UAE

The Yellow Chili by Sanjeev Kapoor

A young boy, on a visit to his mother’s ancestral home in Meerut (North Western India), is left fascinated by a bright yellow find. So contrastingly different from the usual fiery reds and deep greens, this prized yellow chili happened to fall in the hands of a boy destined to be arguably India’s most celebrated chefs, Sanjeev Kapoor himself.

So cherished was this find that many decades later, Sanjeev Kapoor opened up a whole chain of restaurants called Yellow Chili. Where Signature and Options are the chef’s ode to Indian fine-dining, Yellow Chili aims to be your cushy neighbourhood retreat for some seriously good, home-style Indian dishes.

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Ruya Dubai: Turkish Culinary Traditions with Fine Dining Panache

‘Ruya’ translates to ‘dream’, a very apt name for one of Dubai’s most anticipated new restaurants, located in the very luxe Grosvenor House (Marina Dubai). This very stylish new Turkish restaurant pays homage to the rich culinary history of the Anatolian region.

Headed by Chef Colin Clague who has some very reputed names under his belt (including the iconic Burj Al Arab, Jean Georges Dubai, Qbara and Zuma), the dishes here are as artistic as the venue itself.

The expansive interiors are done up with a great deal of panache. Dimly lit, suave and chic, the ambiance is all at once inviting and posh.  From the traditional oven to the Cag Kebap grill, and the beautifully intricate mosaic in spurts of turquoise, a few typically Turkish accents add a touch of the exotic to the space. Ruya is a restaurant, lounge and bar, and also features an open terrace, boasting of a very scenic view of the Dubai Marina.

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WIN a Diwali Dinner for Two at Antique Bazaar (Four Points by Sheraton, Bur Dubai)

I had the pleasure of trying out Antique Bazaar’s delicious lineup of treats for Diwali this week, and I want to give you, my dear reader, the chance to win a Diwali Dinner for 2!

Antique Bazaar 4 points by Sheraton Bur Dubai review of the Punjabi food festival by The Tezzy Files UAE food and lifestyle blogger (47)

Antique Bazaar’s special Diwali menu is going to be available to the public from 29th through to the 31st of October. Indulge in a traditional feast, complete with live Bollywood-style entertainment and a stunning ‘antique-style’ ambience to boot.

To win this special treat, all you have to do is:

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Diwali at Antique Bazaar (Four Points by Sheraton, Bur Dubai)

Diwali, the auspicious Indian ‘Festival of Lights’ celebrated by Hindus the world over, is scheduled for the 30th of this month. This festival signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair (Wikipedia). It is by far, one of the grandest celebrations on India’s social calendar.

However, you don’t have to book a ticket to India to celebrate… From 29th through to 31st October, Antique Bazaar (at Four Points by Sheraton – Bur Dubai) has created a tantalizing lineup of traditional Diwali treats, complete with live Bollywood entertainment to boot!

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Friday Garden Brunch at Kempinski Hotel Ajman

We are slowly but surely heading into alfresco dining weather, and what better way to spend an idle Friday afternoon than brunching in a garden setting, complete with views of the sea?

I had the pleasure of being invited for the First Year Anniversary of Kempinski Ajman’s Friday Garden Brunch last week, and had a lovely time mingling with like-minded foodies and sampling the elaborate spread, complete with stunning outdoor views and entertainment for little ones.

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Lush Daddy-O Shampoo Review

As many of you might have noticed from my last few posts, I have recently gone significantly blonder (click here if you missed it!). I’ve been a little cynical about going lighter as, in the past, my blonde streaks (often mixed in with a red base) tended to go a brassy orange after a month or so.

Scanning through the shelves of Lush, one of my all-time favorite beauty brands, I came across these bottles of Lush Daddy-O Shampoo. A helpful staff member recommended it for keeping my blonde streaks bright and brass-free, and I was sold! They had a sale going on, so I actually walked out with their largest, 500 ml bottle. Nope, never tried it before this financial commitment… I’m pretty much a sucker like that!

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Two weeks in, I am relived to say I am so glad I bought the bigger, more economically-sound bottle. Lush’s Daddy-O Shampoo really is a God-send for ‘unnaturally’ blondes!

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Manhattan Fish Market: The Big Fish from The Big Apple has finally landed in Dubai

Manhattan Fish Market is Dubai’s newest seafood chain to be imported from the United States. The restaurant concept may be new to our city, but it already has a huge fan following from across the globe, with more than 67 chains spread across Asia and the Middle East, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Oman, India, Bangladesh and Qatar.

Inspired by the fish markets of Fulton Street that served up the freshest catch of the day right under Manhattan’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Fish Market is a restaurant concept with over 180 years of history in the making!

Dubai’s very first branch is located in Festival City Mall, and I had the pleasure of trying out quite a few of their iconic, ‘fin-tastic’ dishes last week.

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Cocoa Kitchen: A Hint of Cocoa in Every Bite

Still wide-eyed with awe after our tour around the absolutely fascinating chocolate sculptures at Boutique Le Chocolat, we were invited in for a very hearty lineup of lunch at the adjacent Cocoa Kitchen.

Yet another innovative catering concept by the MERAAS group, the restaurant revolves around one simple mono-ingredient in every dish: cocoa. You find it here in every single course; from savory starters and mains, cocoa is not just reserved for dessert.

Walking into Cocoa Kitchen is like entering a secluded world of its own. The amber lighting enhances the cocoa vibes of the place, and the interior decor take inspiration from an old chocolate factory, complete with exposed industrial piping and an open-view kitchen right at the front.

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Lush Cosmetics: A Tour of the Biggest Lush Store in the Middle East #LushCityWalkDubai

I have always had a major Lush obsession. With their eco-friendly stance and an absolutely gorgeous range of hand-made organic beauty products that you can sniff down a mile away, this British beauty giant continues to rule the roost with their quirky, innovative new additions for every season.

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Great news Dubai! Lush Cosmetics has just opened a brand new store in City Walk 1. Covering an impressively large 119 square meters of retail space, the City Walk store is now the largest Lush Cosmetics outlet in the entire Middle East.

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Boutique Le Chocolat: Artisan Chocolatier, Now Open on CityWalk

Who doesn’t love chocolate? This brown slab of calorie-laden goodness manages to make all things right. If you are like me, you can easily scoff down an entire bar in a sitting. But at Boutique Le Chocolat, chocolate is taken to a whole new level of seriousness.

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Proudly a home-grown concept created by the MERAAS group of companies, Boutique Le Chocolat boasts of housing 28 of the world’s most premium chocolate brands, with 60 more to come. And if you thought chocolate can only be dark, milk and white, I have news for you… they have a total of 700 different chocolate flavors, all under one roof! But this massive variety is only half the treat. At Boutique Le Chocolat, they take the ’boutique’ element of chocolate-making to new extremes!

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