Iftar at Entre-Nous Restaurant

A few days before I was scheduled to give birth last month, Hubby and I went to Novotel Dubai World Trade Centre to attend the Iftar Preview at Entre-Nous Restaurant.

The special pre-Ramadan buffet prepared by Chef Jean Ballouz and his team of chefs offered a wide selection ranging from authentic Arabic, Mediterranean and a variety of international dishes. Cold and hot mezzeh, traditional Ramadan sweets and beverages, Arabic desserts, and a live cooking station were also available. 

And of course, the star of any Iftar, the lamb ouzi, was present...much to Hubby's delight.

Needless to say, we enjoyed every bite of each dish we tried...and I'm sure Baby M was equally satisfied, judging from the way he was moving around so much in my tummy that night 

The spacious restaurant has tables and areas for families and friends. So whatever the number of people in your group, you can be sure to be seated comfortably.

This delicious buffet can be enjoyed at Dhs139 per person from sunset to 11pm during Ramadan. Children under 12 years old receive 50% discount, and group booking discounts apply.  You can also enjoy this Iftar experience for only Dhs95 (for 1 person) or Dhs185 (for 2 people) by downloading the coupon here.

Disclaimer: We were invited to the Iftar Preview. However, all views and opinions are my own.

Entre-Nous Restaurant
Novotel Dubai World Trade Centre
Happiness Street, Dubai
Phone: 04-3320000

Anniversary Dinner at Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, The Bvlgari Resort

Since Hubby works in the construction industry, he often proudly points out the projects he worked/is working on whenever we pass by them. I’ve only entered a couple, but most of them we just admire from afar.

For our 10th wedding anniversary this year, Hubby booked us in Il Ristorante – Niko Romito which is located at one of his past projects. I remember the countless days he had stressing over almost everything when he was working on The Bvlgari Resort. Well, he always stresses over all the projects he works on ☺ But what probably made this different was it’s a luxury property and the demands were great, so the stress level was really high. Which is also the reason why he was particularly proud of this one.

Friday GourMed Brunch at Basilico, The Cove Rotana Resort

It's no secret that brunches are the thing to do on Fridays in Dubai.  With countless hotels and restaurants having their own tempting packages, cuisines and activities, you can practically try a different one each week and still want to see what the others have to offer.

But what if the brunch was in a different emirate?  Would you be willing to drive a long way to get there? And would it be worth it?

Friday Lazy Brunch at The Market Place, Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf

Although Dubai is known to be fast-paced and busy because of so many things to see and do, the city slows down on Fridays because it's the weekend.  During the morning and afternoon, the roads are clear, people are more relaxed, and unless we have activities or appointments, most of us prefer to do our own things at our own leisurely pace.

Filipino Food Fiesta at Olive Oil, Jumeira Rotana

Manila, Manila. I keep coming back to Manila…

As my family and I stepped into the lobby of Jumeira Rotana and walked towards Olive Oil Restaurant last Friday, it was hard to miss the strains of the familiar song. We had been invited to try the Filipino Food Fiesta, which is Olive Oil’s new offering for their Friday brunch, and upon seeing that the hotel’s all-day dining outlet had been adorned with colourful buntings near the entrance and at the bar, it instantly put us in the festive mood. And the photobooth with the Philippines’ “King of the Road,” made us more excited to see what was in store for us.

What’s New With Radisson Blu’s Fish Market?

If you haven’t heard, Fish Market in Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek re-opened with its revamped look last September 6. And fortunately, Hubby and I were invited to experience its legacy the new way one night last week with Veronica, the hotel’s Senior Sales Manager. I remember we had dinner and Friday brunch there a few times before and as far as I can recall, back then the restaurant had the ambiance of those markets in Thailand where fresh seafood and vegetables are laid out, and the interiors are mostly made from bamboo. Well this time, it hardly looked like anything to what I remembered, because there were three major things that changed with Fish Market:

6 Reasons to Try Al Dawaar Revolving Restaurant & Lounge

When the people at Hyatt Regency Dubai told me a few months ago that their revolving restaurant was undergoing a makeover, naturally I was thrilled.  After all, Al Dawaar is one of my favorite fine dining places so I was excited to see how it would look like.  But of course I just knew it would be amazing. 

Fast forward to last Sunday, my family and I excitedly stepped into the hotel lobby of Deira's iconic hotel after receiving an invitation to try the dinner buffet at their newly renovated restaurant.  As soon as the doors opened on the 25th floor, I immediately saw the huge change.  Practically everything was different!  In a good way, of course.  I was impressed the entire time Ji Eun (Al Dawaar's Assistant Manager) showed us around as she explained the transformation it had gone through.

