Carluccio's at Dubai Mall

There's always a strange fuzzy positive feeling when I drive into Dubai, especially when its usually from Abu Dhabi ... across the desert, into an oasis of imposing buildings, fantastic infrastructure and ... speed cameras (which actually work!).


Thanks to MD's recommendation, I went to Carluccio's at Dubai Mall one evening.
Tel: +971 4 434 1320
Opening hours: 8am - midnight (8am, really!? Better call ahead first, that's what it says on the website, but I don't believe it!)


My choice ... a simple spaghetti vongolle with clams. About RM$50, which I thought was good value, considering this was Dubai Mall :-) Taste-wise I thought it was good, but not spectacular. The clams were very fresh though, and the pasta was about the most perfect al-dente I have ever had!


The carnage at the end of my meal :-)


I washed down my pasta with Homemade Lemonade (20 AED - Rip off!), which I found to be rather blah! Pity they didn't serve any wine to accompany the pasta ;-)

The view driving out of Dubai Mall ... and out of Jebel Ali, on the outskirts of Dubai ... Till next time, adieu.

Brunetti - Dubai Mall

Tel: +971 4 339 8173
Located: Ground floor of the Dubai Mall (opposite the aquarium)


Snippet from EyeofDubai.com ...
Experience a slice of Italy in the new cafe now open at Dubai Mall .
Opening its doors on 12th May 2010 is the renowned Italian caff, Brunetti.
Brunetti, the brainchild of Giorgio Angel, is one of the most iconic restaurants in Melbourne, Australia.

Recommended my MD, I was in Dubai Mall one evening to do some rather special window-shopping, and couldn't resist having a short break at Brunetti. Pity I forgot MD had recommended me the Hot Chocolate. I ordered the Cappucino instead which was rather blah :-(


Similarly, I found the cheesecake to be a wee bit too rich, but I supposed if one really wanted to indulge, this is the sort of cake to be had :-) Hmm, next time I will try the strawberry tarts instead :-)


Some shots of the really nice Dubai Mall ;-) One of the inside and one from the outside ... Yes, its next to the Burj Dubai, gorgeous and epitomises the word "sky scraper".

You can get fried tung fun in Abu Dhabi!

You can get tung-fun in Abu Dhabi ... I rank this as one of the most yummy comfort foods in all of the city ;-) Only at Meena Cafe construction site, by Zelan Group, located at Port Zayed near the Irani / flower souk. SLUuuuuuuuuuuuuurpS!


Pity the 4 AED (Or RM$3.50) char-siew pao here (Chicken actually, not pork lar!) is only very mediocre.


I like the heart-shaped toothpick holders on each table here ;-)

Nespresso ... soon at Abu Dhabi mall!

Late one night at Abu Dhabi mall ... hmmm, there sure are a lot of cars at the TCA (Tourist Club Area) of Abu Dhabi.


I want ... I want Nespresso!

Chicken rice in Abu Dhabi - Wednesdays at Meena Cafe

Wednesday at Meena Cafe, near Port Zayed, is CHICKEN RICE day :-)

I had a choice of steamed or roast chicken, E and myself chose the latter. It was good! Best of all, it cost only slighlty more then RM$13.


Or ... you can have roast duck wan-tan mee in soup :-)




It was so good that I tapaued a portion for work the next day, this time I chose the steamed chicken variety, which was equally good. Perfect with the sweet-ish chicken rice chilli sauce, and I love the fragrant rice ;-) SLURPS!


ps - E, wishing you all the best in your time in Iraq. Cheers bro, and you know you are welcome to visit and eat with me any time in Abu Dhabi, there will be many more trips and meals I am sure!

Jones - Best cappucino and excellent brunch, Abu Dhabi

Best cappucino in Abu Dhabi? Definitely Jones the Grocer, at Al Nahyan Camp area. Perfection!


Poached egg ;-) and a shot of my halal (Yes, really!) "full english breakfast". About RM$40.


MD's Tomato - Mozarella - Olive paste sandwich ... delicious too!

More shots of the local Audi R8

Up close and personal ... that may even be REAL carbon-fibre ;-)


The Audi R8 ... Drooool!


Even as I was walking away, I had to turn around and look at this beauty!

7 years on ... The Bentley Continental GT

Some lucky person is about to take delivery of a brand new Bentley Continental GT ... would you believe this car was first launched in 2003? Time flies!

Mercedes SLS AMG in Abu Dhabi

Spotted this one Friday ;-) Ironically, it was outside Abu Dhabi Motors, the BMW dealership!

This is the spiritual successor to the 300SL Gullwing from the 50s ... Nice!

Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi - By night

My first glimpse of the Grand Mosque with my Nikon D80 one night, brought along the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 this time.


Thanks to Duff for the Manfrotto 190DB tripod, and 496RC2 ball-head ... have to admit I still have a lot to learn with this set-up! Will be back in a week's time for more night shots ;-)

Getting closer ...

In the courtyard ;-) More tripod action!

I like this shot ... looking upwards at the ceiling, as I was leaving at 9:30pm on a Friday night.

A parting shot ... This one was done freehand :-) at ISO400.

Maqtar Fort - Abu Dhabi

Maqta Bridge, Mussafah Bridge ... and the upcoming third bridge by Zaha Hadid is in progress. These are the Three Bridges of Abu Dhabi.


Alone, I walked to Maqtar Fort ... no one there on a Friday, but this Malaysian :-)

This is the Fort, as seen through the eyes of my Nikon D80 and my DX-glass Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. Have recently been shooting with prime Nikkors, but thought I would give my old faithful a work-out :-)

A couple more shots of this little fort ... Hard to believe its 200 years old! So well maintained ;-)

Time to head home ...

Bye...