Luqaimat @ Freej, Al-Barsha Mall

luqaimat is a traditional emirati dessert; delicious fried dough, crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. i absolute LOVE it! everytime i go to global village (which opens only few months yearly during winter) i will definitely look for that small kiosk with bedouin ladies sitting cross-legged on the floor, a hot wok of oil in front of her frying yummy luqaimat. one big-size of luqaimat, please! with silky sweet date syrup on top!

i love luqaimat so much!

 

 

upon suggestion from a dubai friend, i found out that there’s a shop in the food court of al-barsha mall called ‘freej’ or ‘fereej’ serving traditional emirati dishes, including my beloved luqaimat! pretty excited to get that information as 1) i don’t need to wait for winter to get a huge plate of luqaimat from the global village, and 2) it’s SO much nearer to my place than going all the way out to global village!

 

 

the menu is pretty extensive – with grills such as tikka and shish tawooq, and of course all sorts of rice dishes like briyani, mandi, madhbi and sorts. their appetizers are also very arab – halloumi (a kind of cheese), sambousk (macam karipap kita, filled with meat, spices or cheese!), baba ghannouj (a dip made from eggplant), labneh (rich, thick yoghurt), moutable and hummus. 

 

 

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my boys LOVE luqaimat as much as i do!

 

 

 

verdict : the luqaimat from the global village is SO MUCH BETTER because not only does it look more appealing in terms of color and consistency in size, it’s also fried perfectly – global village luqaimat is just right – thin crisp on the outside, and delicious fluffiness on the inside. however at freej, you can see from the pictures that it’s obviously over-fried which made it too crispy and oily. you can also see that it comes in various sizes; which should be fine but not as presentable as the ones fried by those wonderful makcik bedouin at global village.

freej at al-barsha mall maybe closer to home, but i know now that luqaimat at global village is worth the wait, and the trip! but hey, if you wanna try out the rest of the arabic dishes in their menu, head on to the food court, level 1, al barsha mall, barsha 2.

Frozen Yoghurt Menchie’s With Beach View

there are a few awesome ice-cream shops around JBR (jumeirah beach residences) but none of them a complete frozen yoghurt place, until ‘menchie’s opened just around the corner at ‘the beach’ JBR near the cinema.

 

the theme color of the whole place is so attractive and really inviting. sweet pink and fresh green!

 

if you’re used to make-your-own-cup of frozen yoghurt (my favorite is tutti fruti, click here for my review) then you don’t need further instructions! i love that they have a lot of choices from plain yoghurt, the classic chocolate to all sorts of fruity flavors.

 

 

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and of course, you’re presented with an eye-popping toppings of sorts – all kinds of nuts, chocs and marshmallows and gummi bears. you take your pick! just remember, like at tutti frutti, you PAY for what you TAKE, after the weigh-in.

 

 

 

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and oh my – syrup for the taking! take all you want! the idea of peanut butter was a bit iffy to me. does it go with frozen yoghurt?

 

my youngest boy kazim enjoying his big cup of menchie’s frozen yoghurt. VERDICT : with cute color combo, excellent location and wide choice in flavors and toppings – to me, menchie’s frozen yoghurt itself was NOT good. why? there are icy bits. plain and simple. the frozen yoghurt was not silky smooth. it’s got frozen bits and just unpleasant in the mouth. sorry menchie’s, but i will stick to tutti frutti or pinkberry. click here to read about my comparison between yogen fruz and pinkberry. i compare on prices and choices of toppings but both fro-yo is of excellent quality. delicious!

unlike in menchie’s!

 

did i tell you about the excellent location? i mean, just look at that view! more than words!

 

  

me enjoying my mediocre frozen yoghurt with my boy kazim. i hope it was just a glitch that day for menchie’s frozen yoghurt to be THAT unpleasant. because it’s just walking distance from my place, and with the awesome location, i might just drop by to give it another chance.

Spotted My Favorite Emirati Kuih ‘Luqaimat’ @ Al-Ain Mall

luqaimat.

owh those crispy deep-fried dough balls that I love so much. dribble a ladle-full of date syrup on top – heaven! I first fell in love when I tasted one in global village back in 2008, and since then never failed to buy a container full of delicious luqaimat everytime I’m in global village.

basically, macam cekodok diorang la kat arab emiriyah bersatu ni. hihi.

however, global village only opens a few months in a year, so for the rest of the year, I don’t know where I can get a good supply of my favorite luqaimat – until recently!

so happy we spotted ‘khosa bosah’ while taking a quick stop at al-ain mall, abu dhabi. that’s a LONG drive from home but at least when we’re around that area, we know where to get a nice plate of luqaimat.

