DoinDubai Magazine

An Honest Guide to Life in Dubai

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HOTELS IN DUBAI

Before I started DoinDubai I stayed at the Shangri La, the Grosvenor House, Mina A Salam and Al Qasr hotels. Sometimes there are fabulous summer or Ramadan hotel offers for people who live here so UAE residents can have a change of scene close to home! I am now invited on Familiarisation Tours of hotels so posts will appear here informing you about Dubai hotels if you are a visitor or a resident.

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DUBAI WATERFRONT MARKET vibrant organised market by the Creek

What is the Dubai Waterfront Market

The Dubai Waterfront Market is a vibrant, organised market by the creek, selling fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood in distinct areas. So if like me, you don’t want to go the meat bit, you don’t have to!

Waterfront Market Deira Do In Dubai What to do in Dubai Monica Kapila Fresh Herbs
Fabulous Fresh herbs and leaves

There is a huge variety of fresh produce on offer, you can also have your fish cleaned if you like, but it takes time.

TIP

Do take up the offer of an official helper with a trolley who will help you and stay with you through out your trip unless you’re literally just browsing. Sometimes they approach you in the carpark or at the entrance to the market, they have official Dubai Waterfront Market uniforms on.

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Do make time for some lunch especially if it’s wintertime in Dubai at one of the simple but very good restaurants by the creek after your shopping.

We like the Iranian restaurant for lunch. Remember though if you go on a FRIDAY lunch is served a bit later after prayer time.

Waterfront Market Deira Do In Dubai What to do in Dubai Monica Kapila Shiraz Iranian restaurant
Fresh seafood lunch at Shirazi Iranian restaurant

Entry to the market is FREE as is parking. You can bargain a bit, but not too much, I didn’t think it was whole lot cheaper than supermarkets like Union Co Op but well worth a visit to this side of town, again Friday is way less trafficky!

TIP

There is also a little plant souk adjacent to the market carpark you can add plants and soil if you have room after your market shopping!

Creekside walk behind the market

Location of the Dubai Waterfront Market

It’s part of the Deira redevelopment project. If you want more culture then try the Dubai Heritage Express experience. And do FOLLOW @DoinDubai on instagram for more immediate news and genuinely good ideas.

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VICEROY PALM JUMEIRAH

The Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai hotel opened in the first week of April 2017. Is it worth a visit or is it just another Dubai skyscraper with restaurants? Read on for an honest experience of the property on day 4 of it’s opening. Food focused review this time round.

The vibe at the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah

The vibe at the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah is ultra cool and we loved it. Think Miami meets Santa Monica right here on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. It’s even got a cool address – 1 Palm Jumeirah!

It has a very distinctive glass cube at it’s entrance that will have you looking in all directions and taking photos right away. You can see a long, not too narrow swimming pool immediately in front of you that forms the avenue of a poolside lined with that tall, thin variety of California type palm trees.

Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Swimming Pool

Beyond the pool are stylish beach decks and the sea. But the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah has used space at different levels of the pool side and there are 2 grass lined sun decks that can be reached via a spiral staircase. We also saw hotel villas set up to the left of the pool side with their own outdoor jacuzzis and smaller, grassy decks.

Food at the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah

On the ground floor there are 2 areas to dine that are open now, the casual Boulevard on One and the more formal signature Quattro Passi Italian restaurant. We had lunch at the Quattro Passi and really enjoyed the food, service levels, vibe and interiors of the restaurant.

Viceroy Dubai Food News 11th April DoinDubai

There is a Chinese restaurant that is due to open later this month called Maiden Shanghai. We’ll review that in a separate post. There are a couple of items from each of the restaurants available on the Bar bites menu at Elevate, the bar on the 13th floor. Expect some spectacular views from here and a real lounge feel. It reminded me a little of the Restaurant at the Address Boulevard hotel in Downtown Dubai.

