Latest Blogs

Mother - the mother of all steaks in Lebanon!

Mafia — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:37:58 +0000

I happend to be in Jbeil last night and I was craving for a good old fashioned steak. By nature, I am very fussy about my food. I am the sort of person who likes my steak simple and honest. I have always found it hard to find a good steak in Lebanon being a country of great cuisine, we fail miserably when it comes to steak and this is because most restaurants come up with their 'theories' of how a steak should be cooked and then end up overdoing it and spoiling the taste altogether.

We arrived at Mother, the restaurant, in Jbeil and were immediately welcomed by a warm and cosy feeling. The restaurant is located in the Old Town Jbeil halfway down and unmissable on your walk through the old market. We sat outside an enjoyed the views and good weather. Under the patronage of Mr. Shadi Adoum, the staff were friendly, warm and worked in perfect harmony. You can always tell if the staff are proud and pleased with their jobs and if they are then you are guaranteed good food. There was no shortage of good food last night...

We ordered two salads, a 'Winter' salad and a green mix salad. Both were fresh, the greens were shiny and beautiful. The dressings were well balanced to present yo with a tangy bit and at the same time, a full body of flavours. Along with the salads we were offered hot bread and cottage cheese. This was so good, I could have spent the whole evening merrily eating this simple delicacy.

Our wine was Ksara - Reserve Du Couvent (red) - slightly chilled. To the uninitiated, this particular wine, is best enjoyed cold, well at least this is my preference. Be prepared to ordera couple of bottles of this fine treasure...

The steaks were ordered and mine was the Entrecote - Rare! I always love my steak as rare. I believe the only way to enjoy a good steak, the flavours and juices are when you cook it just enough to consume safely and not any more. After placing my order, I went to observe the chef in action and was pleasantly surprised. Our steaks were find cuts, fresh and pink and a generous helping. The steaks sizzled away on an open grill and in true fashion, they were being cooked on a strong fire to seal the juices inside. Observing the chef at work I was in no doubt that I was about to receive a real treat.

Soon we were tucking in to the finest steaks we have ever tasted in Lebanon! My steak was cooked to perfection, charred and well done on the outside, nice and tender, pink and edging to red on the inside... crunchy grains of sea salt were sprinkled on top of the steaks to further enhance the flavours

I took my time to enjoy every mouthful, and indulged in a combination of steak, Dijon mustard and side potatoes. It was a pleausre to be enjoying a real honest and down to earth steak in Lebanon, finally I have found my holy grail!

It was so good that I finished mine and then polished another half from one of the other guests! Before even finishing my meal, I was already making plans for my next visit and I felt that I had been well and turely pampered with excellent food.

As is in the Lebanese natiure, warmth comes in abundance. Before we could resist, we were offered a desert, a light 'cheese cake' type of mix, nice and creamy at the top with a sweet summer fruit filling.

I will be visiting Mother, in Jbeil very soon and once again, to enjoy more of that exquisite fine steak that you can not possibly find anywhere else in Lebanon. I enjoyed my meal and the whole experience so much that I decided to share it with you. Make sure you call them and visit them to enjoy one of Lebanon's finest.

Bon Apetit!

Mother Restaurant
Old Town Byblos, Lebanon

Mobile: 03-951 901

Review by Garo Dedeyan (garo@ilovelebanon.com)

BAlA TEZMEER

jean_paul — Sat, 28 May 2011 03:05:58 +0000

Studies shows that :
A Whisper = 15 Db
Normal conversation = 60 Db
A CAR HORN = 110 Db
A Gunshot = 140 Db
Hearing Damage Begins at about 85 Db
How many times do we hear a car horn everyday ? when we're at home in traffic or even at work ! and the most annoying thing about all that is that its USELESS car honk ! people hon for the red light to go green and the huge problem is that the light goes green and the person infront of them dosent magically dissapear or vanish...

Its proven that noise causes AGGRESSION, HYPERTENSION, HIGH STRESS LEVELS, HEARING LOSS, INSOMNIA…
So please lets help stoping this polution ...

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_191191370927158&ap=1

New to lebanon

souhabib — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:10:11 +0000

Am new to Beirut. Looking for friends who would be intersted in golf, tennis, sailing, follow epl and just catching up for fun and party

USA

lattouf — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:14:20 +0000

DO you know that the USA population now was about three hundred eight million

Lebanon needs you

watanilibnan — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:21:34 +0000

Hey people , I love you all because you love Lebanon. The least we can do to our country is to love him. We wish we can do more, but we all know That we cannot. By showing our love to Lebanon , we invite others to follow. lebanon is amazing , really : the people , the nature , the climate, and hundreds of other things. Despite everything , i want my children to stay and live in Lebanon. God bless our Lebanon.

lebanon

libnan_w_bas — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 07:15:02 +0000

I love lebanon and I w,d like to have friends from lebanon,any where in lebanon cus I have no friends from lebanon befor

Fed up!

Watani — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:21:42 +0000

We are facing a serious water shortage in Lebanon and our national reserve is at an all time low. Water resevoirs have now started providing brackish water and the situation is so serious, it is affecting our agriculture, animals, nature and our own well being.

In the meanwhile, the two major political parties are locked in disagreement and still arguing about who is to blame for everything! Lebanon is melting under our feet and nobody seems to care - how sad!

Everyone has their own agenda and in the guise of being in service to Lebanon and the Lebanese they persevere in their selfish arrogant ways.

There is no end to the political vendettas but our beloved can only take so much before it breaks...

