Fabulous Four Seasons

The Four Seasons is a truly beautiful hotel, it’s decorated to perfection and all of their restaurants are divine.  The service is fantastic and everyone you meet is charming and helpful!  I can’t fault it!  When my friend suggested we go to the Mercury lounge for drinks I was very keen to go and enjoy the beautiful venue and great view of downtown Dubai. When said lovely and efficient friend called to book a table she was told that in fact last night was their first ever ladies night, so we could have two free glasses of Prosecco and some canapes on the house!  You can’t beat a fabulous venue and freebies really can you…

On arrival the hostess led us to a great table and very promptly a bottle of Prosecco was brought to the table and poured in front of us.  It was actually very good quality and we didn’t feel that we were being fobbed off with plonk just because it was free. Soon the canapes turned up, mini quiches which were delicious and crudites with guacomole in little shot glasses.  There was also watermelon and feta cheese which I didn’t have as I am not a huge fan of watermelon but my friend said it was great.  My favourite was definitely the mini bruschetta bread with mozarella, basil and balsamic vinegar – absolutely perfectly balanced flavours and the cheese melted in my mouth.

The atmosphere was great with terrific music as well, remixes of old favourites and some new hits.  We really enjoyed every moment of it and if I hadn’t had work today we may well still be there chatting up a storm!

I thoroughly recommend the Four Seasons, ladies night or not really – it’s such a fantastic place!

Smashing plates

I came across this site and though I would share it…for those moments you have a fear and you have a need for some cathartic way to deal with it.

 

http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/lungleavinday/#.Vq5ydtIrLR1

 

Enjoy…I hope it helps any of you who were in need of some virtual charthasis!

Concussion

I have always enjoyed Will Smith films, from laughing my way through the Men in Black franchise to weeping my way through In Pursuit of Happiness I have always been impressed by his diversity and talent.

His latest movie ‘Concussion’ was on a subject I didn’t really know about it but by the end of the film I found myself fascinated by the topic.  The movie centres around a Nigerian Doctor who discovers that NFL players are developing brain damage because of the sport. He proves that the impact on the brain is more than it can handle and that inevitably leads to major damage.

Several players exhibited symptoms and came to tragic ends, it’s really terribly sad to watch these huge men being destroyed by the sport they love.  It makes total sense when you think about it, and yet somehow the NFL have been keeping this covered up for years. The angle of the NFL cover up adds a lot to the movie.

There is also a love story element which adds a nice layer to the film – this is really the part that led to tears on my part…

Honestly I enjoyed every moment and I urge you to watch it, both for his fantastic performance and for the subject matter.

Picture fest!

As I was unable to post photos till now here are a few worth having a look at…beware if you’re hungry though!! It’s all food…

Apparently captions won’t work…baby steps eh wordpress!  So from top left:

Valentine’s Day dessert plate, haddock course, smoked salmon, the famous foie gras brulee and my favourite white tomato soup.

Chicken Ceaser salad at Le Meridien, really very delicious and healthy (or so I tell myself because I have heard the viscous rumours about Ceaser salad dressing and it’s hidden calories!!)

Mary’s Chocolate (also the last photo) are specially brought over by my parents, you can’t get them outside of Belgium and I can tell you they are smart to hoard them!!  They are SOOOOO good.  It’s fair to say that there have been a couple of disagreements with Bond about his inability to share said chocolates nicely…I am certain he has had more than me!

Jamie’s truffle risotto, truly delicious and if all their food is this good I am definitely in a rush to go again.  The mint and lemon juice is also from there and is equally excellent!

Cremolata ice cream – this is the famous kinder ice cream that is truly to die for!!!  Hunt it down if you can!!

The shrimps and the fish are from the fish shack, the crust on the fish is really well done, so light that you can really taste the freshness of the fish.

I hope you’re not too hungry now!!

 

 

 

Tom & Serg

Yesterday we went to the much raved about Tom & Serg restaurant.  I wish I could tell you that it lived up to the hype but honestly I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the experience. The interior is sort of ‘hipster style’, in that it’s basically a warehouse look that hasn’t had much done to it beyond adding the kitchen and furniture.  I did get a laugh at the fact they called their hot chocolate ‘Oprah rich’ though!

