12 Oct
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP-nK8bylX4
Tonight I had dinner at Momo in Melbourne, where the supremely talented Greg Malouf does his own take on Lebanese and other dishes. All very delicious. After dinner, Greg showed us the Spice Market next door, a rather extravagant space where you can travel the silk route. And somewhere in the middle, there is a circular room with low seating and plush cushions which can be completely closed off and where there is a minimum spend. Obviously for the very wealthy. I didn’t ask if the management supplied belly dancers with the champagne and other drinks but the setting reminded me that I hadn’t yet posted my belly dancer of the month who is Zieinat Elwi. She may not be as brilliant as Samia Gamal nor as classy as Tahiya Carioca but she is good. And I love the music she is dancing to.
29 Jul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qwiorV-a6I
I was looking at a great blog called Chroniques du Plaisir which has several features (it was my month of … or beauty of July or elegant of January) that I really like. I can’t copy it was my month of … because I am not yet adept at making photo montages. One day soon. But I thought I’d copy the idea of beauty of the month, changing it slightly and giving it a Middle Eastern slant. So, my first choice for this month is a video showing some of the best belly dancers of the black and white era (some carried on into colour films and into relative old age), including Tahiya Carioca and Samia Gamal, which I will follow up every month with a video of an individual belly dancer. I have already posted belly dance videos as a distraction from all things culinary but now it’ll become a regular feature, and a regular distraction! Hope you enjoy it.