"Do you like kati rolls?" asked my new-found foodie friend Rohit.
"Yeah I recently discovered them in Dubai and really liked them!" I said, enthusiastically.

And so he put me on a path that saw me scarfing down kati rolls for lunch, and dinner... on the same day.

I met Rohit on Twitter, as one does. I'd been following him for a while and then I DM'd him before my UK trip saying I'd be there in London, would he like to meet up? He said yes. Little did I know that one word would mean a bundle of gastronomic delights for me in London.

After hitting one of his recommendations already (blog post on that later), I was inclined to trust his judgement on this one.

So one afternoon, I got out at Oxford Circus, and tracked down The Kati Roll Company, not 5 minutes away from the Tube station.

I'd been expressly told I had to have the shami unda kati roll (minced mutton/lamb and eggs), and that is exactly what I ordered. 

Okay, see that little tub of spicy green chutney that can veritably add that kick to your kati roll? Apparently it got so popular, they've stopped giving it with orders...unless you ask for it. This little gem of a foodie tip has been brought to you by none other than Rohit. Bless 'im.

Now as to the actual roll? Heaven. A warm, slightly crispy paratha envelopes the expertly marinaded lamb, that's mixed with herbs, onions, egg...and then dipped in the spicy chutney. It's a mini-explosion in your mouth.

So I finished my one lone kati roll and left. I kept thinking about it, and thinking some more about it. And I just couldn't stop. I sent my friend @movie_mafia a message and told her about this place, and would she like to try it out? Tonight?

SHE SAID YES!

So off we toddled there, just a few hours after I'd already munched one down. They have a deal for when you order two kati rolls of the same type; you can see all the prices (in pounds) towards the end of this post.

So we took the unda shami, and the aloo masala kati rolls. The aloo masala was also fine, but considering my carnivore nature, I preferred the unda shami hands down.

Halfway through our meal, Rohit joined in. And boy, does he know his food. He did tell us for example, where the name "kati rolls" came from. Apparently 'kati' is the word for the sticks or skewers that were used to make the rolls...and so they started being called kati rolls.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The ambience is really cool. Posters of Indian movies adorn the walls, which are bright orange, contrasting with the brown wooden seating area. Fans I'd expect to see in an old part of some town in India were whirring above my head. 

Here, have a look at their roll options:

Would I go back to The Kati Roll Company the next time I'm in London? HELL YES. It's cheap and it's absolutely thumpingly delicious. And Rohit, a staunch Delhi-ite (and I'm from Bombay...you can imagine how our conversations worked out ;)), swears these kati rolls are exactly like what he has back home. 

Check out its official website to see its US-based locations and for more information.

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This post has no pictures. What this post does have is a massive rant.

In a height of massive disappointment I have not felt since a restaurant on the JBR Walk lost my patronage forever by telling my dinner party that the meat in front of us always tasted like the bowels of a salt mine were emptied on them and refused to give us an edible batch... a place in Al Barsha has, for many reasons, dropped me into my mental 'mines of Moria'.

I recently went to this particular restaurant with the food coming highly recommended. And indeed, some of the people at the table were satisfied with what they got.

Not me.

Where shall I begin? The service was really sub-standard. One of the diners at the table ordered a meal and ended up getting it one hour later, whereas people who arrived after she did got their order (the same menu item as what the first diner ordered) within 20 minutes. When we asked, we found out they decided (quite arbitrarily) that they'd give the other people their food first.

The food was average at best - one of the starters envisages a succulent meat, rich in its own juices. Yet there I was, slathering on as much sauce as I could just to get the dryness out of the way. The mains were uninspiring to say the least, and just not good enough (my friend wailed: "how can anyone mess up duck?" Okay a "wail" doesn't sound manly, but if he was female, it would've been a wail. Or that's how I'm imagining it).

Another main was a popular dish that many restaurants in Dubai serve, but so few do it well. This wasn't one of the few.

I left the restaurant feeling like I'd eaten food yes, but far from happy-full.

And then there was the cockroach.

I'd finished my meal and was waiting for my bill. A fellow diner was about to dunk her meat in the sauce bowl when she stopped and said: "IS THAT A COCKROACH?"

I pushed my chair back as far as it could go and silently squealed. Or maybe it was out loud. I don't know. My brain stops working when there are insects around, and much more when they're partaking in a meal I paid for.

Sure enough, there was a tiny little creepy-crawly, slightly bigger than my fingernail, chilling on the dipping sauce bowl.

Clearly the way to go forward was to complain to the management, yes?

Yeah. That.

I was, in my defence, busy squealing (oh you should see me when bigger things approach; I get worse). And then someone either killed it or threw it off the table, while I was too busy looking everywhere for some staff to call over, so we had nothing to show the management.

Nice move.

So I left the restaurant with food in my belly, but completely unsated, and with the disgusting feeling of what-if-my-food-touched-that-little-insect.

There was one saving grace...the night before this painful dining experience I had ordered a batch of Yasmin Mebar's (of Red Panda Bakes fame) delicious chocolate brownies for a birthday. I popped a few left-over pieces in my mouth after the disappointing meal...and boy, did they feel good.

Okay so I lied, there's clearly a picture (albeit an awful, blurry one; in my defence I forgot my camera and snapped one with my phone). But not of the food - of the brownie goodness.

PS - I won't confirm or deny on this public post which restaurant it was.

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I'd been to Al Fanar back in January this year. Not to eat, but to cover the interiors for the magazine I write for. I shall shamelessly plug the feature I wrote here, and ask that if you want to see more fantastic interior shots, to click on this link, and go to page 35.

Why did I wait until April 2012 to eat there? Simple: I was waiting on @movie_mafia to be in Dubai. If possible, I do try taking someone with me to restaurants if they know more about the cuisine, and she's the Emirati food expert.

So off we went to Al Fanar, taking @eddydubai in tow.

We let MM do the ordering - and ended up with the habool/fish roe, chicken machboos and lamb biryani. We also decided on Vimto for drinks, and rounded it off with Arabic coffee and lgeimat.

So what was my experience like?

Much to the surprise of those who know me well, I ate the fish roe, and liked it. I liked the spices used in its preparation and it kept me going.

The machboos and biryani were both flavourful, and the meat was tender and well-prepared. Mixed with the yoghurt, it added an extra level of flavour.

It was my first time eating lgeimat and I found them extremely addictive. I don't know how MM and Eddy managed to control themselves, but I pretty much went overboard with these little bite-sized chewy delights.

The coffee was pretty good, served in the traditional dallah (also found on the AED 1 coin) ... I did end up using sugar though, since I don't have very bitter coffee. I loved the traditional feel to all the dishes.

While I did love everything I ate, I didn't think it would be appropriate for this review if it didn't have an important voice speaking out. I asked MM for her thoughts, and she delivered:

I liked the design of the place. It had a very nostalgic feel to it and you can tell a lot of thought went into it. There was a lot of attention to detail, down to the plates (my grandma has very similar at her house!).

When I first sat down and saw the menus, it just felt very authentic. I wasn't that impressed with the outside, it felt a bit like heritage village but once I sat down it stopped feeling gimmicky and felt like there was a real Emirati touch to it (rather than feeling like I was in an amusement park). 

The food was very good. I've never had Emirati food outside my own home and this wasn't very different to what I would eat at my house. The dishes were a little bit dry generally, but the flavours were all there and it was very authentic.

Vimto being available was a nice touch. 

