11A

We went to 11A on the recommendation of a Saudi friend over two years ago.  As I haven't been for a while I can only presume it is still there.

 Eleven A is on the eleventh floor of Faisaliah Tower.  The veiw was lovely, decor not overstated and middle eastern buffet style food quite nice.  You could even sit outside on the balcony if you fancied,  though the day we went was a little windy for outdoor dining.  My shots of the place leave a lot to be desired but give you an idea what to expect.  Those of you with vertigo issues might not want to sit next to the windows.  You can feel as if you'll drop through.

My only shot of the food. Isn't it terrible!  I must have been wanting to get to it.  Note to self - do not take pictures of food when hungry.

Now that I've dredged these photo's out of the folder on my computer, I may have to make a return trip to 11A  to see if anything has changed.

Ka Kite,
Kiwi

Anatolia

Anatolia is a fabulous Turkish restaurant just off Tahalia St. If you did'n't know it was there you wouldn't know it was there.  We had the most delicious meal at Anatolia.  I would have loads of pictures, but I was far to interested in eating.

Cafe Lenotre

Looking for an outdoor venue for my coffee, I dropped into Lenotre, in Centria Mall.  Lenotre Family Section has a large outdoor balcony which, on a glorious winters day is a great place to sit beneath large shade umbrellas and enjoy a selection of breads before tucking in to whatever main course you may have ordered.

Ketchup

Ketchup is another eatery on the strip after turning right at Mussah ibn Nasser.  The first time I went, which was a while back, I thought it was a little on the pricey side, however they currently have a rather tasty looking menu,

Piatto

Piatto is another Italian Restaurant located along the Northern Ring Road.  It's huge sign is not easy to miss. We've been here a couple of times. It's quite roomy, set up like an Italian piazza, but indoors.

Little water fountains are spread throughout the open areas, upstairs and down.  The brickwork reminds me of a pizza oven

Tiramisu At Bateel

Being a bit of a Tiramisu freak, I tend to order it whenever it's on the dessert menu.  Yes, the Saudi version does lack a drop of liqueur, but I still have difficulty looking at other desserts when Tiramisu is around.

The other day, I enjoyed a deliciously creamy Tiramisu for breakfast

La Vela

I just finished a meal at La Vela that was a little disappointing. I ordered beef, medium rare, with pepper sauce and veges. The sauce was peppery. The veges crunchy - just how I like them. The baby carrots were lovely and sweet.  The beef - overdone!  I ate it, what good Kiwi wouldn't, but overdone meat just spoils a meal, don't you think?

Fortunately, they have yummy sweets, and I can be turned by yummy sweets and good coffee...

 ---this mousse made me almost forget all about my mains.


Ka Kite,
Kiwi

On The Verandah at Pauls

Enjoying a turkey and Brie sandwich at Pauls on the outdoor verandah.
Awaiting my coffee and planning to order sweets.

As per my first visit to Pauls on Tahalia soon after they opened, the only truly disappointing aspect of my meal this day was the salad. Old brown lettuce leaves make you frown and go 'mmnnnooooo' and the offending leaves are picked up gingerly and flicked aside while a careful search is undertaken of all food on the plate for any other faults. There weren't any. Sandwich was munched while Arabic was studied.

It was interesting to note that, come salah, we diners were not left to our own devices as all staff made a mass exit to sit around outside, a practice we have come to expect at dining places. Instead, a skeleton crew was left behind to clear dishes from our tables and cater to some of our whims.  Its little things like this that indicate the little ways that Saudi is changing.  Having wait staff on hand today made me realize how abandoned we had been in previous years.

Although I'd intended to order sweets the sandwich was filling enough so I decided to do my waistline a favor and go without.  The tasty treats lined up in the display case near the door would have to wait for some other day, and I made do with coffee while contemplating what a good job Pauls had done creating their outdoor area.

The  verandah at Pauls is quite pretty lined with various plants and, though the large white umbrellas hide diners of the tender gender from view, they are still rattled by an occasional breeze to remind us we are enjoying an outdoor experience.


Sent from my iPhone because my computer is refusing to compute today!



Ka Kite,
Kiwi

Pear 'n Date Temptation at Bateel

Last night I enjoyed a delicious main meal of lamb loin on fava beans and artichoke in jus followed by a sweet pear 'n date temptation dessert.  The lamb was so tender and cooked to perfect medium rare - exactly as I'd asked.

Hubster ordered a seafood risotto he described as lovely, and the small sampling I snuck from his plate did make me go mmmmmm (yes I'm one of those terrible people who likes to try what everyone else has ordered) and then he devoured his dessert without having a clue what it was called, but it looked big and creamy which explains why it was the dessert that caught his eye from all those in the sweets cabinet.  He has a weakness for creamy things.  And big things.

With meals like these, and scrumptious desserts to follow, Bateel continues to be our dining experience of choice in Riyadh.


Ka Kite,
Kiwi

Praline Pattiserie

Yummy delights at Praline Patisserie on Sulamaniyah-Talateen. French decor, funky muted trumpet music from the 50's currently playing in the background and delicious pastries and slices.

This is where I am enjoying my coffee this afternoon.

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Sent via Kiwi iPhone wishing you a fabulous day.

Vapiano

Vapiano is on Tahalia, right next to Localiser Mall, is an Italian Restaurant.

