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!).

Malaysia papayas promoted in Abu Dhabi

A Glorious Malaysian Galore festival at Lulu supermarket and Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi ... RM$15 per kilo for Malaysian papayas.


Seen at the same supermarket, sigh ... "Shark fish", baby sharks for sale at only RM$11 per kilo. The upside? At least the entire shark is being devoured, not just the fins!

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!

Siow Tiow steamed fish - The Klang Hilton

Add: 58, Lorong Gopeng, Off Jalan Goh Hock Huat, Klang.
Tel: +603 3342 2462
GPS coordinates (Unverified): N 3 3.06239 , E 101 26.78027
Review: Visit in August 2007
Other review: Rasa Rasa Portal

Thanks to Uncle GH and Aunty G for the treat one evening ... Or Chien or Oyster Omelette was darn good, full of flavour and not starchy. The stir-fried veges were also full of wok-hei, a good start to the meal!


Fried kuay-teow and Hokkien mee ... Not the finest I had tasted, but pretty good too.

Signature dish ... Steamed pomfret (Tau Tai Chong) with minced garlic and ginger sauce drizzled on the top. Excellent!

Overall - Siow Tiow is known as the "Klang Hilton". Why? Its expensive. Prepare to pay between RM40-60 per person, due mainly to the prices they charge for their fish. But the fish is special ... very special. Many bloggers also claim to have waited for 30-45 minutes for their food, but perhaps it was a quiet night and the company was good, I didn't feel it took so long!

Busaba - Heavenly Thai, BSC Bangsar

Add: F15, 1st Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Bangsar, KL
Tel: +603 2093 7708
Located: Next to Alexis, BSC

A large group of us, about 10 adults, had a great lunch meal in a private room at Busaba, and it was REALLY good :-) Came up to about RM$90 per head, but we did stuff ourselves!


The area outside the private room...


To quench my thirst ...

Moneybags and other Thai starters ... all delightful!

The ubiquitous Thai fish cake, and the most amazing Pomelo Salad ... divine!

Really spicy and varied types of tomyam on offer ... Packed full of punch and flavour!

We had multiple mains, including fish, grilled chicken, masaman curry (Best I have had!), beef and various veges too ... All were good!

The desserts did not dissapoint one bit ... we found space to have the best Tub Tim Krob (Crunchy pomegrenates, pink water chestnut in coconut milk and syrup topped with crushed ice), this side of Thailand! The mango and sticky (glutinous) rice was just average, but the rest of the food and setting was truly memorable. Brilliant!

Finz - Finest seafood, Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi

Finz has long been one of these restaurants that I had to go to, but didn't want to go to ... Why? I am not a big fan of seafood!

Hotel: Beach Rotana
Add: Tourist Club Area, P.O.Box 45200, Abu Dhabi.
Tel: +9712 697 9000


After enjoying X-Men: First Class at Abu Dhabi Mall, we had a lovely lunch at Finz over the weekend ... bbbbG loved the bread-basket too, check out the "star-fish" sundried tomato roll!


Cataplana with Saffron and Fennel broth, 220 AED (RM$180) - Portugese copper pot style cooking, served with garlic bread, and another salad. We finished most of the lightly flavoured broth, and quite enjoyed the mussels, prawns, fish and other seafood!


We shared the Finz Platter, 220 AED (RM$180), which was a platter of tuna steak, plump grilled prawn, large scallop, and some other fish and cuttlefish too. It even came with a nice side salad, which was perfectly dressed. Surprisingly... I enjoyed this, strange with me being a carnivore and all!


We also shared a large bottle of San Pellegrino, 32 AED, and with the Entertainer voucher, our bill for the two of us came up to 292 AED or RM$230 for a lovely lunch.

Abu Dhabi Exchange and Sowwah Island under construction opposite the Beach Rotana waterfront.


You can dine al fresco (Perhaps in the months of October - February!), or enjoy the air-conditioned ambience inside. Yes, Finz probably has the reputation of being very expensive and uppity, but we found the atmosphere to be relaxed and ambience to be beautiful. Perhaps it helped that we used our Entertainer voucher here too, which meant one of our mains was ... FREE!


Finz ... Didn't expect to enjoy the food genre, but I was pleasantly surprised and will be back!