#can make a few tasty dishes. mostly sweets lol

[molllus]

Hey folks! So in honour of my asshole gallbladder being evicted post-haste, and based on the fact that I can't consume anything by mouth right now so I'm literally dreaming about food, here's some recipe recommendations.

These are my absolute favourites, and I'm going to order them based on how many spoons they require to make.

(Please note this is not... literal spoons, if you're new here. Go look up the Spoons Theory and thank me later)

Final note - I'm not a very good cook yet. I have OFTEN destroyed meals. So the vast, vast majority of these you can follow the instructions exactly and it will taste like it's supposed to. Practice with cooking definitely makes it easier to understand how to cook well over time, but also I have ADHD and my life is much easier when I can just follow a dang list of instructions.

Here we go!

Low Spoons

Instant Pot Indian Tomato Coconut Soup*

Do you like tomato soup, but wish it had some more flavor? This is it. I dream of this soup sometimes. I would kill a man for this soup. Also, all the ingredients are shelf-stable, which is incredibly convenient, and with the added bonus of being dairy-free. Shout out specifically to @hthrrloooo for this one.

Norwegian Rhubarb And Almond Cake

You want to look fancy as shit at whatever thing you're going to? This is your dish. It's super easy to make and fast - I can make it in under an hour - prep, bake, everything. It also tastes incredible, the almond with the rhubarb balances sweet and tart. Also it makes an amazing breakfast.

Artichoke Tomato And Spinach Flatbread

Again, you look fancy, without having to be fancy. It's pretty fast too, so it makes a great dinner. My mom loves this one, it's like spinach artichoke dip on a pizza.

Southwest Quinoa Power Bowl with Honey Lime Dressing*

This is an excellent example of "power bowls", which is a slightly ridiculous name for grain based bowls with proteins and a dressing. I usually change out the quinoa for rice because I don't like quinoa, and for the "adobo seasoning", you can also use spices like chili powder, paprika (that one is strong though), onion powder, and garlic powder. Or buy a shaker of a southwest spice, honestly. This is a great way to learn how to put together a bowl like this - which is usually grain base + cooked veggies + raw veggies + protein + dressing. I will say to taste the dressing as you make it.

Best Tuna Casserole*

I ate SO MUCH of this in university. It is cheesy. It is crunchy. And it is cheap and fast. It's... probably not the healthiest option but who cares. I usually leave out the peas and mushrooms, but that's because I don't like them very much in casseroles. Also as a note - it won't taste like cream of mushroom, that's mostly a base.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins, my beloved <3. An easy baked good, pretty cheap and fast to make. I also grew up eating a ton of these, so I find them very comforting. You have a friend that needs comfort? Make them these.

Sausage And Potato Roast With Arugula

I bow down to this as the ultimate weeknight meal. It can come together in a half hour, you throw most of the ingredients on a pan, and then add the arugula afterwards. I usually use balsamic on it, because I like pain, but you do you. You also can use regular potatoes and onions, it does not change anything. Sheet pan meals are your friend, folks, and there's a million of them.

Chickpea And Pumpkin Curry*

So cheap! So tasty! So easy! You can absolutely use canned pumpkin instead of actual pumpkin, and you can throw in other things too - chopped carrots or potatoes, cooked chicken, you name it, to make it go farther. Add more salt to this one though. Don't buy canned pumpkin PIE filling by mistake. I will say that's a mistake you only make once.

Medium Spoons

Singapore Noodles With Crispy Tofu*

VERY cheap, which is probably why it's on a website called Good and Cheap lol. I highly recommend that website if you're on a tight budget, it has absolutely saved my butt a few times. Go easy on the sriracha unless you crave the burn though.

Vegan Butter Chicken (with Amazing Tofu)*

This is a recent favourite. I have some issues with dairy (see... the reason I'm typing this lol) and vegan recipes are kind of helpful because they don't have dairy. Also, I like tofu. This is nice and warm and comforting. Also pretty cheap!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice

Ok I know what you're thinking. "Brussel sprouts? Aren't those disgus-" and that is where you stop because I am looking at you with murderous intent. This is the recipe that made brussel sprouts my favourite vegetable, because the trick is ADDING OIL AND FLAVOR. And NOT. BOILING. THEM. EVER. Fry them! Or bake them in the oven! Do not turn them into horrible goop. Anyways. I love this recipe so much, and there was a period when I was making it, like, every two weeks. Fairly cheap, easy, and so so so comforting and tasty. Also alternatively fry some brussel sprouts in a pan with butter - ok ok ok I'll stop.

