Lip Gloss - Bath and Body Works

Here is to all my girly girlfriends.

Check out this yummy minty lip gloss from Bath and Body Works.

Originally AED 35 but I got it on sale - 2 for AED 35.

Chicken Curry Recipe

Last evening I tried out a chicken curry recipe which my aunt had given me when I got married. I tweaked it a bit.

1 medium chicken  (800 to 900 gms)
3 medium onions roughly sliced
1 medium onion finely sliced
1 tablespoon whole jeera
6 black pepper corns

5 cloves

1 two inch cinnamon stick
2 clove garlic
2 teaspoons chilli powder (or as per taste)
half teaspoon haldi powder
Small lball of tamarind (marble size) soaked in water
salt to taste
oil/ghee for seasoning

Method:

Clean and cut the chicken into medium pieces.

Roast the 3 roughly sliced onions in a frying pan with 1 teaspoon oil till the onions become pinkish and keep aside in a blender.  Dry roast the jeera (cumin), pepper corns, cinnamon and cloves and 1 clove of garlic. Then put the dry roasted spices and tamarind in the blender along with the onions, which were kept earlier, and a little water and grind to a fine paste (“masala”).  Take 3 tablespoons of oil/ghee in a saucepan and fry the finely sliced onion till golden brown.  Add the cut and washed chicken pieces and fry for a couple of minutes.  Add the ground masala and fry another two minutes.  Add water if necessary (depending on the gravy required). Lastly add some salt (I usually add around 1 small teaspoon). Boil a few roughly chopped potatoes separately (I boiled them in some left over ground masala so it adds a little flavour to the potatoes. Alternatively you can also boil them in a little chilli powder, haldi (turmeric) powder and a pinch of salt). Lastly, add the boiled potatoes to the cooked chicken curry.  Eat with pulao or rotis.  Bon Apetit!!!!!

Black Canyon (Dubai Festival City)

A few days ago my hubby and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary. To celebrate, we thought of catching a movie and dinner. Spiderman was on at 8.30 at Dubai Festival City so we decided to have dinner at the Black Canyon Restaurant before the movie.

Black Canyon serves basically Thai food. Here are my ratings on food, ambience etc…

Food ***** (We absolutely loved all the dishes we ordered)

Service ***** (The servers were very helpful in choosing the right dishes and ensured we were comfortable at all times)

Ambience *** (I didn’t find the place too clean)

Price *** (I think the food was worth its price as it was quite yummy but it wasn’t that cheap)

For starters we ordered a Tom Yum soup which we shared. For AED 15 they threw in some seafood (fish/squid) which otherwise came with just prawns and mushrooms. The good part was that the mushrooms were not the tinned ones which I really dislike.

For the maincourse we had a voucher from Gulf News which was buy one and get one free. My hubby ordered a salmon dish and I ordered stir-fried seafood and a plate of rice. What disappointed me was that none of the seafood had mussels in them L

For drinks we ordered a lemon mint frappe which was quite refreshing and a small bottle of water. Overall we paid approximately AED 170 (keeping in mind we got one maincourse free).

We didn’t order any dessert as Spiderman was waiting!

Anyone catch the new Spiderman? I thought Toby Maguire did some better acting.

Spa-tacular at Tulip Spa (Satwa, Dubai)

Has anyone tried the Spa deals at Cobone? My friend and I found an interesting one recently - diamond and crystal facial along with aromatherapy massage for AED 188 at Tulip Spa (above Baskin Robins in Satwa).

Unable to resist, we purchased the vouchers and booked our appointment. The day finally arrived and we reached the Spa at 8.50am. Our appointment was at 9, but we were kept waiting till about 9.20 or so since they had another customer. Apparently the cobone stuff is working out great for this Spa.

We started out with full body massage. After the 45 mins massage we went in for our facial which lasted for a good 90 mins or so. Both of us were really impressed with it. The whole process involves cleansing, exfoliating, steaming, blackhead removal and crystal dermabrasion ending with a face mask and diamond dermabrasion (I am not sure if I have all the terms right). The results were pretty good. My face was itching throughout the day though, so I suggest you do it on a weekend and don't step out!

The owner of the Spa was trying her best to get us to buy the "package" which involved 14 sittings of AED 285 each. Well you can do the math, but 14 sittings of this facial is really not something I can afford. She also offered to throw in 2 body scrubs and warts removal for free. It seemed pretty tempting..

