Abu Dhabi - August 2011 skyline

One weekend at the Abu Dhabi breakwater area, which is opposite the Marina Mall...

Two views of the Abu Dhabi skyline :-)

And heading back to Khalidiyah ... Nice new wavey apartment block!

Steve Jobs - You shall be missed

Apple devices have been intertwined with my life for many years now :-) Here are some fond memories ... I have my dad, SW, YH, and BT to thank for this obsession with Apple products!

1980 - Apple II Plus, my dad got us our first home computer, which I later found out to be a "compatible" model :-)

Then came ... 1987 - Macintosh SE, what I felt was one of the first iconic designs of Steve Jobs! I think this one SW and myself got from some Singapore Uni garage sale, for like 50 SGD!

Same bro .. SW, asked me to get the Apple MessagePad 120, I think this was launched in 1996, but we may have got a used one some years later! Handwriting recognition was putzzz, but for a Mac-diehard, we just had to get one!

In my uni days in Manchester, I used a Power Macintosh Performa 6200 (PowerPC 603 processor, circa 1995) ... and some time between 1998 - 2000, I got myself the really cool looking iMac DV (Thanks, BT!) in Malaysia.

Music devices? I still have the iPod Mini which was purchased in Singapore circa 2004-2005 (Never ever got an original uber-cool white iPod 1st generation though), and later on my ex-boss gave me an iPod Nano back in Christmas 2007, which I use to this day!

And most recently in 2010 ... Me and bbG got our current Apple devices, oops tools ... My MacBook Pro 13 (Which I fondly call, "Al"), and bbG's very-used iPad (1st generation).

Steve Jobs on the National, the local paper here in the UAE ... 25th August 2011. You shall bemissed, you are a visionary, an inspiration and a genius.

The journey is the reward ... "We used to dream about this stuff. Now, we get to build it. It's pretty neat."

Update: 6th October 2011

Six weeks after the above post ... The world, and I, said goodbye to Steve.

All I can say is ... Thank you.

Homemade Pao in Abu Dhabi

Someone's been baking in the kitchen ...

In the steamer it goes :-)

Oooh ... done!

Three varieties ... Choy pao (Vegetable), Curry chicken pao ... and of course, Char Siew Pao!

Ramadan Kareem ... From the UAE

I was shopping at Abela, Khalidiyah last night, and as I tried to pay the Mawaqif parking meter ...


It rejected my coins ... and "Ramadan Kareem" was displayed on the screen :-) Free parking!


Hey ... Ramadan Kareem, selamat berpuasa from the UAE!

We love Toki - Best Japanese in Abu Dhabi

Located: Ground floor, near the car park, Hilton Abu Dhabi
Tel: +971 2 681 4151
Other reviews: Toki compared with Wasabi

Tamago - Our amuse bouche.


The mains ... Best dish on the menu we reckon, the black cod in miso.


MIL and I had saba fish ... and beef.


bbbbG had two portions of Cha Soba. Delicious!


All the hot ocha one can drink ... We like!


Oops ... here are the piccies of our wafu salad (I think its wafu!), and really good miso soup too.


Something cool to end our lunch-meal, butterscotch ice-cream.


ps - Toki at the Hilton has a bit of a reputation for being expensive, but don't believe all that ... For 60-80 AED per person (or RM$50-60), for the set-lunch menu, which includes a salad + soup + chawanmushi (or, cha soba), a mains course, and either ice-cream or a coffee ... We think its brilliant value for really good Japanese food, in a nice setting, with great service.

High powered German machines in Abu Dhabi

I wonder if this gorgeous Mercedes CL is the ... 5.5 V8 RWD, or the turbo-charged 5.5 V12 RWD ... or perhaps the mighty 6.3 V8 RWD!? Here in the UAE, prices start at about 135K USD - 190K USD, gulp!


And perhaps even more rare then the Merc CL, is the R36 VW Passat ... 45K USD here in the UAE. In this 3.6 V6 4WD guise, it get from 0-100km/h in just shy of 5.6 seconds, due to its 299 BHP powerplant.

Nasi Lemak - Meena Cafe, Abu Dhabi

Located: Port Zayed area, next to the Iranian souk.

GPS:
N24 31' 03.6"
E054 22' 25.5"

Previous: Old review here

Daily specials: Monday - Nasi Lemak, Tuesday - Chicken Rice :-)

I had to rub my eyes in disbelief ... Nasi Lemak. Yes, nasi lemak here in Abu Dhabi :-) Bliss! We are so grateful for the Zelan team bringing their cafe with them to the desert!

Good sambal, nice fried chicken, real coconut rice ... Crispy kacang and ikan bilis. This is Malaysia's national dish :-)

Mum cooks dinner!

Mum's visiting :-)

Yummy ... to-fu with mixed vege and minced pork, and "Traffic light" stir-fried cauliflower. Ahhhh!

Masterpieces ... Pork ribs and stewed belly pork with chillies. Extraordinary!

The fastest Germany has to offer - Audi, BMW, Merc and Porsche

How rare is this ... a Techart Magnum, yes a super-souped up Porsche Cayenne!

Alpina B6, yes this is a rare variant of the 6-series.

Wonder who smashed into this rare machine, check out the right-side of this shot!

Or some classier machines ... fast saloons rarely come quicker then the Mercedes S500 AMG or this Audi A8L 4.2 Quattro!

Prego - Favourite Italian in Abu Dhabi

Heh heh ... Thanks to J for my Birthday Margerita :-)


Add: Prego, Beach Rotana, Abu Dhabi
Located: Beside Abu Dhabi Mall, Tourist Club Area (TCA)
Tel: +971 2 697 9000
Previous visit: Reviewed here

Pasta .... cooked al dante to perfection.


And my choice ... Risotto frutti di Mare :-)


Light and refreshing ... Peroni on the left. On the right, what looks like a kopi, ooops cappucino, is really a nice Tiramisu!