Yong in Dubai : Tourist Stops & Scenic Spots

yong, this posting is dedicated to our awesome time together in dubai. it’s also for haiqal and haqeem, to jumpstart their memory of the fun educational times here! warning : this posting will sound like a tourist guidebook. fine with that? proceed.

 

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burj khalifa. world’s tallest building. overlooking the world’s highest shooting musical water fountain. beside the world’s biggest mall. within it, the world’s biggest indoor aquarium.

aunty gim asked her nephews to just stand in front of the burj khalifa for a good few minutes – just try to soak it all in, and be fully aware that they’re at the presence of man’s extraordinary capacity – to build something so amazing like the burj khalifa.

oh well, our malaysia’s petronas twin towers are still the tallest TWIN buildings in the world!

 

haven’t taken a picture in front of the burj khalifa for SO LONG. took the chance to grab a shot.

 

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meydan grandstand and racecourse : able to accommodate 60,000 spectators in its 1 mile long grandstand. the wavy blue light is one distinct feature of the ‘meydan grandstand and racecourse’. you can even see the majestic burj khalifa in the distance; towering over others.

mr. khairul the expert at good-photo-spots stopped at some bushes, and hey – with a backdrop of meydan grandstand. *click!*

 

 

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burj al-arab, one of the most expensive hotels in the world. its unique shape is like an arab dhow; built on a man-made island. a night could cost you $10k to $15k – and that’s just the *cheap* rooms! haha. there are personal butlers, a private reception desk on every floor, and a chauffeured rolls royce for guests use. woah. you can only access the hotel with reservations, or invitations. tak bole selamba je nak masuk lobby amik gamba.

so usually tourists would go take pictures in front of the burj al arab near the wild wadi (that’s as far as anyone can go close to the hotel!) OR, at this spot that we went to – also a popular photo-taking spot – by the jumeirah beach.

 

at night, the lights on the burj al-arab changes color. once, on chinese new year, the lights even depicted a dragon! here we got this precious chance to take a picture with the full moon in the background. gorgeous!

 

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dubai historical bastakiya, my favorite place in dubai, simply because of its classic architecture of old dubai with traditional arabic courtyard and carved wooden doors. amazing that a place as quaint as this exists amidst modern skyscrapers and rapid development of dubai.

constructed in 1690s, it’s one of the oldest residential areas in dubai with houses separated by a labyrinth of narrow, winding lanes. my boys, nephews and niece had fun running around, and along the lanes – hoping not to get lost!

the most distinct feature is the architectural design of barajeels (also known also as wind towers). that’s the one on top of every emirati homes. hot wind comes in from the top, and cools off as it reaches below. natural air conditioning!

 

 

click here for a wonderful article about the dubai bastakiya in the huffington post; which also tells of the ‘legend’ of how england’s prince charles had a hand in preserving the bastakiya!

 

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hard rock café, dubai, the biggest hard rock café outside of the states. after 12 years operating in sheikh zayed road near dubai marina, it was closed in 2009, only to open again at a new, bigger venue in 2011. in fact, we celebrated khaleef’s birthday on its opening day on 18th nov (his bday was 15th nov).

click here to read about khaleef’s awesome 6th birthday makan-makan at hard rock café on its opening day.

yong just wanted to check out some stuff at the store. yong was a collector of hard rock café shot glasses from her days studying in the states. banyak collection dia! we didn’t even dine there coz it’s impossible to get a seat so fast on a weekend! takpe lah yong – it’s all just burgers and fries. dtg dubai makan nasi mandi ok!

 

 

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the global village, also my favorite place in dubai because you can see and experience the whole of the middle east in one HUGE venue – egyptian cotton or an african goat carpet, or soft nepal shawl; indian silk or rm700 hand-woven palestinian abaya – you can get it all at the global village. turkish ice-cream, indian briyani or indonesian bakso. hungarian pastry or mexican churros. iranian nuts or yemeni honey – you can taste it all here. amazing, amazing experience!

some may say that it’s always the SAME thing displayed at global village, but I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it all – even after 5-6 years here. the colors, the taste and smells, the unique items and beauty of the cultural performances!

yong agreed – global village is indeed, a special place full of diversity!

click here to read about my trip to global village with my two younger sisters, syida and azi when they were here in 2009.

 

one of the best things to get at the global village is my favorite emirati food LUQAIMAT! that hot crispy dough balls scooped fresh from the wok; served with sweet date syrup on top. absolutely heavenly. my nephews and niece loved the taste of luqaimat too!

 

since it’s a local EMIRATI food, you’d think they’re easy to get macam goreng pisang makcik tepi jalan but nope – it’s quite rare. and for me, I know I can only get it here at the global village; and at the expensive emirati restaurant al-fanar in dubai festival city (click here for my review of al-fanar)

 

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metro dubai – yeap, I even took a ride on the metro with just yong and her kiddos nuna and adam; while mr, khairul took care of the rest of the kiddos back home. it was just us because we were heading to one of the busiest places in dubai – the naif souq – the abaya and shawl heaven.

borong! it was a very tiring (lots of walking!) but very enjoyable experience with my older sis! the kiddos? sleeping all the way on the train.

