Weekend Perfection - Taste of Abu Dhabi

Personally my idea of a perfect weekend involves good food, music and a few drinks never hurt, right? *wink wink* However, unfortunately Abu Dhabi does not have too many events that I could boast about which excels at all three simultaneously.

So I was instantly jumping with joy when I initially read about "Taste of Abu Dhabi" and couldn't wait for the first week of November.

Before I get into details about my experience at Taste of Abu Dhabi, let me give you a gist of what Taste of Abu Dhabi actually is, it’s a three-day food carnival featuring 18 of Abu Dhabi's best fine-dining restaurants, which offered mini-samples of 4 popular dishes off their menus. Also the cuisines were diverse; it ranged from Lebanese to Indian, Chinese to Italian.

So I decided to go there on Saturday with a few friends, and take my word on this, this event was way more than just food, it almost convinced me that I was not in Abu Dhabi, but in some European country. The food, the ambiance, the crowd, the music, it was all impeccable.

My favourites from the various mini samples I tried out were, Caramel’s TNT shrimp, Avasa's Chicken Tikka, Villa Toscana’s Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli, Holland Mini Pancakes with Nutella and the Oreo and White Chocolate Doughnut from Love Doughnuts.

• TNT Shrimp from Caramel - The TNT Shrimps were four extremely good looking, big crispy prawns topped with mayo and it was also a tad bit spicy, in a good way. It reminded me of the dynamite shrimps from P.F.Changs which is something I can swear by.

TNT Shrimp 

• Chicken Tikka from Avasa - There were about 4 Indian restaurants at Taste of Abu Dhabi, but the winner hands down was Avasa, judging by the crowd gathered around the Avasa stall at all times. The chicken tikka was extremely well done; tender & juicy. It was marinated in red chili & mint, also the quantity of this dish was far better than most dishes served at Taste of Abu Dhabi, and hence it was a clear hit.

Chicken Tikka Counter 

• Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli from Villa Toscana - Someone rightly said, don’t judge a book by its cover, the Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli failed to impress our eyes, but definitely created magic on meeting our taste buds. The quantity is less, but this pasta pocket stuffed with spinach, cream and cheese is definitely recommended.

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli 

• Holland Mini Pancakes with Nuttela - My friend who is a recent Amsterdam return would shoot me down had I not tried out the Holland Mini Pancakes, because this is 1 place she has been raving about ever since she had gotten back. Initially I was rather shocked on seeing how tiny the pancakes were but the second I put the pancakes in my mouth, it literally melted and there I was smiling like a little child delighted with her candy.

Holland Mini Pancakes with Nutella 

• Oreo & White Chocolate Doughnut from Love Doughnut - Love Doughnuts had a lot of options to choose from, but I couldn’t possible resist the temptation to pick a doughnut with two of my favourite ingredients, Oreo and White Chocolate i.e. and I’m glad I listened to my heart and went ahead with this because I absolutely loved it. It was fresh and fortunately not extra sweet.

There was no time to click a picture of the doughnut :D 

So yes, that was a short, ok maybe not short, but yes a review of my favourite dishes at the Taste of Abu Dhabi. Also do note that each dish was priced between 15 – 35 Dhs.

However like I said earlier, this event was more than just food, there were stalls by Zomato  Reserve Out and SPG Hotels that caught our attention along with the fantastic band that was performing here, courtesy McGettingan’s

A tiny video I tried taking of the band performance 

Zomato had some extremely fun games at their counter like Food Pictionary, Kidney Bean Sucker - where one had to basically suck the kidney bean by the straw to an empty bowl for a minute and another game where one had to blindfoldedly separate the safety pins from a rice bowl. Oh and they were kind enough to give away restaurant vouchers and witty posters!

Reserve Out and SPG Hotels on the other hand was perfect for photo lovers like me, I’m sure the pictures below shall explain why.

Lastly there were also a lot of celebrity chefs like Jun Tanaka, Jenny Morris & Eric Lanlard who were not just seen giving cooking lessons and tips to the visitors but also were roaming around the event and were seen posing for selfies with a lot of their fans.

