Kazim Gets Birthday Pizza @ Sarpino’s Pizzeria, Dubai Marina

my pizza-freak boys demand pizza for birthdays – so for my youngest son’s 4th birthday, we got him a cheese pizza. naturally.

 

birthday boy kazim, his cheese pizza and the marina. awesome.

 

domino’s, papa john and pizza hut are already weekend pizza hahaha so we wanted a different pizza place, but closer to home. we didn’t want none of those super thin-crusted Italian pizza, which brings us to ‘sarpino’s pizzeria’, located next to the marina yacht club. in fact we actually walked inside the marina club, and took the stairs down and out. ‘sarpino’s pizzeria’ should be on your right.

it was a good choice. they had delicious pizza and a magnificent view. it was a great birthday dinner for kazim!

 

birthday boy and his brothers love nothing but cheese pizza, so we got them just that. the picture does not do justice to the delicious pizza crust – crispy outside, soft inside, plus generous toppings. I simply LOVE the crust, it’s exactly what I want a pizza crust to be. the texture is just a perfect combo of crispy-moist dough in my mouth.

 

for mak and bapak we got the ‘clasico italiano’ pizza – ‘loaded with pepperoni, turkey, onions, mushrooms, green and red peppers, and mozzarella cheese. doesn’t disappoint at all. delicious pizza all around.

 

I love it because of the thick crust that’s crispy outside and soft & moist inside. (one of my other favorite pizza crusts is the pizza at ‘california pizza kitchen’. check out my review here on our first visit there when the mall opened 24 hours!) other than the crust, I appreciate the generous toppings too! so thick and filled with yumminess. worth the affordable price!

 

birthday boys kazim enjoying his birthday pizza~

 

other than the pizzas, we also tried the ‘caesar salad’ – with ‘romaine and iceberg lettuce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, topped with croutons and served with homemade caesar dressing’. mr. khairul and I are big fans of salad – and this one gets our approval. fresh and crunchy greens. on top of that we also got the creamy mushroom soup and that was just a really tasty, rich mushroom soup. yummy!

 

we had a most delicious experience at sarpino’s pizzeria – not only because of the satisfying pizza and beautiful view, but also the excellent service of the waiting staff – friendly, courteous and good with kids, I might add! haha. we would definitely come again!

 

the humble pizza place, ‘sarpino’s pizzeria’ at dubai marina

 

…and look at that view! well, this is our neighbourhood dubai marina. not bad to look at while munching pizza, eh?

 

that’s the marina yacht club at a distance

 

I dare say that I’ve finally found a great pizza place that’s 1) NOT domino’s, pizza hut or papa john, ( I know, I know – there are SO many pizza places all around dubai) but this one 2) does not have ridiculously expensive pizza with super thin crust yang tak pueh makan and 3) it’s at an awesome location – by the marina, near the marina yacht club, practically walking distance from our place.

I highly recommend ‘sarpino’s pizzeria’ for all pizza fans who want straightforward, delicious pizza with no frills but just good taste. the lovely view is a bonus. *wink*

Kahfi’s Birthday Pizza @ California Pizza Kitchen, MOE

my 2nd son kahfi turned 5 years old last 23rd december. since he’s a pizza freak, we brought the boys to a pizza place in the mall of emirates – california pizza kitchen.

 

refreshing vanilla sundae with choclate syrup – complimentary birthday treat from the california pizza kitchen to a cheerful birthday boy in his buzz lightyear space ranger hoodie!

 

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birthday boy wants strictly pepperoni and cheese pizza. no more, no less. anong khaleef moody coz he wanted JUST cheese on his pizza. at california pizza kitchen, the price for JUST cheese and cheese with pepperoni is the same, so I think it’s worth the money to take pizza with lauk sikit. haha. takde la cheese je tapi harga sama.

 

trying a new pizza for mak and bapak.

 

the ‘jamaican jerk chicken pizza’ – grilled jamaican jerk spiced chicken breast with spicy sweet caribbean sauce, mozzarella cheese, crispy beef bacon, mild onions, roasted red and yellow peppers and green onions. delicious! the spicy sweet sauce really is the star that dominates the tasty pizza; it can overwhelm after a while but overall a delicious pizza that I would definitely order again on my next visit.

