Food: Cafe Blanc

Cafe Blanc a Lebanese themed restaurant that offer a pure taste of the Lebanese cuisine.. There are many Lebanese restaurants in Dubai but most of them are either overpriced or serve low quality food... it is very rare to find a restaurant that will offer you both a good quality meal and a reasonable price...

 

 

Cafe Blanc has many branches in Dubai my most two favorites are the one located in Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall... as they are located far away from the fuss and distraction of the people where can really enjoy your meal in peace and quiet... My review today is regarding the one located in Dubai Marina Mall

 

 

View Dubai Marina Mall in a larger map

 

Appetizer

 

 

 

 

 

For our appetizer we had Homus, Taboola, Fatoosh and Vine leaves... Truely its a pure captivation of all you senses... the tiny dinasour living inside my stomach was very happy and satisfied... I would really like to write a lot to discribe the taste of each appetizer but I cant... because the taste is indiscribable... the only way anyone will understand me is to try it personally... the best thing was the Vine Leaves it is very very rare to find anyone that can serve it in such a taste...

 

Main Course

 

Beside the very delicious appetizer my friend and I ordered two separate main dishes.. Yah well we don’t believe in sharing food... GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE... For me I ordered the Meat Shwarma which was very delicious especially when you dip it in the side Taheenya... it was spetacular... the true taste of a Shwarma... and the bread served along with it made my dish 10/10... The bread is freshly made and served HOT... so my dish got a 10/10...

 

But my friend ordered the Meat Tikka... It wasn’t as good as the shwarma but it was eatable... My friend and I won’t give it more than 7/10... I believe it needed more spices because it was poorly spiced other than that it was cooked perfectly... not too dry nor too juicy

 

 

Total Bill for 3 appetizers a bottle of large water and two main dishes is 249AED EXQUISITE

 

Food: Bentoya

There is nothing in life better than a dish that you keep feeling its taste for the next couple of days after you "GAME OVER" the dish... I will not write too much since I need you to read as quick as possible and head to the restaurant that I personally ADORE... of course I went with my dear friend that shares with me the passion for food...
 

**ADVICE: always eat with someone who shares with you the same interest in food otherwise EAT ALONE its way better than their judgmental stares and comments.

 

 

Bentoya is an authentic Japanese restaurant in Dubai located on Sheikh Zayed Road just beside Axiom cafe. Three words to sum up this restaurant SIMPLE AUTHENTIC GENUINE...

 

View Larger Map

Bentoya is not one of the fancy Japanese restaurants that you will visit but it is by all means equal to the food that you will eat at Zuma, Nobu and Okku yet way affordable... I grabbed your attention didn't I... Well proceeds reading I'm sure I will persuade you to head to Bentoya...
 

 

 

As you can see my friend and I had to dine in the car since we had to head to the cinema to be on time for the movie but we could not watch a movie with an empty stomach.. Anyhow I know you are not interested in my life story... So here we go..

Appetizer

Top left: Ebi Tempura, a deep fried buttered shrimps

Middle: Wafu Salad, Crabstick, Vegetables, seaweed and dressing

Top right: Gyouza, a Japanese chicken dumplings

 

Main Course

Down left: California Maki reverse, Crabstick, avocado, cucumber, tobiko and mayonnaise

Down Right: Crunchy Shrimp Roll, Shrimp with lettuce and mayonnaise

 

I will sum my review on all the dishes above by this statement ... If you are a fan Sushi and Sashimi and haven’t tried Bentoya then you are insane.. If you believe Sumo Sushi is the best Sushi then you have no idea what an authentic Japanese food tastes like ... If you trust my review you better grab a partner and head there .. The food is phenomenal.. It’s like visiting Japan but with much less costs... from the appetizer to the main course everything tasted like out of this world ... I’m a big fan of Tempura and Gyouza and by far this was the best I had since a long time .. And I recommend the Wafu salad also known as crab salad it is a "SLICE OF LIFE IN DUBAI" ..

 

Total Bill was 172 Dirhams.. Can you believe that!!! If you want a taste of Zuma, Nobu and Okku I would totally recommend you to visit Bentoya .. TIP: the seating outside the restaurant will give you a beautiful glimpse of Burj Khalifa...

Food: P.F Changs

P.F Changs is a chinese restaurant that have many branches all over the UAE. It gained its exceptional reputation from the selling of the Dynamite shrimps..

 

The branch I favor the most is the one located in Dubai Mall ... Although it has a lot of customers all the time but they always manage to prepare something delicious ..

 

View Larger Map

 

Appetizer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crispy beans and the famous Dynamite Shrimp .. Should I even give you my review regarding those two dishes !!!.. I dont think so since they are the most famous dishes ordered by everyone who set a foot in P.F Changs.. But if you never visited then I totally recommed both dishes for you.. dilcious.. Crispy and entertaining.. you can never get enough of it once you start eating it...

