Real Crisps - Hand cooked from the UK

This is ... REAL! Handcooked Sea Salt Potato Crisps ;-)

Its from ... Newport, Gwent in the UK

I had brought this back from the UK over a month ago, and one night ... decided to have a snack. Some of the best chips / crisps I have EVER had! Perfectly salted, lightly fried, full of flavour. Magnificent!

Dooyoo.co.uk excerpt ....

The packing is quite quirky and each flavour has, interestingly enough, a picture of a real person on the front. Their image is what the flavour is supposed to taste like. For instance, the sea salt I am reviewing has an elderly fisherman/sailor on the front. He quite reminds me of Uncle Albert in Only Fools and Horses. This is where the reference to the sea (salt) comes from.
The packaging of the outer and the actual crisps packets are quite unusual as they are not a glossy, shiny finish, they are more subtle - they are not brash looking, more refined I would say, in a satin finish. The actual crisps packet is identical to the outer (pictured above) so you will know what to look for.
Real state on the packet that, and I quote 'When it comes to crisps, we don't mess about. Oh no. We pick out the best potatoes and hand cook them, so the goodness stays put. No nonsense.'

Full English Breakfast - Jones of Abu Dhabi

Jones The Grocer

Location: Al Nahyan Camp area, off Muroor Road

Tel: +971 2 4438 762

Ahhh ... nothing like a full english for brunch :-)

Scrambled egg, beef sausage wrapped in beef bacon, sauteed mushrooms, and grilled tomato ... Good stuff! About 43 AED, or RM35.

Best cappucino in town ... but you already knew that!

MD saw the waitress walking by with a Strawberry tart ... We couldn't resist. It was really good, light and not overly sweet. 17 AED, or RM15.

Lebanese at Atayeb - Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi

Add: The Yas Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
• Located: 25 km from Abu Dhabi city centre
• Tel: +971 2 656 0760
• 

Mediterranean-Lebanese food is served at this rather posh restaurant, in Yas Hotel, next to the Yas Marina F1 circuit :-) This is ... Atayeb.

Starters were rather dissapointing, very blah ... Cost about 30 AED per dish.

My lamb mixed grill (130 AED or about RM 110) was a lot tastier, especially the lamb on a skewer, so tender! Its a LOT of lamb ... eat slowly :-)

You have a choice of sitting in air-conditioned comfort, or at the large verandah area facing the Formula One track!

More views from the verandah ... we chose to sit inside, as it was 37c by night here in the summer time, and VERY humid!

I like the view inside :-) the Yas Hotel!

Race Day is now 76 days away, and they were extensively renovating what is a brand new 1 year old hotel, even the Italian place, Amici was closed. Odd!


View from the pool-top terrace :-) This is the 8th floor.


Time to take my Canon G9 and myself home ... adieu Stanley Kubrick-ish Yas Hotel!

It seems the interior architecture was created by the team of -

jestico + whiles, london
richardson sadeki, new york
de8 architetti, bergamo, italy

Baked beans shoot-out - Heinz v Libbys

Hmmm, decided to give Libby's a go!

Libby's - Product of the UAE

Heinz - Made in UK

So ... which one comes up tops?

Threw together my usual minced pork, sliced mushroom, beaten egg stir-fried with baked beans ... and Libby's turned out to be rather bland :-(

Guess I will stick to Heinz's next time!

Subway Abu Dhabi - Chicken Teriyaki

My favourite sandwich at Subway? Has to be the Chicken Teriyaki with Parmesan-Oregano bread, toasted of course :-) 15 AED (RM13) of yumminess.

Toppings? Everything please, with extra pickled green-chilli! Mmmmh ....

Best burger in Abu Dhabi - Wagyu by Jones!

Best cappucino in Abu Dhabi ... Jones, near Al Nahyan Camp :-)

So good I had to take another shot ;-)

MD's sandwich looked good ;-)

But my RM 50 Wagyu Burger ... was incomparable ;-)

Served with some Olive Oil Chips, and what tasted like home made tomato sauce ...

Succulent, tasty, perfect grilled ... that's my Wagyu burger :-) Bliss!

Toyota Camry 2009 - Gulf spec, Abu Dhabi

Previous review: Test drive - Toyota Camry 2008

Another look at the 2009 UAE-spec/Gulf-spec Toyota Camry 2.4 Automatic ...

LED tail-lights ... blah!

Oooh ... its 42C ! Lucky the A/C works OK :-) And this particular spec even had a CD-player, when I drove the 2008 spec it came with ... shock shock horror .. a cassette player!

As I mentioned in my previous review, the best bit is the swanky gated-gear lever :-)

Driving in Abu Dhabi on a Saturday

I love driving in Abu Dhabi on a weekend ... peace and quiet :-)

Abu Dhabi ... land of Porsches and Mosques!

Some may think the Toyota Camry on the far right is a reasonably sized family saloon. Some may even say that the VW Tiguan on the right is a good sized mini-SUV. Uh ... its TINY compared to the Chevy Tahoe on the left!

Penang Road Cendul - Rusty nail nightmare!

Penang Road Cendul needs no introduction, I had visited this institution on many an occasion!

However, recently, a guest correspondent of this blog, RL, went with his family ... and ta-paued some home. Shock, shock horror .... Guess what his mum found in a pack of cendul as they were eating it! A rusty nail, EEEEEP!

Garmin 1410 : Finally, my first GPS!

Ahh ... Finally many MANY years later, I purchased my first GPS :-)

Garmin nuvi 1410

Purchased from: Carrefour, Abu Dhabi

Price paid: 995 AED (on sale!)

Verdict: How did I ever live without one!

All you need to start finding your way around the Middle East :-) comes in the box!

In-car cigarette-lighter charger (mini-USB on one side), as well as a really effective suction-pad holder which I fit on my car windscreen (Its rock solid!).

Key features ...

1) Preloaded with Middle East Map (GCC, Lebanon & Jordan)
2) Arabic & English Language
3) Bright 5” touch screen
4) 3D map view
5) Bluetooth hands free calling

Ahh... bliss ;-) Here's to many years of happy stress-free motoring!