Tag Archives: Vegetarian

Remember my claim that I would start eating healthy? Well, at that time, I forgot that it was Nouman’s birthday the coming week. So yes, I flew off the bandwagon even before I really had a chance to start.

Nouman and I both had Thursday off (US Thanksgiving) so we took off Friday and Monday aswell – yeay to extra long weekends! On Tuesday, we finalized our plans to head off to Niagara falls and on Thursday, we were off on our adventure! I like to pre-plan ages in advance, but we both decided to be spontaneous and to go with the flow – I can’t believe how good it felt. On Thursday, we (by we I mean mainly Nouman) did a little bit of shopping on the Canadian side of Niagara falls (ate at Burger King), checked into our hotel in the evening and then vegged out in our room for a few hours. Did you guys know that I LOVE hotel rooms? Especially when they have a king sized bed and a jacuzzi? After resting for a few hours, we went out for dinner to a Halal Middle-Eastern restaurant called Casablanca. Casablanca has all the Arabian delights – shawarma, falafel, shish tawouk, etc – and also an area that has sheesha, fresh juices/shakes and a wood-oven pizza’s!

Service: Attentive. The owner was hands-on and everyone jived together. We had no complaints. It took around 15 minutes for our food to be ready
Taste: Pretty good. The falafel was average – nothing spectacular but definitely better than Villa Madina. Nouman liked his chicken shawarma too
Portion Size: Huge. Comparable to Paramount
Price: On the pricier side – Chicken Shawarma plate was $15.99 and the falafel sandwich was $7.99. The pizza’s (12 inch) ranged from $7.99 to $11.99

Nouman got the chicken shawarma plate and I had the falafel sandwich

After dinner, we had fun at Clifton Hill (my sisters and I call it “Fun Street”) and looked around the casino at our hotel before finally returning to our suite around 1:30am. I had wanted to surprise Nouman with breakfast at the Fallsview Restaurant at our hotel (it has amazing views of the falls) but we were both too tired to get up early in the morning. After checking out, we headed to Denny’s for brunch.

We ordered the vegetarian omelet with fries and rye toast and a custom order of 2 eggs (sunnyside up), 2 English Muffins, hashbrowns and 2 buttermilk pancakes. We took this picture after we had halved our meals

After our yummy brunch, we walked around the falls, checked out the second casino (Casino Niagara) and then randomly decided to cross the border to eat at the Cheesecake Factory! We had thought that the border would be packed because of Black Friday, but we had been viewing the border from out hotel and it was completely deserted.

Mine: Nachos
Nouman: Shrimp Jambalaya
… and free bread, ofcourse!

Oreo Cheesecake

Did I tell you that I completely overpacked the snacks for our trip? A list of all the food/drink items I took:

Ruffles: Sour Cream & Onion (brought it back unopened)
Ruffles: All Dressed (we ate almost the entire bag)
A container full of assorted nuts – cashews, almonds, salted and limed almonds, walnuts, etc
Honey roasted peanuts
Bag of sour and sweet twizzlers (I finished this off pretty much on my own)
Swedish berries (we had half of the bag)
Dairy milk chocolate bar (untouched)
Twix – pack of 4 (unopened)
Celebration cookies (again, untouched)
4 diet coke cans (I had one)
2 coke cans (Nouman had 1)
1 ginger ale
Handful of water bottles (useful)
A chocolate cupcake that I surprised Nouman with to kick off his birthday celebrations (we had this the morning after we got back home)

On Saturday, we went to Pizza Hut where we had pizza and a yummy cake! Thankfully, I was able to control myself at Pizza Hut and stopped at 3 slices – after all the overeating, I could resist pizza… a first for me!

I was hoping to eat clean on Sunday but I went over to my parents place and indulged in delicious sushi and spinach pie. FYI, I haven’t had sushi in a LONG time – it was delicious and I definitely overate.