Main Course

 

 

 

If you are a fan of meat then there is nothing you should do except go and eat the Mangolian Beef.. the taste.. the texture.. the smell of it.. everything about this dish takes you to a new world.. the meat is cut into very thin slices and dipped into a sweet taste sauce that tingles in your mouth... it comes with a side rice... I recommed the brown rice to go along with the taste of the beef... But if you are a shrimp lover.. and you feel that there is nothing like the dynamite shrimp.. well here is my turn to prove you wrong... you should try the Honey Shrimp... honey and shrimp you feel the mixture isnt encouraging you.. well the mixture havent encourged me either ... but life is all about risks.. so I risked it.. I ordered it .. I ate it.. and I LOVED IT... the soft shrimps with the really sweet honey is something really exceptional.. was it worth the risk? TOTALL..

 

 

Total Bill for the above dishes with a &-up and a Pepsi was about 230AED

 

Food: Shayan

Shayan one of the most prestigious Iranian resturants that I have visited and one of my top 5 best Iranian resturant. The quality of the food, the atmosphere and the service... There is nothing wrong about the spetacular resturant..

 

 

Shayan is located within the newly opened hotel  Rayhan by Rotana just beside Al Ghurair center.. its in the 3rd floor just after the reciption

 

 

View Larger Map

 

 

 

Appetizer

 For our appetizer we didn't have to order anything as the restaurant offer complementary vegetables, feta cheese and fresh walnuts... in addition to a fresh out of the oven bread that is served to you very hot.. however, to enjoy our main course we ordered a side green salad and a yogurt dish mixed cucumber... usually no one will give you a review on those two dishes as you expect them to have the usual taste.. BUT NO... the green salad had a very very weird taste.. is it a good taste.. well its beyond good.. its magical... Until today I have no idea what is the dressing used for it.. what made the salad more exceptional is that the vegetables were cut into really small pieces.. that's said.. you should have figured out by now that the yogurt didn't not taste like any other yogurt mixed with cucumber.. even the yogurt was mixed some spices that I couldn't figure out what !!! ... the taste was phenomenal

 

Main Course

 

do I even have to review the main course.. I dont think so .. I think all you need to know is the name.. My friend and I ordered the Chilaw Kabab.. Rice with meat...  I know you went up and looked at the picture... yah you think the portion is small... well you are probably right... but as I said its one of the most fancy Iranian restaurants.. and fancy means small portions but believe me when I say this .. Its worth it... and by the end of the meal you will feel FULL... ok ok ok .. you want a review read this word slowly... the food was Spectacular

 

 

Total Bill  was approximatly 300AED EXQUISITE PRICE ... nothing more to say.. grab a friend and head to Shayan

 

Food: Zuma

Zuma is a fancy japanese resturant... one of the most expensive restaurents available in Duabi.. Zuma has been known for it very delicious and quality of food.

Zuma is located in Dubai International Financial Center on Sheikh Zayed Road with a special valet and parking lot entrance

View Larger Map

 

Appetizer & Main Course

 

 

we ordered the appetizers and main course all at once.. our order was asparagus with wafu sauce and sesame, Brokely fried, Tumpura, 3 kinds of sushi 5 cuts each, rice with vegetables.. there is nothing that i can say about the food except three words Delicious, Expensive, Not enough... yes the quality of the food is amazing but the quantity of the food is just too little and too expensive.. we were 6 girls in the restaurant and we ordered just a little amount of food.. and when we saw the food on our table we were kind of shocked.. there was exactly 9 tiny chopped asparagus in front of us.. we started laughing on the view that dish costed us about 50 dirhams.. yes it tasted heavenly but its not out of gold!!... the sushi was spectacular the taste will blow your mind.. but guess what its not something unique.. take this from a person who eats a lot and have eaten in every place available.. you can get the same quality of food for 4 times less at bentoya's.. especially the sushi's.. the other dishes tasted good.. but the taste and the quality it all vanished when i was the bill.. it is truly an overrated restaurant..

 

one more thing i liked about the restaurants is its very comfy and quiet atmosphere.. and the place is very fancy and suits business meetings or dinner dates.. but still I'm against very expensive food... !!!

 

 

 

 

Total Amount was 985AED ... Very very expensive !!!

 



Food: Salamlek Café

What is Life? A question that I always had on my mind!! ..Facts are that life is just a word and that our actions and activities are what define it... But again what actions and what activities!! ... Well, for me and as I always say I have a different way in seeing the world and I got me personal opinions and as I respect others perspectives I like people to share me their respect towards my own point of view. Too much philosophy and you are looking for a food review... Going to reach to that point... bear with me my dear readers... what I'm trying to say is that your life is boring as hell if you don’t take risks and if you don’t give yourselves the chance to be adventurous .. Yes being healthy is important but so does tasting a piece of heaven... GOT THE POINT!! ... In short, it’s about giving yourself the chance to go beyond limits just once a week and enjoy the marvelous beauty of life in food ;)...