The small touches like dates at the table and hot sauce was also very Emirati and very nice to see! I loved the dessert and coffee, the luqeimat were near perfect and the Arabic coffee is just like the kind you'd be served at a wedding or someone's home. 

I'm really happy that there's a place I can bring people when they ask me about Emirati food/culture. I would definitely bring people here who wanted to know more about our cuisine and history. It's very well done and it's great that it's homegrown. 

So there you have it: an Emirati stamp of approval on an Emirati restaurant. That's good enough for me. How about you?

Parking tips:
Park in the Spice parking of Festival City, then walk out towards the Canal Walk and turn right.

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To read a much more detailed review of the restaurant, check out Ginger and Scotch's post.

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I can't remember how old I was. I think I was 13 or 14. So it wasn't very long after Karan received his autism diagnosis.

The semblance of "normal life" was slowly slipping away from our family. We'd stopped doing random things we used to do together. Gone were trips to the cinema, gone were long drives, and something that completely shattered our going out to restaurants happened.

One night, we'd decided to go out for a meal. We went to an Indian, vegetarian restaurant in Dubai, that we used to frequent a lot many years ago. Karan was still 4 or 5 at this time.

We sat down to eat, placed our order. Karan started whining a little bit; we realized eventually it was the noise in the restaurant bothering him. He kept crying for a bit, as we tried to calm him down. It didn't work immediately; his diagnosis was new enough that we were still at a learning curve, still working out how to handle him.

After a lot of stares, mutterings and pointed glares, the restaurant manager came over to our table.

We pretty much got kicked out of the restaurant.

Apparently the other diners complained about my brother and the nuisance he was causing, and the manager said it was better we left. When we tried to protest and explain the situation ("this child has special needs" etc), we heard a rather loud: "Why don't they keep their retarded children at home?" comment.

We left.

I think it scarred us for life. We tried going to another restaurant weeks later, but as soon as Karan kicked up a fuss, we upped and left. Perhaps my parents didn't want a repeat getting-thrown-out scenario. We've never really gone to a restaurant since. Food courts yes (let's face it, even if Karan screams like a banshee, no one's going to hear him there), restaurants no.

I accept it wasn't completely the manager's fault; I imagine the diners were having a go at him and upset about their meal being "spoiled" by the crying child. But there was clearly no policy on dealing with situations like this. Yes, it was a nascent time then for special needs, but oh lord, how it hurt. How it hurt.

I don't blame my parents for leaving. But I now realize that had I been older and in a position to make the decision, I would not have left. My mother and I have realized (in hindsight), that there's no point in tucking our tails between our legs and running. It's important to stand and fight.

You might say, surely we have a responsibility to not bother other people.

Well, I'm SORRY if my brother's autism bothers you, but frankly, I'm just going to tell you to get stuffed. Who the hell are you to tell me that you're entitled to enjoy a meal with your family at a nice place, and I am not? My brother is not?

Now you'll say, well he was crying anyway so he clearly wasn't enjoying it. No, he wasn't. I agree. My point is, with autism, he needs to be exposed to "normal" things that everyone else is. I want him to go out, I want him to experience what everyone else does. By shutting ourselves at home, we're just segregating ourselves more than YOU are already doing with your behaviour towards us.

So yes, I will take Karan to restaurants and places where he may cry or kick up a fuss. I will stay as long as I can with him to acclimatise him to the surroundings because it is important to him, and to us. For example, I took him to Chili's on his birthday a few years ago; we got him molten chocolate cake to celebrate (he loved the cake there FYI). He did make a little noise (happy noises to be fair!) and kept trying to bang the cutlery on the table, but if anyone looked at us oddly, I glared back. It's my thing.

I dare you to tell me to leave. I'm older, bigger and frankly, have had it with your shit.

Oh and that restaurant that told us they'd rather we left before they evicted us? We never frequented it again.

Cross-posted on Autism & Us

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My partner in crime last night was @movie_mafia, who whipped her head back and forth to spot the elusive, smiling woman.

Fear not...I was not luring the young MM into a world of crime amidst the cobbled streets of Paris, but cruising with her in Guido (my car) between the dark lanes of Al Wasl, trying to spot an image of Mona Lisa anywhere. ANYWHERE!

My car came to a screeching halt eventually. "I FOUND HER!"

What does this have to do with a food blog? Two nights ago, I asked MM what cuisine she preferred for our dinner outing. "Thai," she said. I wanted to try something new, and just Googled a random selection of words: "Thai+food+Dubai", and turned up with loads of links pointing me to a place called Smiling BKK, which didn't seem to have an address.

None of the sites were very clear on where exactly the restaurant was. Armed with a few random references, I started panicking on the eventuality of getting hopelessly lost (when I mentioned to a colleague that I was going to Smiling BKK, he grimly told me he was lost for an hour looking for it and never found it...sorry Olly, but now you have my awesome directions to make your way there), when MM said, "Why don't we just call them?"

She's the brains, boys. She's the brains.

Not that the call helped much. They said pretty much what most of the websites I trawled said: "Near Jumeirah post office, behind Emarat petrol pump on Al Wasl Road" (I wish we had a better way of giving directions than doing the whole take-the-first-right-after-the-second-tree-after-the-third-white-building-and-then-go-left-at-the-third-roundabout thing, but there you go).

But as I used my almost sixth-sense directional skills (which mostly constituted me going: "OMG MM shall I turn right? AAAAHHHH!"), I passed by gleaming signs, but no Mona Lisa. As I stupidly luckily looked to my left instead of at the road, I saw a mustachio-ed Mona Lisa grinning at me from within the shady-looking, dark alley way (lit up here by my flash).

We walked towards the restaurant, wondering why there's a Thai restaurant here of all the places, why there's no clear sign pointing to it...and when we entered, things made a little more sense.

This was no duplicate of an international brand, neither a pretentious start-up trying to be "different", yet copying brands it claims to be separate from. This was...that real part of Dubai. Where you know you're in for a crazy ride (which I think we suspected from the point we had very vague directions).

Three people - one chef and two staff - greet us with folded hands, like "namaste", and I'm pretty sure they said "Sawadika", after which they ushered us in. I was confronted with a lot of black, walls plastered with frames, photographs on one side, and t-shirts with images and words related to the Thai beer Singha all over them, hung on another.

My jaw dropped open to just see the absolutely random items all over the place. Where on earth had I arrived? A café I was most likely to find somewhere in the UK to be honest. I could see this spot being nestled somewhere in Shoreditch, rather than the alleys of Al Wasl. Rarely does one find a kooky place like this in Dubai, so this place was a welcome change. 

As we sat down in a booth stuffed with cushions, we spotted a funny bell-like apparatus on the side with tiny cymbals inside, which we never used; it was meant to call the staff if we needed them.

And then we started reading the menu. And I could not stop giggling. Mostly in my head, but giggling nonetheless. To give you an idea of the most random names you'll find on the menu: Roll Over Beethoven, Great Balls of Fire, Six Inches of Glory, Fook Mi, Fook Yu, Papa Don't Preach, Thriller, Temple of Doom, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, 10-Baht Love You Long Time, Mr T, Thai Me Any Way You Want...and I haven't even listed the slightly more risqué names! Whatever the reason, the names kept me reading through the entire menu without getting bored, or skipping over words. Excellent ploy. I salute you.

There are other cool things about the menu but I'd rather you discovered them for yourself. Apart from the random frames on the wall, there are also jokes written in chalk on the walls, which I suspect they change regularly. I won't give any of them away...it's something you have to see on your own.

Now finally, on to the food! ALLONSY.

