Archive for the ‘Dubai’ Category

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Thanksgiving

November 30, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

plate of turkey slices, brussel sprouts, carrots, sausages, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce

It’s that time again and Thanksgiving is difficult to recreate when living abroad. First, you don’t normally get the day off from work. This year I did get the day off, but only because Dubai won the World Expo 2020 bid. The email telling me that I didn’t have to come to work was sent out 10:35 pm the night before, so no time to plan anything special.

Secondly, ingredients are challenging to find, although that seems to be improving. The number of restaurants offering turkey dinners seems to be improving also. This is what we opted for this year. I didn’t have high hopes, because our last restaurant Thanksgiving dinner was disappointing (in terms of food) at best.

This time the turkey was lovely – moist, tasty and plentiful. I ate almost everything and much like a real Thanksgiving dinner, I was stuffed to the point of pain. That didn’t stop me from having a bit of dessert.

cheese cake and chocolate sauce

We ordered one cheese cake with three spoons, so I didn’t eat all of this myself. It was nice, but not actual cheese cake. If you can pick it up with your fingers, it isn’t cheese cake. It’s gelatin dessert. Many restaurants here offer “cheese cake,” but what they actually serve is mousse or gelatin. Real cheese cakes are very rare.

It was a pleasant afternoon with good company, good food, and no dishes to wash.

Posted in Dubai, food | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

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Pinoy Lomi House

November 2, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

restaurant sign

We tried out another Filipino restaurant last night. We noticed it while driving down an unpaved alley on our way to the grocery store. In preparation for the “Totally Fabulous Fujairah Food Tour,” we thought we better check this one out. When we arrived the restaurant was about half full of Filipino patrons, which is a very good sign.

salad with fish, cucumbers, onions, lemon, turnip, and vinegar

This is kilawin, a salad made with fish, turnips, cucumbers, onions, chili peppers, red bell pepper, and lemon. The fish starts raw and is cooked by the vinegar marinade. Very delicious (as long as I avoided the little pieces of chili pepper).

two plates, one with a beef dish and the other with a shrimp dish

The dish on the left is caldereta, a beef dish. The dish on the right (name unknown) is made with bitter gourd and shrimp. These were DaddyBird’s choices and he didn’t want to share the caldereta with me, so we will need a double order next time. Very delicious. I’m not as crazy about the bitter gourd, though. It has earned it’s name.

beef and cabbage soup

This is bulalo. It is a very savory but simple beef soup. Next time I have a cold or flu, I will be requesting bulalo from this restaurant and seafood soup from The Oriental. That will make everything better.

two bottled drinks

For drinks, we chose orange flavored basil seed drink and coconut juice. The basil seed drinks, which come in multiple flavors, are interesting because the seeds are a bit gelatinous. The coconut juice is the most refreshing. The dish in the front is our dessert choice, a coconut and ube gelatin which also had corn in it. Ube is a purple yam that is used in many desserts and pastries.

Normally, all this would come with rice, but due to our semi-paleo diet, we are not eating rice. This will be a great restaurant for us because we can get dishes that fit our diet and fill us up.

We give this restaurant a A+. This meal cost us a whopping 65 AED ($17.00 USD). Great value and great taste.

Posted in Dubai, food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Random Dubai Sights

November 1, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please don’t reblog.

storefront of Magnetic Technologies

What is magnetic water? It looks like fun.

picture of baby swimming "I love magnetic water...try it."

Halloween decorations at the cinema

It’s amazing to see the amount of Halloween decoration this year.

a female mannequin dressed as a witch and a male mannequin dressed as a devil with a coffin

Ah, Halloween. The holiday when tacky is perfectly acceptable.

bilingual sign explaining how to put on a bra

The Marks and Spencer fitting room had this helpful sign.

close up of the sign

Make sure to put your arms in the traps and adjust accordingly.

huge cement support column in a food court

When you build a massive building – shopping mall with floors of apartments above it – you end up with huge view obscuring support columns in your food court.

food court restaurant sign

Extreme Shawarma – Is this where the Avengers eat?

blue ankle boots

Those are SOME blue suede shoes.

brown sweater with a cream colored squirrel on it

Squirrel!

Tweety bird underpants

There was a whole rack of cartoon themed underwear all sporting tags claiming to be official Warner Bro products.

tag on underpants

That’s the feature you want in children’s underwear – potential for bursting into flame.

women's clothing store called Cartoon Fashion

The name Cartoon Fashion doesn’t exactly inspire visions of large women’s clothing. I didn’t see any cartoons in there.

Posted in Dubai, malls, Shopping | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

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Sohailia, How I Miss Thee

October 24, 2013

posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

There is one more American thing we miss — good dental care. Specifically, good preventative dental cleanings.

En Amérique un dentiste au travail [soignant un molosse] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]
En Amérique un dentiste au travail [soignant un molosse] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]
Source: gallica.bnf.fr

We were spoiled by Sohailia. She was such a good dental hygienist that I looked forward to my cleanings. With her range of picks she would carefully clean each and every tooth with such a light touch that it tickled. She would examine each tooth for problems and evaluate the state of the gums. When she finished, she would report to the dentist any and all problems that she observed.

American dentistry is amazing. It comes complete with guilt trip. You can count on being asked how often you brush and if you floss. If you admit that you don’t floss, you’ll get a little lecture about how important it is. The last time I was at an American dentist office, they took a swab of my mouth and showed me the bacteria from my mouth under a microscope to try to shame me into spending more effort on my oral hygiene.