Challah Bread

My go to, no fail, I-WILL-make-you-love-me bread recipe. Bread can be tricky and intimidating to figure out because there's a fair amount of intuition with it - I'm not great at it yet. But this recipe has enough other things in it that it's pretty fool proof, and oh my god it's so good guys. It's so lovely. It single-handedly won over the extended family of my partner. Also it'll get fucking huge so fair warning, you'll have a LOT.

Pumpkin Chili

The only chili I make. I'm serious. You can follow it exactly and it will be amazing every time. Can you tell I love pumpkin yet? This is rich and smoky and uuughhh I love it. It takes some time (chopping everything and measuring, mostly) but it's so good and makes a ton of food.

Chickpea Casserole with Lemon, Herbs, and Shallots

You want an actually vegetarian casserole? More importantly, you want leftovers for the next 3 weeks? This is your friend. Takes some time to put all of the ingredients together, but man is it worth it for the amount of food it makes, and it's really nice and fresh.

Twice Baked Chicken Pot Pie Potatoes With Crispy Bacon

Do you like chicken pot pie? This is chicken pot pie, but a million times easier and without needing to make pastry (my partner has to make the pastry in our apartment. Mine is like cardboard). It makes a pie filling's worth of sauce, and I usually bake like 5 potatoes at a time and then keep the sauce separate in the fridge and eat it for a week. You can leave some of the things out if you like and it'll still be good - like in university I didn't want to pay for bacon, so I left it out. Or add something else! Sausage! Turnip! Peas! A protein substitute! More cheese! The world is your potato.

High Spoons

Dark Chocolate Chunk Raspberry Crumb Muffins

I made these recently and oh man are they good. They're now one of my showing-off baked goods. High spoons because they actually do take a fair amount of ingredients and prep time, but it is worth it. (I got ONE of these before I got sent to the hospital. I'm still bitter)

Three Layer Pumpkin Brownies

These ones definitely need a fair amount of time to make. Not a lot of skill! Just time, because of all the layers and needing to chill them. They are very decadent and rich. And also it makes a ton. I make them for Thanksgiving most of the time. And again featuring my best friend, pumpkin lol.

London Fog Earl Grey Tea Cake

Ok you want to show off? Look frigging fancy? Have a tea party? This makes you look fancy as shit. It does take some time to put together, and you do need to be careful with measurements and baking time because it's pretty delicate. But it's absolutely gorgeous when it turns out - light and delicately flavored and sweet.

Eggplant Fatteh - Lands and Flavors

OK so. Unfortunately I don't have a link right now, because hospital wifi is ehhhhh. BUT. It's so good. It's definitely high spoons, and I don't make it very often, because you will be stuck in the kitchen for a long time. Absolutely use premade pasta sauce instead of making it on the fly, unless you're some kind of wizard. It is worth it though, it's very tasty and filling and has a lot of flavor. My partner actively bribes me to make this because he likes it so much.

The stars next to them note that the recipes are on the cheaper side, because my blog is titled Post Millennial Weirdo for a reason, babes.

Enjoy, folks! I'm going to go back to planning the tattoo I'm getting after this shit is over <3

[missguomeiyun]

Homecookings [April ed.]

Hi.

Another month has gone by, & so here is the homecooking post of the month. Enjoy!

^ fried chicken :D Need I say much? I don’t think so.

* * * You know deep fried gailan leaves? The only time I’ve eaten it was at Chinese restaurants where the black bean steak is resting on top of a bed of deep fried gailan. It is super crispy with a little of bit of bitterness. Anyway, I have been looking at recipes, blah blahhh... I discovered a Singaporean gailan dish called “YinYang gailan” or “gailan cooked 2 ways”. You can search it up! Concept is simple & it’s not too hard to make either.

I didn’t have gailan at home at the time, so I tried doing the fried portion using “choy sum” instead. Tbh, I don’t know what this vegetable is called in English.. . It looks like above ^

I also didn’t want to deep fry.. . so I tried baking the leaf lol

I lightly oiled it & baked it for a few mins.