Well this was definitely an experience and I wouldn't mind going for it again. I'll be keeping my eye on Cobone :)

Bistro Madeline (Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City) and Citymax Hotel Friday Brunch

I received a promotional email saying Bistro Madeline (Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City) was serving a platter of seafood for AED 160 per person.

Tempted, we went over on Thursday evening but instead there was a buffet running (I didn’t ask if À la carte was an option because the buffet looked so good). The servers were extremely pleasant and took us around the buffet explaining the various dishes. I really cannot describe the dishes because I don’t remember any of the names. From what I remember the buffet consisted of the following - salads, stew (seafood, chicken and beef), salmon, various cheeses and desserts (crepes, apple tart, chocolate mousse cake, crème brûlée, fresh fruits, caramel etc). There was a separate corner for the pork and cheese.

The buffet with unlimited soft drinks was AED 185 per person (with unlimited wine was 40 bucks more). My hubby and I absolutely loved the food. I recommend the chocolate mousse cake which was heavenly. My hubby loved the roast pork.

On Friday afternoon we met up with a few friends for brunch in Citymax (Bur Dubai). We first headed to Times Café which was too crowded and then opted for Citymax which was spacious and bright (unlike Times which is dimly lit). The brunch was AED 79 with 2 fosters and AED 59 with 2 soft drinks (or unlimited – the server was thoroughly confused and she couldn’t remember the prices/options of the buffet). Anyhow, the food was pretty good and included items like roast turkey, oven roasted potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, pasta, stir fried noodles, seafood stew, fish in garlic sauce, stir fried vegetables and a few Indian dishes. Desserts included strawberry mousse, chocolate mousse, rabadi (Indian dessert), some sort of kheer (I am not sure whether it was an Indian or Arabic dessert – nonetheless it was salty), caramel and fresh fruits. The mousse was yummy but I can’t say the same for the rest of the desserts.

On Saturday afternoon we went for lunch to Lamcy Plaza. We tried the fish and chips from Salt n Vinegar at the Food Court. It was nothing fantastic but fish deep fried in batter and chips. I couldn't eat it all as the deep fried batter was kinda heavy.

All in all one tummy filling weekend!

Assia in Wok, Dubai Mall

It seems like all my hubby and I do is eat. Well that is true because I loveee eating so here is my take on Assia in Wok at Dubai Mall.

We went on a weekday and well, it wasn't really crowded except for the regular mall-goers. So anyway, I was tempted when I saw dumplings on their menu which is why we opted for this joint. Unfortunately the dumplings were not available as their steamer was not working or something like that. Too lazy to pick another place we ordered chicken red curry, a fish dish and 2 iced teas (yes we love iced tea and are searching for the perfect one - we got lipton cans so the search is still on).

So, the chicken was just ok and I didn't like it too much. There was a very strong flavour of something like fennel seed. I couldn't make out what it was but it was just too strong.

The fish on the other hand was pretty good.

Both main courses were served with rice.

Oh and we also ordered chicken satay and I must say they give you the tiniest bits ever. Seriously guys! could have been more generous with the chicken. The peanut sauce was yumm and I ended up eating it with the rice since I didn't like the red curry.

We spent about AED 150 or so which I didn't think was worth it considering we were eating out of a food court. The sticky rice with mango looked like a good option for dessert but since I was disappointed with the taste of the red curry and the portion of the chicken satay I opted to go for no dessert and gulped down the tea instead. I would suggest trying out the dumplings which I couldn't.

Cactus Cantina - Dubai

Located inside Rydges Plaza in Satwa, Cactus Cantina is a cozy mexican restaurant/pub.

My hubby and I went on a Friday as it was "buy one get one free on any mexican dish" night. I liked the look of the place - had a sort of old and rustic charm to it. The servers were freindly and we opted to dine in the non-smoking area. As soon as we were seated, our server brought us a bowl of nachos with salsa.

There was a different menu for the buy one get one free option and I went for enchiladas with tacos combo, and my hubby with beef burritos. Both were served with a side of mexican rice (not very tasty), chickpea salad and beans.

I must say I was disappointed with both dishes. I went with beef too and honestly the burritos, enchiladas and tacos all tasted the same to me as they all had beef mince. I also didn't like the enchilada tortilla/pastry  and I wasted half of it. I finished the tacos and my hubby also somehow gulped down his burritos.

On the other hand we ordered a non-alcoholic pina colada and an iced tea both of which were lovely.

Of course these are my views and maybe we were just unfortunate to pick the wrong dishes. As I said we have many more places to explore and I have heard Billy Blues (opp Cactus) serves amazing ribs :)

For the main course and drinks we paid approx AED 100.