Fresh flavors from Meals corner

Meals corner located in Sharjah is serving a wide range of meals that mostly revolve around Indian or Indo-Chinese flavors. The restaurant is fairly neat with limited seating space. But their menu is surely amazing.

I started off with a plate of Dahi batata puri chaat which was quite appealing to look at but some flavors were lacking such as spicy hints from green chillies that are essentially a part of chaat in the form of a chutney.

Then I tried their chicken hot and sour soup that was served with complimentary spiral crackers. The soup was too sour for my liking but the broth that was the basis of this soup was very comforting and intense.

I then tried the chicken boneless tikka which was absolutely lip smacking good. The flavors were great, the green chutney that it comes with is super tasty. Don’t be shy when you dip tikka in chutney, be generous 🙂

Then came the chicken schezuan rice with red sauce, I found it particularly tasty, the chicken in rice was not heavily coated and tasted quite lovely. But my favorite was prawn dry chili which were super. The flavors here were so good especially the prawn itself was soft and subtle, not over cooked.

Thank You team Meals Corner for a great lunch.

December 10, 2019 0

Fall in love with grills again.

The city’s finest Grills restaurant has so much to offer such as Salmon, Lamb chops, Grilled pepper chicken and their Chinese Bhel that’s offered complimentary before your meal arrives is simply amazing.

What I loved most about Back to Grills was the fact that it is great in all three areas: Food, Look and feel of the restaurant and service. It is a fairly small place with outdoor seating available as well serving Grilled, Asian, Continental and BBQ cuisines. Their food hygiene has been rated Excellent, which is a plus point.

One cannot help but notice the colorful decor inside the restaurant including the creative wood art where the restaurant name plate is placed. The menu is vast with everything from salads to grills, shareable platters, Asian bowls, sizzlers, burgers, mocktails and milkshakes and so much more.

We started off with the chinese bhel that was refreshing unlike the heavy buns and cheese sticks you get as a complimentary starter in most of the restaurants. Our first item on the table was B2G fiery prawns that were a treat for the eyes and soul. Beautifully drenched in a coconut oil based marinade, the prawns were an absolute hit. I would like to mention here that the presentation was extra ordinary.

We then had shareable non-veg platter that comprised of shish tawok, smoked chicken leg, chicken tikka, turkish lamb kebabs and lamb boti. Everything on this platter was pretty good. I specifically loved the lamb kebabs, they were so tender and the combination of spices here was amazing.

On the side, I was sipping Pattaya Breeze that’s made from Guava, galangal (you can think of this as ginger’s sister) and tobasco. Yep! you heard that right! And it tastes beautiful! I would totally recommend you order this one.

I loved their asian bowl- Kung Pao chicken, the sauce was so tangy and intense and the noodles on the side were subtle with bits of fried garlic that paired so well together. I feel this should be a must have dish here.

For Dessert, I had to go with Tangerine baked yogurt as I was curious to what is this, Yes! I have never had baked yogurt which is why I wanted to try it here and I am so glad that I did. It was wonderful! The flavor was like having warm ricotta cheese with tangerine on a cold night. *gosh*

Thank you so much Team Back to grills for having us over. So impressed with the quality of food that I have already planned my next visit.

November 6, 2019 0

Just one of those days when dressing up feels like a chore and I end up eating in my car. Blessed to be in Dubai especially on such days because there are numerous dine-in-your-car places where people just park their cars and eat at the ease of their comfort. Headed over to Rabbash cafeteria in mamzar where finding a parking spot is always an issue but because it was a weekday, I found parking easily.

I ordered chicken funtasia and zinger chicken waffle burger, both came with curly fries and ketchup mayo. But the food took long time to arrive. I waited more than 30 minutes in the car and that left me a bit disappointed.

I liked funtasia, it was generously filled with black olives, cheese, chicken and onion bits. The bread wasn’t oily at all, I have had funtasia from numerous restaurants previously and most of them were dripping with oil but this one was nice and dry.

The zinger chicken waffle burger can be improved as the waffle was too doughy and not crispy at all. Believe me, I had it instantly so the fact that it wasn’t hot the moment they delivered it only gets challenging once the delivered food is consumed late. I am yet to try the shakes and desserts from here. Fingers crossed for my next visit/order.

