Out and About in Dubai

Al Mahara = The Oyster. I meant for this to be a restaurant review but it has turned into more of a ramble on the ordeal we had of even getting to the place! Oh well. Please read on if you will.

Last week I was finally able to secure a reservation for Al Mahara at the Burj Al Arab. This is the restaurant that has the huge fish tank in the middle:
 

 

The reservations were for last night (Tuesday) and as DB and I drove towards the Burj - I decided not to valet. In NY, valet parking is very rare and always expensive and ’till this day, I still have a hard time valeting my car.

So I had this bright idea that we would self-park! I do it at every other hotel in Dubai, why not here? As we drove into the car park in our little Toyota Yaris rental, we passed an amazing array of very, very, expensive (some quite colorful) cars including the hotel’s fleet of white Rolls Royces, and finally squeaked our way into a parking spot (I say squeak b/c you can always hear me coming from a mile away as our little Yaris has got an engine squeaking problem).

It soon became obvious that no one self-parks their car at the Burj because there was no direct way out of the car park and into the hotel lobby. We had to walk up 4 flights of stairs, through room service, almost getting lost in the kitchen until someone in a chef uniform lead us out, then more back-of-house (where they had pictures of staff at various team-building events), only to emerge behind the reception area! What a laugh it was. I bet all the staff that we passed by thought we were nuts.

By this time, we were 15 minutes late for our 7pm reservation. Oh well. I was more concerned about how we would find our way back through the back-of-house maze and to our parking spot. Needless to say, I will never be self-parking at the Burj ever again when valeting is free (plus tip).

We checked in at the hostess table but they couldn’t find our reservations. We were a bit late but surely they couldn’t have given our table away already? The nice hostess asked for my confirmation number and luckily I still had it on my phone. I punched up the conf # and said, “Here it is, # blah-blah-blah for April 23rd at 7pm. It is Tuesday, right?” At that point, both DB and the hostess looked at me as if it were Monday. “It is Tuesday today, right?” I repeated.

Ok, so it was Tuesday but it was also April 22nd, not the 23rd. Ach! Long story short, I did make the original reservation for Wednesday, but then I called to say that we couldn’t do Wednesday, could we have Tuesday instead? I was told that I could change it to Tuesday, but it would have to be at 7pm and not 7:30pm as originally scheduled. I said no problem. So it seems that the time was changed, but not the date. (Why does this stuff always happen to me?)

I was prepared at that point to be sent home but maybe the nice hostess sensed that I had already paid my penance through the car-park/back-of-house journey and allowed us to stay and dine as long as we vacated our table by 9pm. Whew!

How was the dinner? Well, before I get to that, I thought there was supposed to be some kind of submarine ride to get you down to the dining room. Turns out, this “submarine ride” was just something called The Elevator. For the life of me, I can’t remember seeing anything other than elevator walls. Or maybe I was too busy people-watching the 10 tourists that were in the elevator with me. Well, I missed it all. I know, I suck at noticing these things.

Dinner? It was amazing! And it was also not. I had a pre-starter of 4 oysters (one with pineapple, one with Thai fish sauce, one with sesame carrot sauce, and one au natural) which at first seemed like odd combinations but was quite scrumptious. I loved them all! Especially the one in the Thai fish sauce. So thumbs up here.

DB had a starter of scallops with veal cheeks with an amazing sauce. Also thumbs up. My starter was a lobster bisque with seafood ravioli. The ravioli was very tasty and the lobster bisque was properly balanced and also tasty but not amazing. No thumbs down but no thumbs up either.

For our mains, I ordered the lobster thermidor (way over-salted for me!) and DB had the Kobe beef with pan-seared foie gras. I wasn’t very impressed with my dish but DB’s was freaking amazing. Especially the sauce! With every bite, I found myself whispering, “Holy mother of God.” And I’m not even religious! Two thumbs up!

So for two starters (and the pre-starter that I snuck in), two entrees, two glasses of wine, one gin and tonic, two cups of tea, and no desserts, the total bill came to 2300 dhs ($625). Yikes. It could have been a bank breaker for us. But we have a modest food allowance so the tab was manageable in the end.