It crisp’ed up!

YAY! I ended up using scissors to cut it into shreds.

^ I put some on congee, but what you see here is from another meal; this was a mixture of the same choy sum, both cooked + baked. It’s a diff texture than usual! I liked it :D 

So long story short: you can bake choy sum leaves & you can achieve deep fried crispy effects :P

^ What my congee normally looks like. My mom usually makes plain congee, & we all just season it our own way. For the most part, I just use sea salt +/- furikake. When I’m feeling fancy, I add in a thousand year old duck egg (just for myself).

^ dinner on a random April evening. ..

^ It’s not beef cubes! Take a look again =P it is tofu cubes! Tofu cubes on udon. The reason why the tofu is so dark is bcos I cooked it in Korean soy bean paste + black bean sauce. It was actually really tasty. I topped it with some sesame seeds + a little bit of sesame oil. When all is mixed together, it kind of looks like jjapaguri!

^ I didn’t make this, but it is a frozen product - I just steamed it. It is a pack of 6, purchased from T&T. These are so good; they make excellent appetizers. Best of all, it’s very easy to prep (just steam it!). It is slightly spicy, but my fav part is when you mix in the minced garlic with the clear vermicelli. It is super fragrant & not too salty.

^ kimchi fried ‘quinoa + grains’ with mozza cheese + cucumber cubes // soy sauce onion + tofu // Busan fish cake + rice cake soup. This meal was so satisfying bcos of when I made this.. . Work has been awfully slow, it’s almost painful. I don’t want to shift finish bcos I want/need the money; it’s either sit at work & earn money or sit at home & do nothing lol well, the latter is a lie bcos I hardly ever just sit around at home. But still, you know what I mean? Therefore, this meal after a looooooong day made it taste even better.

^ tomato + cabbage + tofu + chicken soup with thick rice noodles. SO GOOD!

^ dumpling + rice cake soup.. . for when I was really craving something steamy hot & hearty~

^ pasta + steak =D I don’t always cook Asian food (mostly Korean food) haha I do enjoy my pastas & steak. Nothing special about the steak, just a simple salt + pepper-seasoned steak. The pasta sauce was interesting though.. .

Do you guys know what ‘korma sauce’ is? It is an Indian curry dish (the sauce itself has a diff combo of I have a small jar of korma sauce (Pataks brand), & the 1st time I used it about 2 weeks ago, I just used some korma sauce with chicken + veggies. It wasn’t a flavour that I liked. At all. My parents also didn’t find it appetizing. It’s just not a flavour we are used to. Anyway,  there was still a lot in the jar & I didn’t want to throw it out... so I transformed it into another sauce. I combined the korma sauce (it’s sweet with a hint of coconut & slightly spicy) with tomato & added salt, pepper, Italian seasoning & olive oil to make it sort of paste-y. It turned out REALLY good! It had a zesty tone with subtle spiciness!

What did you eat in the month of April?!

[airoasis]

motivation monday: october finish up

Hi, and delighted Monday! Today I am publishing a recap of my October running, primarily for my own records and to distill what went excellent and where I require some work. Total I satisfied my (incredibly simple) goals. If any of this works to you, then Happy Motivation Monday!! If you have some suggestions for any parts of it, do not hesitate to share. Thanks for reading, friends.

Many Interesting Workout:

Of numerous excellent exercises this month, it was tough to select a preferred. Sunday, Oct 14th is it. That early morning I ran a slightly fasted (I had actually eaten well the day previously, simply no breakfast) and spontaneous half marathon all by myself, at a pretty smooth pace (9:38 average). I didn't set out to run that long, but it felt fantastic! Every mile felt much better and much better, and I had some extra time, so ultimately, I just went for it. It's far from my ultimate time goal for 13.1, however considering I did this with no breakfast and no hydration or calories along the method, I'm delighted. It gets me thinking about what is possible when I am effectively sustained. And I had gobs of energy all the time after that! It's insane. Adaptions are happening.Worst Day: I attempted

