Head over to The Meat Co’s restaurant for a lovely tummy filling meal!

Impressed with their handsomely designed dining ambience, upon entering we were guided by an attentive and friendly waitress to our table. Their meat menu had all the regular steakhouse items, but you could easily order and dine happily without eating a single bite of beef.

Crisp view of the Burj Al Arab from our table, good thing we were early.

Non-steak items inlcudes selections of seafood, salads, sides (priced separately) and creative desserts. Hop over to their website http://themeatco.com/locations/middle-east/dubai/madinat-jumeirah to view their extensive menu.
After much thought, we ordered the 200g cheese burger (comes with fries and fried onion rings) and a rocket, apple and walnut salad to share.

The thick beef was perfectly tender and juicy! On the side, fat fries and crispy fried onion rings scored this dish delicious points.

Their well-balanced generous salad serving (supposedly to be drizzled in balsamic vinegar) were excessively soaked in balsamic dressing, which left our tongues and lips dehydrated.

Our bill came to about Aed140, including 2 ginger ales and 1 cappuccino.

Although the prices to any upmarket reputable steakhouse is expensive these days, with a hearty appetite and the cash to splurge, The Meat Co generally satisfies your every meat fix.

THE MEAT CO.
Location: Shop 148 Souk Madinat Jumeirah
Tel: 04 3686040

Falafel , Hummus and other delicious Arabic food …. must try the fresh and tasty stuff….

Try Falafel Al Dar …. Price is affordable and very tasty… the shop is really clean and the staff are very friendly

www.FalafelAldar.com

As we walked into their clean open-kitchen dining room, I took my time browsing their far eastern/ South-east Asian (mainly Singaporean, Malaysian, and Thai) menu. Predictable mains and side dishes didn’t stir my appetite, but their far from the tired norm selections namely the Mee soto, Fishball noodle soup, Malaysian fish curry and Wok fried chili mud crab took me by surprise, they were my three comfort foods I’ve missed eating since 2009.

Chimes churned out enough Chinese, Thai and Malaysian/ Singaporean food to fill a 5-page menu. Though I was tempted to order the three mentioned above on our first visit, It was still a daunting task deciding what to eat!

We started off with their Thai starters, traditional deep-fried fish cakes served with cucumber sauce (Thod Man Pla), and chicken in pandan leaf. The fish cakes lacked flavour, a snoozer starter in my opinion.

If you’re fickle deciding which pan-Asian dish to order, go for their traditional Malaysian/ Singaporean dishes: Hainanese chicken rice and Laksa soup.

The tiny shrimps and tofu shreds in my bowl of laksa didn’t wow me enough. If they were to substitute it with de-shelled tiger shrimps and tofu puffs as per the original Malaysian recipe, this dish would be a hit. Not the best flavour-wise but satisfactory enough to come back for seconds.

Both the M’sian fish curry and char kuey teow were particularly disappointing, they didn’t rank anywhere close to home. The spices and ingredients used in their Malaysian fish curry were vastly different. What a misconception really… I was tempted to suggest they drop the ‘Malaysian’ word and rename the dish ‘Fish fillets in Thai satay curry’ instead. It basically lacked complexity.

So what’s missing in their recipe to make a good fish curry? Tamarind paste, tumeric powder and curry leaves to enhance the flavourful aromatic pot of curry are the essential core spices, an absolute must. The other no-no ingredient in Chimes fish curry; Fish fillets. Usually fish heads, whole Mackerel or fish steaks are best suited in this recipe. I expected chunky pieces of fish steaks!

Their limited but worth-ordering desserts includes nominally treats like banana ice-cream, sweet sticky rice and Asian fruite salad scored them some brownie points. With extra tummy space, I couldn’t resist their photo-delicious Sak Kan Ta Lup (sago with rockmelon with sweet coconut milk). Loved the generous portion.

Those craving for spicy-pleasing Thai/ Pan-Asian food, Chimes cooking style caters mostly to western and local diners who prefers their sauces and curries pungent-chili friendly.

CHIMES
Location: Seven Sands Hotel Apartment, Al Barsha
Tel: 04 3234211

http://www.scribblelicious.com/?p=5460

Unnoticed signage and tucked away on the first floor of Golden Tulip Hotel, who would have figured ”The Sky” sounds anything but a Korean restaurant? Run by a Korean himself, this outdated-decorated dine-in specializes -like many others- herbal broths, stews and BBQ. It’s no suprise they don’t attract many walk-ins, still the place was packed with Korean diners and families toasting, chatting over their hot brewing broths and bbq smokey grills.

Greeted with a hello bow at door, our friendly waiter gave us a quick brief to a few in-house specialities.

While flipping through their 5-page flattering menu deciding what to order, we were served a variety of 5 different complementary banchans (refillable side dishes):

Kimchi napa cabbage, seasoned sliced cucumbers, fried anchovies, fried potatoes, assorted spinach salad placed on a long stylish rectangular plate.

Their beef Bulgolgi impressed me in every way. Tender juicy beef strips marinated in soy tossed with sliced onions was a standout dish.

The half chicken with ginseng in congee broth was disappointingly mild, given Korean cuisine’s flavourful-pungent rep, this generous bland broth lacked the essential ginseng and sweet Chinese dates which are the core herbs to this dish. But even so, their easy-off-the-bone chicken restored my appetite.

Inclusive of a large bottle of water to share, 2 complimentary bowls of steamed rice, the bill came to AED140. Affordably priced in my opinion.

We’ll be back to get smokey with their Korean Bbq beef!

