Turkish cuisine with beach views- Kaftan

I have expressed my love for Turkish cuisine quite frequently and I am huge fan of kebabs, while no one does kebabs better than the Turkish chefs; Kaftan brings delicious kebabs and so much more with beach views in La Mer to enjoy at maximum.

I remember it was a day before New Year’s eve when we decided to dine in at Kaftan and just went without reservations. When we reached there, the administrator told us that there is a 20 minute waiting and I could actually see people waiting in queue for a table. The smell of gorgeous kebabs faded the waiting time in my head and I thought to myself that I would wait an hour but will eat here only.

It was our lucky day because within 25 minutes, we got a table. As soon as we were seated, a basket of fresh and warm soft bread was served with two tiny jars of mayonnaise and ketchup. The bread was so delicious and soft as velvet that I lost track of how many I have gobbled up.

We asked for french fries and got a nice big portion of fries that were fresh and crispy.

We ordered strawberry mojito which was amazing in terms of intense kick of lemon and just the right punch from strawberry but it had way too much sugar. Like literally “Too much”

We ordered Tavuk sis and Beyti Kebab. Beyti Kebab were absolutely smashing! Loved how tender the meat was, juicy from top to bottom and full of subtle flavors. I think its safe to write that it was one of the best kebabs I have ever had.

I didn’t like the tavuk sis that much, mainly because the chicken wasn’t seasoned well. It was bland and grilled without infusing spices or any flavors. These were basically boneless chicken peices char grilled and served with brown rice.

January 10, 2019 0

Dubai’s tastiest buffet – Kitchen6

Whether you want to take out that special someone for a wholesome buffet experience or just the family to have a delicious meal time for everyone because Kitchen 6 has so much variety. Their stations are not only full of gorgeous dishes but they taste beautiful too. I have been visiting this place for two years now and yet, I still wait for a special occasion like birthdays or anniversaries to just be here. They make you feel valued and help enhance your dining experience like no one else.

Before I begin on the elaborate details, I want you to know that this buffet at Kitchen6 is a game changer. You know how in buffets, they don’t let you have water or any other drinks in the per head amount paid? Well, kitchen6 does not deprive you of if and has wide variety of shots, lemonade and juices to entice you all the way. I loved their lemonade, it had a refreshing punch.

Starters:

From hummus and dipping vegetables to quinoa salad, they’ve got it all! I particularly loved their chicken quesadillas, thai style beef chicken satay and crispy chicken bites. There were peanut sauce and different pickles accompanying them.

Soups and sandwiches:

You have got to try their angus beef burger and fries and if you prefer eating clean then ceaser salad and arabic lentil soup is just the right one for you.

Mains:

I began roaming around my favorite station where arabic mixed grill is found, the grilled meat items were spectacular. Joojeh kebab, lamb kofta with saffron rice were like whisper of a dream. Their butter chicken, salmon steak and corn-fed chicken breast made their way to my heart as well.

Asian station:

This is my favorite station whenever I visit Kitchen6 for a buffet dinner. They have nasi goreng, vegetable fried rice, cashew chicken and so much more to keep you hooked to this particular section of the buffet. I couldn’t get enough of their sweet and sour fish with vegetables as it was just perfect.

While, my appetite was satisfied, the heart wasn’t. As I was still eating, their sous chef walked up to me and offered me a freshly cooked gulab jamun. How in the world could I say no to that sweet offer? I said yes. And to my surprise, the gulab jamun was superb. Just like the ones I used to have back in my hometown, Pakistan.

Sweet Endings:

Their dessert station looks like fairytale, straight out of disney books. Its beautifully decorated and full of treats you can trust. Traditional Umm ali, berries and creame, chocolate fudge, warm chocolate pudding, oreo cheesecake, cookie crumble, fresh fruits and different flavors of icecreams and sorbets with multiple topping options.

You are going to love your buffet experience at Kitchen6.

January 7, 2019 0

Relish the moment at This is hot dog

Let me paint a picture for you, you are soaking the sun by Kite beach in your swimwear and your kids are playing in the sand and your eyeing that hot dog stand but aren’t sure whether to approach it or not because of the usual hot dog facts.

This is hot dog serves 100 percent halal and natural ingredients including the sausages that are made from premium grade meat with no artificial preservatives. In fact their bread is also freshly made which is why your order takes a little while to be made. You will be glad to know that these guys have won an excellent rate for hygiene which is rare in fast food chains. Also, their ovens have a constant oil filtration system so that your food absorbs minimal oil. How awesome is that?