Iftar at Olive Oil, Jumeira Rotana

Ramadan Kareem, everyone!

How are you finding the holy month of Ramadan, so far? I'm sure you're enjoying the shorter working hours, right? ☺ Well, aside from the fact that I get to spend more time with my family, what I also love about Ramadan are the Iftars. Invitations from friends and companies to join them to break their fast is always a treat, and these are always great opportunities to get together and catch up.

So when I received an invitation from Jumeira Rotana for their Iftar Night at Olive Oil restaurant last week, I wasted no time and confirmed me and Hubby right away.

We arrived at the hotel located in Satwa at around 7:45pm last Wednesday night and were immediately welcomed by Ms. Monaliza Doush, Jumeira Rotana & Villa Rotana's Cluster Marketing & Communications Executive. Other blogger friends I knew had already arrived: Mauh of Blessed Days in Dubai, Jhoysi of The Thrift Trip, Carla of My Yellow Bells, and Doc Gelo of Beyond Toxicity were already relishing the food on their plates.

Anyway, moving on to the buffet spread.  Since Hubby and I were already late by the time we arrived, a lot of the dishes were already more than half-empty.  Fortunately, their Sous Chef Marius Weise, and the rest of the servers frequently checked the chafing dishes to make sure they were promptly refilled so we still had the chance to taste everything.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take any good photos of the mains but there were several to whet our appetites and satisfy our hunger.  While I enjoyed the seafood dishes, Hubby frequently went back to the spread for his favorite item, the lamb ouzi. You can be sure he savoured every bite he took of the tender meat.

Thank you, Ms. Mona and the rest of the staff of Olive Oil Restaurant and Jumeira Rotana for such a delightful evening.   

Want to have your next Iftar at Olive Oil? The original price for the buffet is Dhs129 which includes Ramadan drinks and soft beverages, but you can avail of 50% discount by printing the voucher here.

Disclaimer: We were invited to the Iftar Night. However, all views and opinions are my own.

Olive Oil Restaurant
Jumeira Rotana
2nd December Street, Dubai
Phone: 04-3455888

Doner Deli at Al Barari

I had received an invitation to Doner Deli’s event at their Al Barari branch a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn’t able to attend because it fell on a weekday and I was swamped with work. Fortunately, I had the chance to visit the same branch with my family over the weekend, allowing us to see and taste for ourselves what made it different from the shawarma that we’re more accustomed to.

The restaurant also has branches in Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, Al Barsha, and Fujairah.  Al Barari is not exactly near where we live, but since it was on the way to where we would be going to later, it was the convenient choice for us.  I also heard that there was a playground in front of the restaurant where kids could play, so being a mom, that was a plus.

Casa Pinoy Restaurant in Karama

One of the traits we Filipinos are known for are our love for food.  Whether there's an occasion to celebrate or we want to catch up with a friend, we have to eat.  Just go to Karama, Deira or Satwa, and you'll see several restaurants filled with kabayans enjoying their meal. We simply like to eat.

Of course I'm no exception. And when we heard there was a newly opened resto in the residential district where we used to live, Hubby and I decided to try it out.

Caila's Trolls Themed 8th Birthday

Since my sister treated Caila (and the rest of us) to a luxurious weekend stay at the InterContinental Dubai Marina as a gift for her 8th birthday, I knew I couldn't top that... material-wise, at least.  Thankfully, my eldest daughter had already told me how she wanted to spend her actual birthday and it didn't include a big party so we didn't have to dig too deep into our pockets this time. Whew! 

However, it did include giving away goody bags to her close friends and classmates at school.  It would have been an easy task (just buy treats and put them in bags, right?), but since she was so used to having a theme every year for her birthday, she insisted that there be a theme as well this year...yes, even though it would just be for the lootbags. This time it was Trolls. 

La Dolce Vita Friday Brunch at Andiamo!

La Dolce Vita is Italian for "the sweet life."  Andiamo! means "let's go!" Put them together, and you get an invitation to enjoy a life full of pleasure and indulgence...or in my case last Friday, to a feast of delectable Italian dishes with Hubby and my two girls at Grand Hyatt Dubai's newly refurbished restaurant.

I remember being very satisfied with the food when I had dinner with my family at Andiamo! for my birthday three years ago; so having come from a tiring walking activity in the morning, I was really looking forward to our brunch that day.

