Fujairah | Living the Travel Channel

Posts Tagged ‘Fujairah’

Golden Fork

July 21, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

A new Golden Fork restaurant opened in Fujairah recently. Of course, we had to try it out.

Not knowing the size of items, we ordered too much food, starting with soup. I had the corn soup and DaddyBird had a seafood bisque.

Followed by vegetable spring rolls.

Then the rest arrived – grilled salmon, fried rice, and tapsilog (rice, fried egg, beef). The waitress was cute when DaddyBird ordered tapsilog. She didn’t think he understood what he was ordering because it is a Filipino dish and she didn’t expect a big white guy to order it. It wasn’t strange or spicy, so I am not sure what the potential problem might have been.

Golden Fork is a Filipino restaurant chain. Filipino food strikes me as a strange mix of the exotic and mundane. Seafood and white toast/peas/carrots. I suppose that from their perspective the seafood is the mundane and the white bread/peas/carrots are the exotic foods brought in by the colonizers.

Posted in food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged Filipino, food, Fujairah, Golden Fork, Salmon, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Nepal Kitchen House

May 24, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

We’ve been meaning to eat at the Nepal Kitchen House for a while. We noticed the small sign while driving by. On another day, we ventured into the building to check out what kind of business it was. It turned out to be a restaurant. (One can’t always tell by a business’s title what it actually sells.) A few more times we drove by on our way home from some other restaurant and said “oh, we should have tried the Nepal Kitchen House.”

This is aloo jeera fry (cubed potatoes with cumin seeds and parsley) and chicken rice (lentil soup, rice, chicken in a sauce).

These are vegetable momos (dumplings).

These are chicken momos (dumplings).

Our meal began and ended with tea. This feast was 42 AED ($11.50 USD).

I’d like to know more about the building that the restaurant is in. The building still has several businesses in it, but it has fallen into disrepair. It may have been the first “mall” in Fujairah. There is an inner court with two escalators going up just one floor that clearly no longer work. The columns are covered in beautiful tile work. It must have been impressive in its day.

Posted in food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged aloo jeera fry, dal, Fujairah, momos, Nepalese food, Nepalese restaurant | 1 Comment »

An Anniversary Not Forgotten

May 4, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Earlier this week DaddyBird said “What are we doing Thursday?” I stupidly said “Is there a reason we should do something Thursday?” Oh, yeah. That pesky wedding anniversary has come around again. Needless to say I am not the romantic in this relationship. This was an improvement over last year when we both missed our 10th anniversary remembering it a week after the fact.

So, what did we do on our anniversary? Well, we started by driving around town to find the Afghani restaurant that I had previously seen, but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. This led to stopping to photograph stray cats and dogs around dumpsters. There were eight around one dumpster, including kittens. Unfortunately, we can’t take them all home and pamper them. (If I were independently wealthy, I would have a cat sanctuary.)

We did eventually find the restaurant.

We had a really delicious dinner of mutton bukhari (the rice dish – there are two large pieces of lamb/goat meat under that rice), grilled meat (I didn’t get the name of that dish), hummos, chana dahl (lentils in a tomato sauce) and lovely bread. The red substance in the small dishes is a cold soup or thin sauce made of tomatoes and spices. It was a lot like salsa. Very tasty. It was clear that they had used fresh, ripe tomatoes. The hummos was also very fresh tasting. On the whole, yummy! The entire meal cost us 41 AED ($11.00 USD)

Then it was onto the main attraction – The Avengers movie. I find it hard to describe just how good this movie is. All superlatives seem insufficient. As we walked out, DaddyBird asked if we could see it again – immediately. I insisted on waiting until the next day. It is action packed and witty. Perfect.

The evening was not over, yet, however. We finished with a trip to Baskin Robbins because DaddyBird was in the mood for a milkshake and it is hard to find a good milkshake here. I went for the banana split.

There you have it. An anniversary well celebrated.

Posted in animals, cats, celebration, food, Movies, restaurant | Tagged Afghani, Avengers, cats, food, Fujairah, movie | 1 Comment »

Lighting Up the Sky

April 20, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Two nights ago we were on our way home from the grocery store and saw something flashing, very bright, lighting up the sky. It was happening so frequently and at such regular intervals, we thought it might be man made. We actually turned around and drove back to investigate.

It turned out to be lightning. There didn’t seem to be thunder, until I realized that there were no individual claps, just a contant rumble. It was quite a light show and then the rain started. Lovely, huge, cold drops.

Posted in Fujairah, rain, weather | Tagged Fujairah, lightning, rain, weather | Leave a Comment »

The Oldest Mosque in the UAE

February 25, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Bidya Mosque is the oldest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. We took a drive north up the coast to visit the mosque (and try out my new camera).

It’s a like the Tardis. It seems larger on the inside than on the outside.