And today, Nouman and I both took the day off and are going to indulge in something again. I think I might just go for a salad if we go out somewhere – totally don’t feel like eating anything greasy or fried! Although Birthday Burgers are a tradition, I don’t know if I feel like having it – maybe we’ll share one for old times sake

Monday’s Munchies: Chocolate Croissant at Marche

Monday’s Munchies: Dosa at The Nilgiris

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On the weekend, Nouman, his mom and I went for dosa. It was my (and Nouman’s) first time trying dosa – I have wanted to try it for a long time but never got around to it. Nouman’s mom has had it before so she suggested The Nilgiris in Scarborough.

Since none of us are dosa experts, we asked our server for suggestions. Nouman’s family likes well-spiced foods so he suggested the Mysore Masala Dosa with Onions. Nouman didn’t think he would get full by eating just one dosa, so he ordered 2. Obviously. Our order: 2 Mysore Masala Dosa’s, 1 cheese Dosa and 1 Rava Onion Dosa. All their dosa’s come with Sambar (vegetable stew with lentils and veggies) and 3 chutneys.

Mysore Masala Dosa with Onions: Thin crepe made of rice and lentils, coated with the Mysore paste and stuffed with potatoes and onions

The Mysore Masala Dosa was yummy but a little bit too spicy for me. The filling was yummy – potato and onions mixed with a spicy masala.The potatoes are stuffed at the center of the dosa – so that the dosa doesn’t get soggy. Although the dosa was crispy, next time I’ll be ordering potatoes on the side.

Cheese Dosa: A regular dosa coated with cheese and stuffed with potato and onions

The cheese dosa was delicious. The filling was the same as the Mysore Masala but the dosa was coated with cheese. I liked eating just the dosa portion – the cheese flavour tasted like the remains of a grilled cheese sandwich. You know what I mean by remains, right? It’s the extra bit of cheese that gets grilled a little bit longer and gets left behind in the pan (I eat it).

Rava Onion Dosa

I think this was everyone’s favourite. The dosa was crispy, light, and very flavourful. The onions were partly cooked so the flavour was bursting. When I asked Nouman why he liked it and he said it reminded him of a dry omelette.

While Nouman, the meat lover, didn’t love dosa’s, I can’t wait to go again!

Monday’s Munchies: Mickey’s Pizza

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I am so excited to share this amazing pizza place with you guys. My mom, sisters, Nouman and I love pizza – it’s my all time favourite thing to eat.

A few years ago, I had deep dish pizza in the Middle East. Since then, the only other time I’ve had deep dish was in Chicago this summer. I love deep dish and have been on a mission to find it in Toronto. For those who don’t know, deep dish pizza is different from regular pizza because the crust is thick and deep (hence the name!).

Guess what? I found a place and it is heavenly! Those of you who eat Halal, they have Halal chicken options.

Mickey’s Pizza is a small pizza joint in Mississauga – it can seat about 10 people in the summer and probably 5-7 in the winter. There isn’t alot of space inside the place but it is screaming of character. Surprisingly, for a small place, they have a very extensive menu. There are options for meat lovers, chicken fanatics and even vegetarians like me!

We got one of the combo specials – 3 deep dish pizza’s for $45. 2 of our pizza’s were vegetarian and the other one had chicken. We ordered The Cheesy Beast, Spinach King and Mango Tango.

Crust: Buttery but not greasy, thick but not heavy and overall just perfect.
Sauce: I love that the pizza isn’t dripping with sauce but isn’t dry either. The balance of sauce and cheese is just right

I love it when I can see some of the cooking/baking

2 of our 3 pizza’s – $45 for 3 deep dish pizza

The Cheesy Beast

Mozzarella, Goat, Feta, Cheddar, Asiago, Parmesan & Monterey Jack Cheese
This pizza is a cheese-lovers dream. I’m not a huge fan of ooey-gooey-cheesey things so this was a bit much for me but overall, I still really liked it. Even for someone who doesn’t love cheese, I still liked the pizza – it just wasn’t my favourite. Of the 2 veggie pizza’s, my mom and Nouman labelled this as their favourite

The Cheesy Beast

Spinach King

Sauteed Spinach with Cheddar, Asiago, Parmesan & Monterey Jack
This was my favourite – it was very flavourful and all the ingredients complimented each other remarkably.