The wooden staircase curving its way to the Vapiano dining area is an indication of the setting you'll meet once at the top - casual, relaxed, open, stylish

The blackboard above the kitchen with its chalkboard art and food related sayings and proverbs provides a bit of a talking point.  "Never eat more than you can lift" or 'The belly rules the mind".  I especially liked 'Don't let love interfere with your appetite".  All very relevant to how we approach food and this night, with Mr Finland paying, we were hungry.

Being a person who loves wood, I quite liked the whole set up with the wooden floor and, around the corner from the open eating area, little wooden dining corners with various plant settings - from fresh flowers to young saplings - adorning the center of the tables.

Being Italian, Vapiano serves up, among other things, pizza and pasta.  On a shelf in the kitchen are a selection of pasta's available.  We decided to try a pizza and a few other delectable nibbles on bread.

It was all quite scrumptious and fresh and tasty and, as I said to Hubster, 'Why do we not come in here more often.

Mr Finland, after eating his fill, lay back on the roomy bench style seats and contemplated the bill.  He needn't have worried.  At Vaipano, along with quick and friendly service and fabulous food, came reasonable prices.

Directions to Vapiano

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Ka Kite,
Kiwi

Hediards

Hediard was plunged into darkness in Riyadh this evening.

Someone turned all the lights off. Sure it was salah but does that mean we need to be completely hidden while the Hai'a cruise the streets shooing everybody off to the mosque with their loud speakers.

It turns out, thankfully, that someone made a blue and much flicking of switches behind the cake display unit meant the mood lighting was soon taking the edge off the darkness, though a torch was still needed to read the menu.

This welcome, plus the smell of fried food assaulting the nostrils as soon as we entered what is supposedly a French restaurant, made us consider reconsidering our decision to come here.  We were, early on a Friday evening, the only two customers in the circular shaped family section with its large windows leaning out over Tahalia St.  The lack of other customers meant service was rapid.

Hediard must have been a beauty in its day with its French style chairs of dark wood and white upholstery against red decor and heavy timber dividers.  It has, of recent times, been going down the gurgler due, so we heard, to a falling out between Hediard HQ in France and the local Saudi partner.

The menu was more Middle Eastern than French.  We were after a light meal so decided to settle for starters only.  Hubster had Mushroom Soup that he described as 'nothing outstanding'.  I had Kibbeh - an Arab dish that is basically a minced meat croquette.  Having been raised on minced meat in all its many forms, Kibbeh is a food that reminds me of my childhood so I'm quite comfortable consuming it. The accompanying sauce was thick and fruity.

Our drinks, a lemon mint for myself and juice for the other half, were served in quirky glasses that Hubster took a fancy to because they were shaped so you could, literally, pour the liquid into your mouth.

The weather outside was cold, so we decided to stay for dessert and coffee.  The coffee, I have to say, was very nice and a decent sized serving in chic cups.  However, the Tiramisu was out of the frij and still damp in places.  Hubster's caramel slice was better quality - it must have been, he ate it all.

Hediard used to be a happening place on Tahalia.  We have passed it many times over the last three years, its cone shape towering over the single section patio has quite an imposing presence.  Perhaps the cold weather was keeping everyone away this night, though I tend to think people vote with their feet when food quality is not up to scratch.

There is an upstairs terrace at Hediard's which, for thermal reasons, we didn't go and investigate though, because I do like a good coffee out in the open air, I'm prepared to go back and suss it out when the current cold snap has settled down.

Maya for Chocolate.

If you're a chocoholic then I suggest you visit Maya Chocolaterie, at the eastern end of Tahaliah Street.

Although I'm not a chocolate lover Maya is one place I would go for chocolate treats.  I find most chocolate products these days are sickeningly sweet because they're loaded with sugar to try and disguise the cheap palm oil they're made with.  

Hubster, who loves chocolate, encouraged me to try a morsel of his dessert the night we decided to stop in and I was impressed.   Maya chocolate tastes chocolaty - obviously there is a bit more cacao in the mix than can be found elsewhere, resulting in chocolate that tastes the way I imagine chocolate should.

Everything on the Maya menu has chocolate either in it or on it.  No carrot cake to be found.   There's hot chocolate drinks, cold chocolate shakes, chocolate pastries and a Maya signature chocolate fondue.  The least chocolate item on the menu was the babka, but even it didn't escape chocolatation.

The first night we went to Maya the eating area was packed with young women. Maya, a friend informed me after I told her we went there to satisfy Hubster's chocolate fancy, is a family only eatery - no Singles Section available.

As one of the few males, and the only westerner in the diner this evening, Hubster was not hard to miss in the crowd! There are no booths (at least none that we saw) but screens can be provided.  The lack of space between tables meant those behind the screen didn't get much elbow room to relax and enjoy.  Suffice to say, there was only one screen in operation the night we went and the staff were kept on their toes though, by then end of the evening, found time to stop for a collective photo.

The decor at Maya is chocolate related, hardly surprising, with two large vats of chocolate - one milky white the other a rich dark brown, greeting you at the entrance.  The restaurant has large panels of black glass surrounding it and little else dressing the windows which means the lighting is kept dim.  Perhaps this is meant to create an ambiance of chocolate romance, but for those with failing eyesight it makes it difficult to see the menu.

Romance and loving eyes aside, if you're a chocolate lover and plan on heading to Maya for chocolate desserts you will not be disappointed.