Ramen experts- Wagamama

I remember walking past Wagamama in London and looking at the long queue outside waiting to be seated in rainy 6 degrees. And in that moment I thought to myself that their food must be legit.
I recently received an invite to Wagamama in university city sharjah for a review and this name surely rang a bell in my head. I instantly said yes and went for the review. Its a lovely place with simple interiors, open kitchen and an outside seating area too.
Before I jump on the description of what I ordered and how it was, I want you to know that their service was top notch!

So, I ordered their steamed chicken and tomato buns that were cloudy soft to touch and were loaded with dynamite sauce, crispy fried chicken and thin slices of fresh tomatoes. I was left wanting for more, so much so that I think I’m going to order more of these the next time I visit. I found them brilliant! (quite, literally!)

Then I laid my hands on the best ramen I have ever had. (I swear!) The winner here was the ramen broth; complex and comforting. If you’re having a bad day, suffering from cold or anything. This ramen speaks to your taste buds on levels you don’t know exist before. The spring onions and red onions make so much sense and the lemon wedge on top equals to the cherry on this cake.

I also had the oh-so-famous Firecracker chicken to see what the fuss was all about and hey! the buzz is real. This dish is going to awestruck you in real ways. Now I know that this dish generally has a whole lot of spiciness in it but what me made me even more excited was the fact that there were other flavors in there too that weren’t overpowered by the high chilli quotient. Sweet, spicy, tangy- all of these were perfectly balanced.

So happy I ordered the wagamama iced tea (strawberry & mango) as it paired very well with the firecracker chicken.

I urge you to put this place on your bucket lists as it is definitely worth a visit!

February 21, 2019 0

Rich flavors and great presentations only at Dillicious

Do you wish to experiment with beautiful looking dishes and don’t want to compromise on the flavor at the same time? You better head out for Dillicious in Karama as they are experts in delicious meals and the presentation of dishes is simply amazing. Along with all this, the prices are super affordable too.

I took one friend and stepped into Dillicious on a fine Saturday afternoon, the staff greeted us well and we couldn’t help but notice the quirky interiors with an actual truck parked inside making the restaurant literally instagram worthy.

We placed our orders and within minutes, our dishes arrived. This makes me so happy when the restaurant does justice to a foodie’s time and brings their order quickly without compromising on the quality. We were served a complimentary starter that had chickpea and yogurt with nice cone shaped papadum.

Then came the showstopper murgh lasooni kebab, they arrived with smoke diffusing out of the container and the whole place smelled like barbecue kebabs. These were absolutely smashing in terms of flavor and tenderness. I highly recommend you order these upon your visit.

I also ordered a samosa chaat that came in a pretty hanging plate and the portion size was amazing, shareable between two people with good appetites. The chaat was loaded with sweet and chilli chutneys, aalu samosa and lots of creamy yogurt.

I then had the handi meat, the color of its curry was so gorgeous that it was salivating my tastebuds as soon as I laid my eyes on it. The meat was tender and the curry was so delicious, not extreme spicy, perfect balance of flavors. If you prefer having naan then order that with this 🙂

Along with all these goodies, I ordered a fresh orange juice and Delhi’s special spiced Shikanji that was star of all the drinks that I have devoured lately. It was a beautiful blend of spiced lemonade that paired well with all the meaty dishes.

For dessert, I had their sizzling brownie that sizzled all the way to our table. It tasted really nice with the vanilla icecream on top. However, I would recommend they don’t heat up the sizzler too much to prevent the brownie from burning from below. The chocolate sauce that came with it was super fun to drizzle and enjoy!

I request you to not leave without their masala tea that’s bang on! it comes in a colorful glass and tastes strong enough to kick start your tired brain.

Thank you for your hospitality Team Dillicious. It was a wonderful dining experience with you 🙂

February 17, 2019 0

Kebabs of your dreams at Mashakeek

Its always a tough decision of “where to eat” when you have been shopping for a long time in the mall. I was starving when I roamed around mall of emirates “Food court” and found this gem. Team Mashakeek are kebab experts, they gave me a tester called “yogurt kebab” and that’s when I made my mind that I would like to have this.

I ordered a mix grill shareable platter with lots of different kebabs, you can tell the servers to customize kebabs according to your liking that is if you want to opt for chicken only or beef only or both. The platter comes with rotis and rice and salad and raita (herb spiced yogurt)

The platter was delicious, all the kebabs in there were tender, cooked perfectly and flavored with well balanced spices. I didn’t like the chicken malai kebab though. It was a tad bit bland.

Also tried the mint lemonade that is part of the deal. It was really nice and fresh. I would recommend you try this place yourself and share with me your experience 🙂

February 10, 2019 0

At Grubshack- It’s always hot!