Mango Tango

Chicken, Carmelized Onion, Mango, Hot Peppers and sprinkled with Garam Masala
I can’t say much about this since I didn’t have it. The overall consensus was that this was the best of the 3 – probably because most people like meat

Mango Tango

Chicken Slice

Spinach King Slice

I would absolutely recommend this joint for all deep dish lovers. Comparing this to Chicago, I think Mickey’s Pizza just might be 0.01 better!

Note: If you eat Halal, make sure you check with them each time you go there as their supplier could change anytime.

Monday’s Munchies: Food At CNE

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Every year, for the 18 days leading upto Labour Day, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE or The Ex) takes place at the Exhibition place in Toronto. In simple words, it’s Canada’s largest fair. There are games, rides, international pavilions, exhibits, shows, a casino and ofcourse, food.

Oh yeah, lots and lots of food. Not just any type of food – there are unique types of food that you have only imagined, never tasted. Yup, I go to The Ex for food.

2 summers ago, deep-fried butter made its debut and the crowd went wild for it. Since then, The Ex has all sorts of deep-fried goodies: Mars, Snickers, Twinkies, Twix, Oreo Cookies, Coke, Colossal Onion and even Mac & Cheese. Last year, debuted the Krispy Kreme Burger: a meat patty and cheese sandwiched between two glazed Krispy Kreme Donuts. What. The. Heck.

In addition to more heart-attack-enducing foods, The Ex also added some variety to the mix

Thyme & Olives: a Halal Lebanese bakery selling yummy pies – spinach, cheese, cheese and zataar, meat, and turkey
Far East Tacos: A twist on traditional taco’s – you can choose from a variety of Korean inspired toppings
Vie Raw Food: For the health conscious, The Ex welcomed raw food this year

Here’s what Nouman and I tried new this time:

Steak & Cheese Factory: Nouman loves meat so he tried a sandwich from the Steak & Cheese Factory. He ordered an 8″ chicken and cheese sub but they gave him an 8″ steak and cheese sandwich instead. The line was super long but Nouman didn’t love his sub

Thyme & Olives: We heard that the Turkey and Cheese pie was really good so Nouman’s family tried that. Everyone really liked it

The Turkey pie on the right side

Deep Fried Oreos: The concept seems yummy but it wasn’t too great. I would’ve liked it better if there was still a slight crunch to the cookie but there wasn’t. The inside was surprisingly very soft. I’m not a fan of the batter either – it’s too thick and gooey for my liking. Overall, it was just meh.

3 for $5. What a ripoff

A look inside

Deep Fried Snickers: We decided to get the snickers bar with icecream and chocolate sauce on top. This was much better than the Oreo. I liked the crunchiness of the peanuts and the stickyness of the caramel. The icecream was also a good idea – the lightness of the icecream balanced the thickness of the batter.

Just Cone It: I love pizza and so I had to try this. I opted for the pizza flavour minus the pepperoni – the server even got me a new bowl and spoon since the previous ones all had pepperoni mixed in. While the concept is great, the flavour was definitely lacking.

A closer look

Swiss Waffle: Topped with soft serve vanilla icecream and fresh strawberries. We got our waffle dipped in chocolate aswell. Ofcourse. Contrary to the Belgian waffle, the Swiss waffle is crispy which makes it fun to eat.

I think next year I’ll try the Kimchi Taco from Far East Taco!

Monday’s Munchies: Rocky Mountain’s Chocolate Dipped Brownies

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The last few weeks have been food overload for me. I am absolutely guilty of gaining love weight since we’ve been married – we buy each other treats, go to dawats, and attend weddings. These days, everything in our life revolves around food. It’s so hard to avoid all the sinful goods.

