Anniversary Staycation at Grand Hyatt Dubai

Since we had already tried the food at Andiamo! and Peppercrab, and our girls told us during Grand Hyatt Dubai's Christmas tree lighting that they wanted to spend a night there, the 5-star luxury hotel located at the edge of Dubai Creek was a good choice for our anniversary staycation this year.   So taking advantage of their corporate rates and summer promotion, I booked our family for an overnight stay last weekend.

Arriving at 11am on Friday, we were promptly taken cared of by the valet, bellboy, and reception.  Now even though we've visited the hotel a number of times already, the lobby of Grand Hyatt Dubai always impresses me.  It's just so...grand!

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.

No Christmas Tree? Attend Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremonies!

Oh hi there! How have you been? If you've been wondering why this space has been quiet for some time, well...I had been planning to update it early this month, but then things got busy (like it always does during this time of the year), and before I knew it, we're just few days away before Christmas.

Ahh, Christmas! Isn't this season just great? Busy, yes, but still great, right?  Practically everybody loves this holiday.  And to get into the festive feel, and since we didn't put up a tree this year (don't ask because I have no explanation), our family attended Christmas tree lighting ceremonies almost every night during the first week of December.

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.

Day 1: 23 March - My Birthday

Mama woke me up at around 4am to greet and remind me that at that same time 35 years ago, I came out into the world screaming my lungs out. She never fails to call me around this time every year. She told me she had prepared several of my favorite viands and invited her siblings, my brother and his family, and my cousins over at our house (in the Philippines) for my birthday. Nakakatuwa because even though we’re far apart, she made an effort to celebrate my birthday.

I always want to go to mass on my special day, but because of the timings and/or lack of time, there are years when I don’t get to do this. Fortunately, because I’m allowed to leave work 1 hour earlier than my colleagues, I was able to arrive at St. Mary’s Church for the 4:30pm mass and give thanks to God for another year.

That night, I celebrated with dinner at Andiamo, Grand Hyatt with my family (Hubby, our two daughters, my sister, my nephew, and Yaya Jovy).

It was our first time to dine there and we enjoyed the delicious food and fresh air outside.

grilled chicken breast

lasagna

mozzarella beef pizza

pizza andiamo

spaghetti ala carbonara

 Sophie was her usual bibbo self, drawing lots of attention from the servers who found her adorable.

After eating, Caila and Sophie saw a duck wandering around the lawn and they would either chase it, or it would chase them. We couldn’t help but laugh at their excited shrieks and giggles. The rainforest-themed landscape in the hotel lobby was a great place for us to take a stroll, enjoy the greenery, watch the fish swim, and take pictures to capture that day.

reunion with nyoy

The Dubai Chapter of our high school batch got another chance to get together again last December 6...all because our very own batchmate Niño (aka Nyoy Volante) was in town for a show with the other Sessionistas. Unfortunately though, not everyone was able to make it. Sharon’s daughter was sick so she couldn’t come, Maan couldn’t make it as well, and Laarni was in the Philippines. Although we knew Nyoy would be coming, we didn’t know his itinerary; so except for buying tickets to the show, we didn’t know when we could have the mini-reunion. I received an SMS from him on the evening of the 5th and several messages later through FB, my batchmates and I agreed to meet up at the lobby of Asiana Hotel after the press conference on Thursday night.