EAT GREEK - Jumeirah Beach Residence - THE WALK

 

[caption id="attachment_4000" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK store in JBR, THE WALK[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4005" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK TEAM[/caption]

My first greek experience :) and I am glad I visited this restaurant. One of the beauties of being in Dubai is you get to try almost any part of the world without having to be there. EAT GREEK is one of those restaurants who strongly believe in their heritage and culture and they try to replicate the same at their restaurant in Dubai. This would be their first restaurant which is located at Jumeirah Beach Residence, THE WALK and looking at their success you can expect them to open a few more in Dubai.

[caption id="attachment_3989" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors3[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3988" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors2[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3990" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors4[/caption]

I love their interiors. From the flooring, fence, wall, roof, lights and leather seats and haven't seen one restaurant having this many types of seating options. The restaurant has different types of chairs and table setting to suit you the most. You feel at a Greek home and very cozy. It's a two floor store and the interiors look very different on both floors but sticking to the Greek interior design. I love being on their terrace and it's great a view to be eating from their balcony watching the beach. The photos should give you a decent idea on the inside of EAT GREEK.

[caption id="attachment_3992" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors6[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3991" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors5[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3987" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors1[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3993" align="alignnone" width="470"] EAT GREEK - interiors7[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3983" align="alignnone" width="470"] From left - Exotica(pineapple, raspberry & passionfruit) - Dhs 20, Passion fruit Mojito - Dhs 17, Chocolate Milkshake - Dhs 18[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3986" align="alignnone" width="470"] Greek salad - Dhs 35[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3980" align="alignnone" width="470"] Tzatziki - Dhs 18 - Yogurt, cucumber, garlic & fresh herbs[/caption]

For drinks they had different types of mocktails, mojitos and milk shakes. The rejuvenating drink for me was their Mocktail Exotica. The chocolate milk shake nice and thick but their passion fruit Mojito was a fail. The Mojito drink was dead in taste and should have been made better :( Then came one of the best part which was their homemade bread and Tzatziki(yogurt, cucmber, garlic along with herbs) Ofcourse the bread is normally served complimentary along with any of your order. You would typically dip them in their olive oil which is found on your table. The hot bread and the cold tzatziki goes well with each other. The greek salad is one of the most famous salads so we made sure to try this at the real place. It's the beautiful chunk of feta cheese that caught the attention of my eye otherwise you are eating lot of tomatoes, cucumbers along with some olives and onions.

[caption id="attachment_3984" align="alignnone" width="470"] Baked feta cheese - Dhs 45 - baked feta cheese with tomato, pepper and olive oil[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3985" align="alignnone" width="470"] Eggplant salad - Dhs 15 - Roasted and smoked eggplant puree with peppers and herbs[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3982" align="alignnone" width="470"] Kadaifi Jumbo Prawn - Dhs 70 - Jumbo prawns wrapped in kadaifi filo, fried, with strawberry dressing & fruity ratatouille[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3981" align="alignnone" width="470"] Greek bruschetta - Dhs 52[/caption]

Just when I was appreciating the quality of feta cheese in the Greek salad, in came the baked feta cheese which was one of the best baked cheese I've had. It was so good that it would have not stayed on the plate for more than a minute. All of us were literally fighting for it :( So I asked the manager where is this cheese from? and he said it's directly imported from Greece. Egg plant salad reminded me of baba ganoush but a Greek version of it. If you notice carefully some of their cold appetizers are more or less similar to arabic cold mezzeh. The kadafi jumbo prawn was super crispy, thanks to it's kadaifi filo pastry and should be a teaser to prawn lovers. They are also beautiful and elegantly presented on a matching plate :) The Greek bruschetta(roasted pita bread with on top sits capsicums, chopped anchovies, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, mint leaves) even though was pretty, not very much to my liking but my wife found it interesting.

