Harees

I had the greatest pleasure of discovering harees.

Harees is a local food in UAE and there is no restarant in UAE that serves the local food except for kitchens that cater to events. If you want to eat harees, you have to buy the whole pot.

Harees is made of wheat made very fine, chicken or lamb, and cream. It takes a professional to make a really yummy harees. Naturally, the best one is available at the Sheikh's palace.

I mentioned this to my colleague in the office and she told me that she already tried harees and she has a friend that usually gives her some during Eid. Well, Eid Al Adha came up and true to her word, she gave me a small portion in a small bowl so I can try it.

When I saw it, it looked like oatmeal. Harees is best eaten steaming hot so I heated it in a saucepan. The smell was like mocha-ish which I thought was a bit weird for something that looks so creamy. When I tasted it...ooooohhh sooooo yummmmmmy!!!! My knees buckled and there grew a smile on my face. It was so beautiful, the taste is like no other! Well, it reminded me of Gerber baby food because there was practically nothing to chew in it. That aside, the experience of tasting harees was simply exquisite!

I have a roommate and I debated whether to leave her some or not. Out of the goodness of my heart, I decided to leave her some because it's not like you can buy it anywhere, right? Would it be needless to say it became my dinner the next day? LOL! I offered her the rare opportunity but she didn't touch it up to lunch the next day. There is no way I will let something precious go to waste!

Pat, pat, pat...for my tummy!

When your car wouldn't start, who will you call?

After attending a social gathering one fine Friday afternoon, my friend Vanessa and I headed back to her car so she can drop me off at home. When we reached the car, Van noticed that the lights were left on. It didn't surprise her that the car wouldn't start.

A seemingly nice Arab guy whose car was parked in front of us noticed our distress. He offered to help. We told him the car wouldn't start and after checking, he said he needed cables because the battery got drained. We checked the trunk, no cables. He has no cables. So, Van and I started calling people we knew who lives around the area and might have cables. No luck. The guy couldn't help us anymore so he left.

Fortunately, Jane, our friend whom we visited, has the right cables. So, we got the cables and we were faced with the next problem...another car's battery. Van's car was parked facing the sidewalk and then it goes down to the street. We needed a 4x4 to get on to the pavement to get close to our car's nose. Jane's car was a Toyota Previa but the pavement was too high for her car. Van hailed a couple of taxis but they only drove away.

The blessing came in the form of a Honda CR-V. The Indian driver was willing to help us because it also meant he can take our parking space when we leave. Finally, problem solved and everybody was happy!

When I reached home, it dawned on me how few people I knew where I live. I live in Abu Shagara, Sharjah and I'm surrounded by a lot of residential buildings. I don't know my neighbors! The only two people I called were (1) a company driver, and (2) the GM of our F&B company. They were the only people that came to mind whom I know lives near and have a car. Yet, in the end, the person who helped us willingly was a total stranger! It's bittersweet to realize that we may have friends in great numbers but when they're too far, they cannot come to our aid during emergencies.

Therefore, it is always much better to have neighbors as our friends, too. After all, building good relationships help grow our world and that makes it a better place for us ;-)