Grubshack is famous for their take on sea food dishes such as prawns, fish and crabs. Every dish on their menu stands out in terms of flavor and quality. I personally love their spice quotient that matches my palate in a beautiful kind of way.

Their ambiance is relatively dark and cozy with some gorgeous music playing live as you dig into your meal. I love how they have decorated the place so effortlessly, it looks neat and pretty especially if you visit in day light. The candles and wooden furniture give you some real positive vibes.

Gemma’s double dragon king prawns

Beef croquettes

Started off with Gemma’s double dragon King prawns that came with smoke falling out from eveywhere and it tasted amazing, The prawns were marinated beautifully in the spicy red sauce and I just couldn’t get enough of these.

Also tried the beef croquettes that were velvety soft and so tender, the beef was mashed perfectly and rolled into cylinders that were then deep fried or baked.

Chicken lollipops were yet another item that was spot on! it was super crispy on the outside and the spices were inside the chicken too. Loved these.

I was so happy to see my favorite dish come in that I always order when I visit these guys. Its none other than the Tawwa tandoori chicken. Its chicken with bone in that has been marinated with tangy lemon and spicy chillies, its served with sliced lemons and tastes absolutely beautiful. I would recommend you this dish as a must have.

I did not find Gemma’s mango fish curry that appealing, probably because I am not fond of fish in a curry. I felt that this curry needed more zesty element to it. Do give this one a try and let me know how you liked yours?

The chicken burnt garlic and chili fried rice were so delicious, the flavor of burnt garlic literally stands out.

Munna bhai’s mutton rohanjosh is amazing simply because the mutton is cooked to perfection, so tender than you touch it with a fork and it falls apart.

There’s a kulfi cart parked inside in collaboration with Kulfilicious. I had their mango kulfi and royal kulfi falooda. Both were splendid!

February 9, 2019 0

Brand new Filli select in La Mer (Dubai)

Filli has been enormously famous around the world especially among people who enjoy a strong cup of tea. Their tea is outrageously famous and many are not even aware that they serve some sandwiches, wraps and other snacks too.
Recently, Filli launched a full fledged restaurant catering to global flavors with inventive menu that promises a wonderful dining experience. The interiors are elegant and classy with super comfortable sofa seats to sit and chat all day. I was invited to an exclusive blogger’s event here last week and I was ecstatic to see the place and so many of my blogger friends.

Service could use some improvement, Now i completely understand that an event takes a lot of hard work and the kitchen is full and busy so that results in delayed orders. I got my food after 2 hours of placing the order but I didn’t feel that time because I was chatting with my friends. My only concern is that I had to place the order 4 times to separate staff members for some reason.

Tea Bites:

As I entered the restaurant at 4:00 pm, I was given a menu that had so many options to choose from. For the first section (Tea bites) I opted for keema paratha and ordered a drink simultaneously called “paan mojito” The drink was pretty amazing with subtle hints of paan. I liked it!

The Keema paratha was a wrap that looked pretty with grilled marks on top. As I took my first bite, a long trail of oil seeped out of it and I wondered how much oil there is in this roll. The flavors were really mild that one couldn’t feel them at all. I wish there were enough spices in this one.

Salads:

I chose quinoa salad and it was presented beautifully. The intricate details were amazing. It was fresh but bland with no punch. Just because its a salad, it doesn’t mean you can’t add flavors to it. Usually quinoa salads are served with tangy dressings to compensate the flavors but this one came with no dressing whatsoever.

Burgers & Sandwiches:

In this section, I chose tri colored chicken sliders that came in red, black and green colored buns. The chicken in the sliders was creamy with no spices, there was no heat, no feel of taste at all. I would have liked it even if it had salt and pepper only.

Mains:

I ordered the char-grilled chicken and it was pretty good. The presentation was gorgeous. that made it look super amazing and the chicken was cooked to perfection. I would recommend you order this upon your visit.

Desserts:

I ordered sticky toffee cake and chocolate brownie, both were tasty! Loved the fudgy brownie and soft moist toffee cake. I recommend you order the sticky toffee cake.

When you come to Filli, you can’t leave without having their tea and it came with a biscuit to relish the comforting cup of tea. It was absolutely wonderful.

Thank you for having me over on your blogger’s event Team Filli Select.

February 6, 2019 0

Food with integrity at Bombay Dreams

It is almost so rare that I visit a restaurant for review and everything on the menu speaks to the foodie in me on another level. I happen to visit Bombay dreams in Oud Mehta for a blogger’s meet and was awestruck by the dishes served. The food made me so happy, there were genuine flavors packed inside each dish and I would highly recommend you take your loved ones here even if they don’t usually enjoy a pure vegetarian meal.

