dessert was also something I look forward to have again.. organic ice-cream with crushed biscuits and chocolate 'n caramel sauces! Mmm Mmm Mmm!!!!

Ohh and you know how when you are looking at the food on the menu or in a magazine and think "wow this looks really good" but then they have it presented to you looking way too different?? That was not the case!!! The food was really well presented as if it was a picture out of a cook book or a restaurant ad!

Good Location + Delicious Food + Awesome Presentation + Amazing Service = Wonderful Experience

I give Fusion two thumbs up and will definitely go there again and again!

$$ Vs. SS

$pend and $plurge vs. Steal and Save will be a weekly feature on Tuesdays by Ansam. Inspired by May’s Similar Bag post, this feature has been in the making for a long time.....





To read further check:





Kuwait-Style

The new "IT" bag!

The FEED project was started by Lauren Bush, Honorary Spokesperson, to benefit the United Nations World Food Program. The proceeds from FEED products go to feed hungry children in school around the world through WFP's school feeding program.



For more info check: Feed Projects

To buy the bag go to: Amazon

To Tan or not to Tan?

Summer time tan!! And we are talking "Kuwait's Summer Time". Summer might be the season to go out in the sun and enjoy the outdoors, but we are talking Kuwait here and the trick is to have fun...... "safely".

A lot of people dream of getting this golden tan, so they rush to get sun tan lotions, creams, sprays….. etc. without even knowing the difference between SPF and UV!

The UV Index
Ultra Violet Index is a scientific term used to tell us how many UV rays reaches earth at different times throughout the day. Those rays are always present but not visible and consists of both; UVA and UVB. The UVB is a good source Vitamin D3.
When looking at the scale of the UV index know that the higher the number, the stronger the rays are and the more exposure you will get! When the index is at a high number you have to be careful for that it wont take very long to burn your skin... just keep in mind when tanning at this time; "how pretty is your red tan with the peel effect" ewe!

The SPF
The Sun Protection Factor is the number you see on the bottle. The higher the number, the higher the protection you get. How to decide which number you need is based on your skin and how fast you normally burn. If you tan easily under the sand without a burn, you can use 4 and above...

Sunblock Vs. Sunscreen
On one hand, sunscreens usually come in the form of a lotion or cream, and has an SPF rating. When applied it reacts with the sun creating an invisible barrier. It is better to apply it 20 minutes prior to sun exposure and swimming, and reapply when you come out of the water. There are some waterproof sunscreens that last longer than the regular ones.

On the other hand, a sundblock is thick and gooey, and has no SPF rating. It completely blocks the sun's UV rays. A lot of times you can spot it on people easily applied on their noses and lips. So when shopping for a sunblock then look for a bottle that has NO SPF rating on it.

Remember, sunscreen and sunblock do not block out Vitamin D, they only block the UV radiation. And too much tanning can increase the risks of skin cancer, wrinkles, sun spots, discolored skin, well..... just looking bad in general!

Enjoy the sun..... safely ;-)

Vote Results

The majority wants me to keep the blog's new look... and I'm sticking to it for the time being ;-)
-Ansam

Thats Me in Springfield :-P

This is fun :-)

The Simpsons Movie

Create your own Simpson Avatar. Thats me above LOL



Consider yourself tagged! Waiting to see yours now heehee



TM & Copyright 2007 FOX and its related entities. All Rights Reserved.

Anne-Julie Aubry

Last week I was browsing through 248am and read a post about Anne-Julie Aubry. I checked out her website and fell in love with every piece. She is an amazing artist! I LOVE her style! I am looking forward to buying some of her paintings to hang on my bedroom walls!! As a matter of fact, I changed my header image to one of her paintings... which goes well with the title of my blog (Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May)

That piece is called "A life with Flowers"

The image above in this post is called "The Bath" it is so cute. Isn't it?

Anne-Julie Aubry, born in 1980, in a small town in Eastern France. A graduated from Beaux-Arts in 2001, Ecole de L'Image of Epinal with a degree in Illustration.



Check out;
her website
and her blog
and to shop

Web networkers 'at risk of fraud'

LayDeeLay sent me an interesting email earlier today that could be of benefit to all of us :-)
Here you go....
-Ansam
*************


People who use internet networking sites are being warned that they could be at risk of identity theft.

Credit information group Equifax said members of sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook may be putting too many details about themselves online.

It said fraudsters could use these details to steal someone's identity and apply for credit and benefits.

About 80,000 people in the UK were victims of identity theft last year, at a cost to the economy of £1.5bn.




To read further, check out: BBC

A Message!

