Where I’ll be celebrating Valentines

Instead of an expensive dinner and a trip to the Maldives  (see here: Most expensive valentines day ever)  I’ll be celebrating Valentines with the bf in a slightly more low key yet just as special way..

This Valentines we will be tucking into the Pantry Cafe’s Lovers Sharing Breakfast, which is designed just for two.

I really like this breakfast deal because its one of the more affordable ways to celebrate V-day (125AED per couple) and includes TWO sharing dishes, one sweet and one savoury.

They also will be serving a croffin (pictured below) which is the love-child of a muffin and a croissant so lots of buttery, moist, sweet goodness to enjoy. 125AED  gets you a hot beverage each and they sell RAW Coffee there which as any Dubaian knows, is the best coffee in town…

Pantry Cafe has two locations, one in Business Bay and the other Al Wasl Square – I’ll be visiting the Business Bay one as I really like the layout of the venue.

The Pantry Cafe Lovers Sharing Breakfast includes savoury options: Savoury Waffles with creamy mushrooms, rocket and semi dried tomatoes, Shakshouka made with organic eggs, with a spicy tomato sauce, Masala Omelet made with egg whites, green chillies and onions

For sweet dishes: Pancakes maple sauce, ricotta and caramelised banana, French Toast with berry compote, mascarpone and maple sauce, Pavlova with fresh blueberries and raspberrie, or Freshly baked croffin with berry compote, white chocolate & vanilla ice cream

Z

Tesoro Brunch at The Taj

After a few hectic months of lots of work and just as much partying, I’m looking forward to the Ramadan wind down and catching up on my box sets etc (The Blacklist anyone?). Last weekend was quite a big one, being the last brunch of the season, the Societe closing party and an accidentally messy Thursday night at Geales (see previous post).

So last Friday me, the bf and a few pals headed to the new Taj Hotel in Business Bay to check out brunch at Tesoro the Peruvian restaurant on 3rd floor.

The Taj in case you didn’t already know, is a famous Indian chain of luxury hotels and according to their wiki page.. (see i do all the hard work so you don’t have to)

“As of 2015, Taj Group operates 108 hotels across India and 17 hotels in the UK, USA, Africa, Maldives, Malaysia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East,^[8] and employed over 13000 people in the year 2010.^[6][9] Taj Group also owns a few private islands”

Actually you can check out the website here – the taj website.

I’d read a great piece in Condè Nast Traveller about The Taj so was looking forward to seeing what the hotel was like. We arrived and I wasn’t disappointed, the interiors were spacious and airy and decorated with Indian art and ethnic inspired furniture.

We took the lifts up to the 3rd floor to find a surprisingly (being that they only just opened) busy buffet brunch in full swing with excellent live music at Tesoro. Brunch was filled with couples, big groups, families, new mothers with babies, groups of friends etc which was great to see for a new venue. Also I remember the live music specifically because the singer did a great acoustic cover of ROAR by Katy Perry – yeahh boiiii

I have to say, as soon as I walked into Tesoro I was impressed. Huge windows, wooden floors, white walls and wooden and neutral decors complimented by a few indoor trees created a spacious yet cosy feel and in the cooler months the terrace will be a brilliant place to sit and enjoy the fantastic views of the Burj Khalifa.

Now onto food…

Tesoro serves a range of Peruvian inspired food which means the buffet serves everything from octopus and chorizo salad to tuna tataki and corn pancakes with hoisin duck. If it sounds good and like you want to eat it ALL then you’re feeling exactly how I felt…

Ceviche and seafood dishes at Tesoro brunch

There’s a wide selection of ceviche and seafood including scallops, salmon tartare and tuna tataki.The menu also includes roast sirloin with chimichurri dressing, peruvian paella and flame-grilled chicken. Food was delicious and I did go up about 4 or 5 times to refill my plates. Dessert highlights for me were the cinnamon chocolate mousse and the most perfect dessert cinnamon churros with dulce de leche ice cream.  I liked the brunch format at Tesoro because I like smaller portions where I can try lots of different things so it was great having the option to dine like that 🙂

Unfortunately, I was suffering from a slight headache due to all the Monkey Bay on Thursday (i’m not even a white wine drinker – i dont even know what came over me at Geales) so for the first hour at B R U N C H I was chugging water.

Drinks at brunch included Espresso Martinis, lethal but divine, pisco sours and passionadas (im not sure what was in these but they were delish and i spent most of brunch sipping on these) and other cocktails and a few beers and prosecco if you’re doing the more expensive package.

We did the package with cocktails and house beverages which is 395dhs, the other packages are 250dhs for soft drinks and 495dhs for all beverages including prosecco.

The service was great, the Chef even came to our table and introduced himself which was a lovely touch. We also were brought a constant supply of cocktails to our table by the wait staff, who seemed more than capable of handling the busy brunch, which for a new venue is very important.

What I tend to find about brunches in Dubai is that you often have to choose between good food or a good atmosphere or good service. With Tesoro this wasn’t the case. It was full of people, had a great selection of food and service was fab. I can’t wait to return 🙂

We also hit up the Eloquent Elephant afterwards for more espresso martinis and then some red wine before heading to Societe for the closing party (yes i was feeling F R E S H on saturday morning) but I want to write a separate post about the EE as I think it deserves its own blog post here…

Thursday night at Geales..

