Umi Fusion - Al Wahda Mall, never again!

A poor eating-experience and one we hope to forget about soon, one weekend lunchtime at the new extension of Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda Mall...

Fusion? Seems Umi Fusion has an outlet at Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai ... I hope that it is purely-Japanese in that outlet, as the meaning of fusion here is genuinely confused! Fusion in Umi Fusion-speak means Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese and other dishes. It is NOT a fusion of different dishes on one plate - Just a mixed up menu.

Child-friendly? Not at all - One high-chair in the entire restaurant, and when asked for a "child-friendly cup", we got a plastic cup (The disposable type) with a sharp-lip that cut my daughter's lips. Outrageous!

I chose the Paella - I am not sure what mediterranean flavours and colour-profile was agreed upon by the Executive Chef and owners, but it certainly turned-out un-Paella like. Funny enough, it was probably the best of the 4 dishes our lunch-party chose (v the Chicken Rice, v the Hor-fun or Kuay Teow, and definitely v T's mackerel which was promptly returned to the kitchen!).

I am not sure what inspired us to order the Chicken Rice, but we did ... Chili was overly-spicy and without flavour, the chicken was dry ... and the rice? Plain ol' plain ol'!

 

Prices? Japanese Edamame (18 AED), two Japanese Kappa Maki Roll (aka Sushi - 29 AED each), my Mediterranean Seafood with Chicken Paella (69 AED), Japanese Saba Shioyaki (Wait a moment - Isn't that the Mackerel which T sent back!!! 79 AED), and a large bottle of local water at 12 AED. Looks like we got the Chicken Rice and Oyster-sauce-heavy-Hor fun "free".

On a positive side ... They accept The Entertainer. This meal for 4 (4 adults + 4 children) came up to 236 AED, and note that this was WITH the Entertainer vouchers and T had sent back his mackerel!

As Edgar Allan Poe described in The Raven, "Nevermore..."

A taste of Malaysia on Malaysia Day 2012 - Hilton Abu Dhabi

Happy Malaysia Day 2012! 

Hotel: Hilton Abu Dhabi
Add: Al Khubeirah, Abu Dhabi
Located: Along Corniche Road, opposite the "bridge" to Marina Mall, and not far from the Intercon
Tel: +971 2 681 1900
Opening hours: 6:30am - 11:00pm
(I assume they are opened so early as they probably serve breakfast to the Hilton guests!) 
So many traditional Malaysian dishes ... there was even Lekor and Serunding!

 

I had to rub my eyes ... Sarawak Laksa!!! And it was good :-) Lemak, tasty and full of flavour.

 

There was so much on offer (Especially great value considering the accept The Entertainer vouchers - 200 AED for the two of us, including all-you-can-drink ... Wine, German bottled beer, water, soft-drinks, etc!) ... I didn't even get a chance to try every thing!

There was even kuih-muih :-) and Red-bean dessert ... Sweet-time!

Alas .. Its over now, I can't wait for 2013's installment! Well done, Hilton Abu Dhabi and Chef Ismail! 

 

Euro 2012 and Bice Italian - Hilton, Abu Dhabi

Location: Hilton at the Corniche, not far from Intercontinental and on the road opposite Marina Mall
Tel: +971 2 681 1900

Euro 2012 football fever has hit the Hilton on the Corniche :-)

Our birthday dinner at Hilton's Bice ... Possibly the best Italian in Abu Dhabi. A really good steak to start, 240 AED - Served with foie gras and truffle oil-infused mashed potatoes.

And to finish our meal, we had the delightful Chocolate Souffle, served with a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Perfect!

Belgian Beer Cafe - InterContinental, Abu Dhabi

Add: Intercontinental Abu Dhabi - Al Bateen, not far from the Corniche
Tel: +971 800 423 463
Reservation: Recommended ... The place was 2/3rds packed by the time we got there at 8:30pm, and was full by the time we left at 10pm!
Opening hours: Daily, 5pm - 1am
Review: Previous visit a month ago
Entertainer: YES! 2012 edition (Entertainer costs 350 AED or RM$280, and is a book of vouchers which allows us to dine for buy-one-get-one-free at many places in Abu Dhabi).

Yes ... I believe Belgian Beer Cafe is one of Abu Dhabi's BEST porky-places, delicious!

A bag of warm bread is served in a paper bag with some fancy butter, before your meal is served ... Yes, my Oldham Hall (1989 - 1993) bro visited us in Abu Dhabi!

Belgian Cafe's finest .. Kwak (About 35 AED I think) - Love the unique glass!! And ... Leffe Brune (45 AED for a very large glass) - My choice each and every time, bbG's favourite!

