Tayyab's Review

We went down here on a Monday afternoon. Thankfully there were no queues and we were taken straight to be seated. Poppadoms, salad and 3 house chutneys – mango, sweet  chilli and mint were placed within seconds.

We decided to go for the chicken tikka for starters. This was cooked and seasoned really well and came on a bed of delicious roasted onions. When the waiter came to collect any empty dish there were still onions in it and we did not wish to see them go to waste, the waiter gladly held on while we placed the delicious onions on our plates before taking away.

For mains there was chana masala and ghosht with tandoori roti and 1 keema nan. Both curries were delicious! The masala and flavours all went well and the gravy was lovely and thick. Perfect with the roti. The keema naan did not deliver… it was your average keema naan, meat placed in between the bread and then cooked instead of cooking the meat beforehand so that it is tender rather than a thin patty.

We ordered a jugof mango lassi too which Tayyab’s is famous for. It lived up to the hype!! It was cool, refreshing, not too thick, sweet and full of flavour. We shared a jug between two which was far too much for 2 people but, of course, being delicious was finished!

Overall, I would recommend Tayyabs and would visit again if the opportunity arises.
Rating = 8/10.

Mango Lassi, chutnies, salad and chana masala at far back.

Tandoori roti at front lamb curry on right, chana masala top right.

New Look Accessories Haul

Salaams,
As New Look was having a BOGOF sale on jewelery and hair accessories over the weekend, I bought these bracelets and bobby pins.

Clockwise from left: Coral/dusky pink and gold bangles with a tassel; Nude and gold beaded bracelets with a chiffon type material bow; Purple and gold beaded bracelets with bow; Coral and gold beaded bracelets with bow.

From left: Pack 1: Gold 'sun' pin with diamantes and small pearl; Ivory carved rose; Gold bird; Large pearl with diamantes, Pack 2: Coral and diamante stone pins x 2.

5 Things you must never say aloud

Asalaamu alaykum,

The post title comes from an article in Psychology Today and is written by Jen Kim.

It is about the effect of negative messages we tell ourselves such as "I can't do this", "I'm too this or too that" and suggests that  there is validity behind self-fulfilling prophecies.

Here are five things you must never say aloud:

1.    I can't do this.  Even if this is true, even if you are 100 percent positive you can't do something, do not say it aloud, and certainly, not around others. You have the choice not to do it if you don't want to, but do not announce your limitations. Keep it to yourself. Let your brain mull it over and work out the impossible details. The problem with declaring a barrier, is that once you say it, something in your head clicks, and you begin to tell yourself that you really can't do it and that you shouldn't even try. You've walked away from a door of opportunity without checking to see if it was unlocked.

2.    Why does she get it and I don't?   Once you start asking God, why it is that Marsha seems to have a charmed life, while you are relegated to Cousin Oliver status, it's over. Resentment fills up your heart and a little part of you gives up-- chalking it up to, "Well, life's not fair anyway.... so why should I even try?" With Facebook and other vanity social media sites, it's difficult not to believe that every person in your social circle has a more exciting life than you. If these websites make you jealous or feel sad, then get off of them. Don't make yourself suffer because of an unattainable photo-shopped picture you saw in a friend's virtual newsfeed.

3.    I'm fat, I'm ugly, I'm stupid, etc. We all think these terrible thoughts once in a while. That's fine. We can't really suddenly rewire our brain after society's lifetime of negative inculcation. But we can minimize the damage we inflict upon ourselves by not voicing these anathemas aloud. When I say "I'm fat," I immediately become fat and insecure. I look for compliments or an ego-boost from the person I am talking to... but if she does say, "No, you look amazing", I assume she is lying and is just trying to be nice or she feels guilted into it. What is the point of this dialogue exactly? I never feel skinny afterwards, anyway. The more effective thing to do-- than to carp on about your flaws-- is to fix them. If you feel fat, develop an exercise routine and make an effort to lose weight or whatever. If you feel ugly, then start watching YouTube videos on how to apply makeup correctly or build your confidence through other means (beauty, is, after all, confidence). If you are convinced you are dumb as rocks, learn something. Go to the library, take a course, inject some kind of knowledge serum into your brain. In other words, make an effort to change how you feel, so you will no longer say that you are fat, ugly, stupid, etc.

4.    You're better than me. Sorry, no one is better than you. They are just better at executing their goals. We say,"...but you're better than me" to shirk responsibility, so we don't have to commit to doing our best or seek to reach excellence. After all, if another person is better than us, then we don't have to try as hard, since we wont be as good as him anyway. We think, "What's the point?" Lame example, but look at Steve Jobs. Had he adopted the Microsoft-is-better-than-me mentality, I would not be writing on this Mac. You would not be reading this on your iPhone, iPad, or Macbook Pro. Obviously, we are not all destined to become the next Steve Jobs in our careers, but some of us are. Why can't it be you?

5.    I'll do it later. Later could be never. Tabling a task until this ambiguous "later" is essentially predicting the task's funeral. Don't put off later what you can accomplish now. We all have busy schedules, families, significant others, and friends to entertain, but life is about your accomplishments too-- so that you feel satisfied and happy. Don't use lack of time to excuse you from your dreams and needs. There was once a writer who worked a full-time teaching job, was a family man, and still found time (albeit, late in the night) to work on his novels every night. His name? Stephen King.