 

Salamlek Cafe is a small seating are located in Dubai Mall near Glaries Lafayette... My first impression of it when I saw it was that is a typical cafe ... But let me bedazzle you it’s NOT ... Salamlek Cafe offers you a taste of the traditional Kunafeh... Of course I’m a risk taker and nothing can stop me from trying a cheese pastry dessert...

 

 

You feel dizzy just by looking at the picture RIGHT!! .. Well read the following... when I first saw my Kunafeh I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the smell of it... The smell itself flew me to Turkey, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon the original countries where the Kunafeh is considered a traditional dessert ... my first bite of this heavenly Kunafeh was what I call a "Guilty Pleasure”... It was soft from the inside and very very cheesy as you can notice from the picture... Yet the outer layer was a crispy layer covered with shira "melted sugar"... This Kunafeh is a must try ... I have been eating Kunafeh for a long period of my life as it is my way of making ME HAPPY... but this Kunafeh made my day... Here is the catch: if you are not a big fan of too sweet and sugary pastries this dish is not to be for you... “ITS YOU LOSS” ... but if you are a risk taker and you dont mind the extra calories “YOU ARE MY HERO “go for it  ... It’s delicious .. Made just like the Kunafeh you will taste in the original countries that prepare such a delight..

 

 

FYI.. The cafe also offer different kinds of kunafeh .. Fruit Kunafeh .. Honey Kunafeh .. Cream Kunafeh .. And Chocolate Kunafeh ..

 

 

Amount Paid was 86 Dirhams.. My order was two Kunafeh with Cheese, green tea, red tea and a bottle of small water.. Expensive!! Maybe a little since Kunafeh is not supposed to be this expensive!! Worth it?? 100% and full of satisfaction

 

Food: Pars

It is a simple as this "I LOVE RICE"... yes I do and many of you share with me the same passion for rice.. but there is a huge difference between a Japanese rice, an American rice, an Indian rice and an Iranian rice ... TASTE, SMELL and the way it is COOKED ... yup there is no one who can differentiate rice as i do .. Just by smelling the spices used in the process of cooking the rice.. I know i type a lot!! and you want to skip to the essentials .. So what I have for you today is one of my favorite type of rice .. IRANIAN RICE .. UPEEEE .. Just writing about it makes me want to eat it RIGHT NOW!

 

Pars is one of the most famous Iranian restaurants... it offers the unique taste of the true Iranian cuisine..

 

 

 

NO NO NO I haven’t eaten this huge plate by myself.. I know that you think that there is a huge elephant living inside me.. Sorry to disappoint you but I have an Allosaurus "meat eater dinosaur" living in me... the taste was simply exceptional.. There are many Iranian restaurants in Dubai pars is not from my top 3 but it’s for sure one of the top 5 Iranian restaurants that offer absolutely stunning flavors of the Iranian culture..

 

** If you are wondering whether to trust me on this review or not.. Well I guarantee you that i got a huge experience with Iranian food since my brother in law mother is a pure Iranian lady who is also a professional cook.. And almost every 2 weeks I invite myself to her house to eat from her lovely cooking **

 Main Course

The dish we ordered was Pars special plate for 4 which is a mixture of grilled kabab (Kubideh, Lari Mutton, Chicken Kubideh, Joojeh, Lari Chicken) which is served on a bed of 3 different type of rice the barberries, saffron and steamed dills with lima beans rice

 

Everything about this plate is exquisitely well cooked .. The meat and the chicken are cooked to give a juicy taste when chew unlike other restaurants which serves it really dry... the rice and the mixture of kabab are OUT OF THIS WORLD ... I will just recommend you with one thing if you order this at home then dig in with your bare hands ..

 

Of course with every Iranian rice it is very essential that you order yogurt with slices of cucumber and a side Rocco salad or any other side salad depending on your preference.. the resturant does offer a wide veraity of side salads ...
 

Total Bill About 250 dirhams.. This is an approximate price since the bill was paid by my friend and I didn’t have the chance to check it out ... one thing I will tell you about the prices at pars is that you will never find an Iranian restaurant that offer such a quality with large portions for such a price .. It is extremely low compared to others

Food: Pizza Express

My stomach is still in a shock because of yesterday's LONG FOOOD DAY !!

It all started when Mr. Trdib my history of photography teacher decided to give us PROJECT TIME !!! WOHOOOOW finishing at 1'PM instead of 4'PM is hummm AMZING 

So, I decided to call my food mate the one that enjoys eating food with me and together we went on a journey to FOOD LAND ...