I have to mention that on the way to, and back, there were always chivalrous men standing to give up his seat for us and the kids. however, one time when we’re going out of the train, SO MANY inconsiderate people pushing their way in – except only one guy who kept shouting, “hey kids! kids! there are kids!” and he spread out his hands to give way to us. may Allah bless you for your good deed, kind stranger!

..and as always, dubai contains all the superlatives – so the dubai metro is also the world's longest fully automated metro network spanning at 75 kilometres. there you go!

fyi, to reach naif souq by metro you need to follow the RED line to UNION station, CHANGE to GREEN line, and stop at BANIYAS SQUARE station. spot the minaret of a mosque, and walk towards it. you’re soon there at naif souq.

check out my first time on the dubai metro here, written in malay.

 

 

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the atlantis on palm jumeirah, is the first hotel ever built on this world’s biggest man-made island; the palm jumeirah – shaped like, well a palm tree. 100k fireworks were used during its grand opening, lasting 15 minutes. there is definite plans to have an even grander fireworks display this coming new year’s eve, to break the world record.

this is also where our prime minister would stay on his visit here.

the kids were a little cranky here, probably thinking, “it’s JUST a hotel! why are we taking so many pictures here?” haha.

 

 

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these are priceless moment for us sisters, and for the cousins. thanks to mr. khairul for making all these trips and stops possible. our designated driver and awesome tourist guide! mwah!

Yong in Dubai : Sweihan Desert & Lahbab Desert

a trip to an arab country is incomplete without a visit to the desert. gurun. padang pasir. the vast plain of nothing but sand. one huge sandpit for the kids. this is the ONE place that I can’t wait to show my nephews and niece. as expected, they went nuts rolling down the sand and running up the dunes.

mr. khairul drove us to two different deserts in another 2 emirates in the UAE : 1) sweihan desert in abu dhabi, on our way to al-ain zoo; and the weekend after to 2) lahbab desert in sharjah along the scenic road to kalba.

 

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sweihan desert, abu dhabi

 

one of the most amazing, priceless experiences ever : to witness the outing of hundreds of camels. this was a one-in-a-mil experience for me too – in our 5 years here, we’ve never seen this many camels at one time! it was an incredible sight. there were SO MANY camels!

 

SO many pictures. SO little space. just yong and her kids enjoying their first experience at the desert.

 

on the way to al-ain zoo, mr. khairul found this amazing spot – a seemingly endless road leading straight into the waves of sandy desert. gorgeous. more than words can say.

 

of course we had our own moments haha. thanks my dear cookiedough for the road trip. I don’t need a ferrari. camel pun takpe lah as long as we’re together. hihi.

 

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lahbab desert

 

the week after sweihan desert, we took my sis and her kiddos to another desert spot in UAE – the lahbab desert in sharjah. as you can see – the kiddos had the most fun.

 

yep, they *buried* khaleef. the sand was cold so it was really relaxing and cooling!

 

our designated driver just laze around with his ‘football manager’ ipad game and a picnic spread. I made egg sandwiches and yong fried some delicious cucur udang. nyam.

 

LOVE this shot. the vastness of the desert.

 

5 years here. in the middle east. alhamdulillah ala kulli hal!

 

it was cool, but it was also terik. my sis yong and her kiddos squinting to a picture.

 

they were amazed to see how easy it was to spot camels along the roads here in UAE. well, macam nampak kobau ngan lembu le kat malaysia! hihi. my nephews haiqal and haqeem braved it out to get a rare picture as close as they can alongside a camel by the roadside.

 

sebak pulak tengok gamba ni. the memories remain and never can end. the kiddos hated taking pictures haha especially the older ones (cepat la mama! mak I hate taking pictures!) but my sis and I kept telling them, that when they’re older, they would understand. they would appreciate what we were trying to do. to bottle memories, and to capture moments.

 

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* special thanks to my mr. khairul for enduring these long drives and the good sense to find interesting spot to stop for pictures. you made my dream come true to bring my nephews and niece to the desert! *love*

My Eldest Sis Yong in Dubai!

my most awaited guest was finally here – my eldest sis yong syimee. of all my 4 sisters, she’s the only one who hasn’t been to dubai, and that’s just wrong! haha especially since I’ve been living in dubai for the past 5 years already!

it was already exciting just planning all the activities I wanna do with them, the places I wanna take them to, and of course all the awesome makan places in dubai! from the burj to the beach; from the hot desert to cold desserts; from mandi rice at tawasol to our favorite chinese muslim restaurant at international city – down to the date and time; thanks to my mr. khairul. *big hug!*

she was here with her kiddos – haiqal, haqeem, nuna and adam. khaleef was most excited to see his abg haiqal and bff abg haqeem in town – I kept their visit as a surprise till the very last minute! he literally just dropped down on the floor. really.

yong and her kids was in dubai for just 10 days – but quality is what matters, not quantity! gonna make it a fantabulous 10-day vacation for yong and her kiddos!

 

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.