The staff are very friendly and can’t be faulted, we were served promptly and by smiling happy people.  The only thing was the food almost came too fast, we wondered just how fresh those eggs could possibly be!  While the food was yummy it certainly wasn’t the epic meal I had been led to expect…

We had the ‘Baghdad Scramble’ which is so raved about it’s even been mentioned on Radio shows.  While the harissa sausage was a highlight the over all meal was basically just a snooty eggs and sausage…maybe I have been spoiled by too many English breakfasts back home!?

I will rate the double chocolate milkshake though, really it was excellent!  Bond had a salted caramel milkshake which he said was very good and he is quite the conoisseur.  I have to say that as far as Tom & Serg goes it’s probably best if you fancy a nice atmosphere for a coffee while you read or tap away on your laptop (which most people seemed to be doing) .  For those of you who want good food and a better vibe and view then you really can’t beat the lovely Leopold’s which I have raved about many times!

 

Ladies who brunch!

On Friday I met up with the other two musketeers and a friend who was visiting S.  We decided to go to the Westin for their Bubbleicious brunch and what a great decision that proved to be!  They serve yummy fizz and all manner of food.  The sushi was a particular highlight, they have professionals making it live and it really was so fresh.  From sushi to lobster and oysters we really did well on luxury sea food!  Then we moved on to the lovely salads all of which were to die for.  Then moving from there we had mains – my highlight were the arancini balls.  The others said the truffle stand was their favourite though and I have to agree the eggs with truffles were fantastic!  Then we moved on to cheese, there were two HUGE tables heaving with every kind of cheese you can think of.  I am a cheese fiend and I had a big plate of every variety that I love.  The pork table was also impressive, I didn’t even know that many types of salami even existed!

The desserts deserve a whole paragraph because they were so incredible!  I could have drowned in all the chocolate cakes they had, each one better than the last.  There was a chocolate fondue, both dark and white chocolate with every sort of fruit and naughtiness you could dip into it.  For those who aren’t chocolate mad there were macaroons and eclairs of every possible flavour as well as fruit tarts and cheesecakes. Once we were satisfied with these treats we found another secret room of treats!!!  You go through the curtain and end up in a ‘mad hatters tea party’ with yet more cake…my absolute find was a green cake that tasted of marzipan but was sponge, I don’t know how they did it but I must must find it again one of these days!  They even had dry ice which they were using to freeze vodka.  It was quite a bizarre thing but it looked cool.

The whole brunch was spectacular from start to finish with every sort of cuisine you could imagine.  They even had lots of different cocktail stands, including a Hendrick’s gin booth!!  I am eager to go back with Bond so he can see what he thinks, I suspect he will be a fan.

After brunch we went to Oeno wine bar to have a couple more drinks and some dancing! There is always a fun vibe there and they play great cheesy music to dance to.  We got our boogie on to all the old favourites which was great fun!  At around 7 I left the others to it and headed to meet Bond to watch movies (more on that in another post!)

If you live in Dubai or you’re planning a visit then definitely do hit the Westin.

Oops it’s been a while!

I am sorry that I have been MIA for the last few days.  My parents came to visit and so I took a few days off to spend quality time with them.  We packed a lot in to their visit and I was even good and took pictures of a few things (of course wordpress is now not letting me upload them…I will try to sort that at the weekend!!!)

On the day that my parents arrived (after a four hour delay poor souls) I went to meet them for a catch up at their friends place in Umm Sequum where they were staying.  It was lovely to see them and they were on good form despite being tired!  We went on a mission to Mall of the Emirates to get dad set up with a Dubai mobile number and there may have been a quick trip to H & M where dad treated mummy and I to a few bits (this skirt in green is my new fave thing!).  From there we headed back to get ready for dinner at Le Petit Maison in DIFC for dinner with the legal eagle and her parents.

