Al Forno - Dalma Mall, Mussafah

Located: Dalma Mall, ground floor - Not far from HSBC and Shake Shack

Tel: +971 2 612 0747

Opening hours: We went there as it was open before Shake Shack, they start serving at 11:30am.

The management really needs to take note, and serve some proper balsamic vinegar and not bitter-tasting ones! 

The pizza was OK I guess...

The pasta was tasty at the first-bite, then we realised how salty it was :-(

My calzone, somehow it just fell flat in its flavour profile :-(
Overall, Al Forno was disappointing - Prices were reasonable at about 60 AED per head, but I would stick to Shake Shack next time!

New Lexus LS 600hL Hybrid and Hyundai Santa Fe 2013

Lexus and Hyundai's latest offerings this year ... the LS 600hL and the Santa Fe :-)

469,000 AED (130K USD) for the Lexus ... and the Santa Fe, a steal as it only starts at 83,000 AED (23K USD).

Canon G10 - Repair done in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Our Canon G10 is back in operation again, after the lens got stuck late last year whilst we I was on holiday in Malaysia :-(

Yes, the repair cost a bomb (Canon UAE, Abu Dhabi) ... 200 USD for a new lens-assembly, to repair the "Lens error, Restart camera" fault. I think some call this the Canon E18 fault. Basically the lens barrel just wouldn't retract, despite doing a "battery-pull", restarting the camera, jiggling it, blah blah ... Sigh!

True, our Canon Powershot G10 is over 4 years old - But it was just too good a camera to dispose, especially when we have a brand new WP-DC28 underwater-housing (Over 200 USD!) and we one day ... want to go diving again! Looks like we have a working G10 again, woo hoo ...

ps - These shots were taken with our new Fuji X10   ;-)

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship by HSBC - Day 2 Preview

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship - A HSBC event! Here are some preview shots from my 5 hours at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, on Day 2 of the championship ...

The crowds following Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and new Nike-boy Rory Mcilroy's group was huge! Here is Tiger having a chuckle at the practise greens half an hour before his 12:05 tee-time...

One of my favourite players, the Big Easy ... Ernie Els, after his round. This was taken at 2:00pm on Friday.

MA and myself even had the special privilege of watching him talk to the Callaway engineer about various weight permutations on his driver head, and trying out a "new" driver at the practise range. Perhaps it was because at this mid-way point of the tournament, Els was only tied for 36, after shooting a 73 :-( Ernie had shot 71 on Day 1.

If you remember from July 2012, Els had won his second Open Championship with a Callaway RAZR Fit driver.

We had a wonderful time ... despite the sunburn I suffered waiting for Tiger/Mcilroy/Kaymer to tee off from their first hole of the day on the 10th tee!

More photos to follow ... Later this week ;-)

Shake Shack - Now open in Dalma Mall, Abu Dhabi

Located: Ground floor, Dalma Mall - Mussafah, Abu Dhabi

Tel: +971 26120750

Opening hours: 12pm - 12am daily

Thanks to KCL for pointing out Shake Shack's website, which publishes their simple but elegant menu...

 

Here in the UAE, it is operated along with their partner M.H. Alshaya Co - Seems this unit at Dalma Mall is their 5th one, with the first 4 being in Dubai I believe. On this occassion, I was the first to arrive, it opened at exactly NOON, and the staff were really friendly :-)

After asking for the signature Shack Burger, I had a single patty burger (If you don't ask them specifically, they prepare each burger "medium" - I may try a "medium rare" next time) with no drink and no fries. Gulp ... 25 AED or RM$20 for this. Hmmm, wonder how big it is! Wonder how good it would be?

I did wonder why they issued me with a JTech Wireless Paging system (Not dissimilar to the one they issue at our local Evangelical Community Church), then I realised they cooked each burger fresh (I did not see any burgers "queueing" at the service counter) and it took about 10-20 minutes ....

BUZZZZZZ!!!... Yay .....

It was well worth the wait, and I enjoyed every single bite - Succulent patty, perfectly cooked, delicious cheese and veges, and a wonderful and delicate bun. It was small, but soooo good ;-)

Reem Island Cafe - January special offer Menu

Here is the super offer by Reem Island Cafe (Also known as Hans Restaurants) here in Abu Dhabi - 68 AED for 3 persons, or 108 AED for 5 persons.

 

We have enjoyed this twice so far - Food is great, and I don't think I could even find a tai-chau in Malaysia serving food at these prices!!