All in all, a lovely event and also a little birdie told me that they might just come back with it again in February, let’s hope that’s true. 

I liked it so I put a "Ring" on it : Buffalo Wings & Rings

I've had several restaurant reviews piled up in my head and on some random notepad files on my computer. So I thought I would start off with a relatively new restaurant I tried out recently, i.e. Buffalo Wings & Rings.

So we were 3 girlfriends catching up after a while and 1 of them had read about Buffalo Wings & Rings on the interent and suggested the place to us.


Buffalo Wings & Rings has a simple yet fun ambiance to it. The adorable bucket lamps hanging above each table caught my attention. Also I've to mention that the Punjabi in mean almost jumped on reading the tagline of the restaurant, that read, "Eat, Drink & Talk loudly" exactly what a Punjabi lives for, right? :D

Yup, that's what I'm talking about ;) 

The staff was extremely friendly and well informed about the food they served.

After a long debate on what to order, between my friends and I, we finalized and placed an order for 3 dishes, namely, Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla, Nachos Supreme and Boneless Chicken Wings.

The service was quite prompt and we got our food within 10 - 12 minutes of ordering.

The Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas stuffed with grilled chicken was medium spicy but extremely juicy, just the way a quesadilla should be, also fortunately, it wasn't over-loaded with tomatoes.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas 

Moving on to the Nachos, the tortillas were stuffed with grilled chicken coated with spicy sauce, tomatoes, onions and was lavishly laden with cheese & topped with sour cream, as seen in the picture below.

Nachos Supreme

Lastly, the much awaited chicken boneless wings were what actually blew our minds, because one, I absolutely relish on chicken wings, but somehow I prefer boneless chicken so I was quite glad that they had a boneless option. But getting back to the taste, we had opted for the crazy sauce which was extra spicy and juicy. This was accompanied by bleu cheese, which complimented the chicken wings.

Also do note that there are 5 other flavours to choose from, such as, Garlic Parmesan, Cheese, Lemon Peppar, Teriyaki, Roasted Garlic and Sweet BBQ.

Buffalo Chicken Wings - Picture Courtesy - Zomato

Now that we were impressed with the food we had called for and were done patting our backs with the decision made with regard to what we had ordered, we managed to find some space in our tummy and called for the strawberry cheesecake, which hit our sweet spot bang on.

Strawberry Cheesecake

The icing on the cake was that the place was pocket friendly & each dish was for about 35 Dhs.

I'm sure you know it already, but yes #TheAnorexicHog totally recommends Buffalo Wings & Rings.

I would rate it a 4/5

P.S. The filmy in me always manages to find a Bollywood reference to my post, so jisko khaana nahi mila woh jaake apni "Bhens" charaaye. Get it? No? #kthxbai

And I'm back!

You know I remember how when I was in school and was forced to study, my brains would automatically round up the time that I need to start studying and refuse to start around 10.38 or a 10.21 for example, it would by default mean that I either start studying at 11 or 10.30.

Similarly, I've been wanting to get back to my blog for the longest time, but always thought it would make more sense starting on the 1st of the month and then being regular, but clearly that did not seem to happen for about 6 months, but NOW that half the year is over and there are only 6 more months left, I thought it would only make sense to start blogging from this very day.

I've been eating out quite a bit lately, infact it's quite exciting because I've finally starting exploring places in Dubai, and I've just one word for the restaurant market of Dubai, WOW! I've got my hands on some of the best food there and can't wait to share that with you.

This post does not really have any review as such,but don't worry I shall punch myself if I don't continue to be regular now onwards. So it would be safe for you to consider this as my welcome back speech.

Also Ramadan Kareem to everybody who is fasting and I'm super excited about trying out the Iftars this season. If you have any recommendations about places I should try out this Iftar, do drop in
a message in the comments box.

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Appam Paradise - Nalas Aappakadai

South Indian cuisine wasn't something that really excited me until I happened to try the appams at Nalas Aappakadai.

Getting straight to the point, the appams here are superb. I've tried out three variants of appams they have, i.e. the chicken appam, the paneer butter appam, the cheese appam. Honestly I can't decide which one of them was better than the other, because they all tasted so damn good. The appams were fluffy, soft and fresh and the toppings on them were to die for.




