Breakfast woes

I am that lazy person who does not feel like getting up early on weekends and dressing up to go out for breakfast but I managed to somehow do that with an empty stomach. Me and my friend were roaming in sahara when we bumped into this nice coffee house called Icons coffee couture where they had a lovely vibe going on so we ordered Intercontinental breakfast platter which comprises of two fried eggs, two hashbrowns, labneh, grilled tomato with cheese, ricotta, fresh bread, orange juice and a hot beverage of choice.

So glad that the orange juice was fresh and had fair quantity of pulp in there. And the basket with buns and breads was awesome. The bread was so soft and so were the buns. Loved these! But the breakfast platter itself was a let down. The sunny side up eggs were over cooked and the hashbrowns were dry.

Loved the glasses in which they served juice and tea. I got green tea instead of coffee and it was nice. The staff was friendly and the service was quick. They overcharged my friend while swiping her credit card but then she contacted them and they quickly resolved her issue and reimbursed her the extra deducted money. Thank you very much for that.

July 4, 2019 0

Chase the flavors with Manoushe street

Manoushe street has always been the talk of foodies for as long as I remember but I never really got a chance to try them out. Last week I accepted a blogger’s meet invite after a month I guess and I am so happy that I went there and tried their menu because it they had various combination of breads, salads, pizzas, wraps, Labenese kaak and manakeesh.

What I loved the most was how all manakeesh and pizza had this soft doughy bread that tasted beautiful along with their toppings. If you are a vegetarian then you my friend are in luck because they serve amazing veg manakeesh and pizza. Their potato wedges and homemade hummus was pretty awesome to begin with.

From pizza, I tried pepperoni pizza and three cheese pizza where my favorite was the pepperoni one. It was fresh, juicy pepperoni and the soft base made so much sense. Also, I would totally recommend you order their baked halloumi; even if you are not a halloumi fan. These guys bake it to perfection.

The tidbites with zaatar and spinach were also very nice. I specifically admired the sujuk because it was loaded with cheese and chicken. Tastes so much like a quesadilla but only more in terms of filling.

Thanks for having me Team Manoushe street, your service and quality of food was amazing.

July 3, 2019 0

Play with fire at the Wok’s Den

Wok’s Den is a nice restaurant located in Jumeirah 1 near La Mer with free parking and some really cool dragon graffiti on the walls inside. The kitchen has giant glass windows so you can watch the chefs in action while your food is being prepared.

The service is top notch! Our server made sure we were comfortable and helped us decide different dishes from the menu. Since we were fasting, the staff made sure that all our food was ready a minute before sunset so that we won’t have to wait and that made me feel super happy.

So we ordered Dragon shrimps and stir fried momos with schezuwan sauce for appetizers. The dragon shrimps were absolutely lip smacking, super creamy and soft to chew. The momos were an instant hit because the filling was so flavorsome and generous and the final toss in schezuwan sauce was ethereal.

For drinks, I ordered a pistachio shake and their specialty drink called Dragon’s Fuel which is suoer fun cocktail that has an intense kick of spice to it. Its literally like the sweet tangy and spicy gummy bears. I would recommend you go for it but have it in small sips instead of gulping it all in one go. Whereas the pistachio shake was great too!

For the wok, I chose soba noodles, mushrooms, snow peas, bok choy, sweet corn, black pepper sauce with chicken stripes. Loved the flavors in there and it wasn’t loaded with salt and chilli. The combination of flavors was just perfect. Wanna see how the wok was made? go check my Instagram page 😉

Then we had the triple schezuwan fried rice which were subtle and flavorful. They also have a black bean chilli sauce on the table that you can add to your food as you like. It was actually amazing and not too hot.

For Dessert, their coconut fried icecream was so delicious. I know it sounds so simple but please try it. Thank you Team Wok’s Den for the wonderful iftaar. Can’t wait to drop by soon 🙂

June 1, 2019 0

Falafel Party from Operation Falafel

I always plan to eat here but never actually do that and it had been 4 years so I finally decided to order food home and see what the hype is about. I placed order through zomato and it got accepted but then I received a call from the restaurant that they are out of eggplant so they cant put it in my wrap 😦 that was just sad, so I agreed for a wrap without it. Although they delivered complimentary hummus to make up for it but hey! ain’t no hummus makes up for eggplant in my wrap.

