Macaroon Mania

At Abu Dhabi Mall - AED 9 per macaroon.

Bloomsbury's - Wahda Mall

It's funny to think that it has been almost a year since most of my friends and I made the transition from full-time students to full-time employees or underwent other major changes in our lives. Despite these events, we have managed to stay in touch (largely thanks to the genius behind BBM), and a couple of us have started our own tradition of meeting up every week. But it is not very often that all of us (I'll leave you to guess what that adds up to) get together. So, when word got around that Abu Dhabi's latest food boutique (as I like to call them) and my friend's sister's newest venture was open for business, we were more than happy to show our support by going on a cupcake binge.

Bloomsbury's is located at a strategic place in Wahda Mall - right opposite the pseudo-entrance to the mall's anchor store, Lulu Hypermarket - so that makes it both hard to miss and resist. I personally love the colors chosen for the interiors (red, black and white) and was coincidentally dressed in the same. The decor, lighting and furniture also give the space a very classy vibe. It's the sort of place that you'd like to be seen in regardless of what's on the menu. Nevertheless, what rightfully captures your attention are the mounds of beautifully decorated cupcakes in all colors and flavors behind and on the glass display. And that's what the store specializes in. It could be down to the fact that the store is new, but we didn't have to go through the hassle of choosing from a menu or board. Instead, we picked our cupcakes from what was on display, and I quite liked that arrangement.

Now on to the cupcakes themselves. Between us, we tried 6 different flavors. Trying to recall their store names would be an impossible task, but they were essentially strawberry & cream (my pick), pistachio & chocolate, mocha, raspberry & chocolate, red velvet and chocolate. The most memorable of the lot were strawberry & cream and the chocolate cupcakes, but what did stand out was the fact that each flavor had a distinct taste true to its corresponding components, instead of tasting like regular icing. I suppose that's where the expertise of a specialty store comes in. I'd like to make a suggestion at this point, although I'm not sure if it's viable in culinary terms or if it would take away from the essence of cupcakes. I think it would be, for the lack of a better word, fun to experiment with the base of the cupcakes. Instead of making the icings the focus of the flavors, it would be interesting to see them incorporated into the sponge base by introducing chocolate chips or bits of nuts or fruits into the batter to echo the flavor of the icing. Purists are likely to disagree!

Bloomsbury's also serves up a selection of teas and coffees and meringues.

Hypermarket Pastry-Off

I'm not sure if I have enough regular readers to experiment with an interactive post like this, but here goes!

Which hypermarket makes better pastries - Lulu (left) or Carrefour (right)?

Review: Il Forno

Il Forno has been around for as long as I can remember. I think it made its debut when Abu Dhabi Mall opened its doors in the capital some time around the turn of the millennium. In my mind that's just yesterday, but in reality, it has been a decade. Anyway, Il Forno touts itself as an authentic Italian eatery, and while I think some of the items on their extensive menu border on the unique, I have a beef with some of their recipes/ingredients - pun intended.

Now despite being a foodie, I have to admit that I'm not much of a cook. I don't have the guts to handle raw meat and feel nauseous even looking at or smelling it, so that has greatly limited my exposure to cooking. But if there's one thing that I CAN put together in no time while ensuring that it tastes above average, it's red pasta sauce. And this is where Il Forno falters. In my humble opinion and not-so-limited experience, they need to tweak their red sauce a.s.a.p. because the current one tastes stale (on more than one occasion, at different venues) with an antiseptic aftertaste (go easy on the herbs maybe?). As a result, every item incorporating their red sauce is tainted with those flavors, completely ruining almost half the dishes on their menu. The other ingredient is their ground meat. I wish I could say it's tasteless, but it does have a very mild taste which is not too pleasant at all. I can't put my finger on what it is, but to me, it is a bit like chewing shredded tissue paper. As a result, I'm not going to be craving their Pizza Di Buffalo (AED 25) or Tagliatelle Bistesca (AED 35) any time soon, and their Spaghetti Bolognese is going to be something of a double whammy as you can imagine!

After my unpleasant run in with the aforementioned, I subconsciously fell into the habit of avoiding the place. Recently, I came across their revamped menu and decided to give it another go, this time opting for a 'Secondo' (Main Course) instead of the usual pastas. The decision turned out to be a good one as the Bistecca Alla Rosemarino (AED 71) was memorable for all the right reasons. The fancy sounding name loosely translates from Italian to char grilled steak with glazed rosemary and artichoke hearts sauce. The serving size was generous, the steaks perfectly cooked all the way through yet moist and juicy, the butter and artichoke heart sauce moreish and the grilled vegetables and baked potato perfectly done yet fresh. This was easily one of the best steaks I've had, so I guess Il Forno has found a way to redeem itself in my books with their mains.

Surprisingly, despite dining there several times over the years, I am yet to try any of their white sauce pastas. I should perhaps go back for that, but there's a reason why experience is so highly rated and mine says: Go for the mains.

Chill Out Lounge at Grand Millenium Al Wahda

I really do wish I could be a more regular blogger, but my rather busy and draining life does not allow that. Part of what keeps me busy is, ofcourse, my culinary adventures around Abu Dhabi. I don't go strictly to sample and review, but to socialize and unwind, so I end up spending a few hours at the joint and by the time I'm back, I'm too tired to record my experience straightaway.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I ventured into Abu Dhabi's largest five star hotel's pool-side lounge to catch up with my girlfriends (who I luckily meet almost every week). This was another spot chosen courtesy of a group-discount site (Gonabit). The fine print did warn us that only light snacks and drinks would be available, along with shisha, but we were only handed a drinks and shisha menu much to our disappointment as were looking forward to biting down on something more substantial - although we were primarily there for the shisha. With AED 400 to spend between the 4 of us (AED 50 vouchers worth AED 100 each), we were left to order a shisha each and some drinks. The view was spectacular as we were up on the 31st floor - the rooftop of the hotel. The decor was arabesque minimal, with lanterns and rugs dotting the space which was otherwise sparsely furnished and decorated. The area was surprisingly not air-conditioned, but there were large fans for each table. This arrangement would be ideal for someone who just stepped out of the pool to grab a drink, but it was rather too warm for someone fully clothed and in a hijab like myself. Perhaps that is the reason the lounge will go on a hiatus for the summer from end of July.



