Last Saturday, I met with Pia(@expiatriatewife) for brunch at Wild & The Moon, which is one of the few 100% plant-based restaurants in Dubai. I am very interested in vegetarian food these days, and I am seriously considering going meatless at some point in the future. I think it is exciting to see how much has happened within the field of plant-based cooking, and how the boundaries for what is possible to do without meat are being pushed all the time.
Yesterday, I met with Danish friend Marianne for lunch at Bounty Beets, which is the new restaurant that took over where Gourmet by Kcal left off at Le Méridien Mina Seyahi.
Yesterday, I was invited to the launch of the new ladies’ night at the Italian restaurant Matto. We started with a round of Aperol, that came with pasta straws and a friendly advice not to eat the straw:) No need to either, as small plates soon started arriving at our table.
Café Belge is located inside The Ritz-Carlton DIFC, and on their Tuesday ladies’ nights, just being a woman entitles you to 5 drinks and 2 oysters, so this was an obvious place to meet with new friends J and N.
When Trine was in Dubai, we met with Pia, Peter and Meg for Korean BBQ Brunch at Namu. I had dined at Namu before, so I knew that their Korean food is good, but I had never tried their BBQ Brunch, which I think they launched earlier this year.
The summer has loosened its hot and humid grip on Dubai and the rooftop season has slowly kicked off again. Level 43 is the rooftop bar at Four Points by Sheraton, and last Wednesday I was invited to the launch of their Saxophone Night. It was my first time to visit Level 43, so I was looking forward to seeing what the view was like from up there.
I was invited to try out Welli & Wine – I did not pay for food and drinks myself
Yesterday, I was invited to Verve Brasserie to try their new Welli & Wine (or was it Wine & Welli?) Night. The night will be a recurring event every Saturday from October with a special offer on a bottle of wine and Beef Wellington for two persons.
When Trine was visiting, she wanted to do a ladies’ night, so we booked a table at Cavalli Club Monday evening. For 149AED ladies get a three-course dinner and open bar all night, which sounded like a really good deal.
Bistro des Arts serves delicious French bistro fare, and it is one of the best places for breakfast in Dubai Marina. On weekends (Friday and Saturday) they have a brunch offer, which includes coffee, a main course and a crepe plus all you can eat from their brunch buffet.
Most buildings in Dubai Marina have a pool and a gym, but the standard can vary a lot, so the facilities are something that you really want to consider, when choosing which building to live in. Sometimes it can pay off to spend a little extra on rent to live in a building with good facilities instead of having to purchase pool access and gym membership externally. In our new building the pool area is really nice, so we have not been to the beach club since we moved in.
I was a guest at The Butcher and I did not pay for food and drinks
The Butcher is a new gourmet burger restaurant in Dubai Marina. The restaurant is a branch of a popular Dutch chain, which is known for making all their burgers with high grade Aberdeen Angus beef.
It is always ladies’ night somewhere in Dubai, and on Saturdays, an old favorite is the ladies’ night at Q43 at Media One. Their ladies’ night offer has changed over the years, but these days, you get free flow all night from a selection of cocktails and wine for 59AED as well as 50% off the regular food menu. It is a really good deal for those of us who think that a great night out starts with good food.
We have been looking for something bigger for a while, and right now, the prices to rent in Dubai are at an all-time low, so when our lease was about to expire, we decided not to extend. Moving has almost become an annual ritual for us, and during our 8 years in Dubai, we have been living in 6 different apartments. In Dubai you sign a lease for one year at a time, and you typically pay the entire amount all at once, or with two cheques, each with 50 percent of the amount.
When I get together with Pia and Peter, we usually meet for Korean food at one of Dubai’s many Korean restaurants, but this time I got to pick the place, and I was craving pasta. I therefore suggested that we met at Splendido which is really nice Italian restaurant at the Ritz Carlton over at JBR.
Last week, Pia and I met for lunch at Carine, which is the French restaurant at Emirates Golf Club. It’s a really nice restaurant with delicious food and friendly staff, but for some reason, they don’t have a separate lunch menu, or any lunch offers, which is actually a bit strange considering that the place would be perfect for a business lunch.
There is a new Millennium Hotel, Millennium Place, in Dubai Marina and before Ramadan, Trine and I were invited to the opening party. It was a really nice event with tasty drinks and food from the MasterChef restaurant in the hotel.
The other day, I was invited to iftar preview at Seven Sands, which is an Emirati restaurant over at The Beach JBR. Seven Sands frequently hosts different cultural events, aiming to spread the knowledge and understanding of the local culture, and during Ramadan, diners have the opportunity to book an iftar buffet hosted by The Arab Culturalist, Nasif Kayed.
I was invited to the iftar preview at Grand Millennium, but I could not go, so I sent The Big Panda, aka my sister Trine instead. She knows my preferences when it comes to food, and she is quite a foodie herself, so she was happy to cover the event for me.
Trine and I were invited to come and check out the Museum of Illusions, which is a new museum located in the new dining and shopping area Al Seef down by the creek. At first, Trine wasn’t too happy about going, as she is really not into museums, but Museum of Illusions is not your usual museum, and after visiting, Trine had to admit that it was a really awesome place.
Summer is just around the corner and maybe it is time to update your sunglasses wardrobe? My friend Angela has moved to Hong Kong, but she was back for Art Dubai, so I met with her for lunch and a talk about this year’s sunglasses trends. Angela is among my most fashion-savvy friends, so who would be better for modeling the sunglasses I have borrowed for this shoot? Here are some of the styles you can expect to see this summer: