Unlimited coffee refills - New IKEA at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

IKEA ... part of the Al Futtaim Group, opened for business on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi this week :-) Yes, we no longer have the IKEA store at Marina Mall, with this new store being three times (yes, 3x !) larger then the old store, and is supposed to be even larger then the Dubai "Festival Village" branch.

The store covers 33,000 square metres and is one of the largest stores in the Middle East. The store will have 1,450 parking bays for its visitors who will be served by 35 cash tills (hopefully that means queues of 10 minutes and less!), with a restaurant that seats over 450 people!

Yes... unlimited lattes, or cappucinos, or plain old coffee ... for only 5 AED :-)

Our carrot cake and choccie croissant ...

Best part of our visit? The child friendly restaurant, with excellent children play areas and cutlery for the little ones too :-) They even serve a baby's meal for 5 AED, and a child's portion of any adult meal for half the sticker-price. Nice!

1973 Corvette in Abu Dhabi

In a city where its not uncommon to see a Maserati GrandTurismo, or Ferrari 458 Italia, or Lamborghini Murcielago ... its refreshing to see a car as special as this :-)

A 1973 Corvette ... in mint running condition :-)

Roti Canai in Abu Dhabi - Damascus Flower, Khalidiyah

Thanks KCL for recommending this wonderful humble little eatery :-)

Damascus Flower Restaurant

Add: Dairathul Miah Road, Khalidiyah

Located: Next to Al Sham Video/Gift, near Lebanese Flower Restaurant

Tel: +971 2 665 2835 , +971 55 564 8809

Friday lunch time means ... Briyani (Choice of Chicken, Fish or Mutton) at Damascus. And its REALLY good! Light, tasty, and generous with chicken pieces too.

We like the poppadom here too ...

The highlight? Malaysians need not miss ROTI CANAI any more in Abu Dhabi ... so good! Paratha here is just like our Roti Canai!

We have so far tried the spicy and tasty (shredded chicken) Chicken Chilli so far, as well as the really yummy Chicken Fry :-)

ps - Along with a can of pepsi, a bottle of mineral water and nice cha-eh (tea!) ... All the above cost under RM$20, or 23 AED. That's dirt cheap by Abu Dhabi standards!

Jones the Grocer has opened in Khalidiyah!

Yay, the new Jones has finally opened :-) Located at Pearl Plaza apartment, beside Oryx Hotel (Behind the old Khalidiyah Post Office / ADNOC gas station).

We enjoyed ... Apple crumble pie (14 AED), with scoop of delicious Jones ice-cream (6 AED). Also, the Cheesecake (15 AED) was really good.

The Cappucino here never fails to impress (or should I say comfort!) (The standard size is 16 AED), I had the "large" which means an extra 5 AED. bbG had the surprisingly good Homemade Lemonade (16 AED).

BMW Hamann X6

When a BMW X6 is not enough ... one can have a Hamann X6!


Like the HM Evo 22" rims? Only in Abu Dhabi!

Tapas - Lemon Tree, Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi

Holiday Inn, Abu Dhabi
Located: 31st Street, between Muroor Road and Airport Road

Tel: +971 2 657 4858

Tapas dinner with L and J one night ...

All you can eat Tapas (and Paella, and Dessert, and Sangria ... yes, Sangria!) at Lemon Tree, in the new Holiday Inn.

Spanish theme night means ...

Unlimited tapas and Spain's favourite fruity beverage at Dhs145 per person

Timings: 7pm-11.30pm (Tuesdays only)

Oooh ... Paella (choice of seafood or vegetarian) too! In fact there was rice pudding at the end of the meal as well, but that wasn't very good, it was rather firm!

Home is where the heart is - Prawn Mee

Lots of hardwork ...

But its all worth it ... Yes, marinated pork slices, sauteed prawns and divine sambal :-) and the perfect broth!

Our Har Mee dinner :-) Love bbG's prawn mee!

Gong Xi Fa Cai - Abu Dhabi 2011

Gong Hey Fatt Choy ... Gong Xi Fa Cai from Abu Dhabi ;-)

Our reunion dinner ... Thanks, bbG! What a wonderful meal, which we shared with MD and L too.

Si yau chicken, Brocolli and Cauliflower, Large prawns in soya sauce, and Sweet and sour fish too ... Perfect!

Ahhh... Tong Yuen too. How yummy! We had both sesame filling, as well as ground peanuts :-)

On another evening, MD invited us over to her home for CNY makan too! More delicious homecooking ...

It wasn't gourmet feasts every night :-) Here's lunch one day! The new Mi Goreng by Maggi ... too salty I reckon!

We like Reem Island's Keng Chai Mai Fun breakfast ... so good!

Saj2Go along the Corniche is one of our favourite breakies now ... 18 AED for this Ham / Cheese / Egg "Saj", which is a Lebanese wrap!

How about Curry Laksa with a choice of noodles, served with shrimps and slices of chicken, in a delicious laksa broth ... from Noodle House at Al Wahda Mall. Yumm ...


CNY wouldn't be the same without cookies ... bbG made some yummy pineapple tarts and peanut cookies, and here are some love letters aka kuih kapit, hand-delivered to the UAE by HC!