Learning the Lebanese culture and language

adeh111 — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:55:22 +0000

Hello - I am from the US and have a very beautiful love story happening with a man I met who lives in Lebanon. I am trying so hard to learn the language and to learn more about the culture there. I will be visiting Lebanon in abut a month. Can anyone give me any tips about my visit? Where I should stay? Also any tips you can give me for learning the language would be very helpful

Why I started I Love Lebanon

patil — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:13:36 +0000

Many years ago, I decided to register the domain name IloveLebanon.com because I liked the domain and what it stood for. I am an Armenian and I absolutely love Lebanon and the Lebanese people who I consider a blessing to us the Armenians. Every single Lebanese man, woman and child, have welcomed us, the Armenians into his or her heart. We have been shown compassion and unconditional love by all and athough it took a little time at first, we eventually integrated into the finest of cultures in the world.

My people are privelaged to be part of the Lebanese culture and we stand proud and honoured to be Lebanese. I hope and pray that we continue our integration and grow together with love and mutual respect in the future.

Lebanon is dear to my heart, I will always love it and respect it... I love Lebanon!

Like to make freinds

leb_fayssal — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:09:05 +0000

I am new here and like to make freinds thanks

Looking for my hot lady

nassifant — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:48:14 +0000

Im looking for a sociable,nice and hot girl freind.

من جده

samc2911 — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:19:57 +0000

احب اتعرف على وحده من جده

On Lebanese Cuisine

csmgeorges — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:50:24 +0000

When I read about Beirut, Lebanon being attacked years ago, I thought of just knowing a couple of more things about the country. I am planning to write an article about the country and perhaps send it to a firm with writing services as its industry.

So my searching took me to Lebanese cuisine. According to what I read, Lebanese cuisine is robust in fruits, vegetables, seafoods, and starches. They seldom eat red meat, or even if the settlers do so, they often prefer lamb (for those on the coast) and goat meat (for settlers in the mountain region). Herbs and spices are also relevant in their cuisine. It reminded me of Vietnamese cuisine which also relied on herbs and spices for flavours. One may consult some research papers and find out why the culinary history of these countries could be spotted with presence of particular herbs and spices, and uncover the lifestyle predicament of such.

This is Beirut

Eddy — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 09:29:05 +0000

2009 seems to be Beirut’s lucky year. Well, number 1 destination of 2009 according to the New York Times, world book capital…And now best party city in the world?

Tourism and literature have distinguished us this year, apparently so did our festivals and nightlife according to the Cal Perry report broadcasted on CNN. Something more to be happy about!

This report clearly shows this other side of Lebanon. The one that we are all proud of, and most certainly the one we want to prevail. These are the pictures we want the whole world to see. We are not only about crisis and hardships. We are not only about Geagea and Aoun, Hizbullah and Bkerke, about resolution 1701, border demarcation and manufactured explosives. 2 million visitors are expected by the ministry of tourism, catchy number after all the turmoil we have been enduring for more then we can remember.

As the summer doors flung open, Lebanon has been crowded with concerts from Beirut to Byblos, to Baalbeck and Beiteddine. B all the way! Who would’ve said that Paul Anka and Gabriel Yared were paying us a visit! Or David Guetta and Above & Beyond! How about Deep Purple that completely rocked the Lebanese public in one of the most memorable concerts Baalbeck has ever witnessed? 8000 people singing “Smoke on the water” along with the rhythm of Roger Glover’s guitar and the great Ian Gillan. Or how about the English Pop group Keane that performed live at Jbeil on a dreamy set over the Mediterranean sea. They embraced us, and we embraced them back. They will be coming again very soon. A few months ago, all this was hard to foresee.

The picture still kind of looks the same though when it comes to politics. Our constitutional institutions still work on slow-motion. Respecting deadlines is clearly not our best asset. Neither is consensus. The process of democracy is gonna take some time to readjust. Fortunately enough, the implementation of a new cabinet is getting closer and closer, the opposition and majority are still negotiating portfolios… We hope they reach an agreement soon. This is not were the action is going on.

No need to remind everyone that Lebanon was being attacked by Israel in three years ago, that our infrastructures were completely destroyed, that roads to the South were completely blocked and that our tourists were evacuated, running for their life under the teary eyes of the ones who stayed. No need to remind everyone that Lebanese officials were perishing one after the other, tearing happy families apart and breaking our hearts. Lebanon is rising again today… and it’s so beautiful to watch.

Someone once said that the true resistance in Lebanon lies in its culture and festivals, not in the fatality of Hizbullah’s arms or in the Palestinian cause, with all respect. I think he couldn’t have been more right.

This is Lebanon. This is Beirut

Elections - A La Libanaise

nova_flush — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:52:44 +0000

I read today an article on Al Jazeera and it made my stomach churn with anger!

The 2009 elections are drawing near in Lebanon and it is now an open fact that ALL sides are paying big amounts of cash to buy votes from voters. I heard of cases where entire families were being given airline tickets, accomodation and extra cash for their trouble on the day.

Once upon a time, when a more dignified Lebanon existed, such shameless activites were regarded not only as immoral but illegal. Anyone caught red handed, bribing voters or receiving a bribe for a vote was arrested and jailed. Now things are different in this modern day silicone and material driven Lebanon where anything goes.

The buying of votes is detrimental to both voters and candidates alike. Voters will end up bringing to power a corrupt and law breaking individual and the candidate him or herself will end up with an audience of corrupt supporters who follow the Dollar rather than ethics.

Obviously, most candidates do not care... this is their stepping stone to vaster riches and to make more money by getting bribed themselves byt the powers that be...

Long live Lebanon