Pussy Cat Got Wet | Tod Gratiem: stir-fried chicken and beef with fried garlic

I Like Big Butts! | Khanom Pand Na Goong: Deep marinated minced prawns on toast

Day Tripping Buddha | Keang Keow Waan: green curry with chicken, eggplant, basil, red chili and coconut milk

Malibu Stacey | Gai Pad Med Mamuong: stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts, onion, chili paste and dried chili

The Name's Bond, James Bond | Pad Thai

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango

Fried banana with sweet sticky rice and coconut sauce

One thing I liked about the dishes is that they all came piping hot. The food was fresh, honest and each dish had pretty good portions (I know it looks like we ate a lot...well, okay we ate a lot, but to be fair, we hadn't had lunch in preparation for our quest!).

When we arrived there, it was just us and another table occupied. When we left, people were jostling for seats. Oh, how busy it got! That surprised me given the tucked-away nature of the place. I think it's a restaurant that does well based on word-of-mouth. I'd recommend you book if you're going later in the evening (we got there for 7pm) and if you've a big party. 

Going to Smiling BKK is an adventure in itself. You'll be on a mission finding it, then you'll be shocked at where it turns out to be located, and then will giggle away reading the outlandishly hilarious names on the menu.

Oh one more thing, if you're into alcohol, sorry it's not licensed!

Maybe you won't have the best Thai food of your life, but it'll be authentic, affordable, and since it has some good items on the menu, it overall makes for a fun time out.

FooDee Ordered:

Pussy Cat Got Wet Dhs 30
I Like Big Butts! Dhs 32
Day Tripping Buddha Dhs 34
Malibu Stacey Dhs 38
The Name's Bond, James Bond Dhs 32
Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango Dhs 25
Fried banana with sweet sticky rice and coconut sauce Dhs 25
2 x Sprite 10
+ Service Charge Dhs 10

TOTAL Dhs 226 

Getting there: Cruise down Al Wasl Road in the AUH-DXB direction. After you pass Safa Park, keep an eye out for the Emarat petrol pump on your right. Once it arrives, take the first right (which you'll know is correct because this right is just before the post office), then take the first right again. You'll basically be on the internal road parallel to Al Wasl Road at this point. You'll pass a few villas and on the left will see some convenience stores including something called Kadouche and a place called Taste Village. Park anywhere there; no parking meters yay. You'll see a mustache-laden Mona Lisa in the alley next to these stores. 

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It's hot. There's loud music in the air, carrying over the still waters of the faux lakes of Dubai Media City, and across the buildings. There's the smell, nay, the aroma of food permeating through everything.

Your mouth starts watering because you can smell food. Glorious food.

My schedule this year was such I could only attend one day out of the three allocated to Taste of Dubai 2012. But I knew I'd stay dedicated to the cause ... of eating.

The following is a gallery of the items I ate: 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Straciatelle con carciofle e pomodri Canditi (Straciatelle with artichokes and sundried tomatoes) - Armani Peck | Ravioli di castagne e potaato tartlifo nero pregiato (Homemade chestnut and potato ravioli, buttered black truffle) - Ronda Locatelli | Siu Mai - Chi'Zen | Cauliflower pot - Table9 | Creamy goat's cheese tower with creme de mure vinaigrette - Rhodes 2010 | Dimsum basket (crystal prawn/chicken shu mai/crystal vegetable dumpling) - Da Shi Dai | Tiramisu (with alcohol) - Ronda Locatelli | Dulche de Leche cheesecake - Gaucho | Churrasco de chorizo - Gaucho | Japchae (glass noodles with sautéed beef and vegetables) - Sonamu

But what did I think of it all?

The straciatelle was very good. I've never had this type of cheese before, but loved the blend of the sundried tomatoes with the creaminess of the cheese. Sundried tomatoes are such a wonderful accompaniment to the best of cheeses, and this was no different.

THE WINNER OF THE FOOD TALENT HUNT goes to the truffle ravioli from Ronda Locatelli. What was this brilliant creation, I wondered? I didn't miss meat here, I just wanted to keep stuffing the truffle oil infused stuffed ravioli in my mouth and never stop. What a gorgeous dish. It makes me want to go to the restaurant just to have this.

I liked the chicken and prawn Siu Mai from Chi'Zen. With just a light drizzle of soya sauce, I was good to go. Another place I'm happy to try out again.

I've heard SO much about Table9 from social media and fellow food bloggers, I absolutely had to try something. I love meat, but here again I went for a veg item: the cauliflower pot. I always say, a chef that can make me eat vegetarian food and not miss meat is to be lauded indeed. I enjoyed the pot, which was styled in such a way to look like a mound of earth (it looked like soil on top!), underneath which was creamy cauliflower (a vegetable I incidentally hate from the depths of my heart). I finished it. It may not be my first choice on a menu but I was intrigued enough to think about trying the restaurant again.

It was at this point I took a break...

...and then continued eating.

The creamy goat's cheese tower and the dim sum basket were okay. They weren't my cup of tea, to be honest.

I decided to try the alcohol-infused tiramisu and found I liked it very much. The ladyfinger biscuits were at the right stage between solid and mind-numbingly drenched, that added a good texture to the dessert. Ronda Locatelli, I shall return. I already knew their food was good after the Atlantis food safari, but having tried more items, I am definitely impressed.

Gaucho! I'd actually been to the restaurant in DIFC as part of my job as a reporter on Commercial Interior Design, and had come away with a story on its interiors. But I'd yet to eat there. All was to change here. The dulche de leche cheesecake was inspired; excellent, excellent stuff. a lovely bottom layer of biscuit, then a layer of dulche de leche and then the cream cheese on top. When paired together, it made for a happy marriage. The Churrasco de chorizo was beef strips with corn and while I was definitely impressed, the winner was still Locatelli's ravioli.

I finished off with Japchae, Korean glass noodles with beef and veggies and actually liked it (thanks to Dina for making me try it with her). Not mind blowing, but decent fare.

But what I really, really want to talk about now is two things. 

NEXT... we move on to ... coffee.

Without a doubt, the best coffee joint in the UAE, RAW Coffee has so much to be ecstatic about. I caught up with owner Kim Thompson, and spoke to her about RAW's plans in addition to getting a crash course in the cold brew coffee. 

That's Matt Toogood in the photograph, in his element. He's UAE's Barista Champion for 2011/2012 and will soon be off to Vienna to compete in the world championship. This is the second time RAW Coffee has represented UAE in the world event, and I'm hoping they win this time. Good luck Matt!

Another bit of great news for them: in about two months, RAW Coffee will move out of its home in Dubai Garden Centre and to its own space in Al Quoz, with more space and more coffee. I, again, cannot be happier. The firm has an excellent track record with its coffee, which is always consistent and like I said, the best coffee you'll find here. I'm going to be there when the new RAW outlet opens, dragging all my friends with me.

As I walked off with the best cappuccino I've had in a while, I thought about my Taste of Dubai experience this year and was glad I came. Not only did I discover restaurants I'd normally never venture into, but also found new developments with some of my favourite food brands that make me look forward to the year ahead.

For all my pictures from Taste of Dubai (yup, there are plenty more), check out the album on my Facebook page!

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On Valentine's Day this year, I fell in love. I didn't expect to, you understand. It happened. Like one those clichés you never expect will happen to you.

On Valentine's Day this year, I fell in love. With a Parsi restaurant that has the support of the masses.

