Al Dejaj Al Shahi - for the love of the broth.

I lived in the Philippines and grew up eating Filipino food for 25 years until coming here in the UAE. That's why I said to myself that I'll enjoy every regional dish I can as long as I'm here and never to eat at Filipino restaurants because it'll feel redundant eating the same food I had growing up, a food I can cook at home.

However, I've been asking people from different countries to eat out with me on their preferred traditional restaurants and when they ask back, the only restaurant that comes to mind is Max's and it's expensive so this is the start of my search to find affordable and authentic Filipino dishes.

I and my wife were eating at this Nepali restaurant when I notice a large number of cyclist parking their bikes to a nearby restaurant and thought this might be Filipino restaurant because it's what we do after cycling, we eat, and it was. Because of the number of crowds frequenting the place, we said we'd come back and try Al Dejaj Al Shahi (yes, that's the name of a Filipino restaurant, the direct translation is Delicious Chicken according to my Arabic colleague) and see what the fuzz is all about, more after the break.

Al Nadeg - Eat like a Shiekh!

I work in a multi-national/cultural office and building rapport with my peers allowed me to execute my plan.

To eat with someone from a different country on their preferred restaurant eating their traditional dish.

I was speaking with Hessa, a colleague from Yemen, about how I like eating traditional food and she recommended to me a restaurant called Al Nadeg that is owned by her friend. Thinking I might get a discount or even have the meal for free I grabbed the opportunity to try it and asked for the directions and where it is so I can go as soon as I can. Find out more after the break.

Kurkum - My first traditional South Indian meal

My normal reviews are considered short novels because of the number of words I use but even though no one reads through it, I still do it because the food and experience I had deserved justice by fleshing it out with my words and pictures.

I work in a multi-cultural office and building rapport with my peers allowed me to execute my plan.

To eat with someone from a different country on their preferred restaurant eating their traditional dish.

I and my colleague Ajith Thomas went to a restaurant called Kurkum which serves traditional food from Kerala, a region from South India. Full experience after the break.

Located in front of Sharjah Megamall

Syed Al Biryani - Bring on the heat!

This review is totally from an outsider looking in. I've mentioned that disclaimer since the consensus is divided amongst reviewers whose probably had Biryani from their home countries in Pakistan or India or have compared it with their parent's recipe that they had since kids. I, on the other hand, had only started eating this dish when I came here in UAE 3 years ago and had my fair share of Biryanis to say at least which is good and which isn't, and this is place is definitely one of the best Biryani I've had, probably top 3. More on this after the break. 

Brosted Chicken House Restaurant - Shawaramadness!

When you say shawarma, you'll have a general idea of how it will be like, it's either bits and pieces of chicken or beef/mutton, then add fries if it's an Arabic shawarma, and sliced and diced vegetables if it's from an Indian cafeteria, and these are wrapped in a flatbread. You'll find shawarma joints all across UAE dime a dozen, so to stand out, they need to have something that sets them apart from the competition, and that's where Brosted Chicken House & Restaurant comes in, more after the break.

McDonald's Signature Collection - An Autograph To Your Taste buds

McDonald's had a social media campaign on their new Signature collection sandwiches and are giving away 100 of those on every branch they have here in UAE so of course, I know I'll be one of the first people in line.

To make sure I will not be fighting for a spot, I went to the nearest McDonald's branch with my son 30 minutes earlier and while waiting I had him play at the kid's area. Read more on how it went after the break.

 

Texas Roadhouse - A Roundhouse of Sumptuousness!

Texas Roadhouse is one of those fancier restaurants we only get to dine-in once or twice a year, the price of their food is too steep for plebeians but you can easily tell that the quality of their food and choice of meat is superior to your run of the mill restaurants and that's what makes it worth it.

Bukhari Al Khaleej - "Rice Rice Baby"

This place is up on my list after Googling what Bukhari is, and as Asians who love eating rice, we definitely had to try one. Before the Al Majaz branch opened, we tried to visit their other branches but they are too far away from my location so waited until this opened and went with the family when it did.

Elevation Burger? more like Demotion Burger (Sharjah Branch)

The claim was that their burgers are 100 % organic, which doesn't necessarily mean anything to me but always wanted to try a different burger joint whenever I can and when a voucher for a discounted meal came, I just had to dine-in. The voucher was for a cheeseburger, fries, and fountain soda.

Location of the restaurant is okay, they situated it right along the lagoon corniche which I think it's too far away from the Majaz Waterfront for the customers to enjoy the view of the fountain show. Once we got there, ordered, got served, and when I handled the burger to take my first bite, I immediately felt it's too small in my hands, and I have small hands.

Can't get enough'a of Kunafa

Being the sweet tooth that I am, I love desserts, I can pig out in a buffet and have enough room in my stomach (or heart, since desserts goes directly to your heart) to chow down on every sweet on the menu. That is why when I came here in the United Arab Emirates the first thing I looked for other than the scenery are the local cuisines and what do people have here for dessert.

Do you love cheese? noodles? or how about sweets? We'll if you love all of those then there's a dessert here in the middle east that you have been missing, it's called Kunafa and it's a perfect mashup of sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy all at the same bite. Read more after the break.

Krispy Kreme - Morning Coffee and FREE* Donuts

What's so blog worthy of Krispy Kreme’s black coffee? None, but their free* donuts sure do and this review / public service announcement is all about that. Read more after the break.

Mandi, The best Arabic cuisine!

I believe I've eaten enough Chicken Mandi for me to back this title up, and comparing it to most Arabic cuisines I've tried which are mostly simple grilled meat with bread, Mandi truly is the best, more on this after the break.

 

Top 15 unique dishes from Region IV Philippines (that I've decided and have pictures of)

Most of these dishes aren't exactly unique in our region but I'm sure the way it's cooked is, which can be said for every dish out there. In any case, I present to you the top 15 local cuisines you shouldn't miss out if you happen to visit Region IV or around Nagcarlan, Laguna.

Fried Offal - "Litid" and "Baga"

Whenever I visit the city of Lipa City, Batangas, I make sure to check out their night market where you can find a lot of local delicacies and though not unique to them, this specific vendor sells one of the tastiest fried offal (lungs and ligaments) out there.

"Ligaments, lungs, and, house blend vinegar. What more to ask for?"

Fanta Apple - It's Fanta-stic!

I'm not doing this just because I need to have a new post in my blog. No, I'm not. Really I'm not.

This would be filed under a new tab called "Beverages" since it can't really be considered food.

It was 1 in the morning when I felt thirst and in my mind, water wouldn't suffice. So I went out in search of something to drink when a certain green can caught my attention. I came closer and saw it's an apple flavored soda, a variant of Fanta which is known in the Philippines as  Royal. Was it good? Check out after the break.