Food

Japanese Feasting at Sushi Express Cafe

Calling all sushi lovers living or working in the Media City vicinity… I have great news for you! The very popular Japanese eatery Sushi Express (located in Cluster R, JLT) has opened a compact little cafe-style branch in the ground floor of Gloria Hotel, Media City Dubai.

Compact with Japanese-style sparse utilitarian furnishings allowing diners to sit in rows with a view of the chef in action, Sushi Cafe Express is the ideal stopover for a quick healthful lunch on a busy workday.

I visited the cafe on a weeknight with the family, and we had the place to ourselves. Despite the size of the place, the menu is brimming with enticing options. 

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The Best Dressed Brunch (Great British Restaurant, Dukes Dubai)

Last Friday we were invited to the Best Dressed Brunch at Great British Restaurant. Located in Duke’s on the Palm, one of Dubai’s newest five-star hotel properties that was inaugurated in March this year, the very synonyms ‘best dressed’ and ‘British’ had me stressing over what I was going to wear!

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Friday brunches are usually laid-back and casual, and post work-week, I like to sleep in and keep my brunch look as simple as possible. Not so for this one! The Best Dressed Brunch gives you an excuse to pull out that sparkly number you’d usually reserve for a special night out. And the best part of all is that they even choose a ‘best dressed’ diner who walks away with a night’s stay at this much coveted property! So here I am, all glammed up in my Debenham’s number with bright red Mac Ruby Woo lips to boot!

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Meaty Turkish Feasting at Ard Zaytoon

Located right across the road from Mercato Mall on Beach Road (Jumeirah, Dubai), Ard Zaytoon has been a favorite with the local community for years. Originally a Lebanese restaurant, the establishment has had a change of chef and cuisine and the menu offerings are now of Turkish origin.

The interiors are bright and inviting with perky yellow-green upholstery and smiling staff. Sleek, minimalist and modern, the space has no hint of exotic Turkey… that is, until you meet the curly moustached chef clothed in traditional ‘shalvar’ and head gear. 

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Arjwan: Authentic Emirati Fine-Dining in the Heart of Sharjah

‘Arjwan’ is a vibrantly blue flower that blooms against all odds in the harsh heat of a Mediterranean desert. This rare, beautiful bloom has been a part of Emirati culture for centuries, and has even been used for topical medicine.

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Inspired by this desert beauty is an authentically Emirati restaurant by the same name, located inside the very pristine property of Sheraton Sharjah. I was in awe with the place as soon as I stepped in. From deep, dark woods to the aqua-blue upholstery befitting the Arjwan bloom, the ambiance here is delightfully astute and Arabesque.

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Lunching at Farzi Cafe (CityWalk Dubai)

Last week I was back at my all-time favorite Indian fusion café on CityWalk (phase 2); that would be Farzi Café ofcourse! We had a hearty lunch covering many of our favorites, and a few brand new quirky gems.

‘Farzi’ translates to ‘illusion’, and that is exactly what you get here… each and every item served on the table comes with an unexpected surprise of its own.

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A dainty Mango Amuse Bouche to whet the appetite.

 

Eid weekend and a table at Farzi? Next to impossible! Clever me, I had us booked in well in advance. With its earthy woods and chic café artwork, Farzi Café is a beautiful nook to spend time with friends and family, and especially so with all that sunshine flooding in. All this natural lighting does wonders for my Instagram feeds as well!

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Authentic Indian Fine-Dining at Bukhara (Globally Ranked Restaurant at Kempinski Ajman)

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Bukhara is a historical city of Uzbekistan. For centuries, Bukhara has been a center for trade, arts, culture and religion, and fell on the Silk Road that connected it to the Indian subcontinent. This pathway brought the Moghuls to India, and was home to the great Mongolian emperor Genghis Khan. With this came a great deal of social and culinary influences such as clay oven baking, the art of skewered kebabs and rustic brass cookware.

Reliving the authenticity of this historical bond, Bukhara restaurant at Kempinski Ajman recreates the charm of a bygone era with a spacious interior elaborately decorated with unique, vintage curios, brass vessels and carved wood. Even the staff here are dressed to match the ambiance with elaborately embroidered suits and golden sandals.

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Scoopi Cafe: Dubai’s very own Liquid Nitrogen Ice-Cream Parlor

It’s been so hot and muggy, that all I’m dreaming of is ice-cold desserts. But who needs hot weather to reinforce a love for ice-cream? This is especially so when it comes to Scoopi Cafe. Located on bustling Beach Road (Jumeirah), the small and sleek black signboard is a ‘blink and you miss it’.

But what makes this wee café stand out is its record-breaking expensive scoop, the highly coveted Black Diamond. At AED 2,999 per golden handcrafted cup, this ice-cream concoction has gone down as the World’s Most Expensive Ice-Cream. This pricey scoop is very clever marketing if you ask me, and has made this wee café a stop-over for wallet-heavy locals and tourists alike.

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Flow: Nutritious Dining with a Difference

From the outside, Flow appears to be yet another chic urban café, complete with a smorgasbord of enticing goodies at the front and deli-style fonts scribbled across its expansive white-washed walls.

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I set foot into the newest foodie venture at Emirates Towers on a hustling work day, and the place was packed with lunchers. The café has an affiliative vibe and is flooding with natural lighting, and the staff (despite the grueling rush-time) seemed genuinely sweet and enthused with what the menu had on offer.

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Spa Ladies’ Night (Fairmont Dubai)

Because the standard Ladies’ Night at a pub with a few diluted drinks is so cliché… treat yourself and your besties to a laidback session of pampering and massages at Fairmont Dubai. Every Tuesday, from 2 to 10 pm, The Spa at Fairmont Dubai offers a highly discounted package inclusive of a leisurely lunch by the poolside, an hour-long session of yoga and meditation, access to the sauna and steam room, and a rejuvenating treatment of your choice. And how much would you expect for all this at one of Dubai’s finest hotel establishments? Hold your breath… it costs a mere AED 349 per person! Envy us boys!

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Barbecue Delights: Authentic Pakistani Dining

We’ve dined at Barbecue Delights a number of times with family and friends. Their very first branch near Lamcy Plaza is great value for money, with an authentic Pakistani buffet that costs AED 65 per head. However, I’ve never been to the newer branch that has opened up on the suave, sophisticated hub of Downtown Dubai.

I was invited for a review there last week, and was pretty blown away by the stark difference in the two branches. While Lamcy’s neighbor is rather old-school, bordering shabby, the Downtown version is beautifully spacious, and artfully decorated with quirky-cool relics from Pakistan. They even have lounging sofas at the front for when the weather is kinder.

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