Anyway, the falafel were pretty crispy and good. I just feel they were overpriced just because they had a chutney filling inside. Normally, you get a falafel for 50 fils or 1 aed from street restaurants but this one was 10 aed for 4 pcs because its “stuffed”. The menu reads that these falafels are stuffed with pine nuts, onions and shatta but all I could taste was shatta (hot sauce)

The wraps were fine nothing extraordinary about those. I would suggest the restaurant to increase their quality of food in terms of flavors and decrease the price a tad bit 🙂

May 23, 2019 0

Even chicken recommends Chicken Cottage

Last week I went to Chicken cottage in the mall at JBR, Dubai. Its located on the ground floor with a great space for seating. The most intriguing part of their food is that they don’t use any preservatives for their meals. All ingredients are halal and fresh. I was fasting when I went here and planned to break my fast with the crispy chicken. So I ordered and waited for sunset to enjoy the meal. The service was a bit slow and I actually had to wait 20 minutes more but the restaurant was full of fresh fried chicken aroma so I didn’t mind. I was given complimentary dates and water.

The fried chicken I ordered was spicy and tasted really good, they have a sauce station where you can grab mayonnaise, ketchup, salsa as much as you like. I loved their salsa. It paired amazingly well with the fried chicken. Also ordered the spicy grilled chicken which was a surprise because it was superb. The flavors, tenderness of chicken and the glaze on top with that perfect charred flavor was outstanding. Loved it! I highly recommend you try their grilled chicken.

Next came the Monster burger which was actually a monster. Layered with a crunchy hashbrown and a chicken patty, this burger was pretty good. The only thing missing was a tangy sauce inside, so I slathered salsa inside and munched on this beauty 😉

For dessert, we got the chocolate brownie with vanilla icecream that was gorgeous! you can never go wrong with this combination. Absolutely loved it. Thank you for hosting me Team Chicken Cottage.

May 23, 2019 0

Jordanian cafe in downtown Dubai

Tche Tche premier is a quite fun place to spend a weekend evening at. They have separate area for smokers (outside) while inside for non-smokers. There’s even a play area for kids inside and so many LED screens to watch game on. The interiors are simple and neat, what stands out most is their superb service that won’t let you down. Our server “Nadine” guided best for their best dishes and cocktails.

We started off with the sea food sampler that priced at 70 aed and is loaded with crunchy calamari, crispy panko shrimps, mozzarella sticks and lots of french fries with dip. I absolutely loved this, especially the panko shrimps that were crisp and delicious. However my favorite part of this was the fact that it came in such big portion size that can be shared among two and the masala that was garnished on the fries :p

Then we had Chicken Escallop Funghi which is basically a chicken steak topped with melted mozzarella cheese paired with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. Loved the creamy mushroom sauce that accompanied this, it was spot on! Priced at 60 aed.

For sandwich we ordered the chicken zinger but it felt more like a crispy chicken sandwich as it had turkey slices in there as well. Nonetheless, the taste was amazing. The sandwich turned out pretty awesome. It was priced 45 aed

We also tried their house pizza that was priced at 48 aed and comprised of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, parmesan cheese and beef bites. I know what you’re thinking, that these all would make one hell of a pizza but there was something missing for me. I would say may be the spice quotient could have been a bit better. But if you like low food then this will be an instant hit for you.

We were so full with all the scrumptious delicacies that we skipped dessert but wait! their cocktails satisfied our sweet tooth because they were literally yum! I felt they were more like milk shakes, I had the summer cocktail (mango, banana, strawberry, vanilla icecream, avocado and mango) priced 32 aed and TCHE’s (strawberry, banana and vanilla icecream) priced 32 aed as well. Loved the way these cocktails were presented.

Thank you for having us Team Tche Tche premier. Your service was absolutely wonderful, special thanks to Chef Sayed from Jordan who served us amazing dishes. Thank you.

