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Langkawi
  • November 21, 2016
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Dinner in a Rice Paddy: Seashells Restaurant, Langkawi

Newport
  • July 31, 2017
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The 124-Year-Old Summer Cottage that Took Our Breath Away

Princeton
  • October 10, 2016
  • 2723
  • 6
  • 11

An Evening Stroll in Princeton University Campus

Bangalore
  • May 21, 2018
  • 5634
  • 4
  • 4

What to Expect When Visiting Bangalore’s Famous Lal Bagh

Princeton

An Evening Stroll in Princeton University Campus

  • October 10, 2016
  • 2723
  • 6
  • 11
Bangalore

What to Expect When Visiting Bangalore’s Famous Lal Bagh

  • May 21, 2018
  • 5634
  • 4
  • 4
Dubai

Farzi Cafe: Bringing Indian Cuisine back “in-Vogue”

  • August 14, 2016
  • 3004
  • 6
  • 12
Cebu

Cebu and Oslob: A Short Trip Filled With Memorable Moments

  • March 14, 2017
  • 2220
  • 10
  • 14
Reviews
Hajj & Umrah
Recipes
Langkawi

Mangrove Tour, Feeding the Eagles & Floating Restaurants

Langkawi’s cozy airport houses several companies that offer cars for rent as well as tours. I highly suggest renting a car, specially if you’re visiting…

  • November 28, 2016
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Langkawi

Telaga Seafood Restaurant: Fresh Grilled Fish, Good Customer Service

When the planned lunch at Seashells Restaurant did not work out—because they do not have fish available—we turn the car around and head back to…

  • November 22, 2016
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Langkawi

Dinner in a Rice Paddy: Seashells Restaurant, Langkawi

A popular vlogger on Youtube sang praises about Seashells restaurant, and each morsel entering his mouth resulted in a delightful bliss with him closing his eyes and…

  • November 21, 2016
  • 5046
  • 6
  • 15
Kuala Lumpur

Pancakes at Nanny’s Pavillon

It looks like a random furniture shop in one corner of Kuala Lumpur’s International Airport at first glimpse. It then looks like a luggage storage…

  • November 19, 2016
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Kuala Lumpur

Hot Plate: Our First Meal in Malaysia

Delayed flights meant we were up all night traveling. We arrive in Kuala Lumpur a few hours ago, via Doha, exhausted and starving. While the…

  • November 11, 2016
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San Francisco

Brave the Stairs Up Telegraph Hill For Stunning Views of the City!

He pulls the covers back over his head, turns his back to me, and disappears in the warm cocoon of pillows and blanket. I need…

  • November 4, 2016
  • 2978
  • 8
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Dubai

Jodhpur – A Royal Dining Experience

The historic city of Jodhpur—whose origin dates back to 1459 AD—is the second largest city in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is called the Gateway to Thar,…

  • October 24, 2016
  • 1578
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  • 11
Princeton

Einstein’s House, More Interesting Buildings, and Window Shopping in Princeton

A quiet street on a Sunday afternoon. Obviously it’s only us, tourists, who seemed overly excited about taking a leisurely stroll in the cold, wet…

  • October 20, 2016
  • 1570
  • 2
  • 13
Boston

Massachusetts State House

It was a sunny weekend. Only a week before spring officially started, there was a chill in the air, but luckily for us, it wasn’t…

  • October 17, 2016
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Ajman

Friday Garden Brunch at Kempinski Hotel

  It’s finally cooling down in this part of the world! Hello, beaches, BBQ, picnics and garden brunches! We got invited to Kempinski Hotel’s Friday…

  • October 14, 2016
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Princeton

An Evening Stroll in Princeton University Campus

Princeton University turned 270 years old this year. This Ivy League institution needs no introduction. It has been associated with 42 Nobel laureates, two U.S. Presidents,…

  • October 10, 2016
  • 2723
  • 6
  • 11
Reviews

Boudin, San Francisco: Bakery, Restaurant, & Museum

7 am. Best time time to explore Fisherman’s Wharf: it’s clean, cool, and peaceful. Based on what I’ve read online, locals do not particularly care…

  • August 16, 2016
  • 1977
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Dubai

Farzi Cafe: Bringing Indian Cuisine back “in-Vogue”

Infusing a generous dose of Indian flavours, Farzi Café presents Indian cuisine where culinary art meets the alchemy of modern presentations and cooking techniques like…

  • August 14, 2016
  • 3004
  • 6
  • 12
Chicago

Review: Sony Alpha 6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera

“The Sony Alpha 6000 is what you would get if you threw the NEX-6 and the NEX-7 into a boiling pot and sprinkled the fragrant…