The service? It was just fine. Not quite 5-star (nor self-proclaimed 7-star) but the waiters were friendly, unobtrusive and efficient. Oh, and there was a really nice harpist throughout the evening.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any photos of the food. Blogging faux pas, I know. I wanted to take some but DB asked me not to embarrass him by whipping out my camera. Not that I ever listen but I thought I’d let him have his way, you know, just this once. I did sneak in a shot of the fish tank (which I couldn’t take my eyes off!) from the vantage point of our dining table:
 

 

From what I could see, there was a leopard and a black-tip shark, moral eel, triggers, huge grouper, angelfish, butterflyfish, and much more.

And we did find our way back behind the reception area, through the staff photo gallery and room service, and finally down the 4 flights into the bowels of the car-park. Just a few confused stares from the staff along the way.

Tags: food, restaurant | 2 comments »

A friend ordered a strawberry smoothie the other day and it was served in a cup with a domed lid. Nothing special, right? That’s how Starbuck’s frappuccino’s are served. But then I saw the straw and it was one of those large diameter straws. The ones that are used with bubble tea so that the tapioca pearls can’t be sucked up. That’s when it hit me again. The darned bubble tea craving.

I have no idea if I will be able to find this concoction in Dubai. But I do have one lead. A very vague lead: Karama. However, that is like saying: “Somewhere downtown,” or, “By the Mosque.”
 

 

It took me 3 attempts over a 2 month period, driving and walking around in circles, before I was able to find the Korean supermarket which was also located in Karama. And same effort to find the Thai supermarket. Also located in Karama. Neither were easy to find because they were on side streets and everyone in Dubai gives directions like this: turn right at the post office, left at the house with the yellow awning, second right after the speed bump, straight at the roundabout, u-turn at the mosque, second right. It’s no wonder there’s no postal delivery system to homes and businesses in Dubai! Street signs? What street signs?

Anyway, so I’ve been told that there may be a bubble tea place in Karama. (I am bolding this area because I cannot say Karama without narrowing my eyes and without a low growl coming from the back of my throat due to flashbacks of driving in circles.) But, I’m always up for a little adventure and exploring. So what I think I’ll do is systematically weave in and out of streets until I find this place. Worse that can happen is I discover tons of other cool little shops and markets. I heard there’s a fish market down there - maybe I’ll pick up some fresh seafood for dinner. And now that I know where the Korean market is - I’ll stop by for some kimchi and Korean ramen.

Wish me luck!

Tags: food | 2 comments »

One of the things that I would like to accomplish during my stint in Dubai is to learn how to cook Indian cuisine as well as Emirati, Moroccan, Lebanese, Egyptian, Iranian, etc.

I was able to do the same thing in Puerto Rico during my first expat assignment and take advantage of the local produce, flavorings, and seasonings to make such dishes as Asopao de Pollo (the national soup), baking up maduros (ripe plantains), and learning how to make a certain restaurant’s famous pique (hot sauce). Too bad I was never able to like tostones or mofongos.

Walking around the spice souk or even the spice aisles in Carrefour and Lulu’s, I am always inspired by all the variety of spice offerings that are available. It would be a great shame to not learn a few dishes or two while I am here and make use of all the available spices and local produce.

Of course, I can’t cook the foods if I don’t know what they taste like! So part of the fun will also be visiting restaurants that serve Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine to taste and smell the different dishes and hopefully even replicate some of them at home.

Mm…Can’t wait!

Tags: food | no comments »

This past Saturday, DB and I met up with a co-worker of his to play squash. Well, they played squash, I don’t like racket sports so I just hit the trusty old treadmill. Unfortunately, I was hungry-hungry-hippo as I hadn’t had dinner the night before. Unless you consider 7 little dumplings dinner. I sure as hell don’t.

After an excruciating 3 mile run - I say excruciating because all I could think of was FOOD! - we went to have lunch by Jumeirah beach. Ah, and what a perfect afternoon it was for lunch by the beach. We sat in the shade and there was a light, refreshing breeze keeping us cool, and the lovely lapping of the waves to make you just sigh every few minutes.

