Sunday, March 17, 2013

Pasar Malam - Malaysian Embassy of Abu Dhabi

The Embassy of Malaysia
Add: Villa 715B, Al Saada Street 19, Abu Dhabi
Tel: +971 2 448 2775
GPS: 24°27'11"N   54°24'13"E


Its been a while since we went for a "Pasar Malam" at the ever-festive Malaysian Embassy, here in Abu Dhabi ... so we went 2 weeks ago when we received the email-flyer!
 
 

Wow ... Mr Nasir, the second secretary, hard at work at the Satay Station ... "Its all for charity", he reminded me!

His wonderful work ...

20 AED for 5 sticks ... a steal, considering we were 6,000 km from home. DELICIOUS!

We also had other dishes like nasi campur, nasi lemak ayam goreng ...

And wonderful Char Kuay Teow, malay-style. Delicious again!!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Indomie is not Ibumie - Mi Goreng from Malaysia

I am a wee bit confused ... this is Ibumie, NOT Indomie. But doesn't the packaging look ... the same!?

 

Found a nice little comparison here ... Mi Goreng Wars!

Friday, March 08, 2013

Umi Fusion - Al Wahda Mall, never again!

A poor eating-experience and one we hope to forget about soon, one weekend lunchtime at the new extension of Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda Mall...

Fusion? Seems Umi Fusion has an outlet at Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai ... I hope that it is purely-Japanese in that outlet, as the meaning of fusion here is genuinely confused! Fusion in Umi Fusion-speak means Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese and other dishes. It is NOT a fusion of different dishes on one plate - Just a mixed up menu.

Child-friendly? Not at all - One high-chair in the entire restaurant, and when asked for a "child-friendly cup", we got a plastic cup (The disposable type) with a sharp-lip that cut my daughter's lips. Outrageous!

I chose the Paella - I am not sure what mediterranean flavours and colour-profile was agreed upon by the Executive Chef and owners, but it certainly turned-out un-Paella like. Funny enough, it was probably the best of the 4 dishes our lunch-party chose (v the Chicken Rice, v the Hor-fun or Kuay Teow, and definitely v T's mackerel which was promptly returned to the kitchen!).

I am not sure what inspired us to order the Chicken Rice, but we did ... Chili was overly-spicy and without flavour, the chicken was dry ... and the rice? Plain ol' plain ol'!
 

Prices? Japanese Edamame (18 AED), two Japanese Kappa Maki Roll (aka Sushi - 29 AED each), my Mediterranean Seafood with Chicken Paella (69 AED), Japanese Saba Shioyaki (Wait a moment - Isn't that the Mackerel which T sent back!!! 79 AED), and a large bottle of local water at 12 AED. Looks like we got the Chicken Rice and Oyster-sauce-heavy-Hor fun "free".

On a positive side ... They accept The Entertainer. This meal for 4 (4 adults + 4 children) came up to 236 AED, and note that this was WITH the Entertainer vouchers and T had sent back his mackerel!

As Edgar Allan Poe described in The Raven, "Nevermore..."

Costa for breakfast - Al Wahda Mall

We like Costa ... we like Al Wahda Mall ... we really like the GIGANTIC "soup-like" portion of Cappucino at Costa, for not many a dirham :-)

Our favourite? The Turkey and Ham twist ... but look what was brought to us, a Turkey Ham and Cheese toastie :-( Seems it wasn't the first time we experienced this, I guess I gotta either "point" next time, or speak slower ... or perhaps ... It was the staff!

Any how ... the toastie was actually delicious, and we got a Twist later any way (We did pay for it!). A self-reminder for the next time we visit Costa at Al Wahda Mall!!

Mini Cooper S ALL4 Countryman - Looks as big as a VW Toureg!

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Al Forno - Dalma Mall, Mussafah

Located: Dalma Mall, ground floor - Not far from HSBC and Shake Shack
Tel: +971 2 612 0747
Opening hours: We went there as it was open before Shake Shack, they start serving at 11:30am.


The management really needs to take note, and serve some proper balsamic vinegar and not bitter-tasting ones! 

The pizza was OK I guess...

The pasta was tasty at the first-bite, then we realised how salty it was :-(

My calzone, somehow it just fell flat in its flavour profile :-(
Overall, Al Forno was disappointing - Prices were reasonable at about 60 AED per head, but I would stick to Shake Shack next time!

New Lexus LS 600hL Hybrid and Hyundai Santa Fe 2013

Lexus and Hyundai's latest offerings this year ... the LS 600hL and the Santa Fe :-)
469,000 AED (130K USD) for the Lexus ... and the Santa Fe, a steal as it only starts at 83,000 AED (23K USD).

Saturday, March 02, 2013

Canon G10 - Repair done in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Our Canon G10 is back in operation again, after the lens got stuck late last year whilst we I was on holiday in Malaysia :-(

Yes, the repair cost a bomb (Canon UAE, Abu Dhabi) ... 200 USD for a new lens-assembly, to repair the "Lens error, Restart camera" fault. I think some call this the Canon E18 fault. Basically the lens barrel just wouldn't retract, despite doing a "battery-pull", restarting the camera, jiggling it, blah blah ... Sigh!

True, our Canon Powershot G10 is over 4 years old - But it was just too good a camera to dispose, especially when we have a brand new WP-DC28 underwater-housing (Over 200 USD!) and we one day ... want to go diving again! Looks like we have a working G10 again, woo hoo ...


ps - These shots were taken with our new Fuji X10   ;-)