I received this by email ;-)
Enjoy!
-Ansam


1) I NEED TO TELL YOU A SECRET (LO0K AT #5)
2) THE ANSWER IS (L0OK AT #11)
3) D0NT GET MAD (L0OK AT #15)
4) CALM DOWN DONT BE PISSED ( L0OK AT #13)
5) FIRST (L0OK AT #2)
6) D0NT BE THAT MAD (L0OK AT #12)
7) I JUST WANTED TO SAY HI!
8) WHAT I WANTED TO TELL YOU IS...(THE ANSWER IS ON #14)
9) BE PATIENT (L0OK AT #4)
10) THIS IS THE LAST TIME IMMA DO THIS (L0OK AT #7)
11) IM NOT MAD WHEN IM SAYIN THIS:( (L0OK AT#6)
12) S0RRY (L0OK AT #8)
13) D0NT BE GETTIN ALL HYPE (L0OK AT #10)
14) I D0NT KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS (L0OK AT #3)
15) YOU MUST BE REALLY PISSED OFF (L0OK AT NUMBER #9)

NOW Blendz at the Avenues

As received (via text msg)

"Come enjoy the best blended smoothies and shakes now @ Blendz Avenues! Shake up your diet with our healthy choices of blended juices mixed with your favorite vitamin!"

Also check my older post about Blendz

The Price of Healthier Life Style

I am paying a very high price to adopt to my new "healthier" life style!
Lunch at work (five times per week) for me is from Diet Center.
(Check my Previous Post About Diet-Shop)
Their food is of a high quality and is tasty too!!

I work out as much as I can and at every given opportunity! Which I like actually. Its a stress relieve, specially when you run and run... and RUN!

I am not a big fun of munchies.. so I am fine, but I do crave chocolate between now and then... But really, I am handling it all fairly well.

I am a big fan of plain, non-fat, yoghurt.. also I like the Elle et Vire fruity yoghurt selection.. and when speaking healthy-food-wise, yoghurt is so good and healthy as well...

OK, so whats the price of the healthier life style I am adopting to?

Well... can you believe that I ate ONLY half of a Krispy Kreme doughnut last night! YES! HALF ONLY!!!!! My usual minimum was TWO!! So I ate a quarter of my usual portion! I didnt do that gradually and skipped the one doughnut stage to the half doughnut! I was cutting it into half with a knife! I killed it! I ATE ONLY HALF OF THAT DOUGHNUT!!! and the thing is I dont like doughnuts.. I just like Krispy Kreme ones!! All that for the price of a healthier life style!!

The Bowler's Daughter - Damien Rice

Thanks "Girl Meets World" awesome song

Why car keys - duplicates - cost you an arm and a leg?

I dropped my car keys, and the plastic cover got broken! (same happend to my spare key some time ago), and when I called the Lexus service to inquire about making a duplicate, my heart got broken too! It would cost me KWD 70.000 without programming.. and that will require them to have my car for a whole day or two! I checked prices on the net and they are in the same range! So WHY!!!! Why that expensive??

Apparently that is the price of technology! Keys are no longer just a piece of metal that can work the whole thing out by its own, there are more things to take into consideration to unlock your door and turn on your car!!! we have now electronic access systems and computrized chips.

The head/tip of the key contains a tiny robot radio that enables some sort of radio communication with the car! HUH! The password can include 19 digits, which means that it will allow A LOT of combinations! Interesting!!!

This all helped slash the theft rate on some models by 90 percent!!!

To read further, check out this site

IKEA Laundry Rack/Basket... whatever!

Dreamy! Yes its another post about Landry Baskets heehee!! But as you said, there is a hidden lesson here :-P And Fayoora, this is the IKEA one you are talking about.

My friend was in IKEA and told me that there is a similar Laundry Basket to the one I posted about for 750 fils!! I was like WHAT!!!!!! and then I asked him to take pictures, which he did... obviously :-P

Well... this Rack is is somewhat similar but not the same...! Not like the picture I posted on my blog... but 750 fils! WOW! That is MUCH lower than mine! I mean I paid KWD 17.000 (check my previous post http://ansam518.blogspot.com/2007/07/spot-differences.html)

My sister's rack is almost the same - less than KWD 4.000 - Option A


IKEA Rack somewhat the same - KWD 0.750 - Option B

With the KWD 17.000 I could have bought 4.3 Option A racks (keep the 0.3 part for later)

Also, with KWD 17.000 I could have bought 22.7 Option B racks (also the 0.7 part is needed)

If I added 0.3 and 0.7 (both from Option A and Option B respectively) I would get ONE Option AB rack... If you dont get it, just ignore it... its me being silly and angry!!


Ohh and yes, thank you Abz for the pics ;-)

Another Little Treat Post!

Yummm! Look how the swirly box have alternative color icing now!

