malaysians are a lucky lot. you can go to any 24hour mamak corner to watch your favorite team battle it out for the ball in one of many football world cup matches. for the non-fans, you can still bask in the ambiance of the night with your friends - the shouts and cheers, the bottomless order of
teh tarik and roti canai.
you pay less than rm5 and you can watch the match for the entire night.
you don't see this in dubai! instead, we have to go to nice cafes or to the mall to catch some actions with the crowd. the other day we tried looking for a place to watch the match at dubai mall and ended up at 'the orchestra cafe'.
we caught the japan - netherlands game.
the match grew boring
sebab takde sape gol. then when netherlands finally
dapat gol, pak-pak arab suma cheer, including us (
sebab lama sangat tunggu a goal - ANY goal!). then mr khairul was like, hey
kita patut sokong jepun la kan. kita je asians
kat dalam cafe ni. hihi.
what can i say about 'the orchestra cafe'? i imagine classic. classic music in the air. velvet. musical instrument. old. classic.
however, it's more of classic contemporary - metal table legs, silver chandelier, metal divider with mirrors - it's all dark brown and silver all around. simple, elegant but not too eye-catching.
'the orchestra cafe' aims only to please and provide comfort for its patrons, not to be an eye-candy posh cafe. with its thick leather chairs at a round table, or plush gray couches at square ones - it spells comfort indeed.
even its salt and pepper shaker is of metal, including the napkin holder. again, very simple yet has the elegant touch.
nothing unique in the menu, in my opinion. one glance and you see all the typical lebanese cuisine, italian dish from pizza to pasta, western yummies like burgers, sandwiches and steaks, as well as the fruit juices to quench your thirst.
they should have a house specialty to stand out from the crowd of cafes - especially being in the biggest mall in the world.
the margherita pizza
since we're just hanging out for the match, we ordered the cheapest pizza in the menu! hihi. 'the margherita pizza', a MUST in the menu of ANY pizza parlour - a pizza with just tomatoes, oregano and lots and lots of mozarella cheese.
i LOVE tomatoes, i never make spaghetti without oregano, and i'm as crazy about cheese as the next mouse - so to me, this simple pizza was so heavenly!
hot and fresh from the oven, the melted cheese runny as we pick a slice, and the tomato slices oh, so juicy - are you salivating yet?
khaleef baru bangun tido
so there we were, enjoying our simple snack while watching the netherlands and japanese chased after the world cup ball.
in 'the orchestra cafe', choose the plush gray couches (like the one khaleef sat on in the picture above) or choose to hang back at a round table (
macam pak arab kat gamba bawah tu), on leather chairs with comfy, thick back rest. whichever seat you choose, there's three huge tv screens for you to enjoy a world cup match.
* * *
if you happend to be in dubai mall, they're actually showing the world cup matches at a huge high-def LED screen 20 by 10 meters, at the ice-skating rink. however when we went there, there's a big crowd hovering around the area, standing around blocking the views (especially for me
yang tak tinggi ni)!
i think, even if we get good seats from any one of the many cafes and restaurants along the way next to the ice-rink, i doubt we get to watch the action satisfactorily with the big crowd blocking our view.
the ice-rink at dubai mall
anyway, from what i read, you can actually 'book' tickets for seats INSIDE the ice-rink to watch any world cup matches for 25aed. i think this is for the side seats, and for the bean bags they will put all over the ice-rink, facing the screen.
also, for the finals, you pay 50aed for the seats. you can get the tickets at the dubai ice-rink counter.
* * *
it's summer in dubai, and the days are getting hotter than an oven turned up high. i say it's a fun idea to spend it indoors, at an ICE-rink, watching your favorite sport, eh?
outside food allowed
tak? hihi.