Bombay dreams served 100% vegetarian dishes with a blend of aromatic flavors and spices to tempt your taste buds. Their interiors and simple and neat, colorful walls with hand paintings. The menu is quite vast so take your time before you order.

Indian Starters:

The first starter that I tried was Beetroot tikki, that’s basically mashed beetroot with coriander and cheese rolled into a ball and dunked in bread crumbs and eventually deep fried or baked. It tasted amazing! I feel i’m short for words to describe this here. It was the right kind of spicy and sweet. The cheese was just lovely on the inside!

Next, I had the Batata Hibiscus where baby potatoes were covered in strawberry chutney. The flavors here were pretty awesome.

Halloumi cigar was another appetizer that tasted delicious. It was simple cigar stuffed with halloumi cheese topped with fried onion.

Then came the Sambal Tofu where fried tofu was tossed in chilli sauce and spring onions. The best bit of this dish was Sambal, it had a kick to its chili quotient. I’m not much of a fan when it comes to tofu but this one was pretty nice.

The other item that stood out was Bird eye chili paneer, the crispy potato along with creamy capsicum and chili paneer was fantastic.

Mains:

All the main course dishes were amazing, my favorites were Thai khichri, tomatillo risotto and snow white pasta. Thai khichri is a must have, its super creamy and has a zesty tomato punch that makes the khichri overall beautiful.

The portion sizes were quite generous. I suggest you share between two people.

Desserts:

As you know the trend of theatre food has gone viral and everyone seems to enjoy it. One dessert “Ghewar with cucmber gelato” was presented dramatically with smoke coming out from the sides and eveything. I personally loved the flavors in this, the cucumber gelato was creamy and the taste of cucumber was quite evident.

I request you to visis Bombay Dreams with big apetite and high hopes as this restaurant’s food is not going to disappoint you! Also, its really pocket friendly.

February 3, 2019 0

Crave the taste- Projeto Acai

There’s a new trend at the breakfast table and everyone seems to be enjoying it. It’s the Acai bowl that’s in fashion. Generally, Acai is a berry that contains antioxidants, fiber and heart healthy fats as well as a lot of other nutrients. It has a versatile flavor that perfectly compliments other ingredients and is usually served with strawberries and other fruits and nuts.

Projeto Acai is a small place in Marina, Dubai where the colorful interiors represent thier menu. Such wide variety of poke bowls. acai bowls, salads, wraps and mocktails to choose from.

I ordered the Walnut and feta salad, it was prepared with such elegance that every bite of this salad was crunchy, zesty and full of flavors. It had dried raisins, caramelized walnuts and red cabbage with subtle hints of balsamic vinegar and feta cheese.

For the acai, I chose “Samba” which is their best seller. It has strawberries, mangoes, banana, granola and walnuts. It was a beautiful bowl of goodness that tasted perfect. I think I can give up on ice cream forever If I get this in exchange.

While choosing poke bowl, I opted for the “six pack salmon” because the description made a really pretty picture in my head and to my surprise, it was even more colorful. The base of this bowl was buckwheat noodles, wild salmon, edamame beans cucumber, mango, avocado and garnished with sesame seeds, spring onions and coriander sauce. The portion size was so generous, even though I chose the small sized bowl.

February 3, 2019 0

Take your Shake buds to another level

A newly opened place in Qusais serving game changer shakes, mocktails, faludas and so much more. Specializing in some amazing shakes, they are bound to sweep your feet off ground with original treats made from fresh fruits and no preserved or canned goods.

They have colorful interior with a small seating area. The frames are handmade with a hashtag of the artist to follow if you’re a fan. Needless to say, I instantly did so. I will be sharing the pictures and you can too do the same. (#mamaNUH)

I tried their dry fruits falooda that was literally full of dry fruits inside out! it was priced at 12 Aed/. which is super affordable for a glass full of such nutritious flavors. There were raisins, cashew nuts, almonds and pistachios in there to enhance the flavor of faluda.

Next, we had the fresca’s that was a blend of iced milk and fresh strawberries. It tasted beautiful and unlike usual shakes that are loaded with sugar, this was awesome.

Tried the mango juggernaut as well. Plenty of fresh mangoes over lots of thick creme. It was tasty!

Also had the Habibie’s choice with fresh figs and creame to take your shake buds to another level. It was pretty cool and blended to perfection. I would highly recommend you visit this place to indulge in some crazy shake madness.

February 1, 2019 0

A lot more than just Hot dogs

If you keep up with my blog, you’ll remember the delicious hot dog spread I shared few days back. I visited the same place but a different location this time to check out their burgers and desserts.

First of all, the one in Kite beach was just a food truck whereas this one is a full fledged restaurant with a proper seating area including outdoor seating as well with quirky interiors. And an open kitchen to watch all the live action. The staff is amazing and friendly, but the service needs improvement.