They also go to extreme lengths to retain teeth. I had the root canal done in one tooth three times before a dentist finally admitted that the whole thing had to go. The truth is that I would have been a lot healthier if it had been extracted instead of remodeled.

In the UAE, dentists are everywhere, but hygienists are few and far between. Every “cleaning” I’ve had so far has been done by the dentist with an electric powered tool. This cleaning tool experience is unpleasant, at best. It sure doesn’t hold a candle to Sohailia’s light touch.

The first two dentist experiences I’ve had in the UAE were unpleasant. I specifically requested anesthesia for any drilling to be done and the dentist blatantly ignored this request. I did not go back for more. Our insurance makes it even more annoying, because everything has to be preauthorized, even diagnostic x-rays. So, the first visit is a bit of a waste, because nothing can be done unless you are willing to pay for it out of pocket.

I seem to have finally found a good dentist. The cleaning still involved an electric power tool, but I survived. Before working on fillings, she asked if I wanted anesthesia and then actually gave it to me. Hoorah! She rebuilt a broken tooth rather nicely.

Posted in Dubai, medical care | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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Priceless

October 2, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

billboard showing random iconic sites

Sheikh Zayed Road is now lined with a series of huge billboards. I found this one astonishing due to its mashup of iconic images. Dubai — Egyptian pyramids — Grecian/Roman columns — Petra Treasury. It’s apparently an advertisement for Priceless Arabia, whatever that is.

Posted in Dubai, signs | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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Sushi!

September 28, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

six lane freeway with few cars

It is one of those weekends when we have reason to drive into Dubai on both days. Ya gotta love Friday morning traffic.

approaching Dubai Mall and Sheikh Zayed Road

Here’s your obligatory iconic picture:

view of the tallest building in the world from the street below

We had doctor appointments in the afternoon, but first we went to the Sumo Sushi restaurant at Jumeirah Town Centre at the invitation of the owner to help taste test some new dishes.

sushi roll of brown rice topped with salmon

They were all delicious. The above is made with brown rice, green onions, salmon and black roe. Yummy!

sushi roll of salmon and cucumber

This one is cucumber and salmon and very beautiful, but a little tricky to get into your mouth before it falls apart. Still yummy.

shrimp roll topped with fried carrot

This one has shrimp inside. It was delicious, but what I really liked was the crispy fried shredded carrot. One of the major things I like about sushi is the combination of different textures. The carrots are all about texture. In the background are squid rolls which were very interesting on the texture and taste scale.

shrimp, cucumber, rolled in rice wrapper

This one is pattered after Thai fresh spring rolls. Delicious. I think I ate most of them.

tuna, avocado, fried carrots

This is my A#1 favorite. Tuna, avocado, and fried carrots. The only way to make this better is to use salmon (my personal favorite fish). I would definitely order this every time. (A bonus – it is paleo in that there is no rice.)

nigiri style seared salmon

Seared salmon nigiri was a big hit with everyone. It was delicious, but probably 3rd on my list.

rice, salmon, tuna layered and cut in triangle shapes

A new style sushi sandwich with slices of tuna, salmon with avocado and roe. This was a hit, too.

Unfortunately, only a few will make it to the menu. I’m crossing my fingers for the brown rice/salmon maki, the tuna/avocado salad, and fried shredded carrots on EVERYTHING.

Posted in Burj Dubai, Dubai, food, restaurant | Tagged | 1 Comment »

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Dhows

August 30, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

large wooden boat at a dock

Some very large dhows on Dubai Creek.

large wooden boat at dock

Posted in Dubai Creek | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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Iftar with Friends

July 14, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

It is that time of year again – Ramadan. So, we ventured into Dubai for an iftar meal with some wonderful people.

ten people at a dinner table

BBQ Delights put on a lovely buffet selection.

plate of tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, green salads

I started with salads – beet salad, cucumber, salads, and tomatoes.

plate of chicken, shrimps, and bread

Then meats – two kinds of chicken grills, shrimps, and naan (flat bread). I’m cheating a little on the diet. The shrimps are lightly breaded and the bread is bread.

cup of tea

The finalé – tea.

Posted in Dubai, food, Ramadan, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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We are on TV, Sort of

July 12, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

If you haven’t already, watch this:

Did you see us?

screen shot of DaddyBird's tweet - Woo hoo RT @kangayayaroo @PeetaPlanet set to record so @DaddyBird won't miss it due to his kitchen duties

And at Special Ostadi?

three people in snapshot pinned to the wall

The Peeta Planet television show is one of the best things produced in the UAE. To watch all the episodes plus extras, go to their YouTube channel – click here. Considering all the sensationalized stuff that passes for television, it is really nice to watch something smart and informative. The episodes always include art, music, food, and culture. THIS is television worth watching.

Posted in Dubai, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Another Water Feature Bites the Dust

May 3, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

Another one of our favorite water features –

Festival City Fountain
Is now wrapped in a death shroud.

white sheeting

The reasoning is

The future is clearer. We're clearing away obstacles to make way for better shopping.

“The future is clearer. We’re clearing away obstacles to make way for better shopping. Project: Opening sight lines. It’s all happy-ning.”

I have no idea what will replace this distinctive fountain, but it sounds like it will be more kiosks selling stuff. Very sad.

Posted in Dubai, fountains, malls | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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