 

birthday boy enjoying his birthday pizza

 

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just across MOE’s california pizza kitchen is the ‘toy’s store’. so convenient, huh for birthday boy looking for a birthday present? haha. we just tagged along while kahfi rushed in looking for the hot wheels section. bam! didn’t take long for him to choose his favorite. he has been watching youtube channels in toy reviews. adoi!

 

tada!~

Iftar @ Italiannies : So Good So Share!

two great things about eating at italiannies :

1) yummy italian dishes AND 2) its HUGE portion. no wonder its tagline is ‘so good, so share’ – because the portion is definitely enough to be shared with 3-4 of you. so last weekend we went to italiannies at the curve to SHARE few dishes for iftar.

in fact, last few years we had iftar right here at italiannies the curve to with abah and umi. click here for my full review of the place.

 

thanks to my baby sis and her fiance faiz for the terrific treat! yum!

 

for starters, we ordered this tasty treat – our favorite, super-crispy fried calamari that’s arguably one of the best i’ve eaten. really. rugi takde nasik putih dengan air asam!

 

for my *italian* boys, this plate of spaghetti bolognese with two huge meatballs (meatballs that we CANNOT finish – tapau!) this plate of spaghetti will satisfy any spaghetti-lover. delicious as a good spaghetti should be, sweet-sour tomato-rich bolognese sauce without being too sour or not thick enough. highly recommended. my boys absolutely LOVE this.

 

what i came here for – beef lasagna at italiannies. i must say, quite disappointed with the texture AND taste. the texture is too thick and compact, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but personally i like my lasagna to be soft and melts in the mouth with all the richness of the cheesy bechamel sauce cross with tomato-ish bolognese sauce. yum. this one doesn’t really do that –

plus, i think there’s TOO MUCH CHEESE (yes, i’m actually complaining about TOO MUCH CHEESE eventhough i LOVE CHEESE) because this makes the lasagna so salty! we ended up not finishing this, and tapau it for sahur!

 

this is also my all-time favorite – fresh crunchy salad with all sorts of thingamajig that go with it. delicious. it’s got everything – veggies, meat AND fruits! green lettuce tossed with yummy grilled chicken and crispy croutons – and, get this : cut-up grapes AND mangoes! and they all danced so well together in the special italiannies salad dressing. i’d order this everytime!

 

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my cheeky boys : being their usual self. hihi.

 

thanks again azi and faiz for the scrumptuous italian iftar at italiannies!

oh, and did i mention that with every main course that you order, you’ll get a kid’s meal for free. so we got the boys an extra plate of spaghetti carbonara white sauce (which their ‘mak su’ so conveniently finished, hihi) and a plate of freshly fried chicken fingers. i’d highly recommend you guys get the spaghetti carbonara white sauce because the portion is huge for a kid’s meal, and is oh-so-rich-and-thick-and cheesy!

yay! so where to next?

Gorgeous Garden @ One Utama

‘garden’ at one utama is actually a restaurant offering various types of dishes from western like lamb shanks and spaghetti, to local yummies like nasi lemak.

(yes people, i’m back home in malaysia!)

when you walk within the concrete walls of one utama and suddenly see greneries with lawn chairs and green shrubs growing across the ceiling; you’re in the right place. that’s ‘garden’ – which explains the name! what’s interesting about ‘garden’ is the interior decor. you eat there and you feel like eating inside of an english house that overlooks the garden of beautiful shrubs and trellises. beautiful place to eat.

 

my sister’s fiance was there too joining us. hi faiz!

 

love the interior! so soothing and relaxing!

 

there’s even a section with adorable little flower pots for sale.

 

lovely!

 

 

what to eat?

the menu is surprisingly extensive. i thought that this place only serves western food, but it has italian food, and even local delicacies as well. the list of drinks is inviting too.

i was feeling a little out of this world that day, and decided to order something i don’t usually order – i went with fish and chips.

 

mine was fish and chips. i was a bit disappointed when i first saw the fish, as i expected it would be yellow tempura-fried. but this looks like bread-crumbs. but the first taste proved that it was equally delicious. a simple dish that can fairly satisfy fans of fish and chips – if you don’t mind the bread-crumbs.

 

it’s served with veggies, slices of lemon for taste, and of course the ‘chips’ or fries. the portion of fries is worth mentioning – it was huge! loved it.

 

my youngest sis azi went for this italian dish of spaghetti in white sauce with beef bacon i think. delicious as it could be, and she liked it. this was served with lettuce and some cut-up fresh fruits.