operating on the extremely first day of Shark Week * this month, and I paid the rate. My other symptoms had been so mellow leading up to "The first day," I thought undoubtedly a 6 -or 7-mile simple day was possible. I had a hard time through 2.5 then walked another 1.5 while talking myself out of a pity party. Ha. It's great. I went house and poured my minimal physical energy into other things and counted my blessings that a difficult run was the worst of my health difficulties. I moved on with my life.Longest Run: Wednesday, Oct 24th: 15 even at Lake Hefner, with Mickey cyclingbeside me. This

was actually my longest run in numerous months, and I was happily surprised by not only a constant speed (9:46 average)but by the reality that I was not truly tired later. Nor was I the least bit sore the next day. Like, in general, it felt similar to an average 8/easy day. Huge thanks and high fives to my buddy for keeping me business!! The miles passed happily, and I got to hear numerous terrific stories about his life. I hope we do that together more frequently! Fastest General Run: Early on Sunday the 21st I shocked myself by running a little over 8 miles at an average speed of 8:47

. For me, that is quite

stylish. I rode endorphins the whole rest of that fine day, which we spent driving Klaus up Path 66 and doing a little hike, just the three of us. Then we had a very special dinner with our Sperrys, and my heart was so complete. (My trick that day was understanding that I only had about an hour to run, so I just crammed as numerous miles in as possible, then rounded it out to 8, ha! )Unique Meals Worth Sharing Since Food is Fuel: I continue to favor my odd"warm breakfast salad "over cold protein smoothies for post-run nutrition. Chilly early mornings simply beg for something relaxing, you know

? It's oats prepared with spinach and zuchinni, topped with two eggs. Bam. Love it.I am also caring huge, crisp apples and roasted peanuts, chicken breast sandwiches for lunch, and veggie-heavy soups and pasta dishes in the evening. Some roasted veggies with sticky rice is excellent the night eventually runs. Yes to gorgeous buffet, always, and salads at home get topped with warm things like roasted acorn squash and blended with kale for substance. I can not appear to eat enough eggs and peanuts the past few weeks. I do not comprehend why. Oh! And crepes. Jessica invited me over for breakfast one day, and together with the most beautiful salad ever, she made us a huge platter of warm, thick, chewy, eggy crepes.

Best and tasty. We went with savory over sweet that day. I am so proud of her and her cooking self-confidence and artistry.Horrible Error I Will Never Ever Make Once Again: Last Monday evening we were out at a costumed event behind anticipated and simply chose to get some late dinner at Taco Bell. Taco Bell, friends, around 9:45 p.m. This is not my life. I ate among those"power bowls "with steak and some tortilla chips with really hot homemade salsa. It was all tasty, however I had let myself get too hungry. I slept alright then early the next early morningattempted to run with my rapid friend Sheila. It was not fun. My meal was not digested yet. I had to cut the miles short and stroll back to my automobile . Dumb dumb LOL! Fresh Running Lesson: Vertical Oscillation

had currently been on my mind when I ran with Mickey that day at Lake Hefner. While bicycling behind me, he observed that with each stride I circled up excessive(think, Tigger the bouncing tiger, or perhaps an elliptical device instead of straight-forward motion ). Mickey offered a number of kind tips, which I attempted. Immediately my posture structured and my next couple of sprints were at my

max speed without any additional effort

. It just clicked. Fantastic! I practiced the toe-roll for numerous days after that and believe it is helping me waste less energy. Thanks, Mickey!Weather Considerations: From heavy rain all month to a surprise twister one day and constant temperature level swings, our fall weather condition has actually kept local runners thinking. I braved the treadmill just a few times, enough to see that my dullness endurance is abysmal, haha. I have some major mind callousing to do, you guys. Anyway, I am so happy to have actually satisfied my October objective with so numerous days that could have gone really differently. And the season modification has actually been awesome to see. I am not at

all grumbling. Oklahoma

has not seen this much color and such high water levels in lots of years, and the early morning skies, my gosh. I love everything. Simply extremely appreciative that a lot of miles were taken pleasure in outdoors, which is my favorite.Little Extras Still Happening? Yes, mostly. All month I did the dynamic warm-ups faithfully, and I stretched a little

after each run, but possibly inadequate. I got 8 infant weight-lifting days and about as lots of yoga sessions, but I might be more disciplined with that. Some core work and deep stretching at nights are probably in order, too. It's simply a matter of finding sustainable habits. Overall Miles: 223.1 These miles were mostly easy effort, long run rate, extremely relaxing, and delighted! My October objective was 220, just 10%up from September. It felt pretty uncomplicated, so I am thrilled

