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

Treats you can trust – Afters

Afters is a gorgeous dessert parlor in Al-seef serving fancy and sinfully indulgent desserts that are made from scratch. Their ice creams and gelato are anything but ordinary. The fact that you can enjoy such amazing desserts sitting by serene views is what remains the highlight of your day.

Their interiors are chic and lots of dessert quotes are framed to the wall with major puns intended. Their staff members are always smiling and hard working.

Now, it will be a challenge for you to decide what to order because every flavor of icecream tastes beautiful and pure. I assure you, no matter what you decide to order; you will be happy with its quality. For me, my heart was set on the King ferrero Sundae. It was a blend of fererro rocher, chocolate ice cream and hazelnut served with chocolate and caramel sauce, garnished with fererro rocher chunks, nuts, whipped creame and Florentine wafers.

Its portion size was enough to be shared among three people.

Then I had the most prettiest waffle with generous topping of exotic fruits and a scoop of ice cream and sauce of my choice (I chose lotus ice cream and hazelnut sauce).

The fruits were not canned, they were fresh and in abundance. So glad to have been here, the desserts are surely going to spoil you. Thank you for serving us the best team Afters, I look forward to visiting you again soon.

January 5, 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 chaaps in Dubai- Sadak Chaap

Sadak chaap is a small newly opened place in Karama (food street of Dubai). Their menu is simple and full of some beautiful flavors merged together to give you a fulfilling appetite. For readers, who don’t know what a chaap is, its actually small pieces of soya that are marinated in different spices and baked. Soya chaap contains more protein than eggs, meat, fish or milk. It is the best source of protein for vegan foodies who also wish to delve into an arena of flavors.

Their menu has such catchy items like “aam aadmi ki drink” and chaaps belonging to different states from Delhi to Italy. They’ve got it all!

Welcome Drink:

I started off with “Sadak Chaas” that tastes exactly like a mint and chilli chutney but even more intense. Don’t gulp it down like a glass of lassi or you will choke because it has some serious kick of spices. It’s meant to be enjoyed in small sips.

Chaap platter:

The chaap platter had chaaps from different states. There were delhi chaap, gujrati chaap, rajasthani chaap, haryanvi chaap, lahori chaap and I tell you that every single one of these tasted different. (in a good way)

I know you must be curious about the Italian chaap so let’s discuss this first, it was loaded with creamy cheese and had subtle spiciness to it. The Delhi chaap was similar, only creamy and no cheese.
My favorite chaap was Rajasthani because there were visible chili flakes on it.

Chaap curry was absolutely spot on! tasted so much like butter chicken (even better). The whole wheat paratha that came with it was so soft and tasty. Both paired amazingly well together.

The chaap in curry was velvety soft and melts in the mouth. Its amazing how their chefs manage to give so many flavors to one item.

Also, tried the delhi chaap roll. They actually let you customize your own roll but I was quite happy with their selection of delhi chaap roll in the soft paratha. It was so creamy from the inside. And the mint chutney was its best match.

Jaggery tea:

The jaggery tea was beautiful in terms of flavor and sweet element. Loved it. And guess what? It’s only priced at 3 aed.

Thank you for your hospitality Team Sadak chaap. I applaud your creativity in terms of menu and flavor of the dishes served. Many thanks.

December 31, 2018 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

Exploring Grano coffee house vibes

Grano coffee is right outside rigga metro station and they have raised the dessert game to another level by serving warm crepes, waffles and pancakes along with some freshly brewed coffee, latte, cappuccino, espresso and americano.

You’ll notice people working on their laptops while sipping on their shakes and fresh coffee. The coffee house has some cozy vibes with comfortable couch to spend some quality time at.

I tried their nutella crepe which was beautifully wrapped in luscious nutella and the crepe itself was velvety soft. There were crushed lotus biscuits inside the crepe that elevated my happiness. Then I got my hands on the chocolate mini pancakes that were utterly delicious and I would recommend these to people who don’t want to have too much chocolate.

Next, came the chocolate mini waffles that were little blocks of heaven. They were rich and creamy and the moment you bite into one, the chocolate burst is unbelievable.