Their hot dogs are a game changer in terms of quality, quantity and flavors. They have a wide variety of options to chose from. I would suggest you go for the hot dog box (Aed 75) where you get to choose 6 mini hot dogs (They are pretty filling). I opted for masala hot dog, mexican, eggy dog, cheese overload, rose pepper, smokey bandit and Italian. Also, I chose chicken for all so couldn’t differentiate among all the flavors that much. I found them more or less the same. But mexican and eggy dog stood out for me, the guacamole in mexican and scrambled egg on top of eggy dog were my favorites.

I had their poutine fries which were amazing, they had mozzarella cheese and chives and rose pepper. Although, I’m not really a fan of rose peppers. The fries were amazing.

I had their corn dog as well which was super soft coated and there was no oil on my finger tips when I finished eating it. Loved the honey mustard dip with it.

For dessert, I tried their choco dog. I will be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting much from it, the picture made me think that it will be a plain chocolate dessert but hey! it knocked my socks off by the chilled banana in between and the crunchy MnMs with super thick chocolate layers. Sigh! It was the best.

Do check this place out guys! you’ll love em!

January 6, 2019 0

Authentic hyderabadi food in Dubai at Deccan garden

Deccan garden restaurant is a lovely eatery in Naif Dubai that serves mouth watering hyderabadi cuisine. Being a hyderabadi myself, I adore each and every dish served here including the aromatic saffron in biryani, minty hues of green chutney and the sinfully indulging dabal ka meetha. I will explain each dish in detail below and then you can not hold me accountable for the major food coma.

Firstly, I would like to mention this that usually restaurants that serve this kind of food, don’t really pay much attention to cleanliness and ambiance. But this was not the case with this place, they have neatly decorated two areas under one roof. One is a cafe and the other is a full fledged restaurant. The cafe area has casual seating area with comfy concave chairs while the restaurant has formal table and chairs.

We started off with beef haleem that was presented in a beautiful arrangement of curry leaves and cashew nuts on top and tasted pretty good. My only concern was low spices, it would have been outstanding with extra spiciness.

Then we had the chicken malai bot that was succulent and delicious but the orange chutney that accompanied the chicken was sweet and didn’t pair well with the boti. If you dipped this malai boti into another green chili chutney that they served with other dish, you will love it!

Their chicken dum biryani was amazing, the rice were fluffy and each grain stood separate. Chicken was cooked to perfection and marinated beautifully. The portion size was satisfactory for one person.

I then tried their chicken tikka that looked gorgeous and intensely orange (super appealing), it tasted average. Needed more red chilli and crushed peppers.

I enjoyed these delicious hyderabadi dishes with fresh pomegranate juice that was pretty awesome.

apricots and custard

dabal ka meetha

For desserts, we had khubani ka meetha that’s actually apricots cooked with custard and lots of sugar. They nailed it. this was amazing. The other dessert that made its way to my heart was Dabal ka meetha, its actually fried slice of bread dipped in sugar syrup. It was absolutely smashing!

Thank you for your hospitality Deccan garden Restaurant. I recommend this place to people craving for hyderabadi cuisine.

January 5, 2019 0

Maximum Meaty Madness at The Meating Room

A true foodie will understand the happiness of having a pure carnivore dinner full of different cuts of meat and sauces. I have always believed in good food that’s not heavy on the pocket and that’s exactly what the meating room offers. Their menu is full of creative meaty dishes on super affordable prices. No wonder, these guys have been bagging so many awards from Zomato UAE and the title of top 100 restaurants by Time Out Dxb.

There is an outdoor seating area that’s decorated simply with light bulbs on top and looks pretty nice. The indoors are not that tiny either, it can fit 20 foodies at a time. You can actually watch your food prepared through the glass window into the kitchen where you can have a glimpse of chefs hard at work. The door to kitchen literally says “Chefs at work”.

Their head chef Mr.Ram made sure that we were satisfied with the food and kindly asked for any feedback as well. These are the little things that enhance an individual’s dining experience. The only suggestion I have for you is to work more towards cleanliness as the menu cards that you handed me over had stains on them.

We started off with colorful masala papad and couldn’t help but notice the not-so-mainstream wall art that shows a parallel world. I was really impressed by this.

I had chicken and cheese croquettes with a red schezwan sauce, loved the cheesy bites of minced chicken that was seasoned lightly and paired amazingly well with the spicy sauce.

