Rockin’ Bday : 1st Day Opening Hard Rock Cafe Dubai

for khaleef’s 6th birthday, we rocked and rolled at hard rock cafe dubai on its first day opening! yeargh!

this is probably the most anticipated opening in dubai – the hard rock cafe dubai at sheikh zayed road had been closed in 2009, only to be transferred to the festival city dubai recently. the opening had been delayed for more than a year but it finally had a soft opening on the 16th, and officially opened to the public today after friday prayers – and we’re one of the first few customers!

 

 

this newly opened hard rock cafe dubai branch is the 2nd biggest in the world after the one in orlando, and it has the biggest merchandise store too. if i’m not mistaken, they would soon put a replica of a guitar at the entrance, and it would be the biggest in the world.

well, korang tau la dubai kan. semua nak biggest, tallest, first bla bla.. haha.

 

the entrance is beautiful, but will be complete with the biggest guitar in the world

 

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spacious and high celing – comfy!

 

since the hard rock cafe dubai is one of the biggest there is, the interior says it all. spacious, long lines of tables, high ceiling, and a huge stage dominates the inside.

we took a seat right in front of the stage, and enjoyed ourselves with all the rockin’ video clips shown on a huge white screen on stage. we were told there would be a live band playing that night.

it was pretty loud, but i welcomed the noise as it drowned the noise from my own kiddos! we can pretty much let loose and just lepak!

 

 

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nothing much to shout about regarding its menu – if you’re used to TGIF and chilli’s, hard rock cafe serves pretty much the same kinda food with some variations here and there. don’t get me wrong, i LOVE these kind of food hihi. some entrees, sandwiches, steaks and chops – the works.

 

we tried the entree first – named ‘jumbo combo’ of ‘hickory-smoked’ chicken wings, crispy deep-fried onion rings, juicy ‘tupelo’ chicken fingers and soft baked potato skin. there’s also ‘santa fe’ spring rolls (yang macam popiah tu) served in a tall bowl of salad. yummy.

this plate of savoury delights also include four types of dipping – i think they’re marinara sauce, sour cream, mustard and another delicious dip. what’s not to like? you can come to hard rock cafe dubai for this alone, and be full and entertained the entire time there.

 

a classic plate of fish and chips for me this time. teringin pulak! i’ve always preferred fish and chips fried in batter instead of bread crumbs, and hard rock cafe delivers it. i LOVE the batter – crunchy, thick enough to cover the fish and not oily. the fish was soft and deliciously tender. tartar sauce is a must, and theirs was thick and yummy.

this is a good plate of fish and chips, and would be perfect if the fries were fatter!

 

mr. khairul opted for a plate of lamb chops, served oddly enough with baked beans, coleslaw and fries. this is probably my first time seeing a plate of lamb chops served with baked beans, and coleslaw instead of mashed potato or steamed veggie. hmm. anyway, my take on it – there’s good and there’s bad.

the good is that the portion is HUGE. you can really share this plate as there are about 5-6 pieces of lamb chops. the texture is perfect. however, the bad is that the marinade is a little bit on the sweet side for me. i mean, sweet and succulent is all good, but shouldn’t be THAT sweet. but this is a personal thing, you guys might like the sweet taste.

it’s served with coleslaw, which is fine by me because i love coleslaw, but mr. khairul passed the coleslaw to me, as he preferred steamed veggie. again, this is all personal.

 

also, as usual there’d be a kid’s menu with selection from burgers to pizza and pasta. we chose the macaroni and cheese served with garlic bread. unfortunately, this is NOT a good dish. the dish was DRY. mac and cheese should be ooey and gooey with lots of cheese. this is just dry, and the cheese does NOT taste good. i don’t know what type of cheese sauce they used – it’s slightly bitter, really.

since khaleef is a huge pasta-fan, he wasn’t as choosy, and happily finished the mac and cheese. the only good thing about this dish was the garlic bread. soft.

 

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since it’s the first day of its official grand opening, hard rock cafe has lined up few activities for the kids – a clown, face-painting and lotsa shaped balloons to give away.

first khaleef got a sword balloon, but when told that he’s the birthday boy, he got another hat balloon which looked so very cute! i love the balloon hat! kahfi and kazim got a snail and a poodle balloon each.

 

birthday boy looking snappy!

 

in the middle of it all, the staff of hard rock cafe dubai took the stage dancing and snapping away to upbeat songs that include the classic YMCA. it was an entertaining bit from the sporting staff, and a fun break for the kids as khaleef, kahfi and even kazim joined in to boogie!

i’m not sure whether this would be a daily thing, a weekend thing or just because it’s the first day of opening.

 

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what’s hard rock cafe without all the rockin’ memorabilia? drums, guitars, jackets, dresses and even boots from celebrities donned the wall in glass cases. pictures of rock stars also graced the wall, in true hard rock cafe tradition.

biase la ni. korang pi hard rock cafe KL ngan penang pun bole nampak benda-benda ni. ntah ye ntah idak ye haha. kot-kot just duplicates of the real thing!

 

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the best part of the day for birthday boy most definitely was when the hard rock cafe dubai staff surprised khaleef with a tall glass of 3-scooped ice-cream as a birthday thing. they sang ‘happy birthday’, and brought a  plate of whipped cream with cherry on top. when khaleef bend down to bite the cherry, they stamped the plate of whip cream on his face! all in good fun!

the complimentary birthday ice-cream was absolutely yummy! THANKS hard rock cafe dubai!

 

the 2nd biggest hard rock store in the world after orlando

 

 

we had a great time – the staff were friendly, helpful and eager to please. the food were fairly delicious, and it was a fun, entertaining time at the hard rock cafe on its first opening day. hope this commendable service continues!

the store opens from 10am to 1am, while the restaurant opens after 1pm. enjoy!