Ever since it first opened back in 2014 (I think) I have been wanting to try out British seafood restaurant Geales. Located at the oldie but goldie Le Royal Meridien, Geales appealed to me on a number of levels, mainly the extensive gin menu including gins like Edinburgh Gin and Bulldog and its promise of being the freshest seafood restaurant in Dubai. So when a friend of mine invited me to come down to Geales for dinner last Thursday I was more than excited..

Despite the scorching summer heat we sat outside at the bar and ordered a few gin cocktails..

Gin cocktails at Geales

After a long week at work, my blackberry and cinnamon gin cocktail was the perfect refreshing tonic (yep pun intended).  Between the two of us, we ordered a starter each, I tried the salmon tartare and my companion the seafood broth and then shared a grilled seafood sharing platter for our mains.

Salmon tartare in Geales

Sharing seafood platter with lobster, mussels, tiger prawns, crabs and calamari – was amaze

I loved Geales and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The service was fabulous and we ordered a bottle (maybe even three bottles if im being honest here) of Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc to accompany our meal. Will 100% be back, maybe in the cooler months to sit on a table outside.

Also, what was lovely is that we had our sharing platter for about an hour on the table and just leisurely picked at it while enjoying maybe what was a WAY too much wine judging by the headache I had the next day.

What was nice too was that for a Thursday night in June, Geales was fairly busy which is probably due to the great food and ambiance of the place.

Netball Bantz

Yes we discovered we could spell words with our bibs…..  

Tragic netball bantz

I always thought adults who voluntarily played organized team sports were the worst kind of humans…until I became one of those people!

Not only did I sign myself up to a weekly netball league (thanks duplays) but I also signed up three of my pals too to play in a team called the Misfits every Tuesday evening.

I mainly signed up because I’m so unfit most of my exercise comes from dancing on a night out and walking through the mall (yes I’m a lazy girl) but now I’ve found myself looking forward to netball so much so that now the leagues ended I can’t wait to sign up again!! Who have I become?!

Our league just finished and despite losing every game bar one we somehow managed to come second in our league!!!!!  🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Until next season 😂👌🏾

Leopolds of London – Burger Review

Burger from Leopolds of London

When I was about 8 years old I remember being asked by my teacher to write about what I had done that weekend. I proceeded to write a vivid description of a burger that I had eaten at a barbecue – no mention of who was there, what I did or any other details you would expect from an 8 year old, I only wrote about how delicious my burger was and how much ketchup I had covered it in. Fast forward about 17 years (I definitely didn’t just have to work that out on a calculator) and my love for burgers, and food in general has only deepened with time.

A self-confessed burger fiend, I was somewhat dubious when a friend told me that someone had told her on good authority that Leopold’s of London, (down on JBR) served the best burgers in Dubai.

When it comes to burgers, I like to think that I’m both a connoisseur of a greasy fast food treat, in addition to a lovely a gourmet meaty burger. Burger Fuel will always be one of my favourite go to burger take aways, but sometimes a Jones the Grocer wagyu beef burger is the only thing that will hit the spot. I have been known to crave a Shake Shack in my time, and nothing can beat the fun assembly of a burger with all the little pots for sauce in Fuddruckers. Then of course there are the Wendy’s, Hardees, Mc Donald’s and Burger King’s but I will leave those out of the conversation for now.

So the other afternoon my friend and I paid a visit to Leopold’s down on JBR on the Walk to sample what Leopold’s had to offer us in terms of burgers.

Sophie enjoying her burger

How good is it really?

Menu variety:  There was only one burger on offer but aside from that there was a nice selection of mains including sumac rubbed salmon, pizza and a good variety of sandwiches. 7/10

Service: Despite visiting during the busy afternoon rush there were only 3 waiters for the whole outside area. We occasionally had to wait for our waiter to spot us amongst the other tables. 5/10

Decor: Simple and classic decor inside but a little dark to sit inside on such a lovely day. 6/10

Z factor (something wow): Perfect spot for people watching on JBR beach with a sea view. 8/10.

Food: Definitely ranks up there with my favourite burgers. The patty was full, meaty and juicy, and it came with a thick layer of cheese as well as gherkins and a lovely relish sauce. It was so big I had to ask for half of it to take home with me! 9/10

Drinks available: Not licensed as it is on JBR beach but a good range of mocktails and fresh juices.

Value for money: Between the two of us we ordered a burger each as well as a large bottle of water each and the bill was about 200aed altogether . 7/10 considering that was my dinner AND lunch it was such a big portion.

Highlight of the trip: Perfect setting for a casual lunch with friends. We sat outside and leisurely ate our burgers over about two hours people watching and just enjoying being out in the Sun. I will definitely be paying another visit! The thick cut chips were also very tasty.

Here is the website for more information http://www.leopoldsoflondon.com/Loepolds_Of_London/Welcome_to_Leopolds_of_London.html