  • July 20, 2016
  • 9020
  • 14
  • 4
Recipes

Lahore Karahi: Authentic & Halal Desi Food in SF

  The good Yelp reviews caught my attention. Masood and I were in San Francisco for ten days and were craving good, Indian/Pakistani food. Not…

  • July 18, 2016
  • 5483
  • 2
  • 4
Chicago

Tips for Getting Better Pictures From a Train

We were on a train five months ago. Was it really just five months ago? Wow, it feels like it’s been a year at least!…

  • July 15, 2016
  • 7301
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  • 4
California Zephyr Dining Car Experience, Meals and Customer Service
Chicago

California Zephyr: The Dining Car Experience, Meals and Customer Service

We booked Amtrak’s Superliner bedroom to travel from San Francisco to Chicago. Meals are included with the sleeper car accommodations, as well as drinks. But…

  • May 25, 2016
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Chicago

California Zephyr: Is the Superliner Bedroom Worth the Money?

When Sophia, my sister, casually suggested taking the train for our San Francisco to New York trip in February, I could not shake the idea…

  • May 22, 2016
  • 18470
  • 9
  • 4
Salalah

The Sinkhole of Tawi Atair, One of the Largest in the World.

Ahmed drove skillfully up and down the mountains, passing several towns along the way. The sun shone relentlessly and, without the sunglasses on, it was…

  • May 18, 2016
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Salalah

The Castle of Taqah in Oman

The forts and castles of Oman played a vital role in protecting the country from invaders. One such important landmark is the Taqah Castle of…

  • May 17, 2016
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Salalah

A Hot and Humid Weekend in Salalah. But We Still Loved It!

Salalah at this time of the year is so hot and humid that the weather in Dubai feels like spring. We did check the weather…

  • May 11, 2016
  • 4086
  • 21
  • 3
Chicago

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe: Best Breakfast in Town!

Everything about Wildberry Cafe is big – the menu, the portions, the flavors, and quite unfortunately, the queue for a table. Arrive early like we did! This…

  • April 19, 2016
  • 5027
  • 0
  • 3
Princeton

Thomas Sweet Ice Cream: Creating Fun Flavors Since 1979

First, kindly take a moment to admire how pretty this building is! Word of Thomas Sweet’s delicious “blend-ins” spread quickly around town the moment they opened their…

  • April 2, 2016
  • 5368
  • 2
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Reviews

Hollywood Cafe: Excellent Breakfast at the Fisherman’s Wharf

Located just 2 blocks from the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf Sign, you can find Hollywood Cafe on Taylor Street. Masood and I stayed at Holiday Inn…

  • March 11, 2016
  • 4436
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Chicago

Nature’s Art Along Chicago’s Lakefront

It snowed most of the time when we visited Chicago—this was last week and three days weren’t enough!—so when the sun finally decided to shine…

  • March 8, 2016
  • 2884
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Dubai

Al Dawaar – Dubai’s Only Revolving Restaurant

The restaurant is located on the roof top of Hyatt Regency Dubai with spectacular views of the blue sea, the creek and the city. Al Dawaar offers…

  • December 21, 2015
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IMG_5456
Dubai

Tresind: A Modernist Indian Fine Dining Restaurant

Tresind is a restaurant that sells itself as a modernist Indian fine dining establishment. The very young and talented Executive Chef Himanshu Saini brings a unique concept…

  • December 9, 2015
  • 5215
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DSC_4357
Dubai

A Hundred Days

This picture portrays the current state of my blog: the clouds of despondency and dilly-dallying have finally parted, giving way to rays of fresh ardency and…

  • December 3, 2015
  • 3327
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Uncategorized

Welcome to Flatsome

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam…

  • November 19, 2015
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Uncategorized

Just another post with A Gallery

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In sed vulputate massa. Fusce ante magna, iaculis ut purus ut, facilisis ultrices nibh. Quisque commodo nunc…

  • October 13, 2015
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About

Tips, advice and inspirations to help you plan your next adventure.

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nadiamasood

Visual storytelling from India and beyond.
Moved to Hyderabad in 2020.
#ExpatInIndia

Nadia Masood
Mango-banana milkshake with saffron. Yet another d Mango-banana milkshake with saffron. Yet another delicious shake by @masoodxb.

I can totally get used to this!

What are you having for Iftar tonight?
Our Kashmiri neighbours returned from their hometo Our Kashmiri neighbours returned from their hometown earlier today and gave us some freshly-picked apples from their orchard.

Before eating them, I just had to take this shot for @thenawabees apple blossoms honey. This particular honey variant is quickly becoming a bestseller at both Amazon and Flipkart.

Have you tried this type of honey?
Do you love hummus? I feel like it’s one of the Do you love hummus? I feel like it’s one of the best dips in the world!

I am yet to find good hummus here in Hyderabad - the kind one finds in middle eastern restaurants.