Sushi crepe was awesome! there were fresh strawberries lined across the crepe and the entire dessert turned out fantastic.

Their pistachio shake was the real deal! I would definitely recommend you order that.

Thank you for having us grano coffee. Loved the cozy vibes. A definite recommendation!

December 21, 2018 0

Netflix and chill with Debonairs Pizza

I think you all are going to agree with the fact that Netflix and chill go very well with pizzas. Last weekend, I ordered debonair’s pizza and binge watched “House of cards”.

I went to their website and the 99 Aed/. deal got me shook. It was three large pizzas for 99 only. So I went for it and ordered a spicy chicken pizza (double stack), Hawaiian chicken pizza and chicken mushroom pizza. I found the online ordering system a bit difficult as from the moment you choose the pizza flavor, all the sub-categories that show up are confusing. For example, when I chose spicy chicken pizza (29 aed) were already added to my cart and then I was asked to choose toppings where the options were cheese, veg toppings, non veg toppings and sauces. Now, for a moment I thought why would I have to add cheese separately, isn’t that what pizza usually comes with? Then I figured out, it must be extra. I suggest the management to add the word extra to the options so it becomes clear.

I added only one instruction with the order that said “please bring the order on time and it should be hot” and they lived it up to it. The pizza was actually 2 minutes earlier than the given time frame.

The spicy chicken pizza was really good, love the fiery jalapenos with creamy cheese. But the bread was really hard and chewy.

Loved this one, the pineapples on top were perfectly caramelized but the dough was still hard.

This was super delicious, especially if you have someone in friends/family who doesn’t like spicy food. It was subtle and tasty. he mushrooms were grilled well but the dough was same hard and chewy.

Overall, I love the variety of flavors to choose from but the dough was pretty troublesome. Thank you for delivering us delicious pizzas Team Debonairs.

December 19, 2018 0

Top 5 Best Shawarma spots in Dubai

Dubai is the hub of some of the best shawarmas mainly because the origin of shawarma is rooted in Middle East. Although the invention of this great goodness of a roll, belongs to Turkey, Arabic world accepted it generously and it’s a signature food item to indulge in while in Middle East. It’s a wrap with turkey, veal, chicken, beef, lamb or even a combination of different meats. We love it because its convenient, quick, healthy, satisfying and the variety is endless. Here, I am listing my favorite shawarma spots in Dubai:

1.Al-Safadi:

Straight out of the rotating cone of meat into your shawarma comes juicy thick shaves of meat along with a mildly flavored mayo sauce and a few jalapenos to tickle your taste buds. Al-safadi in Dubai is very famous for their expertise in Lebanese cuisine and is always crowded with people dining in and others waiting in queue to be seated.

2.Todays Restaurant:

This one is a hidden Dubai shawarma gold spot. Located in Al-Nahda 2, this small place serves amazing shawarma wraps that are drool-worthy. I tried their chicken shawarma (non-spicy) and it I have a vivid memory of those creamy sauces and the double khubuz wrapped around hot grilled chicken shavings.

3.Laffah Restaurant:

Toasted to perfection should be their slogan. Although famous for their non-conventional (uber delish) potato chips; they serve one of the best chicken shawarmas in town. Roll up your sleeves and dive into the crispy, juicy tahina along with their scrumptious garlic sauce dripping session of deliciousness which you have to earn after a long waiting for parking and don’t forget the traffic around this place but hey! Good food doesn’t come easy eh?! P.s They have also opened up in Abu Hail.

4.Shiraz Nights:

A warm and nice little place located in Baniyas square; serves one of the best shawarmas. Their bread is what separates regular shawarmas from the one you get here; meat shavings are packed with bags of flavors and the pickled veggies on the side just add to the entire equation. Parking issues alert!

5.Al-Ijaza Cafeteria:

If you’re looking for a shawarma that fits right in the category of comfort food in UAE, then this is your place my foodie friends. Located near Mercato Mall, Jumeirah; this place serves awesome shawarmas. A quick advice, visit only after sunset hours because they are barely serving anything during the daytime.

December 17, 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