It was Valentine's Day and I was in Bombay (Sorry folks, I still won't call it Mumbai), and was spending the day with my friend, Shruti. "We MUST go to Britannia!" she said. "But I don't know how to get there; we used to order it in from my office." Right. Mission was to get there. My aunt helpfully said to get into a cab and tell them to take us to - and I swear, this is how she said it - 'buhlaard' estate. I soon figured out she meant "Ballard" estate. But she wasn't saying it like this because her schooling had taken leave of her. I quickly realized that's how the taxi drivers said it. I tried saying it how it should be said only to be met with blank stares. Off to Buhlaard Estate we went.

After we finally found the place and entered, it's as if you're entering the old world of Bombay. The one left behind decades ago with the glitz and glamour of the city. There are old, whirring fans, visible wiring, cracked paint, simple tables and chairs with checkered tablecloths, laminated menus at the table, portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II... you're in Bombay of the yesteryears alright.

The menu is simple enough, but we knew there were staples of Britannia, dishes that had to be had...or else! I'd never been to Britannia before, even though I'd heard so much about it, but even I knew what was a must-have.

Pallonji's is one of the drink brands served at Britannia; it came before the soft drinks you see everywhere today. It was one of the original stalwarts of soft drinks. We'd been attracted by the sign outside before we had entered:

Spicy Ginger for me, and Ice cream soda for Shruti. Mine was a proper hit of unadulterated ginger to my throat; just as well...I'd been down with a terrible sore throat that day (the after-effects of a wild sangeet night...but what happens at Cuffe Parade, stays at Cuffe Parade) and needed the ginger fix. Not for those who can't handle spices.

An old man shuffled to our table. With a wizened smile, he asked us for our order. We rattled off our dishes, and waited for him to write everything down in a shaky, but clear script. As he walked off, wishing us a good day, our hearts melted.

We'd just met the owner, the very friendly and genial, Boman Kohinoor.

He's very much a part of the setting. During the time we spent there, he walked around, took orders and showed it really was a great family business.

But wotcher...our food started coming in!

The first up is the very famous berry pulav (we ordered chicken). The berry pulav is an institution in itself. Bombayites, Mumbaikars...whatever you call them...will all attest to this dish. What is it?

A bed of yellow/white basmati rice, with two round kababs on the side, a garnish of cashewnuts and fried onions, the meat and...the red berries. The combination of these ingredients make the flavours pop in your mouth, where the meat is cooked to perfection, the cashew nuts and onions lending a crispy take to the dish and the berries mixing sweet and sour all in one go. I fell in love.

The berry pulav sates you. Research shows it was Boman Kohinoor's late wife who introduced this dish to the menu with barberries imported from Iran for this superb creation.

But we weren't done...we wanted more! And so onward we went. 

Dhansak. From what I understand of it, it's the Parsi form of dal. We ordered the chicken dhansak, which came accompanied with a bed of brown rice and two small kabab balls on top (I'm sorry Shruti I ate them all, they were just so good!).

The dhansak itself is thick and hearty, and is something I'd love to have as comfort food if I could. It's just that right level of warmth that infuses itself in the dish...when you have it, you know...you know THIS is what you could be having on a day of the sniffles, or the day you got ditched, or the day your parrot flew away.

See the full gallery on Posterous

It may have been only two dishes were ordered, but both were filling. Filling I say, but not heavy. During this time, Boman Kohinoor ambled by to ask us how the meal was. I was busy stuffing my face and I'm afraid nothing intelligible was uttered by me, but Shruti was able to say that we indeed were enjoying ourselves.

You'd think we'd be done now that the meal was over. Nuh-uh. 

I wandered around a bit, and when I came back, Shruti was being instructed by one of the Kohinoor family members to take more photos! 

Am I surprised? Yes. I've had experiences where I've been asked to stop taking photos, and experiences where, while no one has asked me to stop, staff members have been visibly uncomfortable with my camera. And here, it was refreshing to see we were welcome to snap away.

And so Afshin Kohinoor, Boman's son, started talking to us at length about the restaurant. He pointed to the portraits hung on the wall, spoke about the letter written to his father by the Queen of England, and pointed to one of their latest awards:

Haha, while I can't promise to get boyfriends along, I do promise to come with a bigger group of people, all food enthusiasts to partake in the restaurant's simple, yet pleasing, fare.

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I was out with a few Fooderati members at Venus restaurant for our South Indian 101 event, and when talking about dosas, I remembered a place I'd been to months back and kept its photographs and blog posts on the back burner: Sukh Sagar at the Beach.

I remember the day so clearly: it was Eid and I was grumpy because I was being carted off (not that I was physically hoisted by my parents into the car...that's highly impossible you see) to a vegetarian restaurant. These were, I believe, my exact words:
"I can't believe on a day everyone else is eating meat, you're making me eat VEG!"

Yeah, I've mentioned before how much of a chicken and meat eater I am. I was appalled, upset and scandalized I was being deprived of satisfying my flesh-eating carnivore-istic behaviour to become a grass-eating herbivore cow.

Anyway, off I went with la familia to sacrifice myself to parental authority and give up my dreams of tearing into a lamb chop or chomping on a biryani.

I was then told I was going to have teppanyaki dosa. Seriously?! What is that???

The concept is this: they serve you a variety of mini-dosas and mini-uttapams, and here's the kicker: you can order repeats of whichever dosas you liked and as many as you like. NO JOKE. 

So in dosas, we had (in this order in the following photo gallery): Paneer dosa, Masala dosa, Mysore masala dosa, Pav bhaji dosa, Mix vegetable dosa, Spinach and cheese dosa, Rawa sada dosa.

See the full gallery on Posterous

I adored the pav bhaji and paneer ones, personally. You can watch the dosas being created teppanyaki style in front of your eyes at the bar stools placed right in front of the cooking counter. I didn't do that on that day because my brother was with us and he wanted to sit on the familiar table-and-chairs area.

Then the mini uttapams (in this order): Tomato onion uttapams, tomato omelet uttapams, chinese uttapams, mushroom uttapams, brocolli uttapams (realizing all these pics look similar...sorry, I'd forgotten my flash that day!):

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And for dessert, the sweet uttapam (I think this was jaggery on the uttapam):

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Here's the board of awesome people who ate their way to the dosa hall of fame...DOSAZILLAS them! Kudos to your eating power...I think next time maybe I'll go on an empty stomach and see what I can manage. And just guess how much this costs? Remember, you get unlimited dosas and uttapams...all this for...

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It was my 25th birthday this past Friday (March 2) and I had no plans - which was a first for me. 

I just want to thank my friends for not listening to my insane desire to be anti-social that day. Ringleaders Shruti and Wajiha organized an immensely well-executed surprise birthday party (code named "Devina's D-Day Do") - which included this fantabulous Star Wars themed cake created by Sahar Latheef Rahman.

A blue cake with stars, a near-identical logo and an extremely detailed Yoda (down to the bags around his eyes) ... I was in seventh heaven. Helped that it tasted really good too (guess who even had birthday cake as a dinner substitute the next day?)!

This wasn't the first time I'd encountered Sahar's work. When a surprise birthday party was organized for Shruti late last year, I asked Sahar to create a Twitter cake, which I thought came out really well.

She's quite creative and passionate (it shows in the detailing of the cakes) and I don't hesitate to recommend her if you're on the lookout for themed cakes, which are affordable and delicious to boot.

You can contact her through her Facebook page or Twitter.