Cheese Appam with Chicken Chetinad

 

These appams taste best when accompanied with a gravy, hence I opted for the chicken chettinad and home-made chicken gravy. The chicken chettinad was very average, it should have been a tad bit spicier and the chicken should have been cooked a little longer, because it was a slightly rubbery. The home made chicken gravy was scrumptious and complimented the appams really well. 

Chicken Appam with Home made chicken gravy

I've also tried the chicken 65 and paneer chilly here which I did not like much. Neither of them were tender and were difficult to eat. So I figured appetizers isn't their thing.

Lastly I also tried out their chicken soup. The waiter had recommended this for my sore throat and not did it just taste delicious but also did wonders for my throat.

Chicken Soup

Moving on to their service, they are quick and alert. Also since both the times I went here, it was quite empty so we got all the possible attention and also fortunately missed out on the usual super loud 'ho-ha' that happens in an Indian restaurant.

It's not your typical cheap South Indian joint but the place is highly clean and quality is good.

Overall quite a good place. I highly recommend the appams, undoubtedly the best in town.

I would rate Nalas Aappakadai a 3.5/5

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Thai Ho!

You know there are days when you wake up with a major craving that simply HAS to be fulfilled. This was one such day when I woke up with a craving for some breath taking Thai food and it took me almost 2 whole hours to convince my family to accompany me to a Thai restaurant.

Thai is a cusine I absolutely love but unfortunately haven't experimented with much in Abu Dhabi. Hence, I decided to visit Royal Orchid a few days back. One ofthe few Thai restaurants situated in Abu Dhabi.

Royal orchid is a fancy Thai/Chinese restaurant located in Salam Street and is an absolute delight for a Thai Lover.

On entering, we were ushered to a table of four. The hospitality was superb and the staff seemed well informed and alert.

The waitress handed over the menu and like most times, I found myself internally struggling to keep from ordering everything, because it all sounded so damn good.

However I finally decided to go with Pan Fried Fish Cakes, Crispy Chicken, Crispy Baby Corn with chilly & spring onion for appetizers and Thai Red Curry and Pia Rad Prik in the main course.

Starting with the appetizers, Thai Fish Cakes which is a common street food in Thailand apparently, was
flavorful and isn't battered, hence the taste of the fish, spices, and herbs come through in a rather fresh manner. What surprised me was that these cakes were fresh out of the oil yet it still lacked the juiciness. It was served with Thai sweet chili sauce and a squeeze of lime juice.

Thai Fish Cakes

Moving on to the crispy chicken, this was decent. Not the best I've had but wasn't bad either.

Crispy Chicken 

Surprisingly amongst the appetizers what I liked the most was a vegetarian dish, the crispy baby corn with chili & spring onion, this was so aptly spiced and was so tender & fresh.

Crispy Baby Corn with Chili & Spring Onion

What was truly special was my entree, the Pia Rad Prik (Crispy baby hamoour in spicy tangy thai sauce) which was exquisitely presented, and tasted heavenly! It was spicy, steaming hot and not too heavy. They did not go overboard with the tanginess either. And the hamoour was so tender that it almost melted in your mouth.

Pia Rad Prik

Also my other main course dish i.e. the Thai Red Curry - Chicken, was spicy, scrumptious and the fragrance of the Thai herbs that arose from it just pulled me towards it. The ambiance is quite good. Good lighting and comfortable.

Thai Red Curry 

Royal Orchid doesn't dig a hole in your pocket. Aptly priced fine-dine. A meal for two would have you
lighter by Dhs. 130

Overall I had a great time here and would definitely recommend Royal Orchid.

I would give it a 4/5

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Centro Al Manhal - Friday Brunch

Before I go ahead with my food review for Centro Al Manhal, I would like to *punch* myself for taking so LONG to put this up and being inactive on my blog.

But what's great is that, the memories from here are still fresh and that simply goes to show how much I enjoyed my brunch at Centro Al Manhal.

