This week on Monica’s Weekend July 30th indulge in a lovely lunch at Lucia at the Address Sky View downtown, cool down in sultry Salalah and get lost in some beautiful jazz at TODA at the Madinat Jumeirah.
Monica Kapila joins Mark Lloyd as a guest DUBAI EYE 103.8 at 1.45pm every Friday
Missed the live broadcast on Dubai Eye? Don’t worry just listen again here. The podcast to accompany this show will be below on MONDAY after the show, in the meantime listen to last week’s podcast.
Lovely Lunch at Lucia – Address Skyviews
Treat yourself and family or friends to this excellent value posh BUSINESS LUNCH in a really special setting! Felt like we were in Italy, not Downtown Dubai!
We’re on the ground floor of the Address Sky View having lunch Italian style. The setting is very lemon grove themed with large windows looking out onto a pretty terrace and views of the Burj Khalifa. It’s smart but has a relaxed vibe at the same time. This is not a place to hurry your lunch, you chill, chat, relax, eat a bit, eat a bit more La Vita es Bella kind of lunch.
So we tried:
Their 3 course business lunch at Lucia and recommend : Seabass carpaccio or the tomato and sourdough bread salad to begin with. I had the mozzarella and tomato baked gnocchi to follow and my friend had the king prawns with cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli. Of course it has to be tiramisu for dessert or wait for it, 3 scoops of your favourite gelato! We managed one scoop of chocolate between 2 of us!
So how much is all this?
This is a sweetest part of the Business Lunch at Lucia’s.. price for 3 courses is AED 140, but there is a supplement for those giant king prawns of extra AED 49. In fact for seafood elements there is a little supplement.
BUT the portions are so generous you should order 1 business lunch and share between 2 people. Maybe add on a special favourite from the a la carte menu, I suggest the excellent Lucia’s bruschetta with stracchiatella and pistachio, a large bottle of water and then split the bill, coming to just over AED 100 each but you’ve eaten like kings!
Such good value in such a beautiful place, as some of those dishes on the main menu for example the prawns, and we got 4 huge prawns with all the sauce etc, cost AED 250! The tiramisu also is more than adequate for 2 people and who eats 3 scoops of gelato after a lunch like this!
Share and share alike, Business Lunch at Lucia’s is definitely a favourite place for me, great to celebrate a special occasion or just because it’s August! Hashtag Luxury for Less at Lucia’s!
Cool off in Sultry Salalah where temperatures are much lower than Dubai
An easy 1 hour 20 minute flight and free visa on arrival for many passports will see you in SALALAH in Oman. Perfect time to visit during the special season of Khareef where temperatures drop dramatically relative to the rest of the Middle East!
We stayed at a cool new hotel called the Alila Hinu Bay, full review of our stay here. Think wild, rugged coast lines, fresh coastal walks and lot’s of Nat Geo earth type photo shots. Stick to swimming in the hotel pools (there are 2 of them) no swimming in the sea in this season.
You can explore the historic town of Mirbat just near the hotel and further a field, suddenly the landscape changes to mountains, cows crossing the road and a mist falls all around you! Very cool, literally.
The most well known waterfall is Wadi Durbat but there’s also Ayn Athom, well worth a look. Sultry Salalah if you want a quick, very different kind of short break. NOTE a great buy one get one free offer on stays at the ALILA HINU BAY right now, that’s definitely worth it.
Get lost in some beautiful jazz at TODA Madinat Jumeirah
Forget the tv for an evening and make a trip to TODA to listen to some beautiful live jazz this weekend.
We are at TODA at the very easy to get to Madinat Jumeirah and this weekend depending on your tastes take in some Jazz at their JAZZ MUSIC NIGHT FRIDAY 29TH AND 30TH OF JULY from 8 to 9.30 pm or listen to some classical classical music accompanied by a stunning digital art show by Soren Lyng Hansen.
He’s a famous talented Danish cellist, double bassist and pianist.
Don’t miss this unique combination of classical live music and digital art show. That’s on SUNDAY 31st July at 9pm.
NOTE tickets start from AED 150
BUT there is a special new ticket that includes beverages at AED 230! Sounds like a plan to me. 2n Note.. a cool jazzy surprise for anyone who’s going to the show on SATURDAY 30th July, maybe we’ll see you down there!
TOP TIP TO STAY COOL THIS SUMMER
Try these cute perfectly portioned home made style ice creams in bite size cones from AL HALLAB We love these and the cool Middle Eastern style desserts they’ve got to eat on site or to have delivered. The ice creams come in a variety of flavours but go for those pretty pink Levant berry or the Aleppo Pistachio.
Perfect portions to keep the kids cool but not over hyped during these hot summer days! AED 44 for 1/2 a kg of ice cream! Eat those pictures or buy some ice cream!
and that’s a wrap from MONICA’S WEEKEND for a while as we’re taking a break over August, we’ll back in September.
Have super summers wherever you and thank you for your continued support. Lot’s of ideas for you to eat out at cool places, outings for the whole family and unmissable events around the city.
So stay tuned. Don’t forget to spread the word about Monica’s Weekend, check out our earlier posts and do follow along on Instagram to know what we’re up to!