Simply Fish at Brasserie Quartier

Ate Ning and I had another opportunity to have a sisters night out while dining in one of St. Regis Dubai’s restaurants last week. If you remember, the first one was last August for Tomahawk Thursdays at J&G Steakhouse.  This time, the invitation she received was for their Tuesday offering called "Simply Fish" at Brasserie Quartier. The restaurant serves mainly French cuisine, so it was adorned with chic and classy décor everywhere we looked, creating a sophisticated but relaxing ambience for the diners to enjoy.

Asian Lunch Buffet at Liwan, Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana

For the past few months, my family and I have been having our Saturday lunches in fast food restaurants or food courts in the malls.  Not exactly healthy, I know, but we're always outside at 1pm, and by then, we're all hungry and we want quick fixes to fill our growling tummies. However, last Saturday was different as we were treated to a delectable spread of Asian cuisine in Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana.

A New Miyako at Hyatt Regency Dubai

Nine months after our visit, I received another invitation to dine at Hyatt Regency Dubai's Japanese restaurant Miyako.  This time, though, it was because it had been recently renovated so it was a great opportunity to see what changes it had gone through.

My family of four arrived in the hotel lobby at 7:30pm one night last week, met with their Sales Manager, and we proceeded to the "new" Miyako.  As we approached the restaurant, we immediately noticed its new look.  Instead of the brownish-yellow marble wall with the red and black logo, it was now covered with vertical pieces of wood and its name done with horizontal pieces.

Singaporean Cuisine at Peppercrab, Grand Hyatt Dubai

Another invitation to eat in a restaurant I’ve never been to came my way last month! Grand Hyatt Dubai has several award-winning restaurants, one of which is Peppercrab. And knowing that they serve Singaporean cuisine (which I’ve never tried) and seafood (my favourite!), I confirmed me and Hubby for dinner on the 27th of October.

Leaving our girls at home and promising to treat them the next day (after all, it was our family day), Hubby and I stepped into the lobby of the luxury hotel and were welcomed by Grand Hyatt Dubai's Sales Manager who was waiting for us. Markuz immediately led us down the steps, past the indoor rainforest (I just love that part of the hotel!), and into the restaurant where we were immediately attended to and shown to our table, passing by a big silver arowana (dragon fish) in a huge aquarium on the way.

Sushi Restaurant - A Hidden Gem in Sharjah

A restaurant with a name like Sushi Restaurant doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? And if you’re from Dubai and told that it’s located at the Industrial Area in Sharjah, I’m sure you’d forgo the idea of travelling all the way there, right?

Well, that’s exactly what happened to us one Friday after Hubby and I attended a presentation. One of the Titos we know from the CFC community invited us to try the restaurant for lunch; but it was only when Tito Rick guaranteed that the food was really delicious did Hubby and I agree to join; and despite their hesitations, we convinced our friends Oliver and Ana to go with us as well ☺

A Fresh Catch of Seafood (and More!) at Max's Restaurant

It's nice to see Filipino brands becoming available wherever there are kabayans and being recognized globally; because aside from making us proud, they really help us not miss home that much.

One of those is "The House that Fried Chicken Built," or more popularly known as Max's Restaurant, which celebrated its 5th year in the Middle East last September. Since it first opened in Karama back in 2011, it has expanded and opened three more branches in the UAE: Al Ghurair Centre, Dragon Mart 2, and Sharjah City Centre...allowing more and more Pinoys (and other nationalities too!) to satisfy their hunger and cravings with their delectable menu items.

Chef's Table in Little Manila

Little Manila celebrated its first anniversary today, and I, along with Hubby and a few other bloggers and vloggers, was lucky to have been part of the restaurant's history when we were invited to the Chef's Table last Saturday to try out new items that were going to be introduced to their menu.

The first thing I noticed upon approaching the Pinoy resto was the iconic jeepney parked proudly outside.  This was made and brought all the way from the Philippines, in time for Little Manila's anniversary, and passersby are very welcome to sit inside!

Shayan Restaurant's Meter Kebab

Thankful and fortunate, Hubby and I joined other media, press, and bloggers at Shayan Restaurant’s launch of their newest offering last week.

I like that this restaurant in Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana unites the traditions of two of the most ancient and prominent culinary cultures of the Middle East: Lebanon and Iran. Fusing authentic kitchen techniques and flavours with contemporary design and modern presentation, this restaurant provides a culinary experience to diners like no other.