Then came in the showstopper platter that was full of meaty delicacies and I couldn’t help but drool all over the meat. There were lamb chops that were well done and juicy, the classic chicken tikka, wings, shish beef boti, grilled vegetables, dips and fries. I went from one meat to another and gobbled up the entire platter. Every piece of meat was spiced appropriately except for the seekh kebabs that could use some more spices.

So glad that we ordered their mango minty fizz drink along side the meat because it was tangy, sweet and had a subtle hint of herbs that tasted so well altogether.

For the dessert, my heart was set on the gulab jamun cheesecake yet I overcame this idea and went ahead to order the chilly chocolate because I have never tried one. It came in a piping hot skillet with warm chocolate brownie and a generous scoop of vanilla icecream on top garnished with an actual whole red chilli. The chocolate had an evident kick of chilli in there and tasted beautiful with the icecream and some chilli flakes.

Thank you so much for a wonderful dining experience Team Meating Room Dubai.

January 2, 2019 0

Best potato in town- Potato Hut

I happen to visit the Dubai marina branch of Potato Hut and indulged in some serious potato love that deserves a big round of applause for flavor, creativity, freshness and quality. Its a small place with limited seating but I would recommend you get food from here and enjoy sitting at the Marina beach that’s just some steps away from here.

I ordered the butter chicken baked potato with loads of hot sauce, mayonnaise and bbq sauce. I added capsicum and olives as the veggie toppings. The baked potato tasted amazing. It was a perfect blend of creaminess (as I also added mozzarella) the chunky butter chicken paired so well with it.

Then, I ordered the Sweet potato Indian style which took me back to my childhood in Karachi, Pakistan where in markets, street hawkers used to sell baked sweet potato and it tasted just like that. It was topped with salt, pepper and lemon wedges. Even if you’re not a sweet potato person, I would recommend you try this.

I also tried their bbq chicken sandwich and the highlight here was the potato bread, that was so beautiful. You gotta taste it to believe me. The filling was super creamy with mushrooms and chicken.

They also have some amazing selection of salads and fresh juices along with different varieties of coffee. I tried their beetroot and orange juices and loved both.

I was hosted by Francis and Yuvette, both were lovely people who took care of me so well. If you’re having major potato cravings; my highest recommendations would be for this place.

December 30, 2018 0

Dinner Buffet at Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a much famous restaurant in the Palm Atlantis. I had been introduced to this place through the entertainer app 2018. So, I decided to give it a go on a birthday and while I made reservations through a phone call, their team was extremely co-operative and kind. They promised me a birthday cake on the house and helped me understand the dress code as well.

The moment you enter Palm Atlantis, that feeling of grandness and larger than life is on your mind. Loved their Christmas decor, cleanliness, system management and security. I slowly walked to the restaurant because I was wearing high heels that day. We were frequently asked to disclose any allergies so the staff may assist us in choosing the food options. We were seated at quite the far end from the buffet, and happily walked every time we wanted to explore the menu.

Selection of salad, lettuce and vegetables:

They have wide variety of fresh salad including boiled eggs, butter lettuce, iceberg lettuce, sweet corn. cucumber, beans, broccoli and many more ready made ones like Tuna salad, spicy beef salad, ceaser salad, greek salad, chicken and waldorf salad, quinoa and roasted pumpkin salad. The best part was the several salad dressings you can pick from.

Selection of Sushi Rolls:

They’ve got Salmon, crab, unagi, nigri with tuna, you name it! also the various condiments such as wasabi, soya sauce, pickle ginger.

Nachos station:

This one was a bit disappointing for me as there were no tacos but hey! the nachos were crispy and fresh, there were various salsa options to go with it like tomato salsa, corn and black bean salsa, guacamole, spring onion salsa and even carrot and egg plant salsa.

Cheese Board:

The cheese board was aesthetically pleasing with brie, gorgonzola, gouda, emental, edam, fontina and many more to enjoy with mixed nuts, dry fruits, fresh grapes, peach, water crackers, crostini and even figs and plum chutneys. Now that’s some variety.

Italian dishes:

I think its fair to tell you that this is the main area where I was roaming around mainly due to the fresh exotic pasta dishes including cochiggli pasta with meat sauce and meat lasagne. They also had carbonara, balongnese, alfredo, pesto and arrabiata on made to order. But my heart was really set on their pizza corner as it had four cheese pizza, margarita and the cheese bianca pizza. *Drooling while I write this*

Soup of the day:

I didn’t try any of the soups that day but they looked pretty amazing. There was lentil soup, cream potato and leek and cream of mushroom soups that day.