THE SKY
Location: Level 1, Golden Tulip Hotel, Al Barsha

http://ww.scribblelicious.com/?p=5498

Starting with the lentil soup which was served with fresh Arabic bread and croutons I then moved on to the salad selection. As a light eater I prefer the crispy lettuce and vegetables so the choice is perfect. Main course is always a dilemma as there are a number of my favourite dishes to choose from. I went for the harees and chicken molokhia which are delicious.

To accompany my meal I enjoyed a selection of traditional beverage including Qamar El Din which is a sweet dried apricot juice and Jallab, an equally sweet drink made from date syrup.

After eating so much I wondered if I had any room left for dessert but i can never resist the chocolate mousse which was light and creamy and the perfect end to a lovely meal.

Sari Nusa is a modest inexpensive Indonesian eatery situated along the streets of Satwa (easy to spot the red signage if you drive or walk by). Unheard by many, I assume -by observing their customers- it’s a highly talked-about restaurant among Indonesian residents/ tourists.

It was through a Malaysian friend that sanely INSISTED it’s the bes tIndonesian/ Malaysian cooking she’s had in UAE.
Here’s two reasons why I was convinced; The chef himself hails from Indonesia, Malay cuisine/ recipes were influenced by generations-ago traders migrated from Indonesia. Hence the spicy aromatic similarities of ingredients and herbs in their cooking.

As we walked into the suprisingly clean and pleasant interior, the familiar piquant aromas brought back food memories of Malay cooking I used to have during lunch breaks at work.

Above photo shows trays of vibrantly spiced dishes sitting deliciously on a counter. This typical concept (Nasi Bungkus= Packed/ Mixed rice or Nasi Padang) is seen everywhere in Malaysia, adding different dishes on a plate of rice, for both take-away/ eat-in purposes during lunch or dinner.

Without reading the menu, I recognized our favourites or what most Malaysians tend to order on a regular day at a casual restaurant.

Left to right photo: Cucur Udang (Prawn Fritters, a popular appetizer/ afternoon snack) and Kikil(Indonesian Cow Leg Curry)

Nasi Goreng Kampong (Fried Rice topped with Fried Egg)

Dishes I chose with my plate of rice were: Balado Teri (Spicy Chili dried baby anchovies), Sayur Nangka (Vegetable curry) and Ayam Rendang.

And to end our bloaty lunch-venture, I had to order my all time favourite fried dessert/ nibbles: Pisang Goreng Kayu-Kayu (Fried Banana Fritters with cheese). Back in Malaysia we have it without the cheese toppings, it must be an Indonesian thing I suppose.

We were impressed with their selections and generous santan (coconut milk)-turmeric-galangal-chillies infused gravies that kept us hungry all hour long!

If you’re not bored out eating Indonesian/ Malaysian food yet, head over to this authentic Indonesian fare for a mouth-watering meal.

SARI NUSA
Location: Satwa (Ground Floor of Dune Building/ Belhoul Hospital).

http://www.scribblelicious.com/?p=5318

So where did I food venture today?

The popular (among Chinese/ South-East Asian expats) Lan Kwai-Fong situated in Oud Metha. It took us about 20mins drive from Dubai Marina, and the whole time I was flattering their cooking style being so similar to most Chinese dine-ins/ hawkers back in Kuala Lumpur.

Their dodgy photographed menu had all my favourites: Kai Lan in Oyster Sauce, Seafood in Scallop XO sauce, Stir-fry Kangkong in various styles, Claypot/ Sizzling tofu, mud crabs etc. I drooled just imagining them in my head! Because they’re known for their whole Peking duck (the portion was too much for  just 2 of us), I figured other selections of duck dishes would turn out as good. I was right! I ordered the BBQ duck leg with Vegetables, Stir-fry Kangkong with Mushrooms and Claypot Chicken in Szechuan style.

Every dish reminded me of home, juicy duck pieces drenched in flavoured sauces had me in cloud 9!

Aside from their outdated interior and hard-to-find address, I happily paid, including 2 ice-lemon teas and 1 chilled mango pudding dessert, Aed120. Cheap! The ONLY complaint I have for them, is the amount of salt used in their cooking.

As said before, never gloss over a sloppy-looking restaurant such as this… A humble restaurant as it’s always been, the food itself has proven enough to lure customers back for thirds!

LAN KWAI-FONG
Location: 10th Street (shoplots), behind Lamcy Plaza, Near Movenpick Hotel.
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm-3.3pm, Dinner: 6.30pm – 11pm.

www.scribblelicious.com

The restaurant is based upon a New York style steak house. Plush red and black chairs and a very nice environment. Our host greeted us and asked for our reservation . A selection of knives is presented before you get your steak. Pretty nice dining ware too. This was our 2nd time coming so I ordered the Caesar salad for starters and my partner passed but managed to get half after she had a bite.It was like 3 small heads of baby Gems lettuce bursting with flavours and a mouth watering salad to boot. I ordered the Wagu Strip loin (190). My partner had the New York strip (160 AED) and we shared mash (28). The Wagu was simply sensational. I have never had a better steak anywhere. My partner was also blown away by the one piece I kindly offered her. I savored each and every piece.

The place is not cheap especially the sides but you could always share a side. We had no room for desert but they sounded nice. The wine was a very nice Australian. The music was loud enough to hear and also quite loungey with the likes of St Germain. Quite funky!

We retired to the outside bar which was quite and got a sofa with a great view.

Staff were very courteous throughout the evening. Even the manager came to us twice. Once to ask about our food and once to refill our glasses. Service with a smile! It was a Monday night and the place was packed as it was same last time.

http://www.west14th.ae/