Thanks again to Shruti and Wajiha for organizing, and everyone else who showed up (in alphabetical order, because I can be OCD like that) - Anastasia, Ayub, Ben, Gurvinder, Hannah, Karla, Mali, Paul, and Yasmin - I love you all very much :)

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I wanted to check out a frankie place in Dubai to blog about (post on that coming soon). When I mentioned it to Vineet 'Potson' Pabreja, he scoffed. Oh, how much this man can scoff. He started waxing eloquent about this place in Bur Dubai which has the best rolls "EVAAAAAR".

So off we went one day to lend some truth to his claim. The journey there was exciting: he claims I drove like a maniac (I did not) and then said he wasn't sure how good the rolls were (See? How can I trust such a bipolar person?). 

And so it was, on a sunny Friday afternoon, I found myself in front of Shiraz. Potson is prone to lists, so he had a little guide on what we should order. Early birds us, we were the first to enter the restaurant and snagged a window booth - which meant more light for my camera woohoo!

Settling in with a sweet lime soda, we went about picking what we'd stuff ourselves with.

First up was the chicken tikka kabab plate. Succulent, hot and juicy. Perfectly average and right. 

I'm very unsure, looking back at the pictures, why I was eating chicken tikka kababs with a fork. Even though I'm perfectly useless with eating rice with my hand, I'm of the opinion that most foods taste better when you get down and dirty with it!

Ordering the kathi rolls was one of the hardest things I had to do. I mean, just in the egg and chicken category were these choices: single egg, single chicken; single egg, double chicken; double egg, single chicken; and, double egg, double chicken. I felt like tearing my hair out. WHICH ONE DID I WANT?! What's more important: the chicken or the egg? After many mental ruminations and imaginary hair pulling, and the wish to be able to taste all those types to pick my favourite, I went for the single egg, double chicken.

COME TO ME... Be still my Chicketarian heart!!! Kathi rolls are essentially very common in Kolkata (Calcutta) and has grown in popularity the world over. So chicken, eggs and onions rolled up inside a nice paratha roll, made that much tastier by whatever outta-this-world marinade used. I want to eat these again. I will seriously travel all the way to Bur Dubai (hey I live far away okay!) to have this again.

Then the chicken biryani and mutton chaap arrived together. I loved the mound of yellow-white rice peeking over the rim saying: "Eat me now. Like, now."

So when we were served the biryani, I probably amused the waiter no end by clicking away. He was probably thinking: "You want to take pictures of me moving rice from one vessel to one plate? Seriously? Erm, okay. Let me do this fast and run away from crazed clicking monsters."

At the end of it, biryani with some raita was heaped on our plates. This was good but didn't make me want to marry it (yes some foods I feel that much intense love for). It was very light, which I appreciated. Left more space for the next item on the menu!

The mutton chaap was a winner, like the kathi roll. A traditional Bengali dish, juicy, tender bits of meat swimming in its own oily gravy...fireworks in your mouth when you do bite into it. I mixed a bit of it with the chicken biryani and decided it tastes equally good with something (like rice, or I imagine naan) and stand-alone (yeah I did). A very rich dish, I expected it to be spicy as well, but it wasn't. But then again, my level of spice tolerance is very high; I've often found what isn't anywhere close to spicy for me leaves others gasping and lunging for cold water.

FooDee Ordered:

1 single egg double chicken Dhs 19
1 murgh tikka kabab Dhs 25
1 murgh biryani Dhs 22
1 mutton chaap Dhs 25
1 lime soda sweet Dhs 10
TOTAL Dhs 101 (less Dhs 20.20 using the Gulf News Good Living voucher for 20% off) = Dhs 80.80 

Parking tips: Don't forget to put a parking ticket if you're going on any day other than Friday! Best to use your mobile for this though - you get a reminder before the ticket expires. Last thing you want is to suddenly remember halfway through your kathi roll that you need to run like a maniac to your car, hoping against hope you didn't get a fine.

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One night I had plans for an evening out, which got cancelled (curse you, O ditcher!), and I was feeling too...meh...to go home instead. I wanted an evening out damn it, and an evening out I would have.

I called up my most recent food-partner-in-crime, Wajiha, and moaned in frustration. Always up for a fun time, she said she'd go out with me for dinner that day (in spite of having another dinner planned late that night; yes, really). I looked around for places which I hadn't tried before, and remembered another partner-in-crime, (my coffee/chai/desserts/photographer crime buddy) Shruti, had mentioned Red Tomato Pizza. Wajiha had been there before, but was ready to go again.

"I'll work on my laptop while you eat, before I leave for my second dinner at 10pm," she said (yeah she said 'second dinner'). Here's Wajiha working on her laptop:

Soak in the sight because that was the scene for all of 15 minutes before the food arrived.

The venue, hidden among the streets of Al Barsha, very close to the Mall of the Emirates, attracted me from outside.

The first thing you'd notice is how homey the place is. I can see why Wajiha thought she could work there. Well, you could get some work done there, but probably not with me, lots of food and a massive camera flash going off in your face.

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After settling in, we ordered arancini (deep fried rice balls filled with cheese and meat sauce) and for the pizza, I picked the Pollo e Ricotta. While waiting, we ate a lot of bread (and I drank home-made lemonade)!

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The arancini was pretty good (so much cheese), which is why I rather felt like a cheese snob when I wished it wasn't mozzarella I was chomping into. Hot and cheesy goodness was had.

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So the pizza (chicken and ricotta) I got was very good - light, soft and very, very, very fresh.

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And what, pray tell, is the point of going to an Italian restaurant without having dessert there? I bet there's a law against it. I bet they (whoever, 'they' is) come and issue warnings for this sort of thing. So we ended our relaxed night out with tiramisu.

Parking tip: If you see a parking spot in the lane leading up to the restaurant, take it there without a second thought. Once you get to the traffic light in front of the restaurant, you can either go straight and get stuck amidst traffic-of-people-dodging-SALIK or go right and get lost in Al Barsha.

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A Global Village trip just to eat through the different countries' pavilions?

HECK YEAH, SIGN ME UP NOW!!!

The pomegranate juice Didi got from Tunisia.

So I did. Sign up, that is. Note the bold, red font is there to express the excitement that coursed through me at the thought of a night of pure gluttony.

Accompanied by fellow (or female) Fooderati members D for Delicious (Didi), Miss Stovetop (Mishti), In a Frying Pan (Arva), and friends Sssourabh and Radhika, we demolished countries in our wake. Or at least a couple of food stands within each. Here's my food journey (in chronological order; also, I didn't eat everything alone...we shared!):

1. Mexican Shawarma (Egypt)

2. Dondurma (Turkey)

3. Yemeni honey

4. Baked potato (Turkey)

5. Baklava (Turkey)

6. Lamacun (Turkey)

7. Feta Cheese and Parsley Gözleme (Turkey)

8. Kashmiri Chai (Pakistan)

9. Dutch mini-pancakes (Holland)

<<< Around this point, we lost three comrades - Sourabh, Radhika and Mishti - to the Curse of the Tired Feet. >>>

10. Bambalouni (Tunisia)

11. Falafels (Palestine)

12. Churros (Spain)

13. Go to Global Village, get one Butterscotch Cake and a car chase free
The abbreviated version: Mishti bought baked cake which Arva forgot to take. I chased Arva's car down, did not fulfil Radhika's expectation of throwing the box across two open windows of moving cars, stopped on the side of the road and delivered the box safely. THE END! Oh but the cake was divine.

So there you have it...my epic Global Village food trip. My favourite items from the night are the bambalouni, baklava and the shawarma. Go in a massive group, and experiment! Thank you Didi for organizing this one.