Wikipedia ... Pauwel Kwak is an amber, 8.4% abv Belgian beer, brewed by the family-owned Brewery Bosteels in Buggenhout, Belgium. It is named after an 18th century innkeeper and brewer, Pauwel Kwak. As with other Belgian beers, Kwak has a branded glass with its own distinctive shape. The Kwak glass has attracted attention because it is a round-bottomed, hour-glass shaped glass that resembles a stirrup cup or 'yard of ale', which is held upright in a wooden stand — rather like a piece of old scientific apparatus.
AND,
Leffe is a beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as Abbey beers. Leffe Brune has 6.5% ABV.

And ... our meal selection, Ron had Mussels in Roquefort cheese and Cognac ... and I had the excellent Pork Festival platter, consisted of sausages / loin / belly. They each cost 130 AED and 120 AED respectively, best of all we only had to pay for the more expensive of the two dishes, whilst the other was free (Entertainer voucher!).

Belgian Cafe : Pork ribs and Mussels in Abu Dhabi

Add: Intercontinental Abu Dhabi - Al Bateen, not far from the Corniche
Tel: +971 800 423 463
Reservation: Recommended ... The place was 2/3rds packed by the time we got there at 8:30pm, and was full by the time we left at 10pm!
Opening hours: Daily, 5pm - 1am
Entertainer: 2012 edition (Entertainer costs 350 AED or RM$280, and is a book of vouchers which allows us to dine for buy-one-get-one-free at many places in Abu Dhabi).

Yes, the bread's in the bag. Nice warm loafs to start, with good french butter.



I had the Leffe Brun (Dark - Some may prefer the pale Blonde instead), which was magnificent. A 50cl large "pint" is 42 AED or RM$33 which may not be cheap, but it was straight from the tap. Fresh, and perfect, so full of body. My BIL, LM, tried the Kriek (25 cl, 38 AED) which had strong hints of cherry, interesting!


Both the dishes we picked was from a strong recommendaton by DS, and he was spot on both times - I had the Mussels Provencale, 130 AED (RM$105). Fresh, very generous portion, and delicious broth / gravy with lots of chunky mediterranean bits such as aubergine, tomatoes, onions etc.


My mussels from ... Brussels :-)

LM chose the Liege Spare Ribs, yes PORK. It completely came off the bone, and the marinade was spectacular. I can't wait to come back :-) The fries (came along with our mains, we had a cone each) were great too, chunky and perfectly fried. Obviously, this being the Belgian-experience, it was served with mayo!

Yes ... the service was average at best, we had to ask for the menu, and were never asked if we enjoyed our meal (Despite me having a big camera and flash on me!), nor made to feel special. But the food makes up for this!

Certo - Good italian at Souk Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi

Even though its been the longest time since I last did a food review, it doesn't mean that I haven't been eating-out :-) Been meeting new friends, been busy with work ... and best of all, family!

Here's our first visit to Certo, which turned out to be a really fun evening with OK and DL :-)

Located: Souk Qaryat Al Beri, at the "3 bridges" area of Abu Dhabi. Its located in between Fairmont/Traders and Shangri-La.
Tel: +971 2 558 1161

Best thing about Italian restaurants (besides pasta!) ... definitely the bread. Nice!


Lots of seafood on the night ... Seafood platter, with half-baked lobster, and a delicious sea-bass too.


Lobster pasta anyone? Yummmms!


Veal Ossobucco ... Tender, delicious and lovely mediterranean style veges and potatoes alongside.


Would we return? Yes, good food, good service and nice ambience though I do question how it won a "Time Out Abu Dhabi" romantic-category award. Its more a family restaurant for me!

ps - Yes, its on the Entertainer (Buy one, get one free - I have started a new tag/label now for restaurants which have this offer in UAE). We had 6 Peronis between us, along with a plate of fries for V, and we only paid 125 AED (Roughly RM$100) per person.

Ushna the posh indian - Souk Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi

Located: Beside Shangri-La Hotel, along Souk Qaryat Al Beri
Tel: +971 2 558 1769
Child-friendly: No! They do not allow children at dinner-time. You can bring your little ones at lunchtime :-(

How nice ... a vew of the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque from the al-fresco side of Ushna ...


Very fancy bread/poppadom basket!


Posh, eh ... They even serve you an amuse bouche ;-)
This is (by a mile!) the poshest Indian restaurant I had ever been to ... the food is good, but really expensive. It wouldn't be difficult to spend up to 150 AED per person at this place.


Perfect naan bread ... and a delicious tandoori chicken dish.

Prepare to pay anything from 70 to 90 AED for a dish here, not cheap! They did (in 2010) accept the Entertainer voucher book, but this offer seems to have stopped now.

Complimentary sweets before the bill arrived :-)