Gary Rhodes's Signature Afternoon Tea

Rhodes in Residence - Lobby level of Grosvenor House Tower Two - Dubai Marina
Although I had a bad experience a year back at Rhodes Mezzanine for serving cold main courses for dinner, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to try Gary's afternoon tea.

Fortunately, I was totally pleased; we were warmly welcomed, seated promptly in a nice table by the piano. Everything was perfect that afternoon, and food was SUPERB and plentiful!
 

Finger Sandwiches (Cucumber creme faiche, Quile's egg, Smoked salmon, Lemon chicken, and Roast beef)

Special savoury of the day (Cream cheese, onion and herb croque monsieur & Duck and cranberry pasties)

Roast beef cooked to perfection!

Cream cheese croque monsieur was so good!

Homemade Scones - wasn't my favorite

Red berry Eton mess - Yummy

Warm raspberry buttered crumpets - Nothing could be more British!

Cakes (Warm honey Dundee cakes, Chocolate muffins, Lemon & Bluberry cakes, and finally Victoria Sponge)

All cakes were perfectly baked

a special complementary treat - mini homemade creamy strawberry ice-cream cones

No, ice-cream wasn't the only treat - Thanks Rhodes for the generosity!

Oj Says: Definitely one of my fav afternoon teas in Dubai, but be careful that’s plenty of food!
Food Rating: 9/10
Overall Experience: Happy, like REALLY HAPPY!

xx,
Oj

OKKU - Japanese

OKKU – The H Hotel – Sheikh Zayed Road – Dubai

OKKU is one of the most popular Japanese restaurants in Dubai, although I'm not much of a Japanese Cuisine fan but I have Japanese every now and then, besides - I'm a foodie after all, I had to give it a shot and know what the buzz is all about!

And I can say nothing but - Fantastic food, excellent service, astonishing experience and atmosphere.

 

 

Shiro Bara (left) & Coconut Passion (right) - Refreshing!

 

Mukimi Taraba (Crab Leg) - Delicious

 

Wagyu Gyoza & Ebi Gyoza (Wagyu beef and Shrimps dumplings) - loved the Shrimps more, Wagyu Gyoza is so new to me but both are really good

 

Lobster Harumake (Lobster rolls) - Tasty

 

Hotate Maki (left) & O Ebi Tempura Maki (Right)  Scallops and Shrimps Maki - SO GOOD!

 

Chicken Teriyaki - I'm drooling at the moment LOL

 

Chocolate Fondant - YUM

 

Green Tea Souffle - Totally new to me, it's abit eggy and not as fluffy as it should be, but got a really good green tea flavor, loved the choco dust (can be seen in the picture below) it gave the Souffle a nice touch

 

Oj Says: Japanese food done to perfection, I crave it, and I think I might be hooked!

Food Rating: 9/10
Overall Experience: THRILLED!!!

xx,
Oj 

Project Cupcake

Project Cupcake -  The Dubai Mall , 1 st floor, Next to the Aquarium

I've passed by Project Cupcake a number of times yet never stopped there. Only because I'm not much of a cupcake fan, I won't go all crazy if I ever passed by a good cupcake shop with a beautiful cupcakes display. But, I have my times where I feel like having one! So, here where I gave Project Cupcake a try.

 

Red Velvet Valentine

 

Going through the menu

 

Cinnomany Nutty Christmassy - Carrot Cupcake (Delicious)

 

California Dreaming - Vanilla cupcake with a fluffy marshmallow frosting (I was really impressed!! and sooo deeply in love!) 

 



Oj Says: Very fresh moist and flavorful cupcakes, lovely frostings and good tea!

Food Rating: 8/10

Overall Experience: Happily impressed!

 

xx,

Oj

Lunch at 101

101 Lounge – One&Only The Palm – West Crescent, Palm Dubai
One of the best ambiance of Dubai, amazingly fabulous location, beautiful classy chic venue.
101 offers a selection of Tapas and a menu of Mediterranean dishes, going through their online menu got me all excited to try some Tapas and enjoy a decent plate of Paella (Since Paella's were listed as Signature dishes at 101's menu).
However, for a "Local Lady" who walks around fully covered with Shaila and Abaya like myself, this place is NOT SUMMER Friendly! It's a 8-10 minutes Buggy drive from the main Hotel Lobby, and few extra minutes walk to the venue itself, you literally melt.

 

Our Buggy Ride to 101

 

Amazing landscape of Dubai keeps you entertained all the way

 

Here we are, one of Dubai's secrets!

 

Walking to the restaurant

 

Beautiful outdoor seating - can't enjoy during our summer heat!

 

First thing first a complementary treat of hummus and toasted bread

 

My Innocent Mojito is here - nothing special though

 

a picture of the place from our table

 

Tapas:

 1) Deep Fried Calamari - Not bad

2) Chicken chorizo croquetas - Nothing special

3) menu says "Toasted farmhouse bread, tomato and garlic" – in reality - it was a soggy slice of bread with totally bland mushy tomatoes! Can't even taste garlic anywhere in there!

 

Gratinated mussels - didn't like

 

Seafood Paella with Chicken chorizo - nicely cooked. But the dish lacked seasoning, Chicken chorizo totally tastless, and the calamaris were rubbery! – Disappointment

 

Waiting for our Buggy Ride which took 20 minutes to reach!!!!

 

Oj Says: What a waste of such a beautiful location and venue!

Food Rating: 5/10

Overall Experience: Dissatisfied!

xx,
Oj

 

Suhoor Gathering at Oj's

Hosting Suhoor wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, making sure every single dish is homemade by Oj was a challenge that I enjoyed all the way!

My menu was mainly "Finger Food": Chinese Chicken Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce, Dolma (stuffed mini zucchinis and mini aubergines with rice), Mini Potatoes wrapped with Bacon, Mini Caesar Salad, Mini Chicken Mushroom sticks, Mini Chicken Enchilada Buns, Mini Spinach Cheese Buns, and finally Fried Ravioli with Arrabiata Dip

M.Al Shamsi's famous Raspberry Cheese Cake to finish off our delightful night with some Morrocan tea of course



"Hope you've all had a blessed Ramadan & wish you a wonderful Eid" 

xx,
Oj

Oj Cooks

For the sake of "Eating in" Oj cooks almost daily!
Today I'm sharing few pictures of my French Onion Soup, Crostinis and Beetroot Salad – enjoy!


French Onion Soup

Crostinis (Kalamata Olive Tapenade Spread, Green Pesto, Sun-dried Tomato Spread)

Oj cooking beetroots for the first time - here peeling off the skin after baking them

Salad Dressing (Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Orange Juice, some Garlic and finally Sea Salt)

Beetroots Salad is ready!

Bon Appetit -

xx,

Oj