To check out all my photographs from Global Village, click here

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Some related posts from fellow food bloggers:
Dubai Bites: Around the world in 80 minutes - top 10 things to eat at Global Village
D for Delicious: You know food bloggers are close by when...
D for Delicious: 10 Power Tips for your Global Village trip
I Live in a Frying Pan: What Went Down at Global Village 

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Pic from a tea tweetup at Tea Junction, Dubai, in June 2011

I love tea; I've often talked about it. Apart from finding different places across Dubai to have some, I relish making a nice, hot cup of masala chai for myself at home.

It started with a tweet, over two years ago when I was living in Sheffield, Yorkshire. I saw @whitecrayon_ say he didn't know how to make chai.

HOW CAN ANYONE NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE CHAI!?

Turns out, a lot have no clue.

What followed was a hilarious Twitter conversation on how to make tea (without a teabag ie); he was unsuccessful but I had promised I would show him how.

Now, over two years later...I shall.

So what pushed me to do it? Recently, I got my food blogger friend Didi hooked onto chai from various Indian restaurants. Promising her the teabag variety was just not good enough, I gave her bottles of loose tea to make at home. And promised her I'd show her how.

Two days after the bottle-gift, I shall.

I actually make really good tea (I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO modest!)...so if you ever pop by my house, ask me to make you a cuppa. It'll convert you to the Cult of the Chai from the Teabag Train of Thought.

Chai.wmv Watch on Posterous

Instructions:
- Take one cup of water per mug of tea you want to make in a kettle.
- Put 1 heaped tsp of loose tea per mug (or just slightly more if you like it strong) and start boiling it.
- Put how many ever teaspoons of sugar you want in your mug, and add evaporated milk (I like the Rainbow brand) accordingly.
- Once the water and loose tea mixture comes to a boil, put it on a slow boil and let it bubble for a bit to ensure better and stronger taste in your resulting drink.
- Pour it into your mug through a strainer.
- Stir and enjoy!

Edit: Apart from comments below with alternative ways of making chai with personal touches, here are some Twitter responses to this too:

My life is complete <3 RT @DevinaDivecha: #chai, I've prepared a handy DIY guide: post.ly/58DUv #tea #iloveteaclub

— Hana Younes (@HanaYounes) February 6, 2012

RT @DevinaDivecha: #chai, I've prepared a handy DIY guide: post.ly/58DUv #iloveteaclub << Great post! Even better with spices added!

— Paul Castle (@DaddyBird) February 6, 2012

@DevinaDivecha really sweet post!

— meghamk (@meghamk) February 6, 2012

@DevinaDivecha I am drinking some chai now :) I used low fat milk now, but think evap milk makes the tea so much better.

— Didi Paterno (@didipaterno) February 6, 2012

@devinadivecha i remember when @whitecrayon was trying to make tea late night & he broke a cup and burnt the pot, w/ all of us tweeting tips

— St. Jay Von Skunk (@VonSkunk) February 6, 2012

@VonSkunk @devinadivecha Hahahaha worst chai EVAR! I'm definitely going to need this tutorial.

— Ritesh Jeswani (@whitecrayon) February 6, 2012

@DevinaDivecha good guide! I love rainbow milk I almost teared up when I saw they sold it here. Didn't have it in US!

— Miss N (@movie_mafia) February 6, 2012

@DevinaDivecha in Goa (& apparently Delhi too??) we boil the tea leaves directly in the milk with cardamom. Mmm... perfect for a rainy eve

— Radhina A Coutinho (@RadhinaCoutinho) February 6, 2012

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I was beyond exhausted after spending an entire day at ARTE and needed a place to chill out. She bundled me off to Maria Bonita.

I'd seen this place before, but only when I'd popped in to the café next door (Central Perk, if anyone's interested. Modelled after the awesome TV series FRIENDS, it's missing a Gunther and a Phoebe Buffay belting out Smelly Cat). 

Anyway...Maria Bonita (sorry I do have the habit of rambling).

So the first time I went there, we sat indoors. It's a ramshackle sort of homey place that makes you just want to plop down and never move.

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I had cactus for the first time in my life! Cactus? Am i joking? No. Here's a near-faithful recounting of the conversation I had with my friend that night:

Nuts (the friend): "We HAVE to have the cactus salad."
Me: "Eh?"
Nuts: "Yeah it's really good. Healthy too. You'll run to the bathroom afterward."
Me: "Eh?"
Nuts: "It's good for your digestive system?"

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Oh this sounds random (and if you've only just caught on to my randomness...hello, why haven't you read this blog before? It's filled to the brim with awesome randomness; if that's the sort of thing you're into), but I love their menu! It's packaged in the middle of two slabs of wood. Very cute I think.

The chicken jumbo quesadilla was my order both times I've gone till date. Can't go wrong with them one. Cheesy, chicken-y, bread-y goodness. HAPPY DAYS! *cue in Happy Days music*

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The second time I went there was at the end of December 2011 with the enigmatic @movie_mafia though this time we sat outside.

... PASTEL TRES LECHES!

The menu describes it thusly: "Deep moist home-made cake, prepared with three different kinds of cow milk."

Yeah, sorry menu-writer...you did not explain how soft, moist and light this little mound of crustless, sinful cakeyliciousness is. Seriously everyone...this is CAKE. Surprisingly I loved it (can you tell?) despite the lack of chocolate. I'm such a chocolate person but this little plate of heaven wowed me.

Good food, reasonable prices and gorgeous dessert...can't go wrong.

Maps, tips and more:
From the Spinneys on Al Wasl Road, take a left at the traffic light. Go straight all the way to the end, take a u-turn and the first right into the service lane.
If you get parking on the narrow strip of street parking in front of the restaurant, pat yourself on the back. If not, keep driving ahead and park in the first available spot. Barring that, go to the other side of the road and park there.

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I haven't blogged for nearly a month and there's a reason for that. In December, I took a break from work to stay at home and look after my brother, Karan, as my mother was forced to go went on a holiday to India. This meant fewer places for me to go out and eat at, and less time to blog anyway.

Then, I left for India on January 2, 2012, for a week to attend a wedding. And what a gorgeous wedding it was. That's the bride and groom at the altar :)

Two or three days after I returned, the newlyweds and family came to Dubai for the weekend (the groom's family was based here) and I spent the entire time with them. More photographs followed; I still have to edit those!

I also have been working on another project, which took up most of my nights. Details on that to be posted soon, once it's ready to go live.

And then there is the reason for these photographs, which also took up some time. After seeing my photographs for BakeFestDxb 3, I was contacted by one of the bakers there, Layal, asking if I would take photographs of her creations.

I demurred at first; I'm not a professional. She didn't care; said she loved what I'd done then and would I take more? Food and photos...put them together and I'm game.

These are just a few of nearly 200 photographs I took over three days, of her work.

To check more of them out, see her Facebook page, Loul's Sweet Treats, and let me know what you think.

(Disclaimer: Just to point out, I don't classify myself as a food photographer; only a food blogger who likes taking pictures of food. I'm well aware I'm not as talented as some other people out there I know and I think there's something to be said about honesty upfront. Whoever has contacted me for similar things, I point out I'm not a professional and cannot deliver what only professionals can. Also if I think there's no way I can give decent photos across, I decline.)

Regular programming to ensue.

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People often plan what they're going to do for New Year's Eve. Many often tell me about awesome concerts, cool parties and in Dubai, they also tell me about being stuck in traffic (yes on NYE).