I ordered the burger box but because they use a different menu in the restaurant as compared to the one on zomato. The staff was confused and they served me a hot dog box, I returned that one and requested for a single burger so I may taste it. As I have already reviewed the hot dogs.

Hot dog box

The burger was delicious, it had double beef patty with grilled cheese, lettuce and tomato. The flavors were pretty awesome, only the fact that the beef was a little tough was disappointing, rest was great.

Beef Burger

Also, had the onion rings, they were crispy and hot! loved em’

For dessert, I ordered the chocolate fondant which comes with a scoop of vanilla icecream. The classic combination of hot chocolate fondant and chilled vanilla icecream is always a hit and you may never go wrong with this one!

I would recommend you visit their kite beach branch, somehow I prefer the food truck over the restaurant.

January 31, 2019 0

Dubai is Juicing up at Jungle Juice

Juicing, detoxing and cleansing have taken over the dieting industry by storm in the recent times promising healthy, young, radiant skin, potential weight loss and an improved clarity of mind.

Jungle juice is a famous juice chain in Dubai that offers various combination of juices including, fruits, vegetables, muesli and nutella.

I happen to visit this place pretty often and their service has always been amazing. I have tried thier “genius” smoothie that is a blend of avocado, nutella and milk. This smoothie is labelled under the category of “natural boosters”. It was wonderful and tasted pretty great.

The other one that I always order is “pink lady” that’s a blend of watermelon, guava and strawberry. It tastes so refreshing and exotic. I recommend you order this one!

January 27, 2019 0

Donut burger- Hit or Miss?

Recently, Hardees launched their donut burger priced at 16 Aed/. which is only available at the Dubai mall branch. I remember being ecstatically nervous to try it since the moment I heard this news. So, I grabbed my nol card and took the first metro towards Burj Khalifa station, throughout the way I imagined myself devouring soft donut and juicy beef patty… sigh!

Upon reaching Hardees, I ordered my burger with plain fries and water. I was given a paper and pen to put down my review of the burger, once I am done eating. The moment I touched it, my fingers felt sticky and I noticed the donut was glazed. Anyway, I took my first bite and my eyes went wide open in shock. I told my husband “omg! its sweet” and he couldn’t understand what I said because my mouth was full of the bite. I munched and swallowed quickly and told him again. This time loud and clear; “This burger is sweet” The donut was a sugar glazed donut, it wasn’t just shaped as a donut. It was an actual donut with a beef patty and cheese inside. I didn’t know what to feel in that very moment. Anyway, I continued eating the beef patty and cheese separately while the donut in the end.

I request you to re-launch this burger minus the sugar in donut. Keep it savory and watch the crowd go wild!.

January 27, 2019 0

Stay for the fun at Chowking

If you’re having one of those days when you just don’t feel like having the ordinary usual meals, you gotta visit chowking for the innovative chinese dishes and so much variety on the menu in such affordable price and amazing service. Their team makes sure that you’re having a wonderful dining experience.

I happen to visit this restaurant several times for their fried chicken, I am in love with how they do it. It remains crispy, juicy and salty (in a good way) but this time I tried a lot of other dishes on the menu. Started off with an intensely strong iced tea that was really nice and also tried their milk ice tea that had tea jelly on top. (brownie points for creativity) Loved it!

Appetizers:

I had the dimsum platter which was composed of 4 pcs. vegetable spring rolls, 4pcs. dimsums including beef and chicken ones and 4pcs. fried chicken balls. My favorite were the crispy spring rolls that came with a sweet chilli sauce to dip in. Surprisingly, I loved the dimsums as well, its rare that I like dimsums anywhere but these guys nailed them!

Then I had their vegetarian sweet and sour soup which was quite strong and didn’t work with my palate so I didn’t liked it that much but the veg. sweet corn soup was delicious. It even had steamed broccoli in it.

Main courses:

Started off with veg. hakka noodles that looked beautiful in the skillet topped with some crushed fried onions. Where my fellow bloggers thought it was bland and needed spices, I found it pretty nice and comforting.

Followed by this, was my favorite main course served here that was the prawn thai curry. It was a perfect blend of spicy curry and prawns cooked with bell peppers, I suggest you have it with the fried rice to enjoy fully.

I highly recommend you their cauliflower manchurian as it was amazing, cauliflower was roasted to perfection and the manchurian sauce paired so well with it.

Then, I moved on to the sweet and sour fish which I loved, the fish was soft and tender while the sauce was a little too sweet for me.

Thank you for such an amazing evening Team Chowking. Loved having your hearty meals. Can’t wait to drop by again soon.

January 24, 2019 0