April 30, 2019 0

Lunch with Philip Chang (co-founder of PF changs Middle East)

Super excited to be at the same lunch table with Mr. Philip chang who is the co-founder of PF changs ME. I’m sure you all must have been to Pf Changs atleast once, their menu and flavors are so genuine that one may find it simply irresistible to not go back. There was so much variety in the dishes I tried that day especially the few items from their newly launched menu were instant hits.

Started off with the famous dynamite shrimps. Even though there are atleast 30 restaurants in Dubai who have this dish on their menu but no one does it like PF changs because they introduced the world to it and they’re still nailing it. The main reason would be the simplicity, thier dynamite sauce is creamy and has a subtle zing unlike the duplicate ones.

The new menu had korean corn pie which was loaded with cheese and tasted quite nice. Although I wish the consistency of the pie should have been a little thicker, the flavors were great.

Also had Singaporean noodles, stir fried chicken, ceaser’s salad, chicken dumplings and so much more. Out of all these dishes the ones that stood out for me were the dumplings, they were so soft and the filling was comfortingly delicious.

They are introducing a kid’s meal called the “Bento Box” which comprises of one portion of rice, fresh fruits, vegetables on a stick, fish or chicken sticks, spring roll and a tangy sauce. My 2 year old got all excited when he saw the box coming on the table and he actually loved it.

Desserts were the best, especially the great wall of chocolate. It was the most delicious cake I have tried in a long time. Felt so satisfying, zero regrets 🙂

I would like to thank Team PF changs the QODE team for organizing such a wonderful lunch. The service was top notch and the team efforts were quite evident. This shall always be a beautiful day in my life as a food blogger.

April 24, 2019 0

Buttermilk fried chicken experts in Dubai

I am an absolute fan of succulent and crispy buttermilk fried chicken and while roaming around city walk in Dubai, I happen to find this place “Clinton street bakers” who are actually located in a less crowded kinda dark alley with decent vibes, the restaurant interior is really pleasing, gorgeous comfy chairs and candle light feels.

I instantly ordered their best seller chicken and waffle that is also on their breakfast menu, I also ordered a fried chicken salad and toddler’s meal; mac and cheese

The food arrived so quickly, first up- my toddler’s mac and cheese was amazing. They made it with precision and added extra cheese for the child. It made me so happy. My chicken and waffles were oh-so-good! the portion size was way too much for one person, I suggest you share it between two people with large appetite. What I loved most about this dish was the waffles that were extra fluffy and melt in mouth, i wish there was a buffalo sauce to accompany this dish which would have made it even more amazing.

Fried chicken salad was top notch. The fried chicken strips in there were super crispy yet not heavily battered. I enjoyed my dining experience here and I would recommend you to have the chicken and waffles here 🙂

April 18, 2019 0

My experience at Peppermill

One of the toughest decisions to make while shopping in the mall is “where to eat?” (First world problems) I know. So, I had my eyes on this restaurant since a long time and I finally had dinner here. The ambiance is lively and there’s room for a lot of people. They also have separators for specific dining requirements.

I ordered their Chicken sev puri from the starters that turned out quite wonderful except for the fact that the chicken wasn’t quite adding up with the chaat. There were juicy chutneys in there and the creamy yogurt was simply amazing.

Ordered the katiafi prawns from appetizers, these were amazing. The best thing about this dish was their mango salsa that wowed me. It was placed in small quantity on the plate but was packed with intense flavors.

peppermill food

Next, I had the soya chaap curry which was the winner for me. The curry was composed of some serious spices, no nonsense. I love a luscious curry with pure spices and this is exactly the one I had been looking for. Also the soya chaap were velvety soft and flavoured well too. I request you to order this even if you are a hardcore non-veg 🙂

For dessert, I opted for ras malai milkcake, it came with lots of crushed laddoo topping. I felt there was too much zafran in there for my liking but overall it was delicious.

April 4, 2019 0

Ordered food home from Sandwich factory

Sandwich factory is a small place newly opened in al qusais that caught my attention while driving quite a few times. So I thought it’ll be a good idea to order from here. I ordered peri fries, grilled italian jumbo panini and crunchy chicken burger.

