Local Flavours

September 23, 2019 by monica 1 Comment

FISH MARKET IN DUBAI

Which Fish Market in Dubai am I talking about? There are a few, this fish market is based in Jumeirah and has recently become a covered fish market with air conditioning!

Where is this fish market

It’s now called Souk Al Bahar for Fish, nowhere near Souk Al Bahar in Downtown, but along the seaside at the Fishermans Harbour in Um Suqueim 1. There is free parking available.

What can you expect to buy

All kinds of fresh fish, shellfish and seafood. Think squid, red snappers, sea bass, different types of prawns, lobsters and crabs.

Can you have your fish cleaned at the market

Yes you can for a very reasonable price. It’s in a section behind the fish market but it gets very busy, so be prepared to wait. Take your own ice box, they will clean your fish, fill with ice and then it’s easier for you to take your fish away.

Can I eat my fish there at the fish market itself

There is provision to have your fish prepared, spiced and cooked at the section just passed where you have it cleaned up. So you can take it away like this or you opt to eat it there. The ac room is very basic though. It’s a good place to wait while your fish is being cleaned.

* Need some fish recipe ideas? then check out our RECIPES here.

TOP TIPS FOR WHEN YOU VISIT THE FISH MARKET

On Fridays it’s closed between 12pm and 1pm
Take cash
Take an ice box; they will provide the ice
Dress appropriately. It’s in Dubai and it is a Fish market. So no designer bags/shoes or skimpy bikinis

May 20, 2018 by monica 1 Comment

RAMADAN IN DUBAI Best Iftars and Deals

IT’S RAMADAN IN DUBAI Welcome to the best iftars and deals in Dubai

Ramdan Kareem to all our listeners and readers, you’ve come to the right place for the best iftars and deals in Dubai. How about a floating iftar on the majestic QE2 moored in Rashid Marina? In need a classy MEAL DEAL? Then try Moombai and Co’s curry combo for AED 69 and add a dish from the Mango Memory Menu.. it’s alphonso time again! For those who aren’t fasting I recommend a pop up breakfast at mediterranean restaurant Boca in DIFC. Plus 2 of our favourite casual cafes open for lunch in JLT. All this and more on this week’s Food News on Dubai Eye 103.8.

QE 2 PORT RASHID MARINA

On the waterfront – literally

DINNER REVIEW – IFTAR

We’re about to set sail from the Rashid Marina to Mainland Britain! We’ve come on board to look around the luxury ocean cruise liner the QE2. The history of the ship is fascinating and it’s worth booking a tour.

Highlights for us were the Queen Mary apartments complete with a sun lounge and a private deck area. They’ve even had a marriage proposal (accepted of course) on this deck! The newest and most modern eating area is definitely The Lido restaurant as shown below. The poshest restaurant though would be the Queen’s Grill!

We experienced the QE2 iftar in a tent accessed directly from the Lido restaurant. It’s not possible to see the sea from the tent though.

The iftar had a large variety of salads, but there was quite a limited choice of mains for vegetarians. The traditional ouzi normally made with just lamb also contained beef which I’ve not experienced before. The iftar tent was surprisingly full, but I think many people had a combination ticket of the tour and the iftar. As we were on the iconic QE2 we had expected a grander, more luxurious ambience as well as a wider choice of dishes for this iftar.

Cost AED 250 for iftar and AED 175 for Suhoor. But if you book a tour for AED 150, you can redeem AED 100 on food and beverage.

MOOMBAI AND CO Sheikh Zayed Road at the H hotel

A special Mango Memory Menu celebrating Alphonso season.

Great curry combo deal too.

LUNCH REVIEW

We were a bit skeptical about mango with everything at Moombai and Co but We LOVED every course of our lunch from the special mango memory menu! It’s alphonso season again and that brand is synonymous with the highest quality mangoes around.

The Mango Memory Menu itself is short, that’s a good thing according to me, so we tried the very moreish crispy bhindi and tangy, but perfect mango chicken tikka to start with. The main course is a very good raw mango and coconut prawn curry which we all agreed was excellent.

If you have room you should try (maybe share) the almost tropical mango lassi to drink, or if that’s a bit heavy for you, then opt for the thirst quenching aam panna drink, that has a bit of kick to it. Everything is designed to share. I’d go back again to try this menu. Not sure how long mango season is on for so go soon.

How would you describe a mango? to quote from the article from The Guardian.. 27th April 2012…”a cross between peach, nectarine, apricot and melon with notes of honey and citrus. But better…” If you shared a large aam panna drink, both starters, one main and one thick, creamy, glorious mango dessert you’d be looking at around AED 200 per head with rice, naan bread and still water. Worth going back for.