August 20, 2019 0

Famous Dave’s serving passion

You know when there’s “famous” in the name of a restaurant, you gotta figure that out and see what is all that about. Hence, my visit to The Famous Dave’s in Festival City Mall located on level 1 with views of the gorgeous waterfront and LED show; you are bound to fall in love with the restaurant. What I love the most is their staff’s courtesy and the way they make you feel like home/family, they were so friendly that even my bossy toddler gave one of the staff a hi-five.

We decided to sit indoors and started browsing the menu that had several options to choose from. While we were busy doing that, the server brought us a basket of fresh potato chips sprinkled with herbs and salt. He also briefed us about the kinds of sauces on the table and what each sauce is made of and how does it taste. I personally loved the Texas pit because it paired so well with the tacos but more on that later 😉

From the famous American steaks to the barbecued ribs, you can choose anything you like. I had my heart set on the crispy chicken tacos while my husband ordered the Dave’s fried chicken that comes with fries and pickles. The tacos were out of this world! They were literally good enough to sweep my feet off the floor. Crispy chicken with fresh lettuce, zesty lime chipotle and the salsa were just meant to be together, the cherry on cake was fresh jalapenos on top. I am definitely recommending the tacos. Even though these were perfect, I drenched them in the Texas pit and sweet and sour sauces and had a ball!

The fried chicken was pretty amazing as well. Loved the charred chicken skin that was just golden and all the juices ran on the inside, the flavors were subtle unless you order the hot one. The smoked beef was brilliant! Packed with bags of flavors, this is a sure shot to your heart. Portion size was perfect for 2;I would say but if you’ve had a long day, Go for it man!

August 18, 2019 0

Chicken broast to live for

I have always heard people say “That food was to die for” and realized why would you die for a food that’s really good? Therefore, this new intervention from a kind hearted foodie is that this chicken I ordered from Fresh Chicken King was to live for. I want to have this at least once a month. Their broasted chicken was spicy and crispy.

I also ordered their rice with chicken kebabs but those weren’t that good. I felt the kebab needed some strong spices other than salt. Rice were too thick as well so I won’t recommend you that one. I feel they have so much variety in the crispy fried chicken section. There’s extra crispy one and a spicier one. I tried the simple broasted chicken and I gotta say it was fabulous! totally recommended.

They have various branches around Dubai so try those as well. I ordered from the Qusais branch and I plan to visit them directly next time because what’s better than freshly fried chicken coming straight to your plate.

August 14, 2019

Hyderabadi Heaven- Nizamat Restaurant

Nizamat is a family restaurant located in the busiest areas of Dubai- meena bazar. They have good seating space inside as well as outside. They even have arrangement of pedestal fans for people who wish to sit outside in summers. The first thing you will notice as you walk inside, it will be the smiles on their staff’s faces. The staff was courteous and efficient in terms of suggesting what to order and how many people will the portion size cater to.

We asked the server to bring us their best seller dishes from the menu and that’s why we started off with their non-vegetarian kebab platter that’s recommended for 2 people. This platter comprises of Mutton seekh kebab, reshmi kebab, pahadi kebab and fresh green chutney. There are two of each kind of kebabs. My favorite was the pahadi kebab as it was spiced well and char grilled to perfection. Each of the kebab on this platter was beautiful in its own way and none of them were over loaded with spices or salt which is usually common in barbecue kebabs else where.

To pair up with the kebabs, our server brought us fresh orange juice with pulp which was such a treat. We were then served chicken chilli dry that looked amazing, the chef made extra effort and decorated sliced cucumbers as hearts. I found it cute 🙂 But the dish itself lacked that kick of spice and burnt garlic flavor.

Next came our favorite dish, chicken hyderabadi dum biryani. Offcourse, we were there to indulge in some serious biryani game and honestly we were not disappointed. Loved the flavors in biryani especially the tender chicken that was marinated 24 hours before cooking with the biryani rice. The raaita (yogurt dip) served with biryani had grated cucumber in it that enhanced the flavor of biryani in combination.

Lastly, we were served double ka meetha for dessert. It is an authentic hyderabadi dessert that’s made with fried bread dipped in sugar syrup and then eventually cooked in saffron milk, that’s where it gets it orange color from 🙂

We had to end this fantastic meal with a warm cup of saffron tea. It was so soothing and relaxing.

I wiped off all the dessert in one go. It was so soft and creamy! absolutely recommended. Thank you Team Nizamat for such a wonderful dining experience. I am definitely coming back with my big fat family.

Plus points: Nizamat caters to your events or any location you’d like them to cater to. Their minimum order requirement depends on the area you want delivery but its usually 50 Aed plus. How cool is that?