Our lunch was at Pizza Express *HEAVEN*

                                                    

Pizza Express is an Italian restaurant that provide a variety of true Italian taste from pizza's to salads to pasta's 

I visited the branch located in Safa Center located on Satwa Road .. here is a capture of the map by Google Map 

View Larger Map

 

So before I go ahead and post my review about the food I ate .. let me just say that you don't have to read this review because the food is in short UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS !!

A picture is worth a thousand words !!!

Yup this picture speaks for itself the food looks tempting and so does the taste. Each dish was just indescribable .. 

Appetizer 

The top picture was Bruschetta Con Funghi .. its a huge mushroom with cream, bechamel sauce and balsamic vinegar.. Now the taste was a mixture of sour and bitter so you are not a fan of such a taste then I don't recommend this appetizer for you .. but if you are a risk taker and into new tastes then GO FOR IT .. 

Main Course 

for the main course on the left we ordered Arabizza Pizza thin crust .. I'm a huge fan of thin crust because that's the only way that you can taste the true toppings of a pizza instead of the bread .. well, not everyone agree's with me but that's my personal opinion ... so back to the description the pizza toppings are chicken, mix of peppers, jalapeno's, and olives .. just as the name says its an ARAB PIZZA .. LOL .. the mixture of flavors are spicy and cheesy ... the chicken on top was well prepared .. it was soft from the inside and tasted kind of like a tandoori chicken ..

The next main dish was Lasagna Classic .. well this was ordered by my friend it tasted like any classic Lasagna but it was poor of salt !! but overall it was excellently prepared .. the beef had a very weird but tasty flavor .. it was a tomato sauce but had some extra flavors .. the cheese on top was not too much nor too little so with every bite you could taste all the parts of a Lasagna ..

 

 

We paid a total bill of 126 Dirhams .. Wohoow the price was very affordable for a large pizza a lasagna 2 Pepsi and a bottle of water .. 

Food: Applebee's

Applebee's is an American\ Mexican restaurant which serves a variety of dishes from vegetarian to non- vegetarian cuisines. 


During my visit to the DIFC branch located on sheikh Zayed road with a special friend of mine, who also enjoys delicious food, we ordered one appetizer and two main dishes. 

This is the location of the branch using Google Map.

View Larger Map

                   



Appetizer

                     

Our appetizer was the famous Chili Cheese Nachos, a mixture of crisp corn tortilla chips covered with spicy chili, queso cheese, sour cream, lettuce and jalapenos. IT LOOKS DELICIOUS !!! Well, that about it. When we saw the appetizer we rushed to taking photos of the delightful plate expecting a pleasant taste. But, once we started eating it all we tasted was the mixture of oil, that we had to order a bottle of water to dilute the disturbing taste of oils. 

NOW for those who are on a diet and look after calories which I would never do  here are some facts about this exquisite looking dish. 

Calories 1680

Fat 107g

Carbs 133g

Protein 48g

Main Course 

By the time the main course have arrived we were expecting the worse although our dishes looked spectacularly delicious. LOOK AT THOSE PICTURES !! YUMMY HUH !!

The Steak Florentine which was my dish. I decided to start eating the mash potato believing it will taste as awful as the oily nachos. Unexpectedly and shockingly the  mashed potato tasted spectacularly yummy. It had a mixture of flavors, it was buttery, yet a bit spicy but still slightly sour. The flavors were balanced that in each bite you can taste the fascinating seasonings. So, the success of the mashed potato led me to rush and eat the steak which was medium cooked as ordered by ME. The first bite took me to  a new world a world of flavors and spices. WHAT !! that is what you are thinking right now !! I KNOW !! but yup the failure oily nachos was soon forgotten when I started eating the steak one bite after the other until my dish was EMPTY. The steak upper layer was well cooked and in the middle the fresh red color can be seen when cutting through. Even the side mushrooms and onions were well cooked and seasoned with multi-balanced flavors. In short this dish was DEFINITIVE. 

WONDERING HUH !!! I KNOW !! .. you are now looking at this picture and saying with whom shall i go to Applebees today !! .. well let me encourage your thoughts .. GOOOO NOOOW .. Guessing WHY ? .. well this dish Seared Ribeye and Garlic Chili Shrimp which was ordered by my dear friend was beyond humm YUMMY .. the steak was well done with a side of mushroom and pepper sauce .. I DARE anyone to tell me that the sauce had any mistakes =) !! it was perfect the steak was perfect .. YUP as everything good in life there is always a BUT !! Unfortunately the shrimps were worst than the oily nachos !! they had no seasoning at all not even the chili can be tasted !! as if the chef didn't care to cook it !! it was beyond the word awful !! ...  At the end the service was fairly good and the atmosphere was comfy 

 

We paid a total amount of 229 dirhams which was fairly an affordable price for 2 order of steak that are 9oz and 12oz, appetizer, cola and a bottle of water !!!