And if you fancy making that crispy bhindi at home then try our easy doindubai recipe here, great to eat with DoinDubai’s favourite spicy red pepper dip recipe.

ALSO OPEN DURING RAMADAN are

CALI POKE – a new branch just opened in JLT Cluster J! Vegetarian or Seafood bowls of fresh goodness to eat in or take away. The eat in area is quite small, so I would opt to take out from here.

WOKYO – our favourite noodle bar also in JLT Cluster J for Japan. Every kind of noodle and broth you can think of, or customise your own. Don’t forget they have a vegan ramen bowl as well. We love Zak and Nazlie and Wokyo, but I think I love their Singapore Laksa and cappucinos more than them! Lovely vibe at Wokyo, a very cool place to sit during the day if you’re not fasting

We also think the DEMOISELLE Deal at lunch time is really cool..

A very pretty cafe in City Walk that will be serving a 3 course lunch for an extremely reasonable AED 53. You get a choice of hot soup to start then one of 3 choices for a hearty lunch and to finish you get a choice of an artisan coffee or fresh juice.

Here’s Corrado who now works at Galvin telling us about the delightful decor at Demoiselle..

BOCA in DIFC is offering a pop up breakfast every morning. So expect some avocado on toast and the usual breakfast fare at this very cool, upmarket Mediterranean style cafe in Dubai’s main financial district.

But if you’re in the media city area, then I like the sound of the deal at CERTO at the Radisson Blu Media City. Certo is a very established Italian restaurant that had a brand new make over last year. The deal is AED 199 for 2 people sharing a range of Italian dishes or AED 299 to include a bottle of wine! That’s a really delicious deal in my book, it’s open for lunch and dinner of course..

FIND OUT FIRST following the DoinDubai Instagram page

Previous posts with lot’s of good foodie ideas are here..

MISSED THE LIVE BROADCAST?

The live broadcast happens on a Tuesday, this week Tuesday 22nd May from 3 to 4 pm on Dubai Eye 103.8, but if you missed it, then you can listen to the podcast.

We’ll add it into the article here when it’s ready for uploading, the day after the live broadcast. But in the meantime, we’ve left the podcast from the last show in for you to listen to.

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Alternatively visit THE TICKET BLOG HERE.

Don’t miss the show on Tuesday Dubai Eye 103.8 The Ticket – listen live

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Thank You Monica.

No grilled meats on this iftar plate! We’re eating pure vegan food at Urth in Cluster J. We really liked both our soups – carrot and mint and spinach, beautifully presented too. The most interesting dish on this vegan iftar menu was the fattus hummus with vegan yoghurt made with a cashew cream base.

Warm, wholesome, real chick peas, perfect as a mini meal in itself with salad and bread. But you have more, the main courses are vegetarian stews served with rice and condiments. I would like to have tried the special Urth Style Sayadieh with fried onions, but that wasn’t available on the day we tried.

You will LOVE the desserts.. we had and highly recommend the raw carrot cake and an apple spice cake with warm apple puree icing on top.

Open for those who would like to try the vegan iftar in the evenings, after fasting time is over, but also open during the day for those who aren’t fasting. Very cool, laid back vibe. Last but not least point to note is there is a Ramadan Deal on – 2 iftars for the price of one till 28th of May, so for AED 120 you get 2 five course iftars! Well Done Urthlings!

For some vegan cooking at home this Ramadan try our brilliant cauliflower burger recipe..

December 14, 2017 by monica Leave a Comment

AL SEEF DUBAI What’s it really like

What is Al Seef Dubai

Al Seef Dubai is a very new, modern Creekside development in Dubai opened by Meraas. Meraas is an established developer that recently brought us La Mer in Jumeirah 1 and before that Box Park. The new Al Seef area has a distinct heritage feel about it as the buildings, set all along Dubai Creek, opposite Deira side, have been designed with very traditional facades. But there is a real modern feel to this place too.

It reminded me very much of an Al Bastakiya type area, but with much more to do and see. It’s also more spacious and easy to walk around.

Where is Al Seef Dubai located

Al Seef is set along side Dubai Creek and you need to head towards the Bur Dubai side of town, then follow the brown signs towards Al Seef. There is underground parking available. Then walk along the creek and stop where you feel like. So you’re very much in the older heart of Dubai. Here is the exact location via a Google Map.

What is open at Al Seef Dubai

When we visited there in November 2017 there were a few restaurants and cafés open. I recommend you walk as far as you can along the boardwalk first and then almost walk backwards to where you’d like to stop and eat and drink.

