Liyari, Central Perk then Atlantis

i took my sisters to get the best briyani in dubai, then to the 'friendliest' cafe in the world, and then to the awesome hotel built on the biggest man-made island.

we went to liyari briyani in naif, then to central perk of jumeirah, and finally to atlantis on the palm jumeirah island.


we took this shot right in front of the restaurant, where the singles mingle. family will be ushered to eat upstairs, passing by the mouth-watering smell of grilled chicken, up a darken stone staircase, and out into another makan section for families.

i don't agree that liyari has the best briyani in dubai, but so it says in many, many, MANY travel-blog! read about my first liyari experience here.


azi and syida shared a plate, and enjoyed every ounce of the smooth-bead rice cooked literally along with curry-like chicken.

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stop for advertisement. melbourne, australia. another great holiday destination (ceh ceh. mentang-mentang abah, me & syida melb grad)

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after the incredibly filling meal at liyari, we took the girls around naif and karama for a little pashmina and scarf shopping, as well as some souvenirs for those mama wombats back home. naif souq (market) is a great place to get kain and tudung, as well as the traditional arab wear the black abaya. it's a long stretch of shops much like our jalan tar, but with more diversity.

while jalan tar focuses on kain and tudung, naif souq also has tons of shops selling myriads of stuff from fake channel bags to kids' toys and clothings.

and memang terasa macam ade kat india or pakistan, because everywhere you look - they're either pakistans or indians!

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my sisters are all fans of friends, but syida and i are super f.r.i.e.n.d.s freak. we've got pretty much the entire episodes etched in our heads, along with the minute-est detail of every scene (from what pants was rachel wearing when she got that heart tattoo on her hip, to what's the meaning of joey's "it's a moo point",

and on top of that, eeriely able to know what the gellers or ms buffay is going to say next. (to the point that it even scares mr. khairul! hihi)


so it's only like, a MUST - that i bring my fellow f.r.i.e.n.d.s maniac to the show's namesake cafe, central perk. there are 3 known central perk location to me - one in mirdiff (read about my first manic central perk experience here), one in dubai marina (which i have yet to visit) and another in jumeirah.

we went to the one in jumeirah, a little cafe in one of the shop lots there. just look for jumeirah's spinneys and you're on the right track.


well, let the pictures speak for itself. syida the friends freakazoid. enjoying the setting of one of the best shows on earth!


azi is not as cuckoo about f.r.i.e.n.d.s, but she likes the gellers, bing, green, tribianni and buffay just as well.


so the girls got themselves a couple of central perk caps for their significant other. aww. and syida got her dream central perk mug! too bad they're not the big fat coffee cups that the friends use in the show.

we just had cups of hot choc and coffee for mr. khairul as we're still full from liyari briyani - but we went back that day happy that us sisters got to lepak together at central perk, 'where friends meet'.

*smile*

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the night is young, and the girls ain't tired yet, so mr.khairul drove us on top of the palm jumeirah island - the biggest man-made island in the world - shaped like a palm tree. click here to read more about my experience at the amazing atlantis hotel and this extraordinary defyiance to orthodox architecture and engineering - the palm jumeirah island.


the atlantis had been 'home' for the stars of hollywood during its big-bash party opening which was dubbed the 'last party of the millenium' sebab lepas ni takde sapa ade duit nak buat party yang huge scale macam tu!

paklah and wife also stayed at its best presidential suit, siap atlantis put up our pride jalur gemilang at its laman, as a mark of respect for the visit of our prime minister and to honor their stay at atlantis hotel.


the girls take time to appreciate the wonders of the ocean at one of its many 'aquarium windows'. khaleef had been here so many times, yet he still was amazed by the myriads of sea-creatures behind those glasses.

read about khaleef's and also kahfi's first visit to atlantis here.


usually there would be a long line, or a huge bunch of people around this atlantis 'throne' waiting to sit on it and take pictures. fortunately there was only this one couple taking picture when we were there with the girls, so we took no chance for others to realize the lack of crowd too - so we rushed in!

queen syida and azot, on a throne of king tritons, ruler of the mer people (ok, that's a line from the little mermaid) - oh, well. great food, great company, great ambiance - i'm sure they feel like queens of the world!