I've never done any of these things on the 365th (or 366th) day of any year. Most of them I spend at home with my family. Earlier it used to be because they wanted me to be at home (reason given was that I was too young), and now I stay out of choice.

It was odd - last year I was in London at this time. Know what I chose to do? Both my flatmates were off on holiday...and I sat in my pajamas, switched my heater on and watched a movie and listened to drunk people screaming down my central London street.

This year I wanted to go for a tweetup at Bu Qtair but decided against it at the last minute - it was the thought of being stuck in traffic that dissuaded me.

My Mom decided to make banoffee pie. She was in India in December and was at an uncle's house for dinner, who is quite an awesome cook. He made banoffee pie and gave her the recipe.

She made it on NYE and we ate it quite happily. Hope you enjoy making it and munching it too! Have a FooDee-licious year ahead :)

Mom's NYE Banoffee Pie:

Ingredients

• 1 tin condensed milk
• 8 digestive biscuits
• Softened butter or margarine
• 2 bananas
• Cream (Dream Whip) 1 sachet [Can also use Nestlé Cream or fresh cream sweetened with sugar and whisked]
• Milk (amount according to cream prep)
• Chocolate powder for dusting or sprinkles 

Method

• Take tin of condensed milk and put it in a pressure cooker (make sure you fill enough water in the cooker). Cook it for 15-20 whistles. The milk has now become toffee.
• In a baking tin/serving dish, crumble the digestive biscuits and mix the softened butter into those crumbs and make a base by patting it down tight.
• After the tin is cooled, open up the cooker and take out the toffee.
• Spread this over the biscuit base.
• Cut the bananas and arrange on top of the toffee.
• Make the whipped cream and apply on top.
• Stick this in the refridgerator to cool.
• Once it's cold enough, dust chocolate powder or sprinkles on top. Serve cold.

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Moving on from facts that have no relevance to the food whatsoever (I can only explain it away by the last few days having been dedicated solely to watching Doctor Who)...

We end up in the Al Barsha area near Mall of the Emirates and I find myself inside Harput restaurant.

We decided to order two items and then see if we were still hungry. First up: Tavuk sis/skewered tender chicken cubes.

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And...Beyti Sarma/minced meat kabab roll served with yoghrut and tomato sauce.

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What did I think? For me and for Shruti, the meat won hands down. The chicken was good, don't get me wrong, but personally the meat dish had more juice in it and I was thoroughly enjoying getting down and dirty with it. Dip the tomato sauce-drowning meat and khubz into the deliciously cool yoghurt, swirl it a bit, and then pop it into your mouth and I guarantee the juices will just make your taste buds tickle and heave a sigh of relief.

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With the chicken, I decided to combine everything on the plate. Placed the chicken in the khubz, dolloped some yoghurt, then stuck in the spiced chopped onions, coriander and the radish, rolled it up, and went nom nom om nom.

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With indoor and outdoor seating and no frills interior, you get what you ask for. Good food at extremely reasonable prices, why wouldn't you try this place out?

Allonsy!

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Helpful tips: It's between the Ibis Hotel and Holiday Inn in Al Barsha, so very close to Mall of the Emirates. You generally do get parking in the area and parking tickets are Dhs 2 per hour. If you want to try public transport, it's smack in the middle of the MOE station and the Sharaf DG station, although I'd recommend this walk only in the winter.

Update: Here's a map.

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The outdoor seating of this Italian restaurant (it actually used to serve French cuisine many, many years ago!) overlooks the Creek and diners are treated to the old-world charms of dhows slowly passing on dark, lapping waters with the glittering Burj Khalifa twinkling down at them. The best of old and new Dubai can be found here, and I never realized it before.

After being greeted by Elmar de Beer, Vivaldi restaurant manager, Thorsten Moennich, director of F&B at Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers, and Manish Law, the executive chef, we settled down for an interesting chat about the hotel's F&B, Vivaldi in particular, before branching out to the F&B industry in general. Food blogger I may be, but I certainly had more insight that night into the F&B industry that gives me things to talk about in the first place. There are lots of plans for the restaurants at the hotel, which includes menu changes and an interiors revamp, happening over the next few months. Sounds good!

I was asked whether I would like to get something off the menu...but was given the option of being surprised by Italian chef, Daniele Bolognesi.

My fruit cocktail juice:

...this I sipped on as I dipped fresh bread into three awesome dips kept there for us. 

Amuse bouche: Chiacchiere with Porcini Cream Cheese

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Salad: Endive, orange and gorgonzola fondue

Starter: Eggplant Parmigiana

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First course: Panzerotti Raschera Cheese Trafle Arome

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Second course: Slow Braise Lamb Shank in Borlotti Beans Ragut

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Meat! Extremely tender and easy to cut, the meat flavour blends very well with the beans, providing a good balance between the two. 

Dessert: Babá with mascarpone texture

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I'm a dessert person, after being a meat person. Or maybe I'm a dessert person before meat? Anyhow, the point is, this was what I was waiting for. As I cut into the small yeast cake, I was pleasantly surprised by how melt-in-your-mouth it was. Mixed with the strawberries and mascarpone, I was in a happy place.

After this, Chef Bolognesi came over to our table to say hello, and he was extremely friendly, asking about our thoughts on his superb creations. Needless to say, we told him exactly what we thought!

I like Italian food anyway, so I knew I'd have a good night out. It's surprising - I had never been to this restaurant before, in spite of having lived in Dubai since 1989. Right now, with the excellent weather, people were filling up the tables on the terrace...which is what I'd suggest anyway so as to complement the well thought-out menu with a sparkling view.

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I needed a wingman on this though. Brave food blogger I may be, but I could not think of doing this alone. But then...I remembered...her.

The woman whose love for falafels are so legendary...the woman who has nicknamed herself "Falafil"...the woman who can wax eloquent about the little balls as easily as I can talk about chocolate and cheesecake...I give you: my friend Farah aka Fud aka Falafil. She also threatened me to spell it 'falafil' not 'falafel' or she wouldn't join me on what was really her Holy Grail quest. And she's also my hand model for this post (except for the first image up there...that's me). 

I picked her up and we headed off to Bur Dubai. I'd already gotten takeaway from Hummus Wa Falafel (Fud, I can't change restaurant names!) on Jumeirah Beach Road to get to her, but it had gotten to a tepid state by the time I got to her (Oh Dubai traffic, woe is me). In any case, you get 9 pieces for Dhs 8/- which I thought was pretty good. I had one when it was piping hot and had to admit, it naturally tasted better when hot than cold! Farah wanted more salt in it and thought its consistency could be better, but agreed it wasn't a fair assessment as she got it when not too hot [Location].

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Then our real adventure started. We got parking near the Al Rafa'a Police Station opposite the Ghubaiba bus station, and then started walking.

Like thirsty folk holding a water diviner stick, we trawled the noisy, bustling streets of Bur Dubai, which makes me think of being in an equally bustling street in Bombay. Smells attacked us from every corner. I could smell chicken tikka, fruity juices, the searing meat from a shawarma top and so much more...at the back of my mind, I'm mentally slapping myself for thinking of sticking to a veg item.

The water diviner...uhhh...her phone eventually showed the distance between us and our quest going down. We found a little place called Farisian Cafeteria in the corner, with nothing to say it served falafils. But we asked and we received. This one was Dhs 1/- per little fritter. And then we excitedly bit into them. It wasn't as green (which I think comes from the parsley) as many restaurants do it, but it was a pretty good combination of crispy and soft, and my falafil expert deemed it to have a perfect consistency inside. We found it slightly sour; more so than other places we've tried before, but that's a taste issue more than anything else. We decided this place had pretty good stuff [Location].

