Have you been to the Radisson Blu branch in Business Bay? I was meeting a friend over lunch, and ended up driving to their all too familiar Deira branch. I wasn’t even aware they had a branch in Business Bay! Talk about being unobservant… especially considering I blog about food!

Radisson Blu’s Business Bay branch is located on Al Asayal Street, just a stone throw away from Downtown Dubai and Dubai Mall itself. It is the only international hotel chain in this corner of Dubai. The Business Bay branch looks and feels more brighter and airy than its older Deira counterpart. The lobby features fun and funky shades of lime green, and has a good deal of natural light streaming in.

We were having lunch at Radisson Blu’s Lemon Pepper restaurant. They have an impressive spread for as low as AED 89 per head.

Radisson Blu Lemon Pepper Brunch AED 89 review
Image taken from the Radisson Blu website.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of being invited to a bloggers’ brunch at Cocktail Kitchen by the lovely Monica Kapila from the Do In Dubai blog.

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Image taken from the Cocktail Kitchen website.

We tried out their Vinyl Brunch, a three-course menu inclusive of drinks.

The Friday before last, I had the pleasure of attending yet another fabulous #ZomatoMeetup . This time round, we met up at Thiptara, an exclusive fine-dining Thai restaurant tucked away in the nook of The Palace, Downtown Dubai.

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When somebody says ‘Thai’, the foodie in me gets super excited. Thai food is by far one of my most favorite cuisines in the world! It also means I am quite a cynic when it comes to trying out a new Thai place. We cook Thai at home, have eaten Thai all around the globe, and quite honestly, have morphed into major Thai food snobs!

A walkathon around Dubai Mall one busy weekend had us craving for some seriously good, authentic Mexican grub, and this is how we found ourselves at Rosa Mexicano.

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Founded in New York way back in 1984 by Mexican immigrant Josefina Howard, the restaurant has two franchises in Dubai. One is located in Mirdiff Mall, and the other, where we dined at, is located on the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall.

When Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa opened a little coffee shop in London way back in 1971, little did they realize this was the start of a global empire. Fast-forward to present time, and you will be hard-pressed finding a coffee drinker who hasn’t heard of Costa Coffee. The company currently has over 3,000 stores across the globe, 132 of which happen to be spread across the UAE.

Having won a long list of global accolades, the brand continues to hold its position as a market leader in the coffee business by complacently adhering to their stringent quality standards, and enticing true coffee lovers with new, exciting roasts.

I had the pleasure of attending a Costa event last week, and was one of the very first people in the UAE to take a sip of their limited edition Old Paradise Street Roast No. 11.

Tucked away on Umm Al Sheif Street, off Jumeirah Beach Road is a beautifully done up slice of Italy. With its vintage-style street lamps and very inviting checkered red and white tablecloths,  Mozzo Centrale looks like it has been transported directly from Italy, furnishings and all.

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The location is pretty residential, and I would have easily driven past it if I wasn’t actually looking it up on my trusty GPS. Given it is in a cosy neighbourhood nook, Mozzo Centrale truly is a well-kept neighbourhood secret.

When I saw an email invite in my inbox from Ishita Saha, I gave out a squeal of delight! Celebrity blogger Ishita Saha of ishitaunblogged fame (who also happens to be co-editor of FoodeMag, Dubai’s finest e-magazine on food) is the kind of role model aspiring food bloggers like me look up to. Dinner with Ishita was bound to be a memorable experience, and she elevated my expectations with this short clip on the restaurant we were previewing:

We had a very memorable, chilled-out staycation at Hilton Al Ain. Our day was lined up with siestas in our suite, splashes by the pool, and a delicious lineup of gastronomy at Flavours restaurant and Makani Cafe.

Hilton Al Ain is also renowned for Paco’s, Al Ain’s most happening Tex-Mex bar featuring award-winning live entertainment by a very talented band called “Steel”.

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Our staycation at Hilton Al Ain involved a great deal of snoozing, floating about the poolside and having an idle lunch at Flavours restaurant. Our dinner reservation was made at Makani Cafe, Hilton Al Ain’s open-aired restaurant specializing in Arabic grills and shisha.

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Click of the front entrance of Makani Cafe, taken in the morning light.

Flavours Restaurant at Hilton Al Ain is the hotel’s all-day dining venue. The restaurant has recently been renovated, and features stunning Arabesque decor.

During our staycation at Hilton Al Ain, this was the very first restaurant we tried out. We got to the hotel around noon, dumped our luggage in our suite, and after a quick cup of tea, we headed to Flavours for their international buffet lunch.