 

this is a small café on the side, inside al-ain mall – it’s not even a proper café will enclosure – just a counter, lots of décor and few tables set up. but I think it looks so wonderful! I LOVE the whole thing – the stripey arabian majlees table cloth, the ‘desert’ wallpaper, even a wind tower on top of the kiosk! (wind tower is one of the architectural elements of arabian homes back in the day)

 

this is one side of the café – absolutely love the desert wallpaper, with the oil lamp hanging, and arabian teapot as décor.

 

my boys are crazy about luqaimat too! they can gobble ‘em up in minutes!

 

this was a really good plate of luqaimat – the perfectly round dough balls are freshly fried so it’s crispy on the outside and super soft on the inside. it’s served with date syrup on top, and a sprinkle of sesame seed. perfection.

 

always accompanied by toothpicks to eat the luqaimat with.

 

before – and after.

 

 

anytime we’re in al-ain again, you’ll definitely see us there. gobbling up a plate of luqaimat. or maybe two.

Mandi Rice & Sweet Kunafah @ Noor Al Mandi, Al Qusais

we went a little further from our usual makan ‘playground’ to find this pretty little gem of a place that serves the usual mandi rice with chicken, meat and fish. plus this fantastic arabic delight called ‘kunafah’ – sweet, and delicious!

we found it at ‘noor al mandi’ in al-qusais.

 

my eldest son, the mandi rice-freak. yeap, that’s my boy alright!

 

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the first thing that caught my attention (apart from the huge light-up signboard NOOR AL MANDI outside) is the beautiful interior. the other mandi rice restaurant with really beautiful interior that we’ve been to was ‘turath al-mandi’ (click here to read my review), and personally to me, ‘noor al mandi’ could be second in comparison.

however, noor al mandi could be a winner because while turath al mandi charges more for its dishes (a plate of mandi rice cost about dhs40 or so), the dishes at noor al mandi are more affordable. so you get to dine at a pretty place, without paying more!

 

classy hallway, with wooden carved sliding doors. curtains in majlees give that authentic feel, but these sliding doors give extra privacy.

 

beautiful!

 

this is IN the room. gorgeous!

 

this is the main majless. gorgeous and so classy! complete with a tv. (taken from noor al mandi fb page – click here)

 

comfy as any majlees would provide. satisfied with the comfort, and awed by its loveliness.

 

this is the family section with tables and chairs. also with sliding door, and instead of the mosaic wall décor, there is a picture of cities in yemen with the signature building, that fills up an entire wall. I like it!

 

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there are so many types of cooking-of-the-meat to choose from – the meat muqalqal, meat burmah, meat madbee, meat zorbiyan, meah madfoon and meat mathgoot – the list seemed endless! but mr. khairul’s favorite is the madfoon and zorbiyan.

 

we got the meat madfoon – a favorite of mr. khairul. the rice is soft, and the meat so tender and juicy. what else to say? it’s well-seasoned, cooked to perfection and delicious to taste.

 

a must for the boys – chicken mandi. as delicious as it gets.

 

now lemme talk about THIS dish. this surprisingly satisfying dish! this seemed to be a specialty – ‘farsh fish’, to be eaten with the mandi rice.

 

I must say I’m not much of a fan of fish mandi, and I don’t like to ratah lauk (eat fish flesh without rice). but this amazing ‘farsh fish’ dish from noor al mandi is VERY DELICIOUS! it’s well-marinated, resulting in the fantastic taste of the fish down to the core – which makes it so good to eat on its own (which I will never do when it comes to fish). the flesh is super soft and juicy too.

me, a non-fish fan, eating this ‘farsh fish’ dish at noor al mandi on its own. that says a lot about the tastiness of this dish.

 

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I’ve been searching for a mandi restaurant that serves kunafa or kanafeh, and finally found it. noor al mandi, I thank thee!

 

in layman’s term, kunafah is simply the arabic cheesecake. haha. it’s ‘cheese pastry soaked in sweet sugar-based syrup’. the type of cheese they usually use is called ‘nabulsi cheese’, spread on the pastry before the thick sugar syrup. describing it now makes me really WANT IT! it’s THAT good. especially when served hot!

 

I think that the person making this must be really careful not to overdo the sugar syrup. a little too much, and the dessert is spoilt; being too sweet, or soggy. the syrup must be just right, to give it the awesome sweet taste and the great crispy-chewy texture of the pastry and cheese. a sinfully delicious dessert – and I like it a little bit burnt!