 

Hans Restaurant - *Halal*

Add: Ground floor, Tamouh Project office, Block B - Al Reem Island

Tel: +971 2 650 1996

Tel: +971 56 698 5498

Review: New Year's eve meal

GPS: 24°29'30.6"N 54°24'6.7"E

 

Happy New Year - Set meals at Reem Island Cafe

Hans Restaurant -

Add: Ground floor, Tamouh Project office, Block B - Al Reem Island

Tel: +971 2 650 1996

Tel: +971 56 698 5498

We had our New Year's eve dinner at Reem Island tonight - And it was good, both in taste, as well as the portion-sizes and the price :-) We paid 108 AED for our meal of 5 dishes and 12 AED for the largest pot of Pui-Er tea ... A perfect end to 2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Special offer - This menu is available until the end of January 2013 ...

Choose from a set meal for 3 persons, at 68 AED (3 dishes), or

5 person set meal of 5 dishes (See below) at 108 AED (RM$ 90 - Cheap cheap!).

Fish item - We had the Fish fillet with Ginger and onion, or you can have 4 other items from the menu.

Poultry item - We had the delicious and juicy Belacan chicken, and there are 4 other choices to choose from as well.

Vegetable - We had Hans' famous Kangkung Belacan, or you could have bean sprouts / cauliflower / lettuce / pak choy as well (In each of the 5 groups, you can select from 5 items on the menu).

Bean curd and Egg - We really enjoyed the bean curd with seafood and meat, but you could also have other bean curd dishes or omelettes too!

Finally ... Prawn - We had the sauteed shrimps with cashew nuts, but there are 4 other choices as well ;-)

Merry Christmas from Dubai!

Mum and dad were visiting us from Malaysia ... so we took them to Dubai for the weekend :-)

We had a nice brunch at Dubai Mall's Social House - It was decorated very nicely in a yuletide fashion, and there was even a christmas menu :-)

We then took some free snappies outside Dubai Aquarium which is the flagship of Dubai Mall :-) Wonder if the Eagle Ray (Or mini Manta?) and sharks knew it was Christmas week!

We then went to Mall of Emirates - An interesting chair exhibition, contributed by local artists :-)

Tiffany and Co occupied the centre atrium with what I thought was a bit un-Tiffany like, with a "stall" ... Heh heh! Anyway, the tree was pretty and best of all was the Tiffany wreath!

 Tiffany blue :-)

 

More christmas festivities at MOE - Mall of Emirates ;-) Not the Ministry of Education!

Ski Dubai ... where it snows all year round :-)

Anyway .... Merry Christmas and lots of love and blessings from Abu Dhabi to those near and far. See you all in 2013!

La Beaujolais - Mercure Hotel, Abu Dhabi

We found a gem of an eatery in Abu Dhabi - Here is a quick review of our visit to Le Beaujolais, which has quickly become one of our FAVOURITE places to eat in the UAE!

 

Located: City Centre Hotel Mercure - Al Markaziyah, Hamdan Street

Opening hours: 12:00pm - 12:00am

Tel: +971 2 6333 555

 

 

 

 

Some of our starters, all of which were delightfully french and yummy ...

Escargots à la bourguignon (or snails in garlic and herb sauce) was served steaming hot and bursting in flavour, I wanted to lick the sauce off the cute serving dish! It was served with a hot, crusty baguette which we asked for re-fills ;-)

Baked Onion soup, 28 AED - Pretty good too!

 

One of the signature dishes ... Coq Au Vin, I loved it! At 78 AED, and this being a French brassierie, it really was a steal :-) The duck leg, at 95 AED, was really good too. I didn't try TS's 350g rib-eye steak (102 AED), but he seemed to enjoy it!

 

 

And to end off, another great value dish - Tiramisu, 28 AED. A large portion, and full of flavour, we loved it!

Overall - Delicious food, unpretentious and attentive service, a homely environment, and need I say it again - Great value :-) A wonderful restaurant that deserves to be visited again and again!

Nespresso limited edition - Crealto

We like our Nespresso Latissima machine, and always get excited when Nestle decides to launch a new "blend" ... Here's our experience with Crealto.

 

Purchased from: Abu Dhabi Mall

Located: Level 1 - Near the escalator.

 

Our verdict .. We like it! Strong, with an intensity of 8 (of 10), with a distinct long-lasting cocoa-afternot. It is recommended to work better as an expresso - We take it as a Cappucino, and its just as good :-)

 

Nespresso describes the creation of this limited (Autumn 2012) blend ...

MAURO COLAGRECO - Michelin‐starred Chef
“My encounter with Nespresso allowed me to experience the various parallels between the world of gastronomy and coffee, such as the importance of the quality of ingredients, the techniques, the passion and precision you apply and the creative routes you explore in the search of new tasting experiences. It was fascinating to discover how the long and slow roasting technique that I use in my cooking could be applied to the creation of Crealto”.

 

UAE Day 2012 - Plane acrobatics over the Corniche

Happy 41st UAE Day ... Photos shot from across the Corniche, here in Abu Dhabi on 2nd December 2012.