honest, humble, and down-to-earth critic – bringing you the best and worst of food in the maldives.
it’s the kind of day that makes you want to step outside and absorb your surroundings, which in my case are mostly trees, home to several clans of rowdy, roosting…3 MIN READ
hey, i can’t eat tonight, machan, but i’ll have a hot drink,’ says ahamma, my friend from childhood as we ride towards our spot for the night. ahamma is a…3 MIN READ
we find ourselves on this windless afternoon, just before ramadan, at d’olive, olive garden’s facelift in time for the blessed month. it’s still the same old place with its almost…4 MIN READ
it’s well past midnight now and i have just finished off some very demanding work – it’s got me wanting something familiar and comforting, something with a little heart and…3 MIN READ
it’s 4pm on a friday and man, i am absolutely mad with hunger. i woke up a couple of hours back, like any good dhivehi man, and lay in bed…3 MIN READ
so here we are walking towards cafeier, hasanfulhu and me, walking as two men may on busy majeedhee magu, that is with extreme caution. as we pass ooredoo, i nearly…3 MIN READ
faathumaafulhu is in town and that means i’m getting treated. she is a generous one, at least in her own way. and what a way that is. once she took…3 MIN READ
moosaalhu and i walk towards sivas58, the new turkish place that’s opened up on ameer ahmed magu behind nasandhura. i’d seen their menu before – it’s quite spare but it…3 MIN READ
by some stroke of fate, here i am at k-cafe’, a little restaurant tucked inside mookai suites, whose very existence eluded me till about a week back. but now that…4 MIN READ
it’s not easy being a food critic, especially in a city that’s brimming over with the loud and the opinionated. something must be done to stand out. so, i stand…3 MIN READ
hasanfulhu calls me up on a wintry november morning. ‘sup,’ i say. ‘i saw a great crap place.’ ‘what?’ ‘i meant a great CREPE place,’ he corrects himself. i am…3 MIN READ
on the deck of nouvelle the sunlight falls through slats that should remind one of soneva – nothing is straight, everything is crooked. like sonu. jk. it’s an interesting place…3 MIN READ
it’s thursday night again, and i have been working like someone possessed, no, OBSESSED with making money. but to be fair, i do enjoy my work. i’ve been told, rather…4 MIN READ
so, i’m trying to see how far i can go, gauging the reach of these little wings buoyed by their 200 odd followers. a couple of days ago, i messaged @island.butcher –…4 MIN READ
@shaari_ comes to pick me up for our lunch date. i have to consult google maps to guide us because i’m not a hundred percent on the location and shaari even…3 MIN READ
‘never should you assume that any of this matters – even in the shallowest sense,’ says my friend moosaalhu. we’re at don’s fiery chicken on the recommendation of a fellow…3 MIN READ
the new oishii near the port in male is one of extremes. tonight, it is extremely crowded – the servers are on the verge of a major panic attack, but…4 MIN READ
we’re putting away scraps of roshi with mashuni at food male – that small, unpretentious cafe in the shell beans goalhi. their mashuni is beyond reproach, these guys have found…3 MIN READ
i get a call from my man bakurube, a guy who’s spent half his life in security but he’s the least secure man i know when it comes to secrets.…3 MIN READ
it’s about midday when thakuru and i walk up to comfood’s counter. the iced coffee is 45 rufiyaa and i’ve had it before. it’s not bad at all and reminds…2 MIN READ
it seems we have two species of amphibians in our fair islands, a toad, and a frog. this i learned from a forthcoming book about architecture. isn’t that something? and…3 MIN READ