[caption id="attachment_3995" align="alignnone" width="470"] Mix Grill - Dhs 160 - Beef, lamb, chicken and vegetable skewers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3994" align="alignnone" width="470"] Grilled fish - black bream - Dhs 130[/caption]

I was impressed to see how the mix grills were presented. The last time I got the grills in this fashion was from Nandos. No doubt, all grills were lovely especially their beef ;) Except it requires a little bit of work to take those meat grills out of the stick. For a change the potato chips were thin and circular. The big black bream fish was super. It's been a while I've been craving for some fresh fish. It tasted fresh as if just out of the sea. They also have options of fish without bones(fillet), I opted for the fish with bones which was perfect for me! Also note the fish comes with a mix of steamed leaves such as mustard leaves, spinach etc. Surely the leaves are healthy but are bitter in taste. The whole fish was pretty good that even my kids loved it! :)

[caption id="attachment_3996" align="alignnone" width="470"] Grilled fish - black bream - Dhs 130 with different types of leaves[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3997" align="alignnone" width="470"] Grilled fish with bone - black bream - Dhs 130 with[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4002" align="alignnone" width="470"] Loukoumades - Grandma’s Doughnuts - dhs 30 along with nutella and honey[/caption]

The Greek desserts were interesting too. Nothing that I've not heard before but it was a greek version. The loukoumades reminded me of the traditional sweet dumplings available in Dubai which is normally dipped in date syrup. But the loukoumades here is heavier whereas the local ones are extremely light. The loukoumades tasted best when it was dipped in nutella. No words can appreciate the baked cheesecake. Well done and so pure in taste. I've had chocolate baklavas before but a mini size. This one is like a giant version of it. The first bite of the chocolate baklava was a good hard chocolate crispy feeling but later on you get a little tired of the taste. I think baklavas are best when they are smaller cause they are generally hard and stiff and when you try to manure with fork and knife, in the long run you might get frustrated :(

[caption id="attachment_4003" align="alignnone" width="470"] From left: greek cheesecake(Dhs 40) and chocolate baklava(dhs 40)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4004" align="alignnone" width="470"] Greek orange pie with vanilla ice cream - Dhs 28[/caption]

The orange pie was one of my favourites. You press and you get those orange juice flowing out of it and that sweet syrup fills your mouth when you bite them and that's the best part. The ice creams is not any vanilla but a greek special and you'll realize it once you have it. Overall I am quite impressed with EAT GREEK and looking forward to many more visits here. They also have a clean and clear website with their whole menu available along with pricing. Click here to go to their website.

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Asha's - Wafi - Dubai

[caption id="attachment_3934" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha Bhosle with her colleagues[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3944" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Lunch at Asha's[/caption]

Wow! I am actually dining inside the restaurant of one of the most successful singers of Bollywood. Asha Bhosle whose been singing for decades for Indian cinema is also beginning to prove that she's got some good sense of taste. Her restaurant is focused on serving north Indian cuisine which mainly comes from her part of town. Asha's at Wafi is her first restaurant which was open in 2002 and after it's success, the restaurant Asha's continues to branch into other countries.

[caption id="attachment_3931" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3935" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3936" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

The interiors are beautiful, elegant and love those curtains with crystal beads. At the entrance you are greeted by star studded frames which gives you a glimpse of Asha's history and her connections to Bollywood. There was an interesting frame on the wall which was the original award presented by Guinness World Records to Asha Bhosle for the most recorded artist in the history of asian music. The ambiance was peaceful and felt to be a perfect place for that special occasion.

[caption id="attachment_3929" align="aligncenter" width="660"] complimentary starters - pappads and pickles[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3930" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Non Alcholic drinks - Dhs 36 - infront(calcutta crush - Fresh strawberries muddled with lime wedges and homemade vanilla sugar, lengthened with cranberry juice and Earl Grey tea), Behind Right(lal quila - Vanilla ice cream blended with pomegranate syrup and cranberry juice, scented with rose water), behind left(saffron and pista lassi - Natural yoghurt blended with pistachios and saffron syrup)[/caption]

The usual pappads and pickles were served to us after we made our order. The drinks here amazed me. The first drink was the calcutta crush(Fresh strawberries muddled with lime wedges and homemade vanilla sugar, lengthened with cranberry juice and Earl Grey tea) which blew me away instantly. Never expected such a fantastic mocktail from an indian restaurant. One of the best I've had. Calcutta crush was a bit less in quantity, before I could enjoy the drink, it got over :( The lal quila was good too but still wouldn't beat the calcutta crush. You could feel the pistachios in the lassi which was the best part of the saffron and pista lassi, I felt the Lassi should have been thicker.