Rotisserie:

Atlantis beef and roasted chicken were the most loved items as there was a high influx of people on that table. I would really like to praise the pepper sauce here that was kept as a condiment. It paired so well with the chicken.

Main course:

The most amazing thing about this buffet was the Tandoor and Indian curry station as it had so much variety that your’e going to read this twice. (or maybe thrice?) Ok, I’ll name the dishes for you and then you be the judge ok? let’s do this:

For the vegetarians there were: Zeera pulao, daal tadka, beans sabzi, chana masala, aaloo shimla, dahi kadi, paneer makkini, tandoori potato and tindli masala, aaloo tikki and vegetable pakora too.

While for the non-vegeterians: Fish tikka, chicken tandoori, mutton rohan josh and chicken goan curry. Then there were various Indian breads and chutneys made from the freshest ingredients.

Dim Sums:

The dim sum station was lit with chicken bun, prawn sew mai, lo makai, hakau prawn dim sum, vegetable dumpling, fish dumpling and mushroom dumpling.

Arabic station:

I can not explain how delicious were there mix grilled items especially the lamb kebabs. They were juicy and cooked to perfection. The cheese rolls and lamb kibbeh were amazing too.

Sweet endings:

Loved their exotic selection of pastry display, chocolate fountain, date chocolate tower, orange rice pudding, praline eclair, oreo cheese cake, pineapple and coconut tart, vanilla eggless cake and fried cinnamon sticks.

I would like to suggest the management to add mini cocktail shots to one of the stations, I know there was a rhubarb drink but I didn’t like it that much. Also. I missed crispy fried prawns.

December 14, 2018 0

5th Anniversary of Ghee Rice in Dubai

I am fortunate to be a part of Ghee Rice celebrations on their 5th Anniversary last night, where I tasted some brilliant dishes and it was a brand new experience for me as I have never tried Keralite cuisine before.

Ghee rice started from a passion to enjoy good food in a surreal ambiance in Abu dhabi and now they have officially opened their doors to Dubai. During last night’s event I was familiarized with their latest fusion dishes through interactive and experiential tasting sessions. As someone who has never been to India, I always wondered how their cuisine must taste like especially Keralite cuisine. I was afraid that their food would lack flavors and I was just proved wrong by every single dish that I tasted last night.

Amuse Bouche:

Loved the chicken kunafe and its simplicity, the crispy coating protected lightly spiced chicken mince that just melted in mouth.

Salad Tasting Platter:

If this is how salads are done, I won’t mind living on these. The chefs nailed every salad on the plate. There was whole wheat, muttabel, quinoa and fattoush. I can’t pick one because all of them were equally good.

Appetizers Tasting Platter:

The appetizers were absolutely spot on in terms of flavor, texture, presentation and combination. There was Inji puli prawn thats actually prawn cooked and dunked in thick tamarind chutney, curry leaves paneer, Mumbai keema, black diamond and Irani tikka. I vividly remember people went in awe of inji puli prawns the moment everyone tasted them.

Main Courses:

We began with the beautiful Rajasthani chicken lalmaas that was perfectly balanced with spices and the chicken was tender with subtle hints of orange color to it.

2. Keralian Fish mango curry:

This curry was densely yellow and tasted like whisper of a dream, the composition of spices in it remain unknown to me as I was unable to guess those but every element in this dish was lovely. I paired it with the naan paratha to enjoy it fully.

Keralian fish mango curry

3. Malabar Erachichore:

The servers untied a giant bundle of banana leaves to unveil this dish and the entire room was filled with aromatic rice. This was a comforting rice dish that tasted divine.

4. Le Cordon Bleu:

This is a famous chicken dish where you stuff a chicken cutlet with spinach and creame cheese and then fold it and cover it in egg and bread crumbs and voila! loved it here. Especially because it was a huge shift from classic menu here.

5. Penne Alfredo Pasta:

Speaking of a shift from the classic menu, there was penne alfredo pasta on the table too. And yes, it was beautiful. The Beschamel sauce was cooked to perfection with wilted mushrooms.

6. Australian Lamb shank dum pukht Biryani:

This was the main course that stood out like a champion for me because it was absolutely perfect and packed with bags of flavors, the lamb was falling apart on one touch and the rice were beautiful, each grain was separate.

Desserts:

For desserts, they served each one of us a dedicated platter with some amazing sweet dishes. It comprised of a gulab jamun, pistachio cheese cake, cheese kunafe, elaneer pudding, fruit creame and blueberry mousse. My favorite were the elaneer pudding and kunafe. Simply nailed the desserts!