. Well over half of my miles were past this specific tree. I watched it alter colors each week. So beautiful!What's Next? My goals for November are to: keep my energy method up and my discomforts way down so I can delight in a month of both running and holiday festivity eat more mindfully, not like I remain in a panic all the time, ha!run 180 miles( a little step back)including two tough Hansons

workouts weekly lift rather much heavier

and regularly (perhaps every 3 days )yoga yoga I am incredibly curious just how much progress I'll see from strength training and coordination drills. After that, I will be a stone's toss from my "Run the Year"goal of 2,018. Wahoo !! What's brand-new in your fitness and health universe? * Shark Week, for this blog's purposes, will always describe a woman's natural reproductive regular monthly cycle. And"The first day" is the worst day for me

. I seem like you knew that already. However thanks for

following the asterisk.

[desertedinuae]

Okay, so FOOD. That’s what this post is about. Nom nom nom.

In our office we hold a monthly staff gathering where we have lunch in the showroom every last Thursday of the month to celebrate the birthdays for that month (what?). Let me explain haha! We have a tradition that if you’re celebrating your birthday you have to treat the office with either lunch or cake or sweets whatever you fancy (more like whatever you are happy to pay for hihi). Since it is way too much for one person to feed 55-65 people (although only once a year) it has been decided to gather once a month and those whose birthday falls on that month they will all chip in and get lunch for the whole office staff.

So what do we order then?

As part of my job (well more like ‘as the person who LOVES to eat most in the office’) I have always been tasked to place the order for staff gatherings. Although communities in facebook are really helpful with wonderful ideas on where to order I haven’t found a blog post or article on this – specifically in Abu Dhabi. Hence, my blog post.

So what do we order then? (Come on Marie get to the point!)

Okay, first I would like to note the demographics in the office. We are mostly Filipinos, Indians, a few Europeans (like 3 people) 1 Australian, 2 Egyptians, and some Bangladeshis. It is quite a challenge to ensure that the food to order must cater to all these nationalities and not to mention their religion-specific dietary requirements. It’s quite funny really coz you can tell which nationality is the majority of the birthday celebrator (or celebrant? – I don’t know which one is right actually but who cares you understand hehe).  If it’s Biryani duh it’s from the Indians. If it’s fried chicken and pizza – well it’s from the Filipinos (we like junk food hurray lol). Something like that. but over the years of eating so much we have come to know each others palates and we found ourselves with a few favourites! Please find below a list of our favourite places to order food in Abu Dhabi.

Regards,

Marie

PLACES TO ORDER FOOD FOR OFFICE GATHERINGS IN ABU DHABI

RITAJ

Chicken 65 Biryani from RItaj (this was my plate) I know it does not look so inviting but I actually forgot to take a photo of it before I digged in because I just couldn’t wait to eat this dish it is so DELISH!

CHICKEN 65 Biryani – we prefer this rather than the regular chicken biryani. We order for 60 people so they deliver about 3 massive (and I mean massive) trays of this biryani and one small tray of vegetable biryani (for the vegetarian staff). It is dry to the taste which actually is what we like. It does come with two sauces – one yoghurt (it’s called ‘raita’ in Hindi) and one coconut chutney (I made this name up but that’s exactly how it taste like). The biryani is spicy – I don’t know if they make this non-spicy but that’s no fun then. We kinda like our mouths on fire herherher! The Indians are such naturals with spicy food – I am jealous! The coconut chutney (orange in colour) is a must try. Just slather the chutney over the biryani before putting it in your mouth – oh gosh I am salivating right now! The chicken pieces (the chicken 65 that is) is salty and tasty but in a good naughty way. I don’t care how it’s made or cooked for us it’s heaven! We spend about Dhs 600 for this.

CEASARS CONFECTIONERY

(Image from allrestaurants.eu)

Chicken Quiche – creamy, cheesy, with bits of chicken pieces what else should you be asking for?

Cheese Buns – soft and fluffy with cheese filling ooh so sexy! (cheese filling tastes like Kiri abit sour and salty)

Samosas – Mmmmm our British boss loves this! Not sure what we call that samosa but we normally get the one with potatoes inside served with chutney.

