Eat your ice cream before it melts, they say. But if you’re picking up a cone from Corner Cone ice cream parlour in Abu Dhabi, you’d be perfectly excused for stopping to take a picture (or 10) of your sweet treat first.
The quaint ice cream shop located in Al Nahyan is popular for selling some of the quirkiest, most creative ice cream cones in the capital.
On its bestsellers' list are several summer-themed ice cream cones including, Tropical Shark, Baby Toucan, Summer Party and Summer Trip Flavours.
Scroll through the photo gallery above for a look at some of its bestsellers.
Fatema Al Hammadi, the owner, says she discovered the Taiwanese brand in 2018 through Instagram and got in touch with them right away for franchising options. The brand opened its doors in Abu Dhabi towards the end of 2019, but a grand launch party was derailed because of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, it has been gradually gaining traction over the months thanks to its creative cones. The Hello Kitty and Micky Mouse varieties are some of its most popular, Al Hammadi says, and the brand launched Spacey Mansoori, a UAE-themed ice cream cone that pays tribute to the country's first astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori.
There are a number of different ice cream flavour options, including passion fruit and charcoal. Meanwhile, the add-on elements are made with a special mould and some of the waffle cone batter.
It also launches special-edition designs for events such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and UAE National Day, Al Hammadi says.
“The reaction has been great,” she says. “People love the ice creams. And they all enjoy taking pictures of the ice creams before they eat it, too.”
Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Fatherland
Kele Okereke
(BMG)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