The peri fries had literally no spices in there, since the name was peri; there should have been some flavor to it. But sadly, there wasn’t.

The italian jumbo panini was delicious, grilled to perfection and the portion size was good and filling.

The crunchy chicken burger was not crunchy at all, no powerful flavors in there either and pretty tiny in size.

I would suggest the restaurant to enhance the flavors in their menu items and live up to the title of these dishes. For example if you’re labeling fries as “peri fries” then justify that. All the best!

-Captain Lychee.

March 28, 2019 0

Turn up the heat at Turkish steak restaurant

I am absolutely in love with the food served here, be it their juicy adna kebabs or the flamed ribs; they have pioneered each dish in a beautiful way. Turkish steak restaurant is located near Mercato mall and its actually a villa with lots of space to accommodate big group of people.

Started off with their grilled chicken salad where the chicken was spiced perfectly and grilled, loved the neat presentation of this and the flavors in this salad were spot on.

Next, I had the Oven cheese mushrooms that you can find under hot starters in their menu. These were gorgeous baked mushrooms oozing with the right amount of cheese. My advice: have them hot and let them sway you 🙂

Had their butcher’s cheese kofta, these were the showstoppers of my entire dining experience at Turkish steak restaurant. They were not over cooked and the juices in the meat were preserved well, also the cheese in koftas was not overpowering and formed a lovely lacey texture when cut open.

Also had the sultan (2 plate) which comprises of adna kebab, kuzu, shish kebab, chicken shish, lamb chops and tomato kebab. I’m a hardcore carnivore so I conveniently ate everything on this platter except for the tomato. Loved this so much. So difficult to decide my favorite element from this platter but I would go for the shish kebabs. They were amazing!

The drink I ordered was called Honey roasted pear and I swear I have never tried a drink that is this refreshing before. The combination of honey, vanilla, cinnamon and apple was just mind blowing.

They have amazing variety of steaks and burgers and platters to share. I highly recommend you visit this restaurant with your friends who love meaty delicacies especially authentic Turkish flavors.

For the dessert, I had authentic turkish baklava with vanilla icecream, the baklava was melt in mouth good and added an extra zing to my wonderful dining experience.

Thank you Team Turkish Steak restaurant for hosting me. Your service is superb.

March 22, 2019 0

Turkish food fix done right at PideKeyfi

Can’t afford a visit to Turkey? but miss their adna kebabs and cheesy pide real bad? Then you gotta head over to pide keyfi in JVC where some of the amazing turkish food is being served with 100% authentic flavors.

Their interiors are simple and orange is quite evident, love the candle stand on every table that adds to the ambiance. Also the pretty embossed turkish tea holders are quite wonderful to look at and take pictures with.

For welcome, they bring you a complimentary naan with nigella and sesame seeds on top, this bread is super huge and tastes so good. I tried the mix pide which comes with , minced meat, beef and meat thats topped with gorgeous kashkaval cheese. Loved the flavors there, the cheese was fresh and the bread was soft.

Also had the mix grill kebab platter that comprises of urfa kebab, tikka, chicken shish, chicken wings, kofte, mini lahmachun and kashkaval pide. I can try my best to explain how every element on this platter was but you have to taste it yourself to believe me. I simply loved the koftas, they were so juicy and flavored with subtle spices. The tikka was beautiful, charred from top with amazing spices and I actually replaced urfa kebab with adna because I’m adna kebab fan, those were super tasty too.

And obviously, one can just not leave without having kunafe at a Turkish joint. So we ordered their cheese kunafe and oh boy! was I blown away… It was the most tastiest kunafe I have had in ages and its all because the cheese used wasn’t mozzarella but special kunafe cheese that doesn’t form lacy texture but melts in mouth. It took them a while to prepare this because it was prepared fresh.

Thank you for amazing turkish food fix Team Pide Keyfi. Your staff and service is outstanding. Love how you served us in time despite of several delivery orders. Your staff is well trained in terms of remembering all the items on menu and guiding customers well while we order.

March 11, 2019 0