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.

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

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.

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.

 

A trip to Musandam, Oman from Dubai, UAE

It's pretty ironic for a blogsite that states reviews, now! to have a review of a place two years after we've been there, I know, procrastination will be my downfall. Let's get on with this review then!

Here in United Arab Emirates and just about any Islamic countries we have something called Eid break, it's the days after the holy month of Ramadan where we get several days off and this how we chose to spend it.

To get this trip started I strongly advised to purchase the whole package which means including transportation to get there since Musandam, Oman is quite far, 190kms far from the pickup point which is at Spinneys Bur Dubai, Dubai. Our package trip was bought in Cobone which I believe is available all year round, and looking at the package, not much has changed in the last two years. Make sure to read the fine print on the voucher bought because it will tell you all the things you'll need for this trip like your original passports and copies in order to get past the border.

"first let me take a selfie."

Cycling to work in UAE

It's been a while since the last time I posted anything so here's a review on how it's like to cycle to work in UAE.

I live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, taking the bus would cost me 10 dirhams on fare ticket (120+ Php) and if I do that everyday going to work and coming home, it would cost me a 100 dirhams which for frugal person like myself is very costly.

That's why I decided to cycle to work since I'm already an experienced cyclist here in UAE and tend to know how fairly tolerant the people are and authorities when it comes to people who cycles. If you are planning to do this as well, make sure that your gear is complete, lights, helmet, high visual vest, and jersey if possible, because if you are profiled as a delivery guy then it's very likely that your bicycle will get confiscated and never to be seen again.

Going back to cycling to work, on this video you will see that I've cycled on the main road connecting Sharjah and Dubai and from there took a train and bus to get to our office, I would've cycled all the way but the rest of the road are not bicycle friendly anymore. After shift, I'll just back track what I did at night and head back home.