The food at Quattro Passi Viceroy Palm Jumeirah

Quattro Passi has a branch in Italy, between Positano and Capri on the Amalfi coast in Nerano and it also has one in Romilly Street in central London. This is the first branch to open in Dubai. The chef patron is Antonio Mellino from Nerano. The executive chef of all the dining venues is from Sweden – Robert Nilsson. He seems very cool and accomplished at his craft. See what you think…

The menu at Quattro Passi is quite short but we found more than enough to make a good selection for lunch. We chose a tuna tartare with avocado, shown above and a buratta dish served with wild rocket and tomatoes from Sorrento! They recommended we try the signature Linguine Nerano, so we did.

All three starters were excellent and I wouldn’t hesitate to order them all over again,

despite my reticence to eat pasta!

The linguine was cooked with parmesan and courgette and was delicious. The burrata was just a little runny, very creamy and drizzled with a good balsamic vinegar at our table. This was perfect with our sourdough bread.

We ordered 2 mains between 3 people but head chef Chef Antonio sent us out a third. We chose the sea bass with a cauliflower puree and the Italian classic melanzane parmigiana with a special spinach  – scarola – on the side.

Viceroy Palm Jumeirah SeaBream Quattro Passi DoinDubai

We were treated to another pasta dish, this time a plate of ravioli stuffed with a mixture of Italian mozzarellas, one of them slightly smoked. Again all 3 main courses were delicious and beautifully presented. I don’t think that was on the menu.

The smoked flavour of the mozzarella was subtle but worked very well. The melanzane again was excellent as was the sea bass. However I thought the portion of sea bass as a main coarse was a little on the small side for AED 185 and inconsistent with the very generous portion of our burrata starter although that was also a bit pricey at AED 120 for a starter.

Desserts at Quattro Passi Viceroy Palm Jumeirah

Apparently a separate kitchen is required to make all the ice creams according to local regulations so none are being made on the premises as yet. However some sorbets are made off site and we were delighted with our selection of mango and raspberry. They tasted just like sorbets should, full of tart, fruity flavours, not too icy and just slightly sweet.

We also chose a hazlenut mousse that turned out to be more of a semi freddo than a mousse. While we loved the black cherry flavours coming through, none of us really warmed to the taste or consistency of the mousse. The hazlenut ice cream wasn’t available for reasons already stated.

There are 9 desserts to chose from, one of which is an Italian cheese selection.

Viceroy Dubai DoinDubai Quattro Passi Desserts copy

To drink at Quattro Passi

We simply ordered a glass of rose and allowed the staff to choose for us. We weren’t disappointed.

What is worthy of note though is the selection of waters on the menu. There wasn’t a separate water sommelier as at the Montage in Beverly Hills, but our waiter was very knowledgeable none the less.

The Water at Quattro Passi

There are 15 types of water available at Quattro Passi! Choose from Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia or New Zealand! There is a picture of each bottle available with the composition of the minerals contained in the water. Prices range from AED 18 for half a litre of Natia or Ferrarelle from Italy to AED 30 for the same amount of Veen water from the Lapland region of Finland.

Service levels at Quattro Passi

Service is generally very good in Dubai, but the serving staff at least in Quattro Passi have a friendly confident air about them that is really refreshing to experience.

“Can I have a hard copy or even a photocopy of the menu please”, I asked our server – another Antonio. “Of course, why don’t I give you this one….” was his charming, confident response!

Go and eat at Quattro Passi, but don’t expect much choice from the menu if you’re vegetarian. But I think this is the kind of place that would not leave you hungry, they’d make something special – just for you.

Ambience at Quattro Passi.

This is a light, clean, welcoming elegant restaurant with floor to ceiling windows of the pool area of the hotel. It’s a place you’ll find hard to leave at least at lunch time! Go try it and tell me what you think.

Viceroy Dubai DoinDubai Quattro Passi ambience

I now have to try Quattro Passi in London this summer but am looking forward to Made in Shanghai at 1 Palm Jumeirah first,and if you’d like to hear us TALKING about this restaurant on The Ticket Dubai Eye, then just click here..I have a show called Food News with Monica.