And just to let you know... this picture was taken last Thursday when some friends came over

I had 3 of those! LOL

Cupcakes from Little Treats

Reese and Daughter!!

Reese Whitherspoon here with daughter Ava!!
Isn't it the cutest picture of them together... they look more like sisters than mother-daughter!! Ohh and I love how they are coordinating their outfits.. so disgustingly cute!!

Update: I added few more pictures of the cuties... they do coordinate their outfits!

Spot The Differences

Well.. the one on the left is bigger....
I was shopping at the Avenues last Tuesday and got the one on the left from "The ZONE" (the store is right below MAKI) for KWD 17.000

My sister found the one on the right in Al Faiha Coop. and bought. She came home and asked me... "How much do think this is for? a little bit below KWD 4.000!!!!"

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Shop smart people, and know where to shop! Its just a laundry rack, and they are practically almost the same.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia = Friday, thirteen, and phobia

Its Friday the 13th everyone!!
I thought I would post a "good luck" wish to all my readers :-)

13th day of any month is considered a bad luck day in many cultures around the globe (specially when it falls on a Friday)... In Greece and Spain its the same for Tuesday the 13th.


For more info check Wikipedia

Lexus Face

Received by email.

Thanks Dr. A

-Ansam

*****************

Giving Up Control

Commentaries on Economics, Leadership and the Inner-Journey

Lexus Face

July 10th, 2007

All of us are familiar with the derogatory term “two-faced.” This refers to somebody who falsely presents themselves.

A new idiom may be about to enter the lexicon. That idiom is “Lexus Face.” According to The Wall Street Journal “Lexus Face” is “a peaceful Ogasawara-style closed mouth smile said to put customers at ease.”

Ogasawara refers to the Ogasawara Ryu Reihou institute in Japan. This institute is an etiquette school which teaches samurai etiquette which has been handed down since the 1300s.

In Japan, Toyota is sending all Lexus employees for samurai etiquette training under the belief that this will help sell more cars. Besides “Lexus Face”employees are learning how to stand idly with “fingers together and thumbs interlocked” as well as how many arm lengths to stand away from the customer.

To read the whole article, visit Giving Up Control

Why!! Whatta Morning!

This is one helluva morning.. It started with me waking up 10 minutes late –than my usual time- (and YES! 10 minutes makes a BIG difference, especially when I am carpooling with my sisters which we have been doing and rotating since we moved to our new house).


Well anyway, after I drop them off, I head to where I work, and there I was…. finding this amazing car parking spot, but there was a jerk parked next to it who opened his door SO wide to SHINE HIS SHOES!! I waited for about 20 seconds, he looked at me but didn’t move… instead he continued shinning his shoes like there was no tomorrow! I can't believe those people, I didn’t want to honk or get angry, so I parked elsewhere!!


I reached the elevator…. and there he was about 10 meters behind me. Normally I would press the "open door" button if I see someone approaching. In his case, I was not close to the button, and someone else in the elevator said to his friend; "Push the close button" they were laughing… apparently he was a friend of theirs and they were teasing him. He started running faster to the elevator, dropped something, and when he picked it up the door was closing.. I looked at him EXACTLY the same way he did when he was shinning his shoes!

Karma Rocks! LOL

Emergency Hotline

Apparently, last Friday one of the neighbor's visitors parked next to our house and hit the water meter, broke it, and left without saying a word. Our driver woke up in the morning to find that the street was full (flooded as he explained) with water and called emergency hotline.

On Sunday afternoon some workers came to shut down the water supply to our house, explaining that they were given those orders! To make the problem even worse my dad wasn’t home so I had to talk to them with my sister and the driver gave me the number of the person to talk to.. HE WAS SO RUDE!!! I basically was talking nicely and politely to him, he said I have orders and I follow orders. I was trying to tell him in many ways that people are living in the house.. he told me with a tone..

"the water will be shut down today whether you like it or not.. even if I had to bring the whole police station on your head" (some of it is lost in translation)!!!!

Whatta civilized person to be working and answering the emergency hotline! I saved his cell phone number, but I did not do anything about it! I don’t know if its worth it.. I mean to try and get back at him!

The good part is that water is STILL running, because I had to call someone else to fix the problem! Come on! We are not robots or computerized to follow orders.. I mean they want to follow orders when they want and when they feel like doing so! How stupid!

What do you think!?

OK! LOL!! You might think I went crazy for a moment... but I bought it!! heehee

Honest opinions... what do you think?

Go Lexus

GO LEXUS GO!

Click on the image below

Home Sweet Home

Hi all ;-)
I have not been posting because I was so busy with the move and stuff.. Today, I am 100% fully moved to our new house. As I am typing this post, my bed room set is being assembled. I will post back again when I have time.. I have lots and lots of unpacking to do :-S

Ciao