But I was so starved out of my mind, I couldn’t enjoy anything until I had ordered a dozen oysters and a seafood platter that was to contain salmon, hammour, calamari, shrimp, and Omani lobster served with rice and vegetables (I know, it’s a lot of food, but I was REALLY hungry).

The food came all at once (not good) and while I tried to enjoy my oysters, we were attacked by house-flies to the point where we were using our hands to swap flies more than using them to work our utensils. And it didn’t help that I ordered seafood which flies seem particularly attracted to. I scarfed down my food so fast I hardly tasted it. I didn’t think it was that good anyway. (And a dozen oysters was too much - I never want to see another oyster again…at least until dinner.)

That’s one of the bad things about Dubai - the damn flies. It’s absolutely lovely to sit outside to enjoy the weather (before it gets unbearably hot) but try to eat outdoors - forget it. However, the good thing is that as soon as the sun goes down, the flies disappear. I don’t know why, but they just do. So it’s only breakfast and lunch that’s a problem.

Dinner outside can be absolute heaven.

Tags: dolce vita, food | 2 comments »

One of my favorite easy-peasy meals is Fish-in-a-Bag. Everything goes into a foil packet or parchment paper, it can be prepared and refrigerated a few hours prior to cooking, and then popped into the oven when you or your hubby gets home. In 20 minutes, you’ll have a nice piping hot dinner with hardly any clean-up! For entertaining, use parchment paper (it presents nicer) and serve it straight from the oven to the dining table.

The recipes are quite versatile so feel free to modify it to suit your taste or accommodate whatever is in the fridge. Works best with any non-oily white fish: cod, tilapia, hammour, cream dory, etc.

(1) Asian Fish-in-a-Bag (serves 2)

• 2 sheets aluminum foil or parchment paper (~12 x 24 inches)
• 2 fish fillets (5-6 ounces each)
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 cups coarsely chopped bok choy or napa cabbage
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 Tb vegetable oil
• 1 ts sesame oil
• 2 Tb soy sauce
• 1ts grated fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• dash of cayenne or Chile oil (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F. Fold each sheet of foil or paper in half so that it forms a double layer square. Bush a little oil on the center part of each square. Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Spread half of the rice on the center of each square and then layer with half of the greens and then the fish. Mix the oils, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and cayenne together and pour half of the mixture over each packet. Fold foil/paper into airtight packets. Bake for 20 minutes. Be careful when opening the packets as the steam is extremely hot. You can eat straight out of the packets or transfer the contents onto a plate.

(2) French Fish-in-a-Bag (serves 2)

• 2 sheets aluminum foil or parchment paper (~12 x 24 inches)
• 2 fish fillets (5-6 ounces each)
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tb olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1 Tb chopped fresh basil, rosemary, or thyme (or 1 ts dried)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F. Fold each sheet of foil or paper in half so that it forms a double layer square. Bush a little oil on the center part of each square. Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Layer half of the ingredients in the middle of each square in this order: zucchini, mushrooms, fish, and onion slices. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, wine, salt, pepper, and herbs and sprinkle half of the mixture over each packet. Fold foil/paper into airtight packets. Bake for 20 minutes. Be careful when opening the packets as the steam is extremely hot. You can eat straight out of the packets or transfer the contents onto a plate.

Enjoy!

Tags: recipes | no comments »

 

Today, I gathered a troop of pizza lovers on a culinary journey to 6 of NYC’s best pizza joints in one day: John’s, Grimaldi’s, Carmine’s, Lombardi’s, Patsy’s of Harlem, and Luzzo’s. And we also visited a smathering of pubs b/c what else goes best with pizza but beer?!

This has been something I had wanted to do for a while now. Having grown up in NYC, I had not been to a single one of the pizza places listed above. But today, we would go to 6 and taste-test them all!

I can now say from first-hand experience that all the places we visited had great pizza and I’m not sure if it was the beer but the pizzas kept getting better throughout the day. I found Patsy’s to be my favorite “classic-style” pizza as its slices reminded me most of the pizza of my youth. But the place that I would like to go back to right away would be Luzzo’s. Or maybe Carmine’s.

What’s your favorite?

Tags: food, nyc | no comments »