Halal Food Festival

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Yesterday (Sunday) marked the first annual Halal Food Festival here locally in Central New Jersey.

Did it run smoothly without any hitches? No. But you know what? An event at that scale almost never does. And for all those complaining (there seems to be quite a few of them), how about appreciating the event, and the time and effort the organizers put towards it... and if you must be a complainer -- this one's for you: how about some constructive criticism that the organizers are welcoming and actually REQUESTING. Or how about pitching in? They did ask for volunteers and such, did they not? It always surprises me that the first to complain are the last to pitch in.

I think the idea of the Halal Food Festival was brilliant, and I'm sure the organizers have learned a lot from this year for future such events. At the end of the day, there is no better way to learn than through experience.

Basically local halal restaurants set up shop, providing samples (some for free, others for $1 or $2)  and selling meals ($5-$7). The cuisines present were diverse -- Mexican, Chinese, Afghani, Pakistani/Indian, and Italian to name a few. While some of the restaurants present I had been to previously, there were a few that I hadn't heard of/been to before.

I actually ended up going twice: the first time, near the start time of the event, with my brothers and than once more several hours later with my dad and one of my brothers. The first time, it was a lot less crowded, everything seemed to be running smoothly, and I was able to walk around and see what restaurants were participating, and sample from several different places without a problem or much chaos.

When I went back later, it must have finally been DST -- that's Desi Standard Time (late to everything but expect everything) because there was a line of people waiting outside to get in. I overheard a bunch of these people complaining of the craziness inside, the lack of organization, and how most places inside were running out of food. I'm sorry but if you are showing up at an event that was expecting around 1000 people but 4000+ people actually showed up around (or past) 4:30 PM which was scheduled to run from 12 to 5 PM, you shouldn't be complaining about any of this.

And you know what? I'm sorry, but I'd rather they run out of food than have an abundant supply of leftover that is gone to waste!

Another major complaint I heard? Parking. Tell me where parking wouldn't be an issue for such a huge crowd? Let's say if they do decide to rent a hall for next year, like the Expo Hall where we have had Eid prayers many times, I am sure not many would be happy to help contribute towards the rent cost.

At the end of the day, I think people need to stop complaining and learn to enjoy things. Life happens. It was a great event, and unless you are giving 100% of yourself in to the event and helping out, don't just sit there and complain... help!

Bad Customer Service from KFC

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I don't know if there is anything I hate more than bad customer service.

Remember the Halal KFC I talked about back here? Today, my brother and I drove back there today because I was craving it. It took us over an hour to get there... and almost THREE HOURS to come back home. But I wasn't too annoyed because it was me who really wanted it.

You know what sucks?

Well, I only eat white meat... and got the same thing for the rest of my family. So I ordered a 12 piece combo of extra crispy fried chicken with all the pieces being substituted for breast pieces. The cashier told me she would go back and check that she had the right amount of breast pieces from the halal section and that I would have to pay extra for substitution. Which I was okay with (and figured).

When the cashier came back, she said that she could do a combination of extra crispy and original friend chicken -- which I was fine with. I went ahead and paid for my order (VERY expensive because of the substitutions). Some time later, I got my order and headed back home. Getting home would take over two and a half hours because of traffic.

When I got home, and my family started eating, I could not believe that two of the pieces that were ALL THE WAY AT THE BOTTOM had been substituted for their grilled chicken! While I am sure their grilled chicken is delicious (I did try it some time ago), it was not what I ordered and I do not appreciate them cheating their customers like that!

She went back to check and confirm that they had the right amount of pieces... if she didn't --- all she had to do was tell me!!! Is that sooo hard? Not only did I pay extra for what I wanted, but I didn't even get what I wanted!

In my opinion, customer service makes or break your business. There is this bakery I loved to visit for a particular cookie that I have NO where else, but refuse to step foot in there because of terrible customer service.

 P.S. I was asked to post their contact information for others. Here is their Customer Service number 1-800-CALL-KFC.

Choopan Grill

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Food: 3
Staff: 3
Atmosphere: 3.5
Overall: 3.0

Choopan Grill is a new Afghani Restaurant that opened recently in our area. It apparently has two other locations by the same owner in NY (or so I've heard). I tried it today with three of my cousins (and we all love Afghani food).

The service was... not so great? We were the only ones there for a pretty long time (it was around 7 PM) and the greeter/server pretty much "watched" us, which is beyond creepy and annoying. Then, she came over and asked "what do you want?". What I wanted to say was, "to leave"... but, of course, I didn't do that. They are going to have work on how they talk to their guests because it was very unwelcoming.

Portion size was good (too much for me). Taste was okay -- not great, but not bad either. There are definitely other Afghani restaurants in the area that I would recommend instead. There wasn't really anything memorable about Choopan Grill that would make want to go back there again.