The restaurant is lovely but it’s a sharing concept and I will be honest that’s really not my favourite thing. Still we all agreed that we were anti-sharing and so decided to just get what we each wanted!  One MASSIVE steak later I actually began to rethink my aversion to sharing to be honest.  It was delicious though as was the apple tart I followed it with! I would say it’s good food in a nice place but it was wildly over priced.  If good French food is your thing and you want a nice venue then La Serre would be the better bet in my opinion…

The next day I had to work sadly but then I joined my parents and their lovely friends for dinner.  We went to the so-called ‘fish-shack’ in Umm Sequum for some really authentic food.  They catch the fish and cook it right there!  Honestly it’s the freshest fish I have ever had.  We also had spicy prawns which were yummy.  I am going to take Bond there soon because it’s a lot like going to a fish&chip shop back in the UK which will be a fun nostalgic trip for us as we always used to go when he lived in Port Solent.  They recently got a new building too so you can sit in comfort with a decent view of the water and boats.  After gorging on fish we decided to walk it off a bit and went for a stroll, our good intentions were foiled though when we came across a Gelato shop.  I decided to try kinder bueno flavour which was excellent!  It may have replaced hazelnut as my new favourite…

On Monday I took the day off to spend time with my uncle who flew in from Mauritius to see us all.  We met in the Jumeirah beach resort hotel which is really beautiful.  The lady serving us was beyond charming and I had the yummiest jasmine tea.  Bond came to meet us for a late lunch at Jamie’s Italian.  I have been to the one in London but never tried the Dubai outlet before.  It really was terrific, I had truffle and mushroom risotto which was perfection.  We were all abstemious and didn’t have dessert…so boring as the menu had some great choices!  It was so lovely to see my uncle after far too long and for Bond to meet him again.  Hopefully he will have more stop overs here so we can spend more time together!!   Fingers crossed one and all please!

After my uncle left for his flight the four of us went to Box Park as my parents haven’t seen it before.  Box park is really fun and has lots of cute shops and restaurants.  Bond treated us to lovely frozen yoghurt from Yoghurtland too.  I was very good and had the sugar free option with fruit!  Bond had to leave to go for a training run and so I took my parents on to City Walk to see the shops there.  I really like these two parts of Dubai because you can walk outside and enjoy the nice weather rather than being stuck in a mall.  Also both areas have quirky shops which I enjoy exploring and my parents did too.  We went to Sephora where I finally got my eyebrows done by the lovely girls at the Benefit Brow bar.  What these ladies can do with tweezers and wax is really most impressive and i encourage you all to go and see them for all your eyebrow needs…It will be a shame when the heat intensifies and these places are no longer accessible!

The following day I was also off work and so I picked up my parents for a trip to Dubai Mall which is always a must.  My mother also wanted to make the most of my store discount in Sephora.  She is now all sorted for her La Prairie and Dior skin care needs for quite some time…I also got some new nuxe skin care because I am obsessed with it and apparently I lack any self control!!  We had a fun day exploring the mall and then we had a quick bite at Markette.  I definitely recommend Markette, the food is great and the service is impeccable.  The beetroot quinoa salad is especially good and combines two of my preferred ingredients.

On Wednesday I had to go back to the office (Boo!) but it seems that my parents had a super time getting massages, lucky so and so’s!  In the evening I was invited back to their friends place for dinner.  They have a great delivery place called ‘Eat&Drink’ which I thoroughly recommend, the food is good and not that expensive either, always a winning combination!  It was fun to just have a casual evening and catch up with them all.  As I was driving our friends made me tonic with lemon so I could pretend to have a cocktail which I thought was really sweet of them.  All in all it was a lovely evening!

Thursday I had yet another day at the office but I spent the whole day in a good mood because we had been invited to a boat party.  I had never been on a boat before in Dubai so I was really excited to go because everyone who has ever been told me it was so much fun!  I really enjoyed the whole experience of seeing Dubai from a different angle – it’s really a beautiful city with an amazing sky line.  It’s always fun to see Dubai with people who don’t live here too because we do take it for granted and it’s important to be reminded of how lucky we are to be here.  My parents kept saying how amazing the skyline was and it made me really look at it again and appreciate it.  Having now done it I really want to go out on boats more, it’s a great way to get away and feel free!

On Friday Mummy and I had a girly day with her best friend, we did some shopping and had scones and teas at her lovely villa.  It was a really fun day out, it’s so lovely that Mummy’s best friend lives out here!  In the evening we had dinner with some great friends of ours that I wanted Mummy and Daddy to meet.  We all went to Frankie’s which is easily one of my favourite places in our neigbourhood.  The food is excellent, the staff are great and the live music adds a great vibe ( I think I have blogged about it a fair few times). Every time we go we have a great time and it’s become a firm favourite with everyone we have ever taken (the happy hour is also a bonus!)