Pic from: http://bebettereveryday.com/positive-thinking-and-you/

Free Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish set with Red magazine

Free Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 30ml and muslin cloth (Worth £5.50) with the May 2012 issue (out now) of Red magazine.

Salaams. Today I stumbled across Red magazine as it had a Liz Earle product I have been thinking of getting.

You get a 30ml tube of the cleanser and a 35cmx35cm muslim cloth which looks quite durable so you can use it again and again.  It is a great way to test a product without spending a fortune to see if it is for you.
The magazine itself costs £3.90.

Also in the magazine on p.35 is a 1.5ml sample of Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup in shade 2WN1 and a 1.5ml sample of Clinique's Repairwear Laser Focus wrinkle and UV damage corrector on p.195. In addition, you get to smell cards Roberto CavalliNarciso Rodriguez for her, Yardley London Royal English Lady on those perfumed smelly cards :p

Snippet of an outfit

Sneaky peek of outfit - Light pink, almost lilac hijab which has sequins purchased from a random mobile phone/scarf/bracelet store in Haringey North London. Worn with a grey waterfall cardigan and Nails Inc Nail Polish in New York (bright pink shade although looks a little coral in the pic!)

Grey works well with brights and pastels! A good safe option if you are used to black and dark colours.

Quote Of The Day

It is but Satan who instils [into you] fear of his allies so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [truly] believers! 

(Surah Imran:175)

Primark haul

There was a bit of a sale down at Primark when we went this weekend just gone (31st March).
Here’s what I bought:

Clockwise from left: Black and white bag with a tassel, coral/brown beaded necklace, mock royal engagement ring in style of K.Middy, a diamond shaped necklace with purple stones on a long chain, pink feather necklace. Underneath: navy and white dress (not for me though)!

Insha Allah, I shall be reviewing these items in the future where you will eb bale to have a closer look at the items.

What do you think of the mini haul? See anything you likes?!

Review: The Bay Leaf Cafe

Salaams everyone :)

So we went to the Bay Leaf Café in Tottenham Street for some lunch. Seating was available downstairs, as the café is not huge. The workers seemed really friendly.
I got the vegetarian lasagne which had spinach, red and green peppers, carrots and mushrooms, with plenty of tomato sauce and cheese served with a small pot of salad.
My companion got the jacket potato with chilli, also accompanied with lashings of cheese and salad. They also have a breakfast menu where you can buy anything from toast, croissants, and fresh fruit salads to a full (halal) English breakfast.

The food was really tasty, well made, halal and the portion size was generous. I would definitely go there again.

Vegetable lasagne

Jacket potato with chilli

Hajj exhibition at the British Museum

Just got back from the Hajj exhibition that is being held at the British Museum. Apparently, it is the first in any museum in the world to focus on the pilgrimage. I thought that the artefacts in the exhibition would be seen within an hour, however we were there for almost 3 hours as there was much to see!

First of all, as you enter the exhibition, you go through a tunnel adorned with an image of pilgrimages to hear the Talbiya:

‘Here I am O Allah, (in response to Your call), here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner.’
http://www.makedua.com/display_dua.php?sectionid=120

Then you hear the adhaan (call to prayer).

The exhibition houses manuscripts such as a copy of an 8th century Qur’an.

There is a focus on the different historical routes taken to undertake the Hajj, such as Kufa to Mecca, Timbuktu to Cairo and then Mecca, Damascus to Makkah, Jeddah to Makkah.

We got to see a mahmal (silk tent):

Pic from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1237079&page=64

The mahmal does not hold religious purpose, but was placed on top of the camel when the procession was leaving for Makkah and inside a copy of the Qur’an was placed. (Don’t know if they actually took the mahmal into Makkah or brought it back after the procession had left the local town/village).
Here is a link to a short video containing part of the grand procession leaving Cairo in 1918!



The exhibition also looks at the appointment of Thomas Cook in the 19th century by India as the official hajj travel agent. We saw a Hajj ticket dating from 1886.

There was part of a kiswa on display, curtain for the door of repentance and a cloth that was meant to be used (or was indeed used) to cover the Prophet Muhammad (saw’s) grave.

You also get to see in figures how many people went to Hajj from 1932 (20,181) to 2011 (2,927,719)
We got to watch a 5 minute film on the rituals of Hajj too in a sort of mini cinema within the exhibition!

Art work by Ahmed Mater depicting pilgrims circumambulating the Ka’ba by using a magnet and pieces of iron.

All in all it was well worth it and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone - Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Hurry as the exhibition's final date is on the 15th of April. If you cannot make it here is a link to some pictures that were displayed at the exhibition. Enjoy!




Review from an Arabic international daily news website: http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?id=28245

Review from The Guardian newspaper


Have you been to the exhibition? What did  you think? Leave a comment.

Welcome to Muslimah Delights.

Asalaamu alaykum,

Thank you for visiting our blog. This is our first go at a blog, so let’s see how it goes! We are 2 sisters in our 20’s, born and raised in London and have been wearing hijab for over a decade. The purpose of the blog is to document food, religion, modest clothing and well-being.