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Next stop? Just Falafel. This one was tricky in that we had no idea how to get there from where we were, so we just stuck to the GPS. We got to the area and actually walked past it before looking back and seeing it snugly tucked away in a corner.

An excellent value-for-money offer, we got 9 pieces for Dhs 4/- with its recognizable green and yellow packaging.

When the server realized we were going to sit there, at least for a while to munch on them little chickpea globes, she gave us a kind os spicy minty dip, which we used. My, oh my, did it add a nice spice kick! What Farah called a mature taste, these falafils were really, really good. A nice crunch to it, it tasted good on the inside. I'm guessing the dip added a kind of sub-continental flavour to the food [Location].

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So far...three places' falafils had been tasted.

We headed from here to the very busy Murraqabat Street in Deira. Our first stop was Al Shami Restaurant. Over here, we got 10 pieces of falafils, with a yoghurt-based dip (this wasn't tahina) and salad AND fresh, hot bread.

The bread was served to use fresh by a man carrying it in a bread basket, asking us when we quickly finished what he'd first put down, whether we wanted more. And look...the falafils are heart shaped!

These weren't, for some reason, as hot as the others were that night. But was the taste good? Yes. And it helped that the price included the added extras that I did not expect. The ability to combine all these things into one, very reasonable price point, was appealing. And it helped that the taste was excellent [location].

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Next. Sultan Dubai Falafel Restaurant. I stupidly forgot to write how much we paid for this, but I vaguely remember it being very cheap - we bought just 4 falafils (I want to say Dhs 1/- for 4, but don't quote me on it!). It was extremely hot and crispy as we got it fresh from the fryer. Personally I didn't like having a falafil that was uber-green inside (I meant taste-wise; I have nothing against the colour green!) which is why I preferred some of the others over this. But if you like your parsley and your coriander, then this one might work for you [Location].

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By this point, we're groaning (because we were near stuffed-point) and literally dragging ourselves across the pavements of Deira, as curious onlookers watch me flash the falafils to oblivion. When your stomach is full and you can't take any more...what does a dedicated food blogger do? WHAT, you ask?!

One more, I pant. One more falafil joint, I say. Just one more...come on, let's get more falafils in the food blogger's system. ONE MORE!

It's to Farah's credit, and her love for falafils, that she agreed with me. Just down the road...Aroos Damascus. Again I notice I did not take note of the price, but Farah reckons in her post-falafil haze it might have been Dhs 1/- per piece (again, don't quote us on it). The falafils were good, again with a dip. These were big, round ones, with a hole in the middle like a mini donut.

We're not sure what it was, but we felt a gingery-garlicky taste crop up while biting into it, but other than that, everything else about these falafils was good. Farah deemed this to be on par with the Farisian falafil beauties [Location].

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As we walked back to where we parked my car, groaning...she said: "Devina, my mouth is bruised." What can I say? We were determined to find some cool falafil restaurants that weren't the run-of-the-mill choices for everyone's falafil fix.

So whether you spell it falafil or falafel or any other way I don't know about, there are plenty of places in old Dubai to get your chickpea (and occasional fava bean) fix, apart from the usual and more well-known suspects.

Where do you get your favourite falafils/falafels/whatever from? I'd love to know and try it out if I haven't already!

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After my sugar rush at the last BakeFestDxb, I was fully anticipating the next installment. Last time, I unfortunately left early. But this time, I came prepared. I reached Wild Peeta just before noon, ready for the madness. My plan was this: to stay the entire event so I could space out my sugar intake and not be a sugar-crazed bunny.

Yeah, that so didn't work (for proof, ask @asatiir how I greeted him...I'm so sorry for that long, drawn-out near-banshee wail...I was pleased to see you. Really.).

Once the clock hit 1pm, the event had officially started. And as with last time, I snagged the first Godiva cupcake from Nick. ENVY ME, FOOLS.

The event was interesting in that there were a few bakers who hadn't been there the last two times, which always makes for new culinary discoveries.

Like these macarons for instance. Archana Patwardhan was already there when I arrived. A first-timer at BakeFest, she's also a food blogger. I lost no time in letting her know about the Fooderati Arabia cult food bloggers' group. I tasted her chocolate macarons and jalapeno and sweet corn muffins...and these macarons blew me away. I'm the first to admit I'm no macaron expert, but these were light, easy to bite and when you did sink your teeth into them, they crumbled in your mouth like little fairy bites.

Another find: Melting Moments by Shifana Anver. Savoury muffin with cheese, pepperoni and chives? A very random combination (I think) but it worked. I'm a fan of cheese...would love to perhaps taste some other kind of cheeses in that dish. Very nice idea Shifana!

There was a mish-mash of bites I took from random dishes on a table in front of me (Thank you Farida for saying: "EAT!"):

Sahar Latheef Rahman's blueberry cheesecake was a surprise, mostly because it was very light. Not very cheesy, which perhaps makes it a good choice for someone who doesn't like a very cheesy cheesecake but a cheesecake nonetheless. Blueberries added a nice fruity element to it (I've already tasted Sahar's work in a cake she baked for a birthday party, but a post will be up on that later).

Arva stuffed a chocolate chip cookie in my face, and also said: "EAT!" (I sense a sisterly pattern here) and eat I did. Very nice, Fatma bin Saifan from Vanilla Sukkar!

After reading about the cheesecake bags on Meris' blog (Cheesecakeism), I was curious to try it out. Cheesecake inside pastry wrappers? 

Yeah...this one was interesting. It was served with custard on the side. I wasn't sure if I managed to eat it right...the fork didn't chop it up really well and I was sugar-high enough to not realize I needed a knife too. I hacked away and made it a soggy mess and then ate it.

My post will stay incomplete without blog love for Yasmin Mebar, who is behind Red Panda Bakes. Never any question what I was going to buy from her table: ALFAJORÉS!

Lots of love going out to the Wild Peeta brothers who love participating in community events and lending their venue for things like this...and to Nick.

But essentially, he said BakeFest is an initiative to encourage community bakers, and that anyone who has a love for baking and food should definitely pop by the event. Common misconception is that Nick is the founder of BakeFest but he quickly told me he wasn't. BakeFest apparently began with an argument on Twitter that had something to do with bakers/foodies who wanted more community events catering to them (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?). "Wild Peeta stepped in as they always do, and said 'why don't you do it?'" said Nick. "It was a case of baking your cake and eating it too," he added.

There were 12 bakers at the second event and 8 at the first. This time there were 14. Apart from the number of bakers increasing, the interest has also grown. Having attended all three, I can safely say it gets more crowded every single time. Nick agreed and said the event has definitely grown in volume. "Also, thanks to Wild Peeta for giving us a space for the event," said Nick. He also said while people have been asking for more BakeFests to be held, he thinks it's better for the momentum of the event to keep it spaced apart.

And with that, Nick sashayed back in to get his cupcakes on.

I took well over 150 photographs of people and food, you can find all of them here on my brand new Facebook page (I've had it for months, decided to publish it now!) that will tie all my blogs and photographs together.

Read other write-ups about the event (and if you're not here and you've blogged about it, leave a comment with the link and I'll stick it in):

• Nick Rego at Out in my Head
• Elena Jbara at hayahelwa
• Sona Nambiar at Nomad NRI in Dubai

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