There are two towers on the hill above the mosque and a very beautiful view in all four directions.

More information about the mosque – click here.
More pictures – click here.

Posted in Dubai | Tagged ancient mosque, Bidya mosque, Fujairah, historical site, United Arab Emirates | Leave a Comment »

The Search for a Burger in a Foreign Land

February 24, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

It took three years, but I’ve developed a yearning for a good American burger. It’s not impossible to find here, but they are few and far between. Yes, there are Burger Kings, MacDonald’s, and even Hardy’s here, but I am talking about a REAL burger.

The top candidates, so far, are, Biggles (Dubai):

Small in circumference, but it was a handmade patty, not a thin, flat pre-made one. And, it comes with a cute beany.

Ace’s (Fujairah):

The problem with this one is the giant bun, which proudly touted in the menu. I start by moving the patty to the side of the bun and then cutting off the excess bread, downsizing the bun to a more appropriate circumference.

Also a contender is Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Dubai), but I do not have a picture. They have good sized burgers with savory patties and put lots of interesting toppings on them.

To be avoided are the Shake Shack burgers (Dubai). They are tasty, but small and WAY over priced.

We recently had burgers at the Harbor Club (Fujairah) which were classic in toppings and the meat was savory. There was a large portion of good fries as well.

Our most recent discovery is Burgerfuel (Dubai).

They claim to have engineered “the ultimate burger” and they are close. This is the “BF monster” which includes cheddar cheese, slices of beet (or beetroot as they call it here), mango, avocado, beef bacon, tomato, lettuce, & pickles. You had me with beet, mango and avocado. One of my favorite veggies and two of my favorite fruits. Put some asparagus on there and I might be devoted for life. The one weak point of this burger was that the beef patty was not as savory as it should be. It needs either salt & pepper or to be flame broiled, maybe both. (This large burger costs about the same as the Shake Shack tiny burger = better deal)

None, however, have conquered the Carolina Alehouse Burger. Oh, how we pine for thee.

Posted in Dubai, food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged American, burger, Dubai, Fujairah, hamburger, monster burger, savory | 2 Comments »

This is How Customer Service is Done

February 22, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

We are often asked “How is living in Fujairah?” Well, here is a very clear example:

Thums Up is DaddyBird’s favorite soda. I have to admit I drink way too much of the stuff, myself. It was hard enough to find in Dubai, but there is only one store in Fujairah that carries it, Choitrams. After discovering this, DaddyBird has gone in occasionally and purchased it a case at a time. Choitrams is a predominantly Indian store, so we stick out like sore thumbs as it is, but DaddyBird also purchases Indian food stuffs and an occasional Bollywood movie magazine, so he is somewhat memorable to the staff.

Yesterday, he went into the store looking for Thums Up. There was none in the front of the shop, as there sometimes is, so he headed to the back beverage section. Only a few individual cans there. He was about to give up when he was approached by a staff member who asked if he wanted a carton of Thums Up. They had set aside a case just for DaddyBird without being asked.

That is what it is like to live in Fujairah.

Posted in Fujairah, Shopping | Tagged Choitrams, customer service, Fujairah, soda | 2 Comments »

Evening Stroll in Fujairah

February 12, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Here are a few sites from our evening stroll through one of Fujairah’s busy night scenes.

Decorative Fishes and Flower World

Silky Mart and Electronics Sales, Repairing & Cassette Recording shops

Smart Garments

New Vegetable Store and Al Falah Hair Cutting Saloon

The Sufi Bicycle Selling Shop has a lovely row of touring style bikes all equipped with bells.

Regal Vegetarian Restaurant & Sweets

Mars Trading

Nicy Roastery

Posted in Fujairah, Shopping, signs | Tagged Fujairah, night scene, shop signs | 3 Comments »

Moon Over Fujairah

February 11, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

On the way to work Thursday morning I had to pull over and take a picture. Unfortunately, it does not do justice to the beauty of the site of the Moon just over the hills.

Posted in desert, Fujairah | Tagged beauty, Fujairah, moon | Leave a Comment »

December Lights

December 16, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

I have to admit that I do miss the cold weather of winter and the American holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. The weather here gets down into the 70’s (Fahrenheit) which is pleasant, but not very wintery. We aren’t bombarded with Christmas shopping commercials and ads. We don’t get to see “It’ a Wonderful Life” or “Frosty the Snowman” or “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” or “Miracle on 34th Street” on the TV. The last three years I haven’t had any time off for Christmas, even working the day when it fell on a weekday. So, it doesn’t seem much like Christmas.

Happily, one thing that hasn’t been missing is lights. The U.A.E.’s anniversary falls on December 2nd. This means lots of red, green and white lights. This year was a special anniversary – 40 years – so there was even more celebration.