Centro Al Manhal which is located in Airport Road serves an extremely lavish buffet every Friday and hence a few friends and I decided to visit the place and give the food here a try.

 

The variety of cuisines they were serving absolutely amazed me. There was a little bit of everything. 

 

 

What I personally enjoyed was their chicken sheesh tawook and chicken tikka. Both these dishes were cooked very well, the chicken was tender and almost melted in my mouth. 

 

Also another fascinating thing about their buffet was their mini pancake maker, absolutely fell in love with the machine and the pancakes. I mean that's the dream right, a machine that makes food?

 

 

Honestly I'm the kind of person who judges a buffet by its desserts, if a brunch does not satisfy my sugar spot, it hasn't impressed me enough. But fortunately Centro Al Manhal had some simply outstanding cheese cakes, dutch truffle and tiramisu. There was also another arabic dessert that I tried here, I'm not too sure what it's called but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It appeared to look something similar to 'saiwya'

What I thought could have been better was their seafood, both appearance and taste wise too. Somehow that did not really appeal to my eyes nor my taste buds. 

 

But it was fun trying out octopus for the very first time, was quite tasteless and goeey.

The ambiance is soothing, it's a calm place to visit on the weekend for some good food and great free flowing wine for about AED 120, which is much lesser than what most other hotels charge.

The staff is extremely friendly and so is the chef, who personally came to our table and spoke to us about the food. 

Overall, I had a good time at Centro Al Manhal. 

I would rate it a 3/5

Lazeez

You automatically know a restaurant is brilliant when all the top Zomato reviewers have the best things to say about it. Hence Lazeez was on my To-Do list for a very long time and I finally decided to take my parents out for dinner here.

I had spent almost an hour on the Lazeez Zomato page, going through its menu and reviews before I could actually head there.

On arriving, we were quite pleased with the fact that the restaurant offers Valet service, since parking could be an issue.

Now unfortunately my first impression about this place wasn't that great, reason being, I disliked the interiors, the sad part is that it was noticeable how they had spent money on the interiors but yet failed to create something neat. The colours used were a mismatch and the accessories used looked slightly cheap, especially the place-mat.  

But we went upstairs, got ourselves seated and went through its extensive menu (which I had already read) and decided to call for Gosht Seekh Kebab, Machli Tikka Lasooni, Murgh Kastoori Kebab, Murgh Bharwan Seekh for appetizers and Murgh Lahori and Roomali Roti for main course. 

You know how they say first impression is the last impression, Lazeez proves that wrong and how, even though I was slightly negative about the place initially, the food changed it for me. Lazeez is truly a foodie’s paradise and I undoubtedly thought it was the best Indian food I had ever tried in Abu Dhabi. It literally blew our minds.

The Gosht Seekh Kebab was wonderfully spicy and juicy; the mutton mince was blended smoothly with the coriander and mint. The Machli lasooni tikka was succulent, yummy and absolutely tender. The Murgh Kasturi Kebab was boneless chicken marinated in some spices and curd, it was grilled in such a way that it melted in our mouth just like the lasooni tikka. But what truly stole the show was the Murgh Bharwan Seekh, this was chicken seekh stuffed with creamy filling of mint, cheese and coriander. This was an out of this world dish that you simply can't miss out on.

Mutton Seekh Kebab, Murgh Kastoori, Lasooni Tikka Machi

Murgh Bharwan Seekh

Moving on to the main course, the Murgh Lahori was boneless chicken pieces cooked with spicy masala and garlic/ tomatoes and red chily. The gravy was thick and luckily not too oily (as served in most other places) the chicken was tender and this dish would taste good with any sort of Indian bread.

Murgh Lahori

Lastly since I had heard a lot about the firni here, I decided to give this a try and absolutely loved it.

Firni

 

There was absolutely nothing I could complain about with regard to the food. It was a perfect 10/10.

The service was good; the server taking our order was friendly and helpful.

Overall the place was quite a huge hit, I decided to ignore the fact that I disliked the interiors and thoroughly enjoyed the food and shall definitely come back and recommend you all to try it out.

I would rate Lazeez a 4.5/5

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