Lunch ahoy!

There are times when having lunch in a new location can be just the ticket, at times a rather decadent ticket. As this is Dubai we are absolutely spoiled with choices. This lunch saw us down at La Veranda at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. La Veranda has marina side seating with a direct, and very much unobstructed, view of the ever so iconic Burj al Arab. Feeling very much like we were on a wee vacation my friend and I settled in to cruise over the menu. See what I did there?

For our starters we shared a hot/fried and cold antipasti; the Calamari with Lobster Mayo and the Quinoa Salad, respectively. The Calamari arrived hot and crisp with a pancko style coating, the lobster mayo for dipping did not taste too intensely of lobster but it did have a nice kick to it. The flavour of the calamari would easily allow them to be eaten without the mayo. Balancing out the fried calamari was a nicely presented quinoa salad with marinated quinoa, rucola, zucchini, aubergine, feta and beetroot. We found that for the size of the salad it would be best to share or share it with the main course it you prefer more veggies to your main.

Quinoa Salad

Calamari with Lobster Mayo

For the main course we went in a direction befitting of the location we were at: seafood. While my friend went with the King Prawns I ordered a Crab Linguini. The pictures below will show how large the portions were and I did take half of my linguini home.On the menu the prawns were written as being "cinnamon marinated, orange and cardamom" we did not really find any of these flavours to be prevalent though the meat was tender and juicy. The vegetable ragout which accompanied it was also nice and flavourful. My crab linguini was well received and though the cream sauce could have had a wee bit more flavour the crab was excellent and there was a surprising amount of it. Clearly the crab was not just used as decoration.

Crab Linguini

King Prawns with Vegetable Ragout

After a small, and much needed break, we perused the desserts. Though there may not be a large selection it is diverse and there are also mocktails and cocktails which have dessert like attributes. Our chosen desserts were a lime flavoured cheesecake with raspberry coulis and a chocolate almond truffle cake with raspberry compote. The cheesecake did taste delicately of lime and instead of the traditional graham cracker base it had a thin sponge style base and was topped with mandarins. The raspberry coulis was on the side. The chocolate truffle cake was also quite nice but not as indulgent as it sounded and I was missing the almond taste. Both were quite large portions and I would say one dessert would have sufficed.

Chocolate Almond Truffle Cake

Lime flavoured cheesecake

Overall we had a nice experience at La Veranda. The service was friendly, there was soft music playing in the background, we were by the marina with a soft breeze and a view of the Burj al Arab. In a way it was like being on vacation in your own home town. This is a family friendly place as it is on the beach you can watch the littles play in the sand and the dress code is casual.

As is the norm this is not a sponsored post.

Eataly: get some Italian in Dubai

Dubai is known for its rather pretentious dining and clubbing scene. There is of course nothing wrong with partaking in this I have enjoyed dinner at Nobu before and going to Cavalli and People by Crystal, amongst others. There are though times when you want to sit back a bit, wear jeans and share a joke with the kitchen chefs. I adore kitchen chefs and find then rather amiable. On a recent Dubai Mall shopping excursion with my friend we happened upon Eataly. From the outside it is quite eye catching with its large, open and bright store front. Upon stepping inside you see the scale of this place. It is a mix of grocers with a café, gelateria, chocolate counter, restaurant and other delightful stations. The glass enclosed room where they make the fresh mozzarella is a thing of beauty.

Smoked Turkey Piadina with the lovely chefs in the background

Simple yet delicious tomato spaghetti

In addition to the site down dining there is also a bar which one can sit at and watch the chefs at work in the hot station. Once we were seated we were brought our menus as well as a serving of bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping the bread in. Delish! Wanting something simple, warm and with carbs, as we had been shopping, we settled on a simple tomato spaghetti and a smoked turkey piadina. As a started we tried their fresh made mozzarella. Over all we had a wonderful experience the food was fresh and tasty and the mozzarella in particular gets a massive thumbs up, no matter how geeky it looks. I even took the other half of the piadina home with me as it was a large portion. The next day I heated it in my Panini press and it was delicious. Sitting at the bar was a fantastic idea as we were able to watch all the other lovely dishes be prepared and it gave us some ideas for another home made dinner get together.


