Farewell Thai Food Lunch @ Black Canyon, JBR

two of my dubai gal pals are leaving dubai for good. sob sob. fida and husband amran is leaving dubai this saturday, and lin is delivering her 2nd baby sometime next 2 weeks, and then with hubby bob leaving dubai too after her confinement.

we’ve known for quite some time that lin and bob are leaving, but news of fida’s departure came as a shock to me as it’s too sudden. tiba-tiba je dapat tahu kena balik malaysia dalam sebulan-dua. uhuk uhuk. they will be sorely missed.

 

a dubai family (if you’re wondering why mr. khairul was in bike boots, he was out riding with his biker pals that morning, and came straight with his bike)

 

we treated them for a thai lunch at black canyon coffee in the walk, JBR (jumeirah beach residences). this branch is situated right opposite sheraton dubai marina, next to starbucks amwaj. it’s at the more laid-back and quiet lane of ‘the walk, JBR’, so you really won’t miss it.

‘black canyon’ in JBR offers authentic thai cuisine that’s both delicious and affordable, considering that it’s in dubai marina where everything is a little more expensive than anywhere else.

 

ladies : fida in red, lin, jaja in blue - lin’s sister vacationing in dubai, and me in purple

 

currently the weather in dubai is lovely to have your meals outside, but at 2pm, it’s quite scorching! so we took it inside and was ushered upstairs where we took hold of the entire floor. just us!

the kids went bat-crazy running around screaming and wailing while the moms and dads were able to enjoy their meals without worrying that the kids were running into the waiters or disturbing other patrons.

it was fun!

 

the dudes : my honey mr. khairul in T, lin’s hubby bob, and fida’s amran

 

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don’t go to a thai restaurant and not order TOM YAM! we always go for black canyon’s tom yam whenever we’re here. it is commendable – huge portion, with the right amount of spicy and sour. highly recommended if you ever thought of dropping by. this huge bowl can basically be shared by 2-3 people, depending on how hungry you are!

 

this is mr. khairul’s favorite, and we ordered this as well to share the uniqueness with our buddies. it’s basically sweet-spicy fried rice (fried with prawn, chicken, capsicum and pieces of pineapple) and served in a half-cut pineapple. very cute, very delicious.

the chicken bits are slightly stir-fried before adding them into the rice which explains the slight brownish look on the chicken – and i love it! the first time i tried it i didn’t immediately like it since i thought it’s too sweet for fried rice, but it kind off grows on me, especially since mr. khairul loves it so much. it’s a unique dish, and try it if you’re curious!

 

we also tried this. well, i will try ANY kuey teow i find in dubai just so i could find the ONE that taste like penang/ipoh char kuey teow! this kuey teow in black canyon – well, imagine you fry kuey teow in sweet chilli sauce – that’s how it tasted like. it’s tasty, but incomparable to our malaysian style fried kuey teow!

however, i appreciate them putting aside the taugeh. saves me time asking them to fry without the taugeh! hihi.

 

we basically had white rice with lauk-lauk (savoury dishes, thai style) from top left : red chicken curry, green chicken curry, beef and broccoli, a fish dish with mix vege, kerabu sohun, and my favorite fried calamari.

i would recommend green chicken curry as it’s delicious and unique though if you’re looking for something spicy, this is not it. sedap, tapi tak pedas sangat ok. the fish was so-so, because the texture was soft but i don’t find any specialty about its preparation. i would be biased against the kerabu since i’m not a fan, but the fast-emptying plate clearly shows that the rest enjoyed it!

the fried calamari – what can i say, freshly fried – crispy and crunchy. also recommended. i just wish the portion was bigger with that price.

 

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pulut mangga – glutinous rice with mango

 

what better way to cap this farewell lunch than a sweet dessert shared with sweet dear friends? we ordered the pulut mangga – warm glutinous rice served with cut-up sweet mangoes and sweet-salty coconut milk poured on top.

this is one delicous dessert – the combination of the warm glutinous rice with the cold mango gives quite a party in your mouth. and the sweet-salty coconut milk just adds to the richness of the dessert. yummy!

one complain – it’s too expensive for this small plate of humble dessert, and i advice you to order this ONLY if you’re really craving! haha.

 

makan sepinggan membawa berkat hihi

 

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noisy kiddos : from left : kahfi behind haffiy in white shirt, amily is hugging him, adam in red, khaleef holding his hand and kazim walking aimlessly in front

 

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now for my touching sad speech. huhu.

we didn’t see each other as often as i would hoped, but throughout our friendship, i found them to be friendly and easy to go into conversation with – senang nak ajak borak. when we see each other during events or makan-makan at friends’ house, it’s just easy to hang out with these gals as we can get along well. boleh masuk-masuk la kata orang melayu. hihi.

lin is the sweetest, and always smiling while her husband bob is just one charming dude. perfectly lovely couple, with great sense of humor. amran is just the nicest, soft-spoken guy around, while fida is the dubai baker i always go for to get the most delicious cakes. last year i think we ordered about 4-5 cakes from fida for the boys’ birthdays – and ALL of them are carrot almond cake with cream cheese, nothing else!

most importantly, they are the kind of friends you can count on. i will forever remember that one fateful night away from mr. khairul, and had to sought help from these brothers and sisters of dubai. their help was unconditional, and was offered without the slightest hesitation. i am grateful to be in dubai with friends like these. alhamdulillah!

take care now, and keep in touch for we “meet new friends, but keep the old – one is silver, but the other one is gold.” till we meet again! *hugs*