Food and Drink at Al Seef Dubai

The last place along Al Seef that we thought was open and we couldn’t really walk beyond, was the well-known Bikanerwalla cafe. That’s a South Indian chain famous for it’s dosas and other Indian vegetarian street food. The setting was the best of all the Bikanerwala restaurants I’ve been to in Dubai. Expect old, wind tower type architecture with places to sit both inside and out on the terrace, not far from the Creek.

There are more modern places all the way along the development. We really liked Kona Grill, almost at the beginning of the development. This would be a nice place to visit in the evening as it’s licensed to serve alcohol on the roof terrace! They have also have festive menu for the season which I think is really good value. We’ve put pdf’s of their Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus here:

Kona Grill Menu for Christmas

KG NYE Menu 2017

The food is good, pan Asian style cuisine. I recommend the crispy squid and any of the sushi combinations. There is good bar tender who makes a mean cocktail too. Kona Grill is part of well known American chain and this is their first outlet in the UAE.

The roof terrace is a great place to sit as it perfectly combines the new Dubai with the old. There are charming views of the older, wooden abras sailing along, lit up with fairy lights in contrast to the larger yachts moored in the harbour.

The backdrop to this marine activity are the two tall Rolex towers opposite, which really are established Dubai landmarks that were around well before the Burj Khalifa or the Burj Al Arab.

If you feel like a breakfast early one morning, then try ILA a little further down from Kona Grill. It’s a large Middle Eastern style restaurant/café that serves traditional breakfasts, lunch and dinner.

We recommend the coffee, fresh orange juice and the spinach manakeesh here. Again you can sit inside or outside, right by the creek. Then take a walk to the end of Al Seef to walk off your meal.

More restaurants are due to open soon.

We combined our day trip to Al Seef with an outing to the old souk area of Dubai where we bought some Christmas gifts at bargain prices. Think colourful painted pottery, Afghan pashmina type shawls and trinkets.

Day or Night in Al Seef Dubai

Al Seef has a quite a different feel in the day to the night, and while it’s pleasant at both times, I loved walking around in the early evening. Then as it get’s dark, all the rows of lights come on and the atmosphere is very pleasant.

If you go early on a Friday evening, you’ll see a real microcosm of Dubai’s population here. Well Done Meraas for getting us all together along a major Dubai landmark, the Creek. But also well done for very cleverly combining the old with the new almost seamlessly.

Just a point though, while some of the cafes are reasonably priced, the cart vendors selling coconuts and hot dogs were overpriced in our view, but otherwise a great outing in Dubai. And a great new place to take visitors.

Update June 2019

For activities happening at Al Seef like EID FIREWORKS check this link.

Eidiya Time at Al Seef 2019

Entertainment, fireworks and fun on Eid night… which we think is Tuesday June 4th 2019.

Has this article inspired you to go visit Al Seef? Let me know.

Thank you Monica.

February 14, 2012 by monica 4 Comments

SOUTH INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY

Classic Chicken Curry

Many Indian Chicken curry sauce bases rely on tomatoes for sourness or tang, so are usually a staple in most Indian homes but because I didn’t have them in my fridge and really did not want to drive to our local shop, we used yoghurt with excellent results !

Intro to the Chicken Curry recipe

There are a couple of parts to this chicken curry recipe, firstly making the marinade for the chicken, then frying the marinaded chicken to seal in some flavor and provide some colour, and lastly finishing off cooking the chicken in a coconut broth combined with the remainder of the marinade and finally garnishing with some sizzled curry leaves and mustard seeds.

Despite the coconut, the gravy is light as I use low fat natural yoghurt and the initial marinade has no oil at all in it but you need to use oil to fry, try out alternative Valentine’s Day Dinner Dish ! Try it and tell me what you think by leaving me a comment in the box below thanks.

Recipe PDF of Chicken Curry is good for printing out your shopping list

Click on this link for the Chicken Curry recipe in an easy pdf format South Indian Chicken in a Light yoghurt and Curry Leaf Gravy

FISH MARKET IN DUBAI

FISH MARKET IN DUBAI

Where is this fish market

What can you expect to buy

Can you have your fish cleaned at the market

Can I eat my fish there at the fish market itself

TOP TIPS FOR WHEN YOU VISIT THE FISH MARKET

RAMADAN IN DUBAI Best Iftars and Deals

IT’S RAMADAN IN DUBAI Welcome to the best iftars and deals in Dubai

Dubai Eye The Ticket Radio Show

MAY 22nd 2018