August 6, 2019 0

Expect the best from Manoushe street

Known for their mouth watering Levantine cuisine from healthy breakfasts to nutritious wraps and pizzas along with old time Lebanese favorites Manakeesh & kaak; all in a street corner bakery set up. This time I tried their delivery service from the Mizhar outlet located in aswaq mall. The delivery was efficient and everything was packed neatly especially the dessert jar and salad bowl.

I tried the Long life quinoa salad which comprised of beetroot, perfectly cooked quinoa, pomegranate, flax seeds, leafy greens with an amazing blueberry balsamic dressing that binds it all together in a fantastic way.

Since I am an absolute fan of flavored green teas, I was ecstatic to see chun mei green tea on their menu and so I tried it. This one was ginger, honey and lemon grass blended nicely with brewed green tea. I found it a bit on the stronger side, so I suggest you drink it cold because it tastes way better that way. The kick you get from ginger here is super intense.

Pepperoni pizza was the first one I butchered, it is always no brainer to order this one as its a sure shot to impress you and the guests, the pepperoni was fresh and juicy while the cheesy bread made a wonderful base.

Zaatar manakeesh was ever so fresh, in addition to this; it was garnished with fresh herbs and diced tomatoes to enhance the flavor.

The street style Burek was my favorite, this one was beefyshroom. Strips of beef, onions, bell peppers are all tucked in a crusty dough with 3 kinds of cheese and then baked. Just grab this as soon as it arrives because its best enjoyed hot.

The dessert was lotus cheesecake labelled as “addictive lotus cheesecake” on the menu. I have zero doubts about this dessert being addictive since the caramelized lotus melts in mouth with velvety soft creame cheese. Please don’t leave without trying this one!

July 22, 2019

Pakistani chinese food in Sharjah

I know its a cardinal sin to admire Pakistani fusion of Chinese cuisine but I can’t help it. Growing up in Pakistan, I always enjoyed the Chinese food served there at various restaurants. Peking in Sharjah serves exactly those amazing dishes with a fairly average ambiance and several options to choose from in their menu. What caught my attention was the server’s dress code wearing a lovely kimono, she was efficient with the menu and even guided us about serving sizes.

I ordered american chopsuey, egg fried rice, chilli ginger chicken and chicken sizzling manchurian. The chilli ginger chicken was my favorite as it wasn’t loaded with chilli or garlic, the flavor of boneless chicken blended so well with all the other ingredients.

I felt American chopsuey was a let down as the one I used to have back in Pakistan was served with a fried egg on top and I believe that’s how this dish is supposed to be served.

Chicken sizzling manchurian was nicely done, it sizzled all the way. The flavors were pretty good except for the quantity of chilli in there that I felt could have been a tad bit higher. Nevertheless, it was good and I recommend you try this one along with the ginger chilli chicken.

The fried rice were average. Nothing special about them. May I suggest the chefs to tweak these with some burnt garlic to give that amazing authentic fried rice flavor 🙂

I apologize for having no pictures to put up with this blog post as I was starving at the restaurant and gobbled up the dishes pretty quickly.

July 16, 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

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

Kulfilicious- Your best bud for the summers

With the heavy summers approaching, kulfi and falooda are desserts that help bear the heat with a smile on our face. But only if they are made with perfection, the flavors and textures should be spot on. Hence, this place “Kulfilicious” that has over 12 outlets in Dubai. This blog is about the Deira branch that is also listed as Al Muteena under zomato. Its a colorful place with old bollywood timeless movie posters and the songs that they play are from the same movies. Their quirky stools, tables and a rickshaw inside are so instagrammable.

We started off by placing our orders: one for the royal kulfi falooda and the other was Gud Bud that’s based on a custard instead of kulfi and has more dry fruits in there. The best bit for all you vegetarian fans out there is that this comes with a vegetarian jelly also.

Loved the crunchy texture of gud bud, it had rose flavored milk at the bottom that was amazing if you eat and sip together. Super refreshing for any day of the year.

For the royal kulfi falooda, my three flavors were: Gulab daani, kaajuddin and malaika (rose, cahsew and creame) Loved the combination of these three. However, if you don’t want your falooda to be overly sweet then don’t choose gulaabdaani. I love the flavor of rose and the sweetness to it therefore I will always choose this one 🙂

The cherry on top is that they don’t use any preservatives and all the flavors are made locally. The service was pretty great and I highly recommend you try their desserts at any time of the day. You won’t regret 🙂

May 9, 2019 0