The drinks and shisha were brought promptly, but that was not surprising as we were the only ones there at 8 PM! The place started to look a little busier around 9 and a live band tried to help the ambiance, although we could've done without them as our conversation fizzled out as soon as they started playing. With one shisha each (AED 50 each), my friends opted for grape, double apple and watermelon, while I went for the ever-dependable mint. Half way through our night, we ordered an ice cream sundae (AED 40+) after spotting one on a neighboring table (it was not listed in the menu handed to us). We went for a combination of strawberry, mango and papaya. The ice creams were more like sorbets, but thankfully they didn't taste like the store bought variety. The flavors were unique and fresh. The drinks were not much to write home about, and I thought my (virgin) mojito (AED 30-40) had too much ice in it. Less than halfway through my drink, it started to taste diluted, so I could not finish the rest.

Since we were at a hotel, municipality and service charges applied to the total amount of our order, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out that our total bill added up to AED 397 inclusive of all those charges - just AED 3 short of AED 400! So we didn't have to pay anything over the voucher amounts. A very good deal if you ask me.

To wrap it up, I'd recommend the place for the view when the weather is cooler late September onwards. It's a world far away from the over-crowded, noisy cafes in the city, so if you need a shisha fix or just a place to sit or even lie back (plenty of lounge chairs) with your friends or partner, give this a try. But don't forget to ask for the snack menu.

Mirabel - Restaurant Review

Every now and then a restaurant that has been around for some time comes to my attention and I wonder why I've never ventured into it before. Mirabel has been attracting rave reviews from the likes of Time Out Abu Dhabi, but given my less than pleasant experience at the equally positively reviewed The One Cafe, I took their superlatives with a pinch of salt. A voucher opportunity came and went on Groupon, but when it was featured again on Cobone, I managed to convince my friends to join me on yet another culinary expedition. With four vouchers worth a total of AED 320 bought for AED 140, we headed to Fatouh Al Khair Center expecting a quiet weeknight dinner. Mirabel turned out to be the busiest spot in a generally deserted 'mall', and it made me wonder why they resorted to promoting their business on a group-discount site since it seemed to be doing quite well, not that I was complaining. A review on Time Out Abu Dhabi described the place as 'something out of the NY Upper East Side', and as an avid follower of the Gossip Girl TV series (I know, I know...), I was also looking forward to experiencing that ambiance. I have to say, the way it opened out into the mall spoiled the mood a little, so maybe a more enclosed area would've given it an air of exclusivity, but anyway, we were primarily there for the food.


We were promptly handed menus upon being seated, and I was glad to see that the dine-in menu was more extensive than the online version. We had picked our dishes beforehand so we did not take too much time to place our orders, although there were some last minute changes. My friend and I opted for the Norwegian Cod Fish & Chips with mashed peas, malt vinegar and chunky fries while my other two friends went with Chicken Milanese with mashed potato and Grilled Ribe-Eye Tagliata with roasted garlic and potatoes (the latter being my impromptu suggestion). Complementary bread and butter were placed on our table, but they couldn't hold a candle to Shaekspeare & Co's assorted bread basket and herbed butter (also complementary).

Maybe someday I will appreciate the intimacy of a two-party dinner date, but at the moment, I love dining in groups as the natural flow of conversation makes the wait between courses seem insignificant and a wider selection of items is available for sampling. The mains seemed to arrive in no time. The presentation of the dishes was, for the lack of a better word, appropriate for the standard of the restaurant but nothing extraordinary. I have to admit at this point that given the prices of the mains, I was almost expecting the serving size to be Chili's-esque, not that it was not filling. The Fish & Chips was good, with the batter crispy and the fish flaky and most importantly, not fishy. However, if not for the mashed peas and the malt vinegar, which I did not incorporate into my meal, the dish could've easily passed for something from 'London Fish & Chips', where cod fillets and chips go for AED 35 as opposed to Mirabel's AED 82.

Now on to the two extremes. The disappointment of the night was Chicken Milanese (AED 74). The chicken was ordinary at best, and it was accompanied by rocket leaves and mustard infused mashed potato. None of us are big fans of rocket leaves given its bitter taste, and on that particular night we were all the more reluctant to have fresh salad in any form with the recent outbreak of E.coli. The mashed potato was fluffy with a hint of mustard, but some more depth to its flavor - perhaps with some sprinkling of cheese - would've been appreciated. The star dish of the night was the Grilled Rib-Eye Tagliata (AED 78). The sliced steak arrived grilled just the way we wanted it - well done but not tough and chewy, and the meat tasted ever so slightly smoky. The side of roasted garlic and potatoes was everything I had hoped it would be. The garlic pods, roasted with its skin on, oozed out the most delicious natural paste of garlic, softened and sweetened in the roasting process. I almost wished I had ordered that instead, and I made a mental note to come back for it in the future.

The service was pretty prompt although it was a busy night. Our vouchers were accepted without a hint of disappointment on our server's face (something that I have encountered before much to my annoyance). Her presence of mind was also commendable as she issued four different invoices for each voucher and presented the exact balance that each of us had to pay as our dishes were of different values. Overall, Mirabel left a positive impression and I plan to go back with the Buy 1 Breakfast Get 1 Free next on my agenda.