A Cup of Shai

Perched on the corner of Sparkenhoe St, Crumbs Cafe was a delight to visit. The cafe from a design point of view has a "shack" sort of vibe to it, with coffee bean sacks lining the walls (so you can see exactly where they have sourced their coffee from) and brown, card style menus.  There's a selection of breakfasts, from a full English complete with tomatoes and mushrooms to lighter options such as an omelette filled in a chapatti roll if you're not feeling quite so peckish! Love your carbs? Fill yourself up with their Jacket Potatoes which come with some really yummy fillings- they even offer tandoori or peri peri chicken.  Although the menu looks like it doesn't have much food available, they have bakery style (chicken, meat and vegetarian) paninis, pastries, wraps, rolls and sandwiches at their counter ready to buy. I was truly spoilt for choice! I ordered chicken pastries but was disappointed with them- there was hardly any chicken in them *sad face*.  You c...

Salaam and Hello all :) On my Instagram stories, I made a poll and asked you, my Followers, if you wanted to read my Bridesmaid's Speech, as it's my sister's 1st wedding anniversary! You voted that you did want to read it. So here it is!  I was really nervous by the way, all 700 pairs of eyes on me, I was on stage in a heavy Indian dress, full face of make-up, cameras (phones and the professional wedding photographer) on me, my anxiety was kicking in and my legs were trembling. My hand was sweaty holding the mic, looking at my audience. They were waiting for me. I was watching them.  I asked my cousin "Shall I start?!"  She replied with a firm "Yes", which was the push I needed to begin.  " Assalamu-alaikum everyone. When my sister got engaged, naturally I assumed the role of Wedding Planner being the only other sister. After all, it involved girly trips to Bridal Shops, getting creative, organising a party and making sure everything was colour-c...

Nestled in one of Leicester's leafy streets, CUE Coffee Shop, Allandale Road, is an understated treasure that is the  place to be if you want some chill-out time. That, and a delicious hot beverage.  The Scandanavian decor (plain white walls and leaf art prints) is bang on trend, adding to the calm vibes because of the minimalist aesthetics. The shop itself boasts wooden chairs and tables, with a couple of black metal chairs scattered here and there for that oh-so-cool deliberately mismatched look. All this, sitting proudly on a gorgeous sapphire-blue painted boarded floor. The succulents and trailing plants placed stylishly around the space brings the outside in and feels really refreshing. They've got a little outdoor dining space too, should you wish to sip on juice and people-watch in the summer breeze.  The service was friendly and chatty- always a plus in a quiet coffee shop! Our waiter even offered to keep an eye on our belongings and encouraged us to fit in a ca...

Hello and salaam all! 😀 Oh, and also Eid Mubarak! How have you been? Have you been coping with Lockdown? The first one, I was fine with, I did lots of activities and kept occupied, but the second one, I haven't been so great with *tired face*. I am glad that the Leicester Lockdown has ever so slightly eased Alhamdulillah *hand on heart*, as it means I get to see different faces and have a little change of scenery. As you all know, I regularly do 'Alhamdulillah' series, which is similar to a Gratitude list. 'Alhamdulillah' literally means 'All praise is to Allah.'  Below is a list of things, (some seemingly really small) that I said "Alhamdulillah" for in July 2020. 1. Watching Hajj Vlogs on YouTube. This brings back so many memories from when I went for Umrah. InshaAllah sooooon *fingers crossed.*  2. Walks in the park.  3. Celebrating Eid and eating lots of yummy food!  4. Listening to 'Mindful Muslimah' on Spotify. This lady is amazinggg...

Hello and Salaams everyone! :) I hope you're in the best of health, and are enjoying the eased up rules on Lockdown. In Leicester, unfortunately, we're facing a further 2 weeks of Lockdown due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, so life has taken a bit of a backward step again after looking forward to being able to go shopping. Boo hoo! It's strange isn't it? Even little things like being able to go for someone's house, or going shopping which we always take for granted becomes such a thing of significance when you lose the opportunity to do it. I'm a firm believer in that you appreciate things more if you lose them. And these past months have definitely been a chance to acknowledge the 'small' things we don't give a second thought to. Below is my list of what I said 'Alhamdulillah' for in the past month. As you'll notice, it's very much food-related, because you know, 'time-pass', (as they say in Gujrati) during Covid-19. *...

I woke up to the gentle sound of my Mum calling up the stairs. “Shaymaaa….! Shayma…? Wake up, we need to get ready for Eid namaaz .” Her voice a brilliant balance of being quiet enough, acknowledging that people in the house were still asleep and the birds tweeting outside was the only sound you could hear, but also firm enough to ensure that I didn’t just roll over and go back to sleep again. Eid morning always held the same atmosphere; the sound of a random police siren wailing in the far distance, the clanking of a metal spoon against an Indian pot, ladling litres of creamy sev- milk, steam rising and making the windows go cloudy, as my Mum crushed vermicelli and sprinkled it into the potion along with chopped almonds and pistachios. Her magic concoction bubbling away temptingly. The smell of cardamom, cinnamon and sugar swirling around our kitchen, luring my groggy-eyed, Albert-Einstein-haired self into the kitchen and leading me, slowly…slowly… Another loud CLANK! ...

Salaams and hello all :) This is a quick post if you're in need of some last minute inspo for Father's Day cards to make with your little ones. I know it's a little last minute, so I do apologise, but these are really simple to make. So what do all Dads like? The answers are: bad jokes and food. So here we have it, seven pun-tastic food-related Father's Day cards that will make any Dad chuckle. Finished off with googly eyes, they are really cute and endearing! I hope you enjoyed this post! I certainly had fun making the cards! If you are celebrating with your family, then have a good time!  Till next time, stay blessed. :) Shai  xxx