Eataly can definitely be recommended as a casual date night or a less hectic mall meal. The fact that you can combine it with some of your grocery shopping is a bonus. Of course you can also pop in for an ice cream or an espresso at the coffee counter. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Mamma Italia and exploring Jumeirah Road

A little bit of Italy in Dubai. How many other people out there feel that there is quite the parallel between Italians and Arabs? Down on Jumeirah Road, which is fast becoming my favourite part of town, is the Mamma Italia restaurant.

My friend and I happened upon it while on a stroll along Jumeirah Road. It is located just after the Al Hilal Bank on Jumeirah Road (near to the Burj al Arab). And it has outside seating! Our super friendly waitress explained the restaurant to us as we were still deciding where we want to eat. We walked a bit further but then decided to go back. We made the right decision.

The menu offers a typical assortment of classic Italian fare from Bruschetta and Panini to various pizza (in an actual pizza oven and the chef can swirl that dough like nobody's business, mind blowing).

Adorable detail on the menu



Hamour dish (cannot remember the name)





Roasted chicken panini

It was so nice to sit outside, in the shade of course. The roasted chicken, complimented by the lightly sweet taste of the tomato salsa, was wonderful and my friend also enjoyed her hamour. At the end our plates were clean. We were also asked if we would like a dessert but after the delicious lunch we needed for a small walk to digest. We promised to come back for gelato, though.

Jumeirah Road has a slower pace of life to it. Perfect if you need to get away from the usual rat race present in the malls. Plus it is rather quirky to come across a Milka Cow at Al Bashaer Grocery. Jumeirah Road is ideal for walking as it has many little shops along it and the walking path is separate from the road. There is not much shade so take care to bring along water. There are water stations dispersed along the road that can also be used.

As it was getting hot, and because it is rude to break a promise, we made our way back to Mamma Italia for gelato.

So many flavours to choose from! We each had about 5 flavours that we tried. Really though, how can you say no when someone recommends you to try, try, try! We even tried Smurf ice cream. Does that make us cannibals?

I went for the Stracciatella in a waffle cone mainly because it seemed lighter than the Nutella one. But who am I kidding, lighter is the wrong word. We are talking about ice cream here. It was more refreshing than the Nutella. Have you ever had the dark chocolate ice cream from Cold Stone? That is what I would call a "heavy" ice cream. These gelatos did seem lighter than the typical Cold Stone fare and when you are looking for something indulgent and refreshing: light is right.

Take the time to explore your city. I know that I am thoroughly enjoying this aspect to living in a new place.

As usual: I was not compensated for this post so it is entirely my own rambling opinion.

Pizza, Pasta ... Pesto

Seeing as Dubai is one of seven emirates and conveniently located in the middle of these one can easily make a trip away. Case in point Ras al Khaimah. A quick hour outside of Dubai on the E311 and you reach a place with a slower pace and turquoise waters. I went to visit a friend and for dinner we headed down to the corniche (there is a lot of parking) and went for dinner at Pesto Ristorante Italiano which is located near to Baskin Robbins (when it is dark that is probably the easiest sign to see). When you walk in the first thing you see is a chef at the pizza oven and inside there are two seating areas one is restaurant style seating and the other more in the manner of a lounge with a show kitchen to the side. The atmosphere was definitely that of a European restaurant, calm and sophisticated. My favourite touch was the Italian chef walking out to the guests. The waitresses were professional and attentive.

Now to the important part, the food. Delicious. My friend ordered the salmon pizza whilst I had the pesto with shrimp pizza. Generous portions were served to us on wooden boards with the waitress offering us fresh ground pepper and chili oil. The crust was thin and crisp with enough dough to not make it a cracker crispness and the toppings were heaven. Juicy shrimp and sweet cherry tomatoes complimented the pesto. My friend was amoured by her salmon pizza which was garnished with lemon slices. If you want a light dinner we suggest taking half home. But the two of us persevered and finished off our pizzas (cue waddling back to the car). They were simply to good to leave. The down side was there was no more room for dessert. So next time ... I reckon we need to stop by for a cappuccino and something sweet. I hope by then we can sit outside and listen to the nice background music; admittedly I broke out in song at one point (but quietly, I was after all in polite company).