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.

Eric Kayser - Restaurant Review

I can't believe it has been almost three! years since my last update. I kept thinking I'd get around to doing a new post soon but that time never came, and before I knew it, three years had flown by. I am as passionate and picky about my food as ever. I have explored numerous restaurants around town and even outside town since the last time I posted here. Unfortunately, they have not been chronicled as I would've liked, and there were some unique experiences that I am now having a hard time recalling, but I'll try my best to pick up where I left off.

Ever since UAE became host to several group-discount sites in 2010, I have gone jet skiing, rode camels, beach buggies and went dune bashing while on a desert safari and just returned from a dhow dinner cruise all the way in Dubai. The group-discount sites have also opened up a world of (discounted) eating options. While most of the places featured are affordable anyway, I think it is the smarter option to pay half the bill amount with a simple online purchase.

Eric Kayser is one of several European style cafes that have popped up in the past few years. I was having second thoughts about trying out this cafe, but their promise of wood fire pizza tipped my decision in their favor. The cafe is located in Abu Dhabi Mall, just beside the more popular Mugg & Bean franchise. Soon after placing our order, we were given complementary bread bites with zaatar and labneh dips (sadly, not pictured). That was a little unexpected given the theme and feel of the place, but it was a tangy, light opening to our lunch.

The items I picked were the ones that appealed to me in the featured pictures in their menu. I can be a visual person when it comes to food, and although AED 40+ for a salad seemed a little hefty, I could not get the thought the Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps (AED 29+15) out of my mind. It arrived looking extremely inviting. The shrimps were perfectly grilled and ample (although my friend who later visited the outlet and ordered the same salad based on my recommendation complained about the few, scattered pieces of shrimp tossed in), the parmigiano-reggiano shavings was sharp (and generous - most places are careful with how much of that cheese they incorporate into their salads as its price is on the steep side in this part of the world) and the Caesar dressing tangy. The portion size was also generous and more than enough for two. I was pretty full by the time the mains and side order arrived , but the light nature of the salad allowed me tuck into them anyway.

For mains, I had ordered the Rucula and Bresaola Pizza (AED 48) and EK Club Sandwich (AED 39), with a side order of Sauteed Potatoes with Garlic and Coriander (AED 16). It may have been the lack of proper seasoning, but I found the much touted wood fire pizza rather boring. The club sandwich was also not much to write home about and nothing about it stood out. The accompanying fries like the store-bought frozen variety when most places of EK's projected standard make their own fresh fries. The side order was also forgettable. For drinks we had opted for Lemon Iced Tea (AED 15) and Fresh Watermelon Juice (AED 18). The iced tea could easily pass for Lipton's canned version which I am very fond of, and I was a little disappointed that they had again not gone through the effort of making their own.

A little word on the service - once our order had been taken, the servers were very hard to get hold of. We had to wait atleast 5-10 minutes before we got someone's attention to fetch our bill. Once we did receive the bill and presented our voucher for redemption, the server applied it to the wrong table and we had to wait a further 10 minutes before he returned with the right pending balance, which I paid after walking up to the cash register myself since no one was coming to collect it after a further 5 minute wait. For a restaurant that isn't too busy, this level of service was disappointing.

Would I go back? Probably not to dine in, but to takeaway a bowl of that lovely salad.

Gazibo - Restaurant Review

I'll be straying from the theme of my blog a bit as I'll be reviewing a restaurant in Dubai. I recently dined at Gazibo, a restaurant serving Indian cuisine and specialising in kebabs and biryani, after their advertisement in the weekly Friday magazine caught my eye.

We arrived at about 9 PM and were lucky enough to find a parking spot right away. The restaurant was buzzing with diners, and we were seated next to a large group of English tourists. Soon after, a waiter handed us the menu, which had extensive lists of kebabs and biryanis and some curries that were pretty new to me. I probably took a good 15 minutes to go through the entire menu, and a few more minutes were devoted to debating over which items to shortlist for the evening. We finally settled for Paneer Kurkuri and Kachumber Salad for our appetizer, and Raan-e-Sikandari, Peshawari Gosht Tikka, Lahori Murg, Bombay Biryani and assorted Naan, Kulcha and Paratha for the main course. I guess it's pretty obvious that Gazibo has a peculiar obsession with naming their dishes after cities. Anyway, we were first served our drinks. I had gone for a sweetened lime and soda drink, called Shikanji at this particular place, and it was pretty refreshing though nothing extraordinary.

The appetizers arrived soon after. I thought the Paneer Kurkuri, essentially cottage cheese rolled in dough and deep-fried, was pretty disappointing since it had very little salt. The dark-red sauce accompanying it (couldn't tell what it was) had an oriental taste to it. That particular dish might've worked in a fusion restaurant, but I thought it was out of place in this one. The exotically named Kachumber Salad was nothing other than finely diced onions, cucumber and some other vegetable tossed in chaat masala.

Paneer Kurkure (foreground) and Kachumber Salad

The main dishes arrived in phases, probably according to the order in which they were prepared. The first to reach our table was the Peshawari Gosht Tikka. We were having second thoughts about ordering it earlier on hearing that it was going to be boneless, but all my doubts about the dish disappeared once I tasted it. It tasted a lot like Bihari kebab, except the flavours were more intense. The waiter served it on our plates, so there was no chance of a second helping although there's nothing I would've liked more. That was followed by the Raan-e-Sikandari and Lahori Murg. The Raan-e-Sikandari, a roasted lamb leg, could have been better in my opinion. Although it was cooked thoroughly and appeared quite mouth-watering, it wasn't bursting with flavours like the Peshawari Gosht Tikka. The Lahori Murg, a spicy chicken curry touted as the chef's special, had a unique taste for a chicken curry. The spicy gravy was a concoction of very familiar flavours, but I just couldn't put my finger on what they were. The Bombay Biryani was the last to arrive. I was pretty full by that time, so I just had a small serving of the rice, which was reasonably good, but I don't remember its taste as vividly as that of the kebab. A little word on the assorted breads, they were reliable accompaniments and predictably tasty.

Peshawari Gosht Tikka

Raan-e-Sikandari

Lahori Murg

Bombay Biryani

Assorted breads

If there was one glitch in the evening, it was that I wanted to try their Shahi Tukra, and they had all the desserts on the menu except that one. Anyway, Gazibo has some of the best Indian food I've come across, and I definitely plan to go back someday to try some of the other tempting things on offer. Even though the restaurant was packed, the service was pretty good and prompt (I later found out that they have no service charge!). When we were leaving at around 10 30 PM, there were around 20 people still waiting in the reception area to be seated. To say the restaurant is popular would be stating the obvious.

Location: Mankhool,Opposite Meena Plaza Hotel, Dubai
Also available at: Dubai Internet City
Price:
Kachumber Salad AED10
Paneer Kurkure AED 18
Raan-e-Sikandari AED 80
Peshawari Gosht Tikka AED 32
Lahori Murg AED 33
Bombay Biryani AED 34
Assorted Breads AED 25
Shikanji AED 10
Mineral Water AED 5
Aerated Drinks AED 8
Total: AED 255

Happy 2nd December!

Here's wishing all UAE citizens and residents a happy 37th National Day, and this country more prosperity!

The following picture of chocolate cup-cakes with UAE flag frosting was taken at my university, ADU. I didn't get around to tasting them as I had to run to class, but I thought they were ideal for my blog:

Photo courtesy of: Shifa