For our 2 month anniversary, we decided not to go out for dinner. Instead, I wanted to get Nouman a sweet treat. I decided that I would go to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory since it had been a while – I am so thankful I did. I looked around for a while and then decided to get some chocolate dipped brownies; Nouman loves brownies and we both love all things dipped in chocolate (who doesn’t?!). Since it was my first time trying these, I decided to go safe: chocolate dipped brownies covered in almonds and M&M covered chocolate dipped brownies (for the kid that Nouman is).

The brownies were divinely delicious. I had thought that it might be too sweet but I’m glad I was wrong. The brownie is melt-in-your-mouth moist and the dipped chocolate adds a nice texture to the mix. The dipped chocolate has a great taste on its own – I asked Nouman to describe it and he said: amazing.

My favourite was the almond because I love anything covered in nuts. Nouman liked the M&Ms more. For Eid, we got a white chocolate drizzled chocolate dipped brownie (not pictured) for Nouman’s brother and he loved it more than the almond.

I’ve heard they have chocolate dipped cheesecake and chocolate dipped frozen bananas – I haven’t seen these at any location near me. I’d love to try them though!

Monday’s Munchies: Food in Barbados

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We forgot to take pictures of everything we ate, but here is a look into some of the yummy things we did capture. Barbados is known for its scrumptious fish! We ate fish almost everyday and loved it – so fresh and tasty.

Breakfast at Pearson

Dinner at The Carriage House – Dorada Fillet with baked potato and salad

Flying Fish with macaroni pie at Cutters Deli – a short walk from the resort

Fish with rice & peas, salad and fried plantain

Fish with salad, potato and yams

Pina Colada for him. Guava for me. The best juice I’ve ever had. EVER.

This was a local fast food chain. It was quite similar to KFC. We had potato and curry roti – it was pretty good, but not the greatest.

Pasta at a restaurant in the resort, D’Onofrios Trattoria. Nouman didn’t like this much

I ordered pizza. It was average

Enjoying a grilled cheese samwich on our balcony

Flying fish with rice & peas, salad, macaroni pie and coleslaw. This was at Oistens – it’s a street party that happens every Friday

Blue Marlin with the same sides as above. This was by far our favourite type of fish – it tastes like chicken, so Nouman loved it!

Getting coconut water on our resort

He got pineapple flavour and I got strawberry. Notice the tan? OH YEAH!

Treats after a long day at the beach. This was from a cute cafe on our resort

Room service and grilled cheese samwiches. Nouman couldn’t have more than 2 fish balls.. so naturally, I ate them all. He had juice and I had coke. Ofcourse.

We went back to Cutters Deli for our last breakfast. Eggs Benny for him

Yummy Breakfast Burrito. All mine.

Sorry if you’re fasting! It’s Monday’s Munchies, what did you expect?

Monday’s Munchies: Hearts For You

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Guess what people? We’re finally done all of our favours! That includes stuffing the boxes, assembling the boxes and tying the ribbons.

Few more weeks left InshAllah, can’t wait!

In addition to the pomegranates and berries my mom gives me everyday, she also makes me eat a handful of walnuts a few times a week.

Perfect heart shape

This week, I’ll finally be posting pictures of my invitations

Wedding Entrance Songs

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Since we’re getting close to the wedding, I figured I’d start finalizing my entrance songs. I’m not a huge bollywood fan (the last movie I watched was either Om Shanti Om or Jodha Akbar – whichever is most recent) so my song choices are limited. I need your help – especially for the Mayoun/Mehendi entrance songs. Please give me suggestions

Here’s what I’m thinking:

Mayoun
I really want a classic mehendi song – the type you sing to at dholki’s

Mehendi
Something upbeat but not punjabi. I definitely don’t want an overplayed song such as Mehendi Hai Rachne Wali - do people still use that song?!

I like dholki’s – My right hand looks really straight for a clap
Photography by Ali K

The shaadi entrance song should be easy enough – there are enough mushy desi songs out there. I do have some songs shortlisted

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Weddings, food and thoughts.