On Saturday we had a quiet day but in the evening I had my parents over for dinner, having roped Bond in to do the cooking obviously…My mother and I tackled the supermarket for the necessary ingredients, in spite of the somewhat useless cheese counter assistant we were able to find the perfect goats cheese.  Bond made excellent chicken stuffed with goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto (after a quick trip to the pork section of course), it was absolutely delicious as was the asparagus he paired it with.  We finished up with Apple Crumble (Waitrose’s finest) and custard (again thank you Waitrose) both of which were very good!  My parents were thoroughly impressed and I fear Bond will be prevailed upon to cook more often now!

Sunday was Valentine’s day of course (Happy Belated Valentine’s to you all!) and I took the day off to spend it with my parents as it was their last day in Dubai.  We headed to the massage place they had raved about…and now I must join them in raving too.  ‘Taiy Pradit physical medicine and rehabilitation centre LLC’ truly is fantastic, it may not be as luxurious as hotel spas but the quality of the massage is far better.  They dug out every knot in my shoulders and though it hurt at times I felt like a new woman afterwards!  Following the massage we went to say goodbye to mummy’s bestie which led to us going to Satwa to do said bestie a favour.  We may have got a tad lost so it took a while longer than I had anticipated!  I hadn’t been to Satwa before and was impresed by the Iranian Hospital which is all mosaiced, it was so beautiful I couldn’t believe it was a hospital!  Having completed our mission we headed back to my parents hotel so they could change before our Valentine’s dinner.

We had all decided to go for dinner at Rhodes Twenty 10 which is Gary Rhodes’ restaurant at Le Royal Meridien Hotel. We had been once before and my mother fell in love with the foie gras brulee they do so we figured this was the perfect place for a special occasion.  We decided to go totally cheesey and went for the Valentine’s package.  It was five courses of amazing food and we even got welcome drinks and roses and a perfume for each of us as well as gorgeous silver tea light holders!  For all you foodies out there I urge you to go to Rhodes, it was really incredible!  The white tomato soup amuse bouche was really a highlight, it was unusual and delicious and more like a fluffy foam than soup.  The smoked salmon was also delicious and the halibut was another highlight.  We then split a Chateau Briand which was cooked to perfection.  The desert platter was another score, each part was delicious though my favourite was the sticky toffee pudding.  I even indulged myself and had an baileys and coffee which was the perfect ending!

All in all it was a terrific visit and it was sad to say goodbye to my parents though I can’t wait for their next visit to have even more fun in the sun!

 

 

Our new lunch find!

The three musketeers and I work together in the same company but in two different buildings, sadly those buildings are basically in the middle of the desert. There is very little to do around here.  We are lucky that our building is lovely and we have a great canteen so it’s not really an issue…however we have often said what a shame it is not to get a change of scene once and a while.  So you can imagine how N and I clapped with glee when S announced she had found a place to jaunt too that was only a few minutes away!

We hopped into the ever-trusty Victor and following S’s directions we found ourselves in PARADISE!!  Honestly how this is just five minutes from our office is beyond me, it’s like a whole new world….

Look at all those fish!

An actual terrapin!!

As you can see I even remembered to take pictures of this little slice of happiness, the koi fish pond was especially pleasing as I love them! The three of us decided Oregano was our restaurant of choice after we surveyed our options and so we took our seat under a big sun umbrella we decided this was the life indeed!

We all had a lemon and mint cocktail, which was lovely and refreshing. I had a delicious bolognaise risotto, I haven’t had it before and it really was wonderful.  I thoroughly recommend this combination of two Italian favourites!  One of my friends had a beef pepperoni pizza which she said was great and the healthy lean yet lovely machine had a ceaser salad which I admit we judged her for!  She even vetoed cake…In spite of such restrictions it was so much fun to go out and enjoy such great food in the sunshine especially with such a lovely view!  I am sure we will be regulars there now we have found it.

The question is do we share the secret with our colleagues or just keep it to ourselves?