Here's a picture of my plate -- I had the Chicken Breast Kebab entree:

Levant

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Food: 3.5
Staff: 3.5
Atmosphere: 4
Overall: 3.5

I went with a bunch of girls, and so got to 'sample' a few different dishes. I can honestly say I only liked what I ordered. I got the Chicken Kabab and it was juicy and delicious. I found a few of the other dishes to be on the dry and bland side (like the chicken shawarma).

Staff -- Seemed friendly, but I guess because it's a new restaurant and they aren't very busy yet (we were the only ones there)... they pretty much watched us eat. Did.not.appreciate.that.at.ALL.

The place is decorated nicely though, which was a major plus! It's new so it was clean and welcoming.

A major downer -- would not let us split the check in terms of giving them separate credit cards. Who doesn't do that? We either had to pay cash or put it all on one card... so it would be a hassle for someone to go there with a group of friends. I hope they change that soon.

Chicken Kabab

P.S. Don't forget to leave me a comment below on your thoughts! As always, I'd love to hear from you.

Kabab Paradise

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Food: 5
Staff: 4.5
Atmosphere: 3.5
Overall: 4.5

I've had several things from here and have enjoyed them all.

My favorite is the Chicken Tikka Sandwich with fries. Their chicken wings are delicious, their hummus is great. I was hesitant yet anxious to try their fried chicken and that was great as well! I love fried chicken, but usually most places don't made it so great. Oh, and their lamb chops are delicious too -- and I'm not even a meat fan usually! Their gyros are great -- portion is great for two people to share in my opinion -- as are all of their entrees.

This place has become a favorite for my family very fast.

It's a popular place here and is usually packed, but we can usually find a table. We live nearby though, so taking it to go is not a problem either.

It's closed on Mondays though! On more than a few occasions we have wanted to go or have actually driven there to then be reminded it is closed. :(


P.S. Don't forget to leave me a comment below on your thoughts! As always, I'd love to hear from you.

Halal KFC in NYC

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If there's one thing we are always looking for, it's new local places that serve halal food that serve great food. While our local area has a variety of food available, a good fried chicken joint is what our area is missing. I grew up in Canada, so we  all miss the Popeyes' that are mostly all halal there.

A few months ago, though, we found out that there were two KFC joints in NYC that began to serve halal food. No, not Kennedy Fried Chicken, it's the real deal - Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I tried it once at my cousins' house a few months ago, but by the time they brought it back - it was cold. It's kind of far from our area, but I knew I wanted to go try it when we were in that area.

Last weekend after visiting family, my family and I finally went and tried the food and it was delicious! We got a bucket of the 'extra crispy chicken', but also ordered a piece of the grilled chicken - and it tasted phenomenal. The grilled chicken's seasoning was marinated quite well and every bite had a great taste. The portions of the sides were great too.

But, FYI for all the locals - as of now, only the chicken pieces are halal and nothing else (that means no sandwiches, tenders, popcorn chicken, etc.) and neither is the gravy for the mashed potatoes. All three styles of the chicken pieces, though, are halal - classic, extra crispy, and grilled styles of chicken.

I would definitely recommend it!

 P.S. Don't forget to leave me a comment below on your thoughts! As always, I'd love to hear from you.

What I Missed in Orlando, Florida

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This is probably the last of my blog posts for the florida trip.

Here's what i wanted to see/do, that i didn't get to:

see:
buzz lightyear (at magic kingdom)
spiderman (at universal studios)
cat in the hat (at universal studios)
ariel (magic kingdom)
the shuttle launch from a closer vicinity.

take a picture with:
snow white (i did see her from far though at magic kingdom)
winnie the pooh and tigger (stood in line forever, and then gave up)

rides:
men in black - stood in line forever, and had to leave because we were running late. we had to leave the park early that day to drive down to see the shuttle launch attempt (that was canceled).
simpsons - left park early cause of the shuttle launch attempt.

i heard neither were very good though.

eat at: the halal dairy queen (minutes away from our hotel)

oh, well... there's always next time. :)

Orlando Favorites

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I figured I'd do a separate post of favorites from the trip.

Favorite Meal:

My favorite meal was at "Adam's Philly Steak & Gyros", where we had lunch the afternoon of our flight. It served halal food, which was of course a plus... but best of all, the food was absolutely delicious... and the portions were large! Anyone in that area should definitely dine there. The only thing i was disappointed about was the fact that we didn't get to go there until our last day... even though i had looked it before our trip.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many halal restaurants were near our hotel.

Favorite Theme Park:

my favorite theme park from the ones we saw was epcot (magic kingdom came a close second)... because of the shows we saw (the shuttle launch and soarin were my favorite!)

the part of epcot that features different countries was quite amazing as well - each country was very well represented!

also, considering the amount of people in the park that day - the restrooms were immaculate! i was definitely pleasantly surprised and quite happy (magic kingdom was the total opposite).

