Lebanese at Atayeb - Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi

Add: The Yas Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
• Located: 25 km from Abu Dhabi city centre
• Tel: +971 2 656 0760
• 

Mediterranean-Lebanese food is served at this rather posh restaurant, in Yas Hotel, next to the Yas Marina F1 circuit :-) This is ... Atayeb.

Starters were rather dissapointing, very blah ... Cost about 30 AED per dish.

My lamb mixed grill (130 AED or about RM 110) was a lot tastier, especially the lamb on a skewer, so tender! Its a LOT of lamb ... eat slowly :-)

You have a choice of sitting in air-conditioned comfort, or at the large verandah area facing the Formula One track!

More views from the verandah ... we chose to sit inside, as it was 37c by night here in the summer time, and VERY humid!

I like the view inside :-) the Yas Hotel!

Race Day is now 76 days away, and they were extensively renovating what is a brand new 1 year old hotel, even the Italian place, Amici was closed. Odd!


View from the pool-top terrace :-) This is the 8th floor.


Time to take my Canon G9 and myself home ... adieu Stanley Kubrick-ish Yas Hotel!

It seems the interior architecture was created by the team of -

jestico + whiles, london
richardson sadeki, new york
de8 architetti, bergamo, italy

Baked beans shoot-out - Heinz v Libbys

Hmmm, decided to give Libby's a go!

Libby's - Product of the UAE

Heinz - Made in UK

So ... which one comes up tops?

Threw together my usual minced pork, sliced mushroom, beaten egg stir-fried with baked beans ... and Libby's turned out to be rather bland :-(

Guess I will stick to Heinz's next time!

Subway Abu Dhabi - Chicken Teriyaki

My favourite sandwich at Subway? Has to be the Chicken Teriyaki with Parmesan-Oregano bread, toasted of course :-) 15 AED (RM13) of yumminess.

Toppings? Everything please, with extra pickled green-chilli! Mmmmh ....

Best burger in Abu Dhabi - Wagyu by Jones!

Best cappucino in Abu Dhabi ... Jones, near Al Nahyan Camp :-)

So good I had to take another shot ;-)

MD's sandwich looked good ;-)

But my RM 50 Wagyu Burger ... was incomparable ;-)

Served with some Olive Oil Chips, and what tasted like home made tomato sauce ...

Succulent, tasty, perfect grilled ... that's my Wagyu burger :-) Bliss!

Toyota Camry 2009 - Gulf spec, Abu Dhabi

Previous review: Test drive - Toyota Camry 2008

Another look at the 2009 UAE-spec/Gulf-spec Toyota Camry 2.4 Automatic ...

LED tail-lights ... blah!

Oooh ... its 42C ! Lucky the A/C works OK :-) And this particular spec even had a CD-player, when I drove the 2008 spec it came with ... shock shock horror .. a cassette player!

As I mentioned in my previous review, the best bit is the swanky gated-gear lever :-)

Driving in Abu Dhabi on a Saturday

I love driving in Abu Dhabi on a weekend ... peace and quiet :-)

Abu Dhabi ... land of Porsches and Mosques!

Some may think the Toyota Camry on the far right is a reasonably sized family saloon. Some may even say that the VW Tiguan on the right is a good sized mini-SUV. Uh ... its TINY compared to the Chevy Tahoe on the left!

Penang Road Cendul - Rusty nail nightmare!

Penang Road Cendul needs no introduction, I had visited this institution on many an occasion!

However, recently, a guest correspondent of this blog, RL, went with his family ... and ta-paued some home. Shock, shock horror .... Guess what his mum found in a pack of cendul as they were eating it! A rusty nail, EEEEEP!

Garmin 1410 : Finally, my first GPS!

Ahh ... Finally many MANY years later, I purchased my first GPS :-)

Garmin nuvi 1410

Purchased from: Carrefour, Abu Dhabi

Price paid: 995 AED (on sale!)

Verdict: How did I ever live without one!

All you need to start finding your way around the Middle East :-) comes in the box!

In-car cigarette-lighter charger (mini-USB on one side), as well as a really effective suction-pad holder which I fit on my car windscreen (Its rock solid!).

Key features ...

1) Preloaded with Middle East Map (GCC, Lebanon & Jordan)
2) Arabic & English Language
3) Bright 5” touch screen
4) 3D map view
5) Bluetooth hands free calling

Ahh... bliss ;-) Here's to many years of happy stress-free motoring!

Hanoi - My first taste of Vietnam in Abu Dhabi

Ramadan Kareem from Abu Dhabi!

This was my first visit to a Vietnamese eatery here ;-) I had a rather strong bodied Iced Vietnamese Coffee, 16 AED, to start.

Hanoi Cafe

Add: 98 Kingsland Road, Abu Dhabi

Tel: +971 2 626 1112

Near: Golden Fork, opposite Al Noor Hospital on Khalifa Street

Time Out Abu Dhabi recommends this place ... It is clean, extraordinarily cheap and extraordinarily good.

Shrimp and Mango salad ... refreshing, 35 AED. And the vege combination, along with some blanched tau-geh (ngar choy / beansprouts), and sweet red onions.

Did you know this about Pho :-)

MD chose the Seafood Rice Noodle, 32 AED ... whilst I had the signature Pho Thap Cam, which is basically hor fun with beef and beef balls (I chose not to have the brisket!), 28.50 AED. Good value for Abu Dhabi standards, and large portions too! Pity they used "dry" hor fun, not fresh ones ... sigh!

I will be back!

Carluccio's at Dubai Mall

There's always a strange fuzzy positive feeling when I drive into Dubai, especially when its usually from Abu Dhabi ... across the desert, into an oasis of imposing buildings, fantastic infrastructure and ... speed cameras (which actually work!).


Thanks to MD's recommendation, I went to Carluccio's at Dubai Mall one evening.
Tel: +971 4 434 1320
Opening hours: 8am - midnight (8am, really!? Better call ahead first, that's what it says on the website, but I don't believe it!)


My choice ... a simple spaghetti vongolle with clams. About RM$50, which I thought was good value, considering this was Dubai Mall :-) Taste-wise I thought it was good, but not spectacular. The clams were very fresh though, and the pasta was about the most perfect al-dente I have ever had!


The carnage at the end of my meal :-)


I washed down my pasta with Homemade Lemonade (20 AED - Rip off!), which I found to be rather blah! Pity they didn't serve any wine to accompany the pasta ;-)

The view driving out of Dubai Mall ... and out of Jebel Ali, on the outskirts of Dubai ... Till next time, adieu.