 

 

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we ate at the family area. this is the entrance to the common dining area.

 

mr. khairul making friends with the waiting staff. most of their staff are from yemen and are so obliging and friendly. mr. khairul had the pleasure of sharing his experience visiting their beautiful country countless times; and in turn they were so excited to know someone who has been to their country.

 

 

‘noor al mandi’ is highly recommended for the good service, ‘fish farsh’ dish, and its kunafah is worth a second and third helping. remember to eat it while it’s still hot!

it’s situated at burj al noor tower, amman street, al nahda 2, in al quasis. it’s in the stretch of shoplots opposite the large madina mall.

Crazy Macadamia Cheesecake Sundae & Table Topic @ Ben’s KLCC

ramadhan has started. my boys were with my in-laws that day so it was time for me to jalan-jalan on my own. I lepak at klcc to meet up with my sisters syida and azi for berbuka. later that day I went home with azi and pajama partay at her place. huhu.

ok we picked ben’s klcc. wanted chilli’s but there was an insane line of people outside chillis and it was only 3pm! berapa jam tu nak tunggu waktu berbuka!

 

nice, bold quote on the wall inside ben’s. ‘to eat is to love’. oh well then I LOVE to LOVE!

 

also in love with this simple yet adorable seating. yellow is my favorite color! my sisters said that this is actually more of a ‘waiting’ area before you’re ushered to a more comfortable cushioned seat inside. however, since it’s berbuka time, it was full house inside. we got a seat here instead. fine by me!

 

the menu is quite ‘colorful’ – with choices of local or western cuisines. from laksa to lamb pie and all sorts of steaks and chops. I like the ‘handwritten’ menu. looks so lepak.

 

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sorry ben’s but your food is not what I’m keen to review in this post – coz what’s really interesting about ben’s KLCC is this little box on each table, with little square cards in them. they’re labeled TALK and COOK.

the COOK cards contain recipes, while the TALK cards has these interesting questions.

it really caught my eye, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen such an idea really taking place at a restaurant. I LOVED it! such thoughtful idea to encourage patrons to TALK with each other instead of getting lost in each other’s smart phones.

 

 

more restaurants should have this box of cards with questions : such interesting questions that would lead to interesting conversations. particularly helpful if you’re on a first date, or out with a new friend or colleague – nervous, out of topic to talk about – these cards would definitely help break the ice!

some of the questions are : ‘if you joined the circus, which act would you want to perform?’ – well, definitely wanna perform the magic show!

‘what was the last item you regretted buying?’ muffins that turned out to be too sweet.

‘what do you think about when you’re brushing your teeth?’ I think about how hard I need to brush to get rid of that curry taste from dinner haha.

best kan!

 

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I don’t feel like eating the many, many pasta choices in the menu; and steaks are too expensive for my budget that day – so I picked this simple ‘traditional fish and chips’ meal for berbuka at ben’s that day. it’s a simple dish, but I’m not too picky when it comes to the things I do like – as long as the fries are fat and crunchy on the outside, coleslaw juicy and creamy, and the fish battered fried not bread-crumbs – it’s a fairly acceptable plate of fish & chips.

 

syida ordered the lamb pie – delicious! big portion of filling and the crust of pie is not to crumbly. I would order this again. with fries on the side.

 

azi went italian and picked the spaghetti carbonara. this dish is as good as it gets – creamy, cheesy and tasty.

 

since it’s puasa month, we got complimentary air sirap selasih – which takes me back to my school days where we have one particular stall selling this exact same tadpole-in-rose-syrup drink. I love sirap, but don’t really like the ‘tadpoles’ so mine was the one with the least amount.

 

the ‘macadamia cheesecake sundae’, in a glass.

 

this is what ben’s is best for (at least for my sisters, and especially for the desert-freak syidot – they can come to ben’s JUST for this) it’s this messy cup of delight filled with sticky sweetness. cut-up cheesecake, combined with vanilla ice-cream – filled to the brim, along with some crunchy macadamia nuts and top with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

well, it’s good but I’m just not a fan of caramel! I LOVE cheesecake, of course and the cheesecake-ice cream combo is good – a change from having brownies with vanilla ice-cream. however, I can’t get pass the caramel.

we sisters shared this cup of goodness, and that’s sweeter than any sweets!

 

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I love the setting at ben’s – might just come again to try a different dessert, and maybe a pasta dish this time.