Weekend Dinner out at Texas Roadhouse

I'm been craving for steak for the entire week so I push this to my husband to take a dinner at Texas Roadhouse but this time in Dubai City Center branch.No way that I'll go to  Dubai Mall branch  specially on weekends otherwise before you have your food you might collapse already hahahha..no kidding, the line is like a blockbuster film during weekend.

As a starter, they will serve a a bucket of peanut and a super heaven bun with butter cinnamon spread

I'm so addicted with this bun..outside is like coated with melted sugar and really good specially when still hot and the spread is like cream with butter and cinnamon. And actually every time I passed to Texas Roadhouse I'm buying a 1/2 dozen for take out - just microwave for 20 seconds viola I have a bun breakfast :)

For main course:

Country style Fried Chicken

New York steak with BBQ Ribs with Rice

Side Dishes: French Fries, Sweet corn and house salad with honey mustard dressing

The serving so hugeeeee..we only order two main course but I guess it's good for 3-4 persons.

Since it's weekend and there's a lot of customer the service is quiet slow but the quality of the food doesn't sacrifice.

Chinese New Year Dinner @ Chopsticks

We must admit Chinese had a big influence in Filipino's life - their culture..believes and practices. We normally say "wala naman mawawala kung gagawin..".  And celebrating Chinese New Year is one of their occasion we're also awaiting for - nakiki-chinese ika nga nila. Everything in the name of luck and good fortune for the entire year.

And since I'm ordinary Filipino hubby and I celebrated Chinese New Year in a chinese restaurant named Chopstick - this is my second review for this restaurant.

When we arrived as expected the place is clean and cozy. We were given a shot glass drinks together with menu.

I want to order a whole fish but at that time it's not available. So we ended up with one chicken dish and noodles and a bowl of fried rice.

Seafood Noodles

Crispy Orange Chicken

Fooden Fried Rice

The food is so delicious and we ended so full. The noodles was so great as well as the Chicken Orange - it's crispy and the orange sauce was not that sweet nor sour. and the rice is complemented well with our viand.

Oh and I must mention the Iced tea..one of the best iced tea i had!!!

Our total bill for this is 103.00 Dhs. since I have a entertainer voucher for one main course free.

Petals Restaurant @ Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

After Christmas and New year there is one event we're  still looking forward too - our Wedding Anniversary!!! In our 7th Wedding Anniversary we decided to take a dinner date in Petals Restaurant at Rose Rayhaan.

Rose Rayhaan along Sheikh Zayed Road is very near to Financial Center Metro Station and standing tall at 333 meters. It has been declared by Guinmes World Records as the tallest hotel in the world.

Petals Restaurant is located at the 1st floor of the hotel. The floor size is not that huge but it has romantic ambiance with romantic music - really idea for a date.

Upon arrival we're guided to our reserved seat with a great view of busy and loaded Sheikh Zayed Road.

Monday theme is "Surf and Turf" meaning a combination of seafood and meat.

As a starter, I go straight to the Soup and Salad Station.

Seafood Gumbo Soup

My Salad, Bread and Cheese plate

The Salad Station is beautifully arranged. I'm a Thousand Island fan but unfortunately what they have is not the taste I'm looking. But I'm so happy with their cheese selection.

Hubby filling up his plate for the main course

A glimpse to our main course plate.

My Plate. I had a little bit of everything of I want.

Gnocchi in White Sauce, Buttered Vegetables, Duck Adobo, Kebab, Beef Stroganoff, Mashed Potato, Grilled Fish w/ Dill sauce, Mixed Seafood Casserole and some tortillas

His plate.

His first plate: Roast Lamb with gravy, Bread, Gnocchi in White Sauce and some tortillas

Look I'm already on my dessert but he's still on his second plate..hehehhe

The Dessert Station:

Create your own Ice Cream

My dessert plate

Hubby is not actually a  fan of dessert so it's just me who indulge in this sweetness.

Buffet rate is AED 145.00 per person but we paid AED.198.00 for two because I got a special coupon from facebook.

If you're planning to drop in Petals Restaurant you can refer to the below theme:

Welcoming 2014..Happy New Year!!!

New Year is one of many occassion how I wish we were back home with our loved ones and with our traditional celebration - who wouldn't  miss the noise and smoke from firecrackers..the torotot..the barbeque in your yard..the tambols and kalampagan of batya and palanggana.

Media Noche

It's been 6 years we're celebrating Christmas and New Year away from our home country and for two consecutive years it's only me and hubby. And despite it's only the two of us we still preferred to welcome the year at home with our our traditional foods and practices.

Same as last year New year's day  falls on weekdays where everyone needs to go to work and no enough time to prepare for Media Noche. So ahead of time we did the grocery for items that need even not fresh.

Since I usually reaching home by 8:00pm everyday it's much better for me to prepare some dishes ahead of time but making sure to maintain the taste and quality.

Let me share with you how I prepared our Media Noche- one day ahead I usually do my desserts.

Leche flan

Biko with caramel toppings

And since tomato based pasta sauce are more better when cooked ahead of time I cook it also one day ahead so that what I need to do is just reheat and tossed it with freshly cooked pasta in the day of the event.

I also boiled to tenderness the pata ahead..and put it in the oven 2-3 hours before the event and viola you have a crispy tender Crispy pata. This is a healthy alternative way of cooking for our sinfully delicious Crispy pata..instead of increasing the fat from deep frying you're minimizing the fat which drips from the pata.

And since we just brought the meat for the Bulalo I cooked it at the same night. For approximately 3 hours. Fried fish and Fried Rice should be cooked at the same night as well.

This is how I prepare our Media Noche stress free with limited time.