Favorite Ride:

from epcot - soarin
from magic kingdom - splash mountain

Favorite Show:

from universal studios - shrek, twister (my god, it was SO realistic!)
from magic kingdom - mickey's musical

Favorite Picture:

My favorite picture would be the one of all sixteen of us at epcot right outside of the character spot (where i got a picture taken with mickey, minnie, goofy, donald duck, and goofy).

Favorite Character:

My favorite characters that i saw would have to be minnie mouse and cinderella!

Florida, Continued.

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Monday, bright and early (8 AM), we went to epcot. This was the only day that all sixteen of us went to the same park. Epcot was probably my favorite park overall because of all the shows we watched.

at epcot, my favorite two rides were soarin' and this other one (that i can't remember the name of) where it simulated a shuttle launch and we end up at mars. in soarin', we literally we're soaring over los angeles - it was so cool!

Tuesday, we spent ALL day at magic kingdom (got to the park before 9 AM and got back to our hotel after midnight). The parades and fireworks at magic kingdom were beyond amazing... of all the fireworks i've seen, the fireworks at magic kingdom were beyond spectacular... a definite must-see!

The only major dissapointment from magic kingdom was that i didn't get to take a picture with snow white or winnie the pooh/tigger. i saw snow white from far, and after waiting in line forever to take a picture with winnie the pooh and tigger - my brother faraz and i gave up to move on and do other things.

Wednesday was our day to sleep in (by which i mean waking up at 8:30 AM). We went out to eat lunch at "Adam's Philly Steak & Gyros", and it was my absolute favorite meal from our trip. the portions were large, the taste was delicious... and it served halal food!

from there, we went to the "Florida Mall" to go to the M&M's World, which was really cool.

at that point we still had some time to kill before our flight, but we decided to go to the airport anyways so we could try to see the shuttle launch (that had been delayed AGAIN)... fortunately, that paid off because we finally saw it happen! there were a lot of people gathered towards the east of the airport (and we could see a lot of the workers gathering through the windows down by the planes as well).. and it was awesome to see the shuttle launch and follow the orange glowing streak as it headed up... it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity!

soon after, we boarded our jetblue flights... not knowing of the crazy storm heading our way (and the tornado just south of us). after an over 2 hour flight delay, we were finally on our way. the first half hour or so of the flight was pretty scary as the lightening was still pretty strong (i was definitely concerned about flying in it). i mean if they were going to delay the flight over two hours because of the storm... what was another half hour or so? even worse, the pilot announces that we would be the first to take off after the storm (um, thanks? that makes me feel better... NOT!). Fortunately, everything went fine.

I can't believe how fast the five days flew by! Don't you hate when that happens?

Home Sweet Home

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I'm finally back home… after like three weeks! Boy, am I exhausted. These past five days, especially, have been amazing! It was, by far, the best family vacation ever. Tiring, but amazing. We got back home at 4:30 in the morning! Our flight from Orlando to D.C. was delayed two hours... and then we went to our mamoo's house real quick to pick up my luggage that i had left there from my trip to VA... and then finally left for the four hour drive home. I slept for most of the drive home... and went right to sleep when we got home - and didn't wake up until 11:30! which is so not like me! even with all that sleep, i've been tired all day.

We flew on Jetblue... and i was pleasantly surprised. for some reason, i had the negative things i've heard in the past about it in my head... but flying for the first time on jetblue - my experience was good. the seats were roomy and comfortable, and the attendants were friendly.

Orlando was, plain and simple, absolutely AMAZING! There's just no other way to describe it. Fortunately, the weather cooperated throughout our trip - we were very lucky! A crazy storm ended just as we got to our hotel the first night... and a crazy storm (including a tornado nearby) began once we were already on the plane... so aside from a 2+ hour flight delay... our trip entailed pretty much hot weather (the last day, with heat index it was like 116 degrees). during the days we were there, it was rain for like a few minutes sometimes in the evening... and then immediately clear up.

The first night we got there, we didn't do much - just went out to eat at a halal chinese place. the rest of the days, however, were jam packed. Sunday, we went to universal studios early in the morning - where my favorite thing was the shrek 4D show and twister (SO realistic!). we left around five o'clock to drive 45 minutes away to the kennedy space center to see the shuttle launch. the weather was great until about 5-10 minutes before it was too launch... and then the storm clouds came. even though, there was no storm there - lightening was apparently visible within 10 miles... which caused the launch to be delayed another 24 hours.

while we were disappointed, we had no idea how annoyed and restless we would be when the 40 minute drive back to orlando would turn into a 4+ hour drive because of the heavy volume. man, i've never been more restless in my life! we knew then, that there was no way we would be attempting to come back the next day.

More on our days in epcot and magic kingdom, and the shuttle launch tomorrow (hopefully). it's 10:20 right now, and i'm already exhausted... but going to try and hold off trying to sleep for another hour or so to avoid waking up crazy early.

Did i mention it was the best trip ever?