Saturday, December 29, 2012

Spa time

So I've been extremely busy with work and family visitors. Now I am on vacation and have nothing planned for this week. It feels good!
Time to drink plenty of tea and relax!

I must book myself into an ottoman spa...a few months ago I went to a spa on The Palm and it was superb!
The massage treatment I booked was lovely and as an added bonus I could use all the facilities. In most spas you can use the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. However at the Zabeel Saray spa they have a salt swimming pool, adventure showers, steam room, sauna, hot stone relaxation chairs, freezing cold plunge pool and many relaxation areas.
It was so peaceful. Bliss!


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Shivering in Dubai

It's Winter in Dubai! After the heavy rainfalls of last week Dubai's weather has drastically changed...it is freezing!
On the way to work I have to wrap myself up in layers and put the car heater on. No AC allowed!
When I get home I put on my fluffy dressing gown and my Ugg boot slippers. Hibernation!
What I don't understand is how come nobody else feels the cold?? At work most of my colleagues were wearing t-shirts...and I'm there wearing a big jumper. What is wrong with everyone?
How does nobody else feel the cold? What on earth would I do if I went back to the UK?
He understands what I'm talking about!

Friday, December 7, 2012

If you have food in your fridge...

Is this really true? If it is then Alhamdulillah! I am blessed! How can I help the people who are less fortunate? Does this make you feel guilty...it makes me feel guilty and like I have a duty to help others...but like I've said before you can't help everyone so where shall I start?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Emirati Food at Festival City

I visited an Emirati restaurant in Festival City today called Al Fanar. The food was so flavoursome and fresh!
The restaurant is located along the Canal Walk outside the Mall. The entrance was a stone archway and before you reached the seating area you were taken on a mini journey through old UAE. They had several statues of Emirati men and women cooking, fishing etc It was really interesting to see and made me even more excited about the food.
We then decided to sit inside as it was too hot at lunchtime...however outside there was arabic majlis type sitting which I would have loved to try.

The inside of the restaurant was decorated with artefacts and had a beautiful tree in the middle. The atmosphere was quiet and had Qu'ran playing, which made the setting very serene.
 We received the menus and I was delighted to see that each dish was accompanied by a photograph. This made it simple to choose! Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home therefore I have had to use photographs from the restaurants website.
For starters we had...
Vegetable Samboosa
Koftat Samak
They both came with a tasty hot sauce type dip. The samboosas had plenty of flavour and the pastry was crispy. The fish melted in your mouth and had a fresh taste to it. Both dishes were very light and we eagerly awaited our main course...
Beryani Dajaj
This was a massive dish enough for two people. I loved the sweetness of the sultanas with the fragrant rice. The crispy onions also worked well with the rice and chicken. This dish was also very light and we moved onto our dessert...
Luqaimat
We had to wait ten minutes for our dessert as they were being made at that moment. They were hot and syrupy and went really well with the mint tea we ordered. The Luqaimat we had were drizzled with a thick syrup and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I want some more!

I have guests visiting soon so I will be taking them to this restaurant to try the wonderful Emirati cuisine! However next time I will be getting a plate of Luqaimat for myself!