[caption id="attachment_3937" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Murg Nizami Shorba - Dhs 45 - A rich and aromatic chicken soup flavoured with curry leaves, green apple and saffron.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3939" align="aligncenter" width="660"] chingri chaap - Dhs 95 - B readcrumb-coated prawns, marinated in ginger, garlic and spices, fried to golden perfection.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3938" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Grilled paneer salad - Dhs 40 - Paneer grilled to perfection served on a bed of salad.[/caption]

The soup Murg Nizami Shorba came thick and tasted excellent. A different taste to the regular thick chicken soups I've had before. This is a must try soup! The paneer in the grilled paneer salad was made well but the disappointing part was the bed of salad. I was expecting some other vegetables along with the paneer but it was just flat on a bed of leaves. Although the sauce used on the salad does make the leaves(rocca) delicious. Fried items are always fun as appetizers and so were their chingri chaap(prawns) but I wonder how they got it this flat. I was expecting a thick sized prawn.

[caption id="attachment_3940" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Speciality non-veg platter - Dhs 135 - A selection of murg malai, chicken tikka and gosht seekh kebabs[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3941" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Tandoori Machli - Dhs 95 - Hammour fillet marinated in yogurt, turmeric and malt vinegar, flavoured with bishop seeds, mace and cardamom powder.[/caption]

The grills were hot and spicy. The grilled chickens were a melt in the mouth, the murg malai was soft and was non-spicy which the kids could appreciate, gosh seekh kebabs(lamb) was a bit extra spicy but overall you get a nice dash of Indian spices while you have them. I personally felt the hammour could have tasted better if they marinated with either tandoor or hariyali like found in seaview restaurant.

[caption id="attachment_3942" align="aligncenter" width="660"] From Left: Butter chicken(Classic chicken tikka in a tomato and cream gravy, flavoured with dry fenugreek leaves) - dhs 95, Dal Makhani(Classic black lentils slow-cooked overnight with tomatoes, cream and butter) - Dhs 70[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3943" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Kesar Biriyani - Dhs 105 - Boneless lamb biryani with a rich saffron flavour.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3946" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Roti - Dhs 20/piece - Naan, Roti, Romali, lacha paratha[/caption]

Both curries butter chicken and dal makhani came thick and creamy. The curries were very rich and you could actually feel it when you have them, specially the Dal makhani which came thick with that butter floating over it. Biriyani came beautiful with red saffron rice along with some tomato paste on top. The boneless lamb pieces in the biriyani were upto the mark and was the best part for me in the biriyani. We tried one of each roti and none of their rotis were disappointing. Surely they've got a good collection of quality rotis that you can order with those lovely curries they make here.

[caption id="attachment_3948" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Rasmalai - Dhs 50 - A milk-based sweet dessert served cold with sweetened milk[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3947" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Pistachio Kesar Kulfi - dhs 50 - Homemade indian ice cream made with reduced milk, pistachios and saffron.[/caption]

From desserts the rasmallai was decent in taste but I wouldn't call it the best. It could have been made better. Probably they can learn some trick from Bikanerwala. I thoroughly enjoyed their Pistachio kesar kulfi with rabri. You pour that rabri on top of kesar kulfi and nothing like it after some spicy food ;) There were more forks attacking this plate :p From my overall experience at Asha's I must admit that they serve good indian food but are surely over priced. I think the fact that you are eating inside Asha Bhosle's restaurant you pay a premium for that. Moreover I am sure Asha Bhosle would herself wanted an nice indian restaurant for VIPs like herself and her colleagues where one could peacefully enjoy their food and not guests running upto them for an autograph while they are about to put a roti in their mouth :p Imagine them eating at Gazebo, they can never get their privacy.

Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:

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Cinnabon - Jumeirah Beach Residence, THE WALK

[caption id="attachment_3890" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Cinnabon & Seatles Best Coffee JBR[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3889" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Cinnabon entrance - JBR[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3883" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Having fun at Cinnabon, JBR[/caption]

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope some of you managed to experience some first hand fireworks if you were in Dubai ;) Yes, with NEW YEAR comes a NEW LOOK for my blog :) Hope you guyz like it. It should now be much easier for you to navigate between categories. There is no celebration without sugar and thought this would be a good time to post about the very famous Cinnabon which has been in Dubai for many years now. I've been many times to Cinnabon store at Al Ghurair and Dubai Mall. This time it's about their latest outlet at Jumeirah Beach Residence, THE WALK. We tried a little more than their famous cinnabons which would include their sandwiches, ice creams and their closely associated seattle's best coffee.

[caption id="attachment_3886" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Cinnabon upstairs - interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3888" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Cinnabon downstairs[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3887" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Cinnabon upstairs - stairs[/caption]

They have 2 floors in this store. Most of their stores feel the same. They make it cozy with their leather seats, newspapers, complimentary wifi and surrounded by all kinds of inspiring posters.

[caption id="attachment_3885" align="aligncenter" width="660"] From left: ICE blended Javakula - dhs 19, HOT Raspberry mocha kiss(Espresso, steamed milk and dark chocolate) - dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3882" align="aligncenter" width="660"] smoked turkey and cheese - Dhs 22 - smoked turkey, roasted turkey, emmental cheese, ckaskaval cheese and a red pesto dressing[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3916" align="aligncenter" width="470"] shish tawook wrap - Dhs 22[/caption]

Many of them were having seattle's warm coffee, I too tried one of them which is called Raspberry Mocha kiss(Dhs 20). Loved this warm mocha and was a pleasure having it in the cold. Their javakula was a little disappointing. It didn't give me the punch I look forward to from a typical ice blended coffee. Maybe there was too much ice to feel some punch. They had interesting sandwiches like the sheesh taouk wrap but I personally felt they could make better sandwiches. Sandwiches are not made in house and you can really tell the difference. I wish they made fresh sandwiches in house like how they made quality cinnabons.

[caption id="attachment_3879" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Pecanbon - Dhs 17[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3880" align="aligncenter" width="705"] chocobon - Dhs 16[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3881" align="aligncenter" width="705"] cinnabon - dhs 14[/caption]

Cinnabons! This is the best part of their store. Warm baked dough stuffed with cinnamon and irresistible frostings. The top 3 pictures are their fast sellers(cinnabon, chocobon and pecanbon). Except they also serve you in different sizes starting from classic roll(biggest), minibon(medium sized) and bites(tiny ones). They've also now come out with some new items like the cinnabon stix(dusted with sugar and their famous Makara Cinnamon). Most often I have a tough time to decide between chocobon and pecanbon. You cut open that chocobon and the chocolate starts oozing on the layers of the cinnamon rolls which catches your complete attention. Overall they make the best cinnamon rolls for sure and they remain fresh for a long time. We take them home and they still taste fresh as if just made. I would like to change their tag from their worlds famous cinnamon rolls to the worlds best cinnamon rolls. Atleast I haven't found a better one in Dubai.

[caption id="attachment_3894" align="aligncenter" width="660"] carvel cone ice cream - dhs 8[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3893" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Chocolate cake - Dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3892" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Chocolate cake - Dhs 20[/caption]

Cinnabon has also partnered with caravel ice creams recently. Caravel is supposed to be America's freshest ice cream. Even though they remind me of the McDonald's ice cream, the taste is in a different level and definitely much better. You can opt for vanilla, chocolate or mix(vanilla and chocolate). The carvel icecream is something that can't disappoint you. I believe carvel ice creams can only be found at Cinnabon in Dubai. The chocolate cake was dense and good as it's looks but would be an overkill if you are having it just after the sweet cinnabon. Here's an old video where my son is making cinnabon at their store :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxpfY-hHxZM

[caption id="attachment_3895" align="alignnone" width="300"] Cinnabon team - JBR[/caption]

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