Thank you once again for letting me be a part of your festive night Ghee Rice Restaurant, It was a pleasure tasting the new fusion menu.

December 6, 2018 0

And you eat like at home with Crumby

Crumby is an authentic Italian restaurant that serves you meals that are hearty and make you feel like home. The warmth and freshness in each dish resonates with one’s heart so beautifully that it is impossible to be dissatisfied with your dining experience here.

The ambiance is simple. elegant and neat. Even the choice of music is vintage and classy.

We started off our amazing culinary journey with fresh Bruschetta that was exceptionally good simply because the tomatoes were not over grilled. Usually I feel chefs cook/bake the tomatoes so much that when you bite into the bruschetta, it looses that juicy and fresh touch.

It was their soup of the day and I had runny nose so our server “Diana” recommended me this soup and she assured me that it will be amazing. I usually don’t go for soups especially pumpkin ones but when I had the first spoonful of this soup, my pupils dilated with excitement. It was creamy and warm and it came with a bowl of parmesan cheese and croutons to add as per your liking. I went all in and tossed the croutons and cheese and waited for a minute to dig in so that the croutons become pillow-y soft. The soup tasted exactly like a classic beschamel sauce.

The chicken panzerotti was fluffy and light as air so much so that you won’t believe its deep fried. All credit goes to the dough that was kneaded to perfection. The chicken and cheese filling inside was pretty generous and flavorsome. Don’t believe me? Watch out for this cheese pull below:

Speaking of perfect dough, their pepperoni pizza was work of art.

Diana explains us the six steps which are needed to make this beautiful pizza. First the chef kneads dough several times and then rolls it out on the baking dish and slathers on freshly prepared pizza sauce comprised of ripe tomatoes. He then bakes it for some time and when the bread rises, only then the cheese and pepperoni is added and the cherry tomatoes go on last. wow!

If you don’t know the amount of time and energy that goes into making a perfect ravioli, you may never appreciate it the way it deserves to be appreciated. This was a spinach and ricotta ravioli dunked in tomato sauce with Italian herbs. The combination of spinach and ricotta is match made in heaven but it was executed so well that this dish stands out.

Crumby Dubai has won this title for an eminent reason:

Their Tiramisu is made of mascrapone cheese made from scratch, yep! you read it right and that enhances its flavor up to 10 times as compared to an ordinary Tiramisu.

The layers of divine goodness blend in beautifully to create this dessert. I am smitten by the hearty meals I devoured here at Crumby, this is the kind of food that speaks to your heart and soul on so many levels.

Thank you once again for a wonderful dining experience Crumby Dubai.

December 4, 2018 0

Celebrate Cheat day at Superchix

Superchix is the ultimate destination to indulge in delicious burgers, sinful shakes, scrumptious fries and decadent custards. The ambiance is colorful, casual and positive. It was a full house when I walked in so I grabbed the only table available and read the menu thrice before placing my order because I was in a state of conflict regarding the luscious sauces in the burgers and all the flavors on the menu especially their spicy menu that was the highlight of my day.

I just want to start off by telling you all that their staff was super friendly and efficient. Their positive vibes were the reason for this warm smile on the faces.

So I started off with their pistachio milk shake that was lit! I swear I haven’t tried a milk shake that was this tasty before. It was creamy and delicious. I also ordered a lemonade with it and that was perfect as well.

After placing our order, we got chic packs of popcorn to munch on while we wait for the burgers.

We instantly popped these out and gobbled them up until the order arrived. We were so surprised to see the burgers because usually the burgers that we see on the menu or in the pictures but these were huge and the sauces were just dripping as we ate them. These were truly the best burgers especially the hot damn sandwich and double hot sandwich.

We also ordered chicken tenders (fried) and there were so many sauces to choose from but we ended up with the spicy buffalo and honey mustard sauce that paired really well with them. The fried tenders were absolutely tasty, we were constantly dipping them in the sauces and finished them in a matter of minutes.

If these fries don’t make you drool then I don’t what will. These were spot on in terms of toppings, flavor, creaminess and crisp factor. We enjoyed every bit of these.

I also admired the barbecue cheese burger because it had a hint of sweet flavor to it along with the freshly grated cheddar that just turned out so beautiful.

Do not leave superchix without getting these luxurious desserts, they are the showstoppers (quite literally!) I am still swooning over the red velvet custard as it comes with a mini red velvet cake on top, super cute to swap your birthday cake with this year, eh?!

Thank you so much for having us over Team Superchix. You guys are the best!

December 2, 2018 0