January 2009

Meejana wins Award!

Last year, our customers voted Meejana the best restaurant in Surrey and we won the "Customer Excellence Award" in December for our quality of food and service.

We're very pleased with this and have a few special "thank you"s for January: 10% off take away and free Wine Club Membership.

Thank you for voting for us!

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Wine Club Launches

We have now launched our wine club and our first wine tasting is scheduled for Wednesday 28th January 2009 at 7.30pm. Reservations are required as places are strictly limited.

The theme of this month's tasting is Wines of the Mediterranean, including our own Lebanese Musar Mosaic and a number of other wines not available on our regular wine list. All wines, including the ones we carry in stock, will be available for purchase and we are also offering a reduced price on all wines bought by wine club members.

To celebrate the launch of the wine club we are also offering the following specials while stocks last:

• Buy 6 Musar Mosaic White - We'll give you the 7th free
• Buy 6 Musar Mosaic Rose - We'll give you the 7th free
• Buy 6 Musar Mosaic Red - We'll give you the 7th free

All of these wines usually retail at £12 per bottle, but Wine Club Members are able to purchase them at £9.75. Similar discounts are available to WIne Club Members across our entire range.

Membership to the wine club usually costs £25 but we are offering free membership throughout January. The membership fee is also waived if you attend one of our wine tastings or buy a mixed case of 6 or more wines from the deli. There will be additional benefits to membership, but we are keeping these "hush hush" at the moment :)

You can obtain a membership form from Meejana, or download one here.

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Focus on Figs

In the first of our "foodie" series, we'll be looking at figs. In each newsletter we will bring you some interesting facts and anecdotes about things we eat. If you have any questions about food, let us know and we might start a Q&A section of the newsletter!

Did you know ... ?

Figs (Ficus Carica) are one of the earliest fruits to have been cultivated. They are the most frequently mentioned fruit in the Bible, and were even reported in Sumerian times (around 2900 BC) for their medical uses. Every inhabitant of Athens was called a “philosykos” which, literally translated, means “a friend of the fig.” Early Olympic athletes were given figs as a training food and figs leaves were given as laurels to the winners of the first Olympics as a “medal”.

Figs are not fruits!

Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower inverted into itself. The seeds are the real fruit in figs. Figs are the only fruit to ripen fully and then semidry on the tree. Figs are native to areas from Asiatic Turkey to northern India, and have spread to all the countries around the Mediterranean. Today the United States, Turkey, Greece, and Spain are the primary producers of dried figs, the Spaniards originally bringing figs to the Americas in the early 16th century.

The trouble with poor diets

Today there is an ever increasing demand for foods that will increase our intake of essential food components that are perceived to be “protective against disease” and 128 out of 156 epidemiological studies have shown that the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the lower the occurence of cancer. On the flip side, it has been estimated that up to 70% of the incidences of cancers are related to poor diet. A sobering thought.

The benefits of figs

Figs are fat free, sodium free and, like other plant foods, cholesterol free. Of the common fruits, figs have the highest overall content of minerals, and their calcium content per serving is second only to oranges. On a weight basis, figs contain more calcium than other common fruits, and figs provide more fibre than all of the common fruits. A single serving contains 20% of the daily recommended intake of fibre, and more than 28% of the fibre is the soluble variety. Soluble fibre has been shown to help control blood sugar and lower blood cholesterol by binding to it in the digestive tract. A recent study has shown that the addition of a soluble-fibre supplement to the diet can aid in weight loss.

All-in-all, figs are a wonderful food - healthy, nutritious, and packed with fibre.

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Figs at Meejana

Being of Middle Eastern origin, it's only natural that we have a few fig products in store:

• Fig Jam (made from dried figs)
• Fresh Fig Jam
• Fig Jam with Walnuts
• Fig Aperitif
• Figs in Syrup
• Panficato - Fig cake with nuts and fruits

You can even have a fig smoothie in our cafe as a healthy way to boost your day. Why not add a little of this great, beneficial fruit to your diet today?

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10% off take away orders

2008 has been busy with a growing number of catering functions for both private homes and companies. We have prepared everything from traditional sandwich lunches through to banquets with whole stuffed lamb and delivered them to homes and business as far afield as Camberley. Our take away service has been growing in popularity, and people regularly call to order a sandwich for lunch as well as selections of mezze in the evening. We will be expanding this service in 2009 by introducing special function and set menus to make it easier to plan your event. If there is anything you need in the meantime, just get in touch.

And as a big thank you, we have introduced a new take away menu with reduced prices across our a la carte range (approx 10% on all items), plus a number of new Lebanese dishes only available for take away. Visit our website for more information and to download a copy (PDF).

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