Anyway, whatever food we have every New Year the important is we're with our loved ones and be thankful for all the graces we received from Almighty God.

Wishing you all a good year ahead!!!

Neal's Yard Remedies: Ethical Organic

Neal's Yard Remedies is a line of beauty  organic product from babies to ageless beauties. Their products are quiet expensive but believe me it's very effective. As a matter of fact this is the second time I have the same product despite the expensive price.

A bag of goodness!!- Hubby's gift

I have a problem on my left side of my face near to the hair line. For some reason I'm having redness and sometimes  itchiness..good thing no rashes at all only redness. I already consulted this with a Dermatologist but the toner and creams he gave doesn't work. I even tried commercial products in the supermarket and drug store but nothing happened as well.

Until one time I saw this lovely store which sells large range of beauty product and when I checked the price..Oh my goodness!! I can't believe it..I badly need to convince my self to grab one hahahaha!! At last at the nth time of my visit I decided to get a moisturizer, a night cream and a facial scrub. I just brought them blindly..

And guess what??!!It works..I didn't regret buying them and this is the second time for my babies.

MOISTURIZER: Soothing Starflower Daily Moisture.

Starflower for Sensitive Skin. Soothe, cool and help strengthen and protect sensitive skin with calming starflower enriched with essential fatty acid-rich ingredients for ultra-comforting nourishment that's free from fragrance and parabens.

NIGHT CREAM: Vitamin E & Avocado Night Cream

I'm using the moisturizer by day along with my Pond's Age defying SPF 15 and it really tones down the redness and itchiness. The only thing I don't like was the smell - since it's organic they don't put any fragrant to their product. But as long as it works for me I don't mind the smell anyway it would fade away hehehhe.

The night cream is super good as well it makes my face well hydrated and when I woke in the morning my face still look fresh even though I only have few hours of sleep.

The SA gave me this tiny container with a sample of Soothing Starflower Daily Essence. It is a serum which you need to put after applying the toner then the moisturizer.

I have used it this morning but not yet quiet impressed. I'll be using it for  few more days and would see if it really helps.

As of the moment, these are my face essentials.

The total bill was AED.400.00 or 4,500.00 in Peso. This is not bad at all for I used my first items for 11 months.

Merlion King: A hint of Singapore in the heart of JLT

We're been planning a Singapore trip for a quiet sometime and for hundred reason it never materialized :( but visiting Jumeirah Late Towers (JLT) you will have a taste of Singapore.

View from Merlion's King

Merlion King is located in Platinum Bldg. adjacent to other eateries with a view of tall buildings and spacious park look a like. The place is not that huge..light, airy and clean with a nice chandelier.

I got to know the place when I saw the deal in Cobone - AED 49.00 for Singaporean Black Pepper Crab (400 grams), Soup and Prawn crackers. Since hubby has been craving for Laksa for a long time I didn't hesitate to take 1 deal..Laksa for him and crab for me :)

When we got into the place there were two tables occupied outside and since it's kinda windy and cold we just decided to seat inside.

We informed the wait staff that we have cobone deal and immediately she asked the cook. I asked the wait staff for the menu and I got overwhelmed with a lot of Singaporean goodness.

The Prawn cracker is perfectly cooked..served from the pan with chilli sauce. And the soup is also very tasty.

The Singapore Black Pepper Crab is so delicious..it's not  big but the meat was nice, soft and fresh. The spiciness is tolerable and you would wish for more rice.

Butterfly Prawn

I didn't enjoy much of the Butterfly Prawn..I was expecting of a little bit bigger and I was thinking of Japanese bread crumbs..oh that was my bad I was mixing Japanese with Singapore..lolz!! When you bite the prawn is kinda hard and chewy but the taste is so perfect.

KangKong

 And since I want some vegetable for our meal I ordered Kangkong Belachan and this is soooo good. I love the crispiness of Kangkong and the perfect spiciness.

Chicken Laksa

And the winner of all...THE CHICKEN LAKSA!!! we super love this one..the mild spiciness and the coconut milk plus the crispiness of bean sprout and fried tofu..it's so yummy!!!

For all of these we paid AED. 139.00 with good food and big serving this is reasonable enough.

You can check the menu thru their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/merlionskingdubai

If you're in the vicinity why not have a taste of Singapore at Merlion's King :)

Late Dinner @ Dome Cafe

This was actually one week late post..and honestly I really feel bad I couldn't find time to make a review for this.

Last week we went out some kinda late for a stroll in Dubai Festival City and it's already in our plan to drop by to Dome Cafe in Burjuman Center for a dinner.

We arrived by 9:00 past and all the seats outside was occupied so we decided to just have a seat inside. By the way, there is a ongoing construction and you need to go out of the mall and walk like 10 mins. to reach Dome.

This is our first time to visit and honestly I'm more impressed in Jumana branch. The place is more bigger but kinda old but still the customer service is a winner.

The in-house bread with butter I didn't bother to touch these coz I'm sure when I finish this one I'm already full. I'm reserving my tummy to more healthy and real food. And there it is the tiny botton I find so useful to all customer - I super love this one!!!

And here it go...

I had Grilled Salmon with dill mayo and vegetable side dish which includes asparagus, broccoli, carrots and baby tomatoes..these lovely veggies are cooked perfectly crispy and sweet. The salmon is cooked perfectly as well it still moist and tender.

Hubby had Grilled Chicken with rice and veggies. He's about to order the chicken green curry but as per the wait staff it's kinda spicy..so he settled with this. As per him, when you put in the sauce it taste like "Chicken Afritafa" hehehehe!!

The overall experience with the real food of Dome cafe is superb..Healthy and yummy!!