I am big fan of olive oil, good olive oil from Spain that is. No wonder I was very much interested to meet K of Azada and sample his wonderfully natural olive oil and flavored versions! I was especially interested in the coffee olive oil as this would suit right into my dessert making.
Normally flavored olive oils are infused with all kind of things like rosemary, chilli and garlic. Not so with Azada, their oils are made from hand picked Arbequina olives and are never mixed with any different olives. As K explained to me they are not even using machinery as this will harm the olive and therefore the end result; yes, the taste!

The lemons used are also muy Mediterranean and have enjoyed la buena vida under the Spanish sun making them incredibly zesty and full of taste. Lets just sum it up and say it’s Spain in a bottle! Who says it can’t be tasty and good for you? In this case you can have your cake and eat it too! This special lemon extra virgin olive oil gives an amazing fresh twist to all your favorite dishes and also contains all thevitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in the olives and the lemons. Olé!

Azada, LLC
P.O. Box 79620
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Planet Earth
Tel: +971 (0)4 442 15 30

hello@azada.ae

Olympus C 820 L Camedia Digital Camera

Cleaning and clearing my apartment has its advantages apart from chucking old and redundant stuff out of the household; today I found my very first, digital camera again. Thought I lost that beast permanently and like from nowhere, it surfaced again in its full glory, in working condition!

While living and working in Manila, the Philippines back in 1997 I brought the camera in Hong Kong for close to US$ 1000! that time. With 810’000 pixels maximum it was the latest digital camera on the market.

Great memories those pictures, pre-opening of the Peninsula Hotel Bangkok, heard ship in opening the hotel and the parties in Bkk town. We had such a blast! Bangkok, a misterious and wonderful city, the city of angels as they say but I have not found mine, yet.

My team during the pre-opening

Deep concentration!

Meydan, the new Grandstand under construction will open soon for the new racing season of 2010. With the world cup in March not too far away, this amazing project closes for its completion and today I visited not only the “back of the house” but also the main, hotel building. Amazing and stunning!

Dubai Meydan city is the new development currently under construction in Ras Al Khor area of Dubai, UAE. Dubai Meydan city was launched on the eve of the 2007 Dubai World Cup. Meydan City will cover more than 40 million sq ft GFA (gross floor area) on a land size of around 15 million square feet. Dubai Meydan city is expected to be completed in 2012, while Meydan race course will be officially opened on 27 March 2010. The development includes, hotels, sky-bubble restaurant, entertainment clubs, a concourse plaza, towers and a boat-house.

Meydan Race course will be able to accommodate 60,000 spectators in 1.2 km long grandstand. When not used for races it will serve as a business and conference facility. A horse racing museum and gallery are also planned. The development also includes an 18-hole golf course. The 7.5 million sq. m. Meydan Racecourse includes Meydan Marina, The Meydan, 2 race tracks and the Grandstand, which comprises a hotel, restaurants, and a racing museum. It has a 2,400 meter left-handed turf race track and a left-handed 8.75-furlong (1,750 metres) Tapeta track course. It operates from November through March and features the Dubai International Racing Carnival and its Dubai World Cup Night.

Atrium & Lobby

Arabian influence

Design & Artwork

The centrepiece, Meydan Marina, is to be located in the core of the development and offers berthing facilities for more than 80 leisure yachts and boats. Plans also include a tramline which will run from Meydan City to Meydan Race course and can carry around 10,000 people every hour.Bicycle lanes alongside roads and parks will serve as an alternative means of clean and healthy transport, while pedestrian movement will be enhanced with around 7 km of promenade walks via climate-controlled arcades.Other features of Meydan City, include a first-rate shopping centre and superlative central park, while all retail outlets – located on the ground and first floors – will be interlinked.

Architects from Malaysia & Gopal, the Indian heavy machinery driver

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLdGj4hn5SE