Good thing hummus is super easy to make at home!

Please swipe left for the recipe, including how to make your own tahini paste with only 2 ingredients, and also for tips to help you make your own creamy hummus at home.

Don’t forget to bookmark or share this post ❤️
What’s your favourite shake or smoothie? For us What’s your favourite shake or smoothie?

For us, using seasonal, locally-grown fruits is important. Not only do they taste better, they are healthier.

Seasonal, locally-grown fruits are fresher and often harvested at peak nutrition and ripeness. This also leads to better flavour, whereas produce grown elsewhere during off-season is picked days (even weeks!) prior to consumption and ripens on the shelf or is force-ripened by artificial methods.

When we buy seasonal produce, we also support our local farmers!

Pictured above is a banana-mango smoothie by @masoodxb. He is inspired by the countless tiny ‘cafeterias’ in the UAE that serve a variety of fresh juice and shakes (named ‘Burj al Arab’ and ‘Internet’ etc) even at 2 am. Most of them deliver at your doorstep too. 
So what’s your favourite smoothie? I’d like to have some ideas. I mean, I need help thinking beyond mangoes 😂
Do you agree that food tastes better outdoors? Pro Do you agree that food tastes better outdoors? Probably something to do with fresh air and nature.

The flask pictured in this post is 4 years old. We bought it in Dubai, and it has been a constant picnic companion since.

Everyone in the family loves tea. Not the weak, bland, tea-bag-in-hot-water fiddle-faddle, but properly brewed karak chai. Therefore we make tea at home and take it with us on picnics or long drives.

This picture is taken on a recent drive out of town. An aunt packed us lunch and we made tea. Along the way, we found a nice spot under a tree and had lemon rice, rotis and gosht ka achaar.

It doesn’t even matter how simple your meal may be. Eating outdoors make any type of food taste more delicious.

What is your favourite picnic food?
Out to get pure, 100% natural honey. We’ve stop Out to get pure, 100% natural honey.

We’ve stopped buying commercially-available bottled honey and are getting directly from local beekeepers instead.
Freshly-squeezed orange juice, courtesy of @masood Freshly-squeezed orange juice,
courtesy of @masoodxb. He is kind enough to share the recipe as well.

Recipe: Cut oranges in half. Squeeze into a clean bowl. Pour into glasses. Enjoy 😀

He wants me to tell you that the secret ingredient is 🍊🤣
Did you know that Kashmir is the prime source of t Did you know that Kashmir is the prime source of the total apple production of India?

Our friend and neighbour recently went home to celebrate Eid with his family in Kashmir. When he returned, he brought these apples for us - picked from their own orchard.

The horticulture industry is one of the pillars of Kashmir's rural economy and apples remain the jewel of this industry.

Unfortunately since the lockdown, which coincides with the harvest season, locals are unable to sell their produce. Most of it are either rotting on the trees or in the vehicles or fruit markets.

I pray things start getting better for them and also for the rest of us.

These apples brought back so many wonderful memories of the time @masood and I spent in Kashmir. That hand-carved wooden bowl was also bought during that trip, something that always reminds me of that beautiful trip.
Noodle wrapped chicken by @makskitchenhyd. Hot, cr Noodle wrapped chicken by @makskitchenhyd. Hot, crunchy and deep-fried! It was so good.

This can easily be made at home. Maybe you can bake these instead of frying, but I’m sure the taste won’t be the same.

There are several recipes online but the one we tried was by @sooperchef, which came out great.
Tag someone who loves shawarma! This is our homem Tag someone who loves shawarma!

This is our homemade chicken shawarma that I’m truly proud of and so excited to share with you!

Swipe left for the recipe.

EDIT: It’s ‘wheat’ not ‘whear’, and jalapeño ‘pickles’ not ‘pepper’. Thanks!

Thank you to @masoodxb for being our shawarma wrap & grill expert. Having had countless shawarmas in the UAE, even at 2am(!) I’m so glad we can recreate something close to the original right in our home.

Guys, toasting or grilling the wrapped shawarma before serving makes such a difference, so don’t skip this last step.
Did you know that there are only 2 countries that Did you know that there are only 2 countries that do not sell Coke?

Cuba and North Korea.

I found this abandoned roadside restaurant along the highway the other day.

While so many didn’t pay attention to it, I was drawn to its vintage-y charm.

Also, I’m showing you the unedited version of the photo as well. It’s sort of a reminder that almost all content on social media platforms go through some sort of editing.

#instagramvsreallife
#beforeandafter
It’s their reflection that caught my eye. While It’s their reflection that caught my eye.

While some beaches of Vizag are crowded and, quite unfortunately, dirty, there are some that are clean and peaceful.