Follow DoinDubai on Instagram and Facebook to find out where we’re eating next….You may want to enter our latest competition to WIN a meal for 2 at KIZA in DIFC.  

Thank you Monica.

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HOLIDAY ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2013

Well done Dubai for hosting an amazing Arabian Travel Market over the last 4 days. Hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world come and lay out their stalls to inspire us to experience their take on life, from Oman to Odessa in the Ukraine, the world really is your oyster.  Ideas range from your usual luxury hotels and resorts to trekking holidays to royal train rides . Here’s DoinDubai’s pick of what tempted us.

Jakarta in Indonesia followed by Ubud in Bali. If the people in Indonesia are half as friendly and helpful as the delegation it sent out, you’ll have no trouble at all. Try the incredible sounding recently refurbished 5 * Borobudur  hotel in an oasis of green in Jakarta. Amazing shopping, heritage sites all of which are easily accessible and I think better value for money than some other destinations. Hire a car and driver for around 50 US dollars a day and drive out and see the countryside for long day trips or ride out for an hour, step onto a boat and explore some of the lesser known islands like Pulau Machan for a day or a night or two.   Bali needs no explanation but perhaps avoid the over developed bits and try to get to Ubud or Lovina.  The Kartika Plaza hotel looks like it could offer great value and ticks all the family friendly boxes albeit in a busy area.

Click here for some really useful contacts to help you organize all your tours and travels in Indonesia.

Holiday Ideas from the Arabian Travel Market
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  • The same part of the world but this time Malaysia, stay at the gorgeous Shangri La (voted number 1 hotel for luxury in Kuala Lumpur) and then take a flight to Kota Kinabalu (the highest peak in South East Asia)  in Sabah. Stay again at either of the Shangri La’s there, the Tanjong Aru in a  lush, green resort type setting with a private beach or go wild and live with the orangutans in the Shangri La’s Rasa Ria hotel. There is ample opportunity to explore hidden islands via easy boat trips from both hotels and the staff again from the Malaysian tourist board and the Shangri La impressed DoinDubai with their combination of professionalism and knowledge.

Fly Dubai had a much bigger presence at the ATM this year with a double storey stand that was constantly busy, it seems that Odessa has just been added to it’s impressively long list of destinations and I don’t’ need to say anything about it’s fares.

Fly to Kerala in India and stay at the Zuri hotel in Kumarakom, be assured of fabulous South Indian meals, authentic Ayurvedic massages and true South Indian hospitality with the assurance of a top end hotel group.  Africa seemed to be in evidence in all kinds of ways, safaris in the Masaai Mara or the Ngora Ngora crater in Tanzania, it was all here. The Zuri group also have a lovely hotel in Mombasa’s South Coast The Diani that sits on a luxurious stretch of beach and their adviser was again very helpful and knowledgeable about when to go and what to expect. Click here for more on the Zuri group.

And if you want something different, then try India’s Maharaja’s Express train, a week long train journey travelling through some of India’s ancient royal routes. But this is not for the budget traveller at all with prices around USD 5 000 per person for a 7 day trip !

I also have to mention that I was tempted by the Sofitel group’s very grown up Washington DC hotel round the corner from the White House and other heritage buildings and museums, not to mention walking distance from great restaurants and shopping for teenagers. Oh did I mention you could walk everywhere ?! Then maybe hire a car and drive up into the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and unwind on some country roads.

Still have some energy and days left when you’re back in Dubai, then take a short break to Bangkok and stay in the uber luxurious Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. Again I was hugely impressed with the accessibility and helpfulness of their staff at the ATM. If this is how they treat someone as little as DoinDubai then rest assured, you’ll be important to them, but do mention you heard about them from DoinDubai and Happy Holidays. Click on the NEED TO KNOW page here to follow up on some DoinDubai’s holiday ideas.

For recent coverage in Travel Arabia magazine, click Kenyan Coast and click page 47.

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