 

my future bro-in-law faiz picked this beautifully-decorated dish of lamb chops. it was very delicious! yes, i had a bite and it was really well-marinated, the texture was tender and the mashed potato just complements the meat. the funny thing was it was served with this kangkong. hmm. really a first for me. otherwise, it was a really good dish.

 

we also ordered this small plate of fried calamari. the calamari was freshly fried, and tasted good but i just wish that they didn’t spread the dip on the calamari. should’ve put it on the side instead of on the calamari.

 

i can’t remember the name of this drink but it was delicious! it’s like crushed-ice mango, with fruit coctail thrown in. so yummy.

 

‘garden’ is at one utama, lower ground floor of the new wing. it’s a beautiful place to eat, serves fairly good food. try it if you want to unwind after a shopping spree!

 

Uno Chicago Grill : Another ‘TGIF’?

we tried ‘uno chicago grill’ yesterday, the one at deira city center. my first impression of the place : another one of those ‘tgif’-kinda-place – burgers, pasta, steaks and salad. but we’ve never been here before, so might as well try it out.

 

 

i know it’s a weekday and a school night – so why did we eat out? my old colleague kak marliza was in dubai for her usual business visits here, so we treated her to dinner at this american diner. she’s covering middle east, and has been to dubai many, many times. however, this is the first time that we managed to meet up!

finally!

 

 

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uno chicago grill creates ‘an american warehouse’ feel in its interior decor that i just love, especially the brick walls. black and white photographs depicting the 50’s hang on the wall, and other decor are also very american like the street signs, and vintage posters of american advertisements.

the lighting is so dim at our table – the dimmest i’ve seen in a diner, but perfect for a romantic casual date. hihi. might be uncomfortable for some who wants a clear vision of what they’re eating, but i think it was alright.

sekali sekala makan dalam gelap-malap. hihi.

 

 

like i said, my first impression (especially after looking through the menu) this place is just another TGIF. there are burgers, salads, pasta, steaks and grilled seafood. just like TGIF, forget the fact that it’s been around since 1943! the menu is what you’d expect when you go to TGIF, chillis or fuddruckers – give and take a few signature dishes here and there.

the place is also called ‘pizzeria uno’ so they offer a few yummy-looking pizzas too.

 

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i went for the ‘cheddar and sautéed mushroom’ burger. i was really hungry so it tasted FAIRLY good, also because i am a big fan of cheese burger no matter what. however, i must say that this is a really mediocre plate of burger. i’ve seen juicier and more tantalizing looking mushroom on chilli’s burgers. the beef patty was not smoking hot and they’re so kedekut on the lettuce!

like i said, it’s FAIRLY good, but comparatively, i’ve eaten better burgers elsewhere. i won’t be ordering this again.

 

this is mr. khairul’s – the ‘chi-town tasting plate’, comprising of buffalo wings, crispy cheese dippers, chicken thumbs (like small chicken chop) and onion rings, with fries.

to be fair, the items on this plate is quite delicious. HOWEVER, i took this picture as soon as it arrived on our table. noone has touched the food yet. so my opinion is : totally FAIL on presentation! it doesn’t look inviting at all! put lah some salad on the side. or dips in the middle (the dish does come with 3 types of dips which are put separately on another small plate.)

you wanna see *presentation*, see the one at hard rock cafe. lawa.

 

kak marliza went italian, ordering this ‘blazing pasta’ – fettuccine cooked in spicy marinara sauce. the portion is HUGE and she can barely finish half of this dish! i think 3 people can share this dish. for die-hard pasta fan!

 

for our italian boys, we ordered pepperoni pizza on thin crust for them. when i tasted their pizza, i knew why they’re called ‘pizzeria uno & chicago grill. their pizza is delicious! it’s piping hot fresh from the oven. the dough is dense yet soft. the pepperoni is crispy, and the CHEESE – the cheese is just fantastic. yummy. i would try the 4-cheese pizza next, for sure!

 

 

i’ve concluded – and this is just a personal opinion – that uno chicago grill is essentially american, but it’s got better italian dishes in its menu. try their pizza if you ever think of eating here.

 

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to kak marliza, it was nice seeing you after all these years. i think it’s almost 6-7 years already, right? you look exactly the same! thank you so much for the legos. it was very thoughtful, but you’re spoiling the boys! hihi. next visit, be sure to hang out at my place. i’ll cook!