Saw these girls walking and noticed their reflection on the shallow water. It rained in the morning so we thought our trip to the beach would be canceled. Fortunately the sun shone and we made it.
How do you incorporate pomegranate into your cooki How do you incorporate pomegranate into your cooking?

As a little girl, I’d been fascinated with pomegranates. I imagined them as leather-bound gifts with a bow on top. If I was lucky, I’d open my gift to reveal bright red rubies.

Pomegranate has inspired legends, tales and poems throughout history. In Ancient Egypt, kings were buried with pomegranates so that they could take them into the afterlife. Hades tricked Zeus’ daughter with a pomegranate.

Now talking about food, pomegranate seeds are generally sprinkled on dishes and desserts or made into syrup, molasses or pomegranate vinegar. Pomegranate is commonly used in dishes and sauces in Iran, its biggest producer.

In India, its second-biggest producer, pomegranate seeds are dried and crushed to create a spice called anardana, which is used to add tartness to various dishes.

The pomegranate is also used extensively in many Middle Eastern cuisines. Pomegranate juice is reduced and this is used to add a sweet-tart flavor to many dishes.

I’m planning to make some pomegranate molasses (for the first time!). What’s your favorite dish that uses pomegranate as an ingredient? Let me know in the comment section!
They’re finally in season! For me, black plums, They’re finally in season! For me, black plums, or jamun, are one of the most anticipated fruits of the year (the other is mango). These little purple fruits are packed with antioxidant property, display antidiabetic property, may help reduce bad cholesterols and triglycerides in the blood, anti-inflammatory property, and may also help strengthen the immune system.
How’s the lockdown situation where you live? Ou How’s the lockdown situation where you live?

Our state has finally eased up on the lockdown since June 1. While there’s still curfew after 9pm, and restaurants only allow take-aways, most businesses are now open.

Interstate traveling is now permitted. For more than 2 months, we weren’t allowed to travel more than 3km from home.

So we had our first long-drive in forever when a cousin asked if we could come pick her up from the neighbouring state’s border (restrictions are still in place for Andhra Pradesh, we couldn’t cross their border). It felt a bit strange driving so far from home, and it feels surreal that the highways are mostly empty.

But it felt so good to be able to drive freely!
If you could have any breakfast tomorrow, what wou If you could have any breakfast tomorrow, what would you eat?

This is salmon and egg Benedict with capers, raspberries, slices of oranges, chives - everything coming together to make such a delicious breakfast.

I had this in San Francisco, at a restaurant that I woke up super early for (since it gets crowded real quick). I miss this every time I see this picture.

What is your dream breakfast?
This dessert is easy to make and pretty enough to This dessert is easy to make and pretty enough to make a good impression!

Fresh mango chunk topped with fluffy whipped cream, then wrapped with a thin, moist and elastic crepe, this pillow-shaped Hong Kong style mango crepe is a must-try.

For a better presentation, use a single piece of mango for each crepe. When you cut the crepe through, a nice neat look will appear on each side.

These are originally called Mango Pancakes, by the way. You can experiment with other fruits, like bananas and strawberries.

Have you tried this before? Don’t forget to save this post if you haven’t yet!
I haven’t been baking for a few months now. Turn I haven’t been baking for a few months now. Turned the oven on today only to find that the flame was going crazy and the temperature was all over the place. But @hooknweavebysabiha, @sumaiya_2110 and I were determined.

And in the end, we have warm, delicious homemade chocolate banana bread with toasted almonds!

#QuarantineDayWhatever
This is a classic, easy, and healthy Mediterranean This is a classic, easy, and healthy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern hors d'oeuvre.

Mutabbal is a smoky, lemony eggplant dip that’s a mezze-table favorite all over the Levant and beyond.

So many call this Baba Ganoush. I did some research and discovered that while both have roasted eggplant as their base, Baba Ganoush does not have tahini. It contains chopped tomatoes and pomegranate molasses.

Mutabbal has tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin powder, red chili flakes, and even yoghurt. Extra virgin olive oil is a must.

I didn’t have parsley at home so I used cilantro instead. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with yeast to make pita so I made roti instead.

This is a delicious, healthy dip that I highly recommend. After all, there’s more to life than hummus.

Also feel free to adjust the ingredients! I may have added more lemon juice and cumin powder.

What’s your favorite dip?
What’s your go-to photo editing app for Instagra What’s your go-to photo editing app for Instagram?

Mine is Snapseed. I use it for almost all my photos. I rarely post unedited photos (because I like my feed to look pretty). For this particular image (taken using my phone camera), I first edited the colours on Snapseed so they appear more saturated.

And then I used Pixaloop to make the clouds move. So cool, right? This app has been sitting in my phone since forever, and I now wonder why I’ve never used it!

I’d love to know what you use to edit your photos!
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