Sliced Cakes – the convenience of not having to cut and allocate cake pieces just makes this the best choice – no fighting on who gets the bigger part or the corner piece with more icing! Their cakes are light, fluffy and not too sweet.

MIXED GRILL

A tray of Beef Kabab, Beef Kofta, Sheesh Tawook and Grilled Chicken Quater pieces plus Khubz (arabic bread) served with garlic sauce and hummus

Sheesh (chicken) Tawouk

Arayesh (beef pastry)

Tabouleh (salad)

We order mostly from Al Fawar in Muroor. A tray of 3kg mixed grill costs about Dhs 120 each and for 60 people we order about 4 sometimes 6 if the treaters are feeling generous. (If the birthday person has a higher budget we order from BESBAS – it’s a Yemeni restaurant and we call the Khalidiya Branch. Their Chicken Madhbi with biryani rice is a must try!)

This tray of mixed grill is so filling – not only the taste but also the aroma! It does fill our showroom with barbecue essence so if your office does not tolerate this scenario skip to the next tip!

Krispy Kreme

One of the less expensive choices for treating our staff of about 60 people – a few dozens of these leave smiles on our faces

Marks and Spencer

Image from M&S UAE website

A favorite of our British boss! It is a British brand after all hehe! Just like how we Filipinos love our Jollibee! Mostly during Christmas, we get to receive sweet treats from M & S courtesy of the boss – sometimes minced pies, sometimes chocolates, and at times some really nice biscuits (Americans call them cookies). I also buy the same (biscuits) for when we have long meetings.

Tip: M&S have a section for reduced price items like half price and the brownies is my personal favourite (note that these items are mostly nearing their expiry date like weeks before) I buy from here sometimes (for my personal consumption) and I just make sure I eat them before the bb date. They taste as good so would recommend to those who want to taste test first.

Subway

Image from Subway UAE

This option is mostly when we want something quick as we have a Subway right around the corner and also they have sandwiches for everybody (veg and non-veg). Their platters can be customised and the sliced pieces are perfect serving size.

WOW Sweets

Image from wowsweetsad twitter

Sometimes you don’t have to look further – step outside your office and check out the surrounding cafes and restaurants you have in your area. First it’s convenient plus if they get to know you and you develop some kind of a relationship ( not the romantic ones I suppose) with them, they can offer you special discounts being neighbours!

Wow sweets is our next door neighbour. Their main products are their chocolates which we adore but is a bit pricey to treat 60 people with! LOL! However, they also have these beautifully arranged mini sandwiches (they have the regular size too – for 7dhs a piece) as seen in above image and they are quite a delight! They are freshly made and the bread is what makes their sandwich taste really good! Some of our favourites would be the tuna, chicken and mayonnaise, turkey, halloumi, and cheese. Am sure the rest will taste just as good! The packaging as well will make you feel so special – trust me on this.

Miss J Cafe

Feeling a lil naughty? Then go for this devil(ish) chocolate cake only if you are craving for something really sweet and rich! If you have problems with being fair to everybody you can ask to pre-cut the cakes before they deliver (or before you collect). Their black forest is also quite nice but the chocolate one is our favourite. Price ranges from Dhs 85-130. For this 1kg chocolate cake we pay Dhs 85/- and it suits about 10 people (on a fair fight, less if someone cheats and grabs a bigger chunk!)

EGG PARATHA

This is an actual photo of my egg paratha

This last recommendation is not really for a party or a staff gathering but more like breakfast/snack for individuals. I just needed to include this on this blog post because we order this on a daily basis! if you are new to the UAE and looking for a cheap but filling breakfast this is what you order! Not only does it taste good – this omelette paratha can help you save money lol! If you eat this between 10-11am then you will be sure your will cut down on your lunch food. hehehhe!

There is no specific restaurant I would recommend for this as it generally taste pretty standard everywhere I guess. So hunt down the nearest cafeteria from your office and order the Anda (Egg/Omelette) Paratha. Now there are different ways they can prepare this – the one we order from knows us all too well by now that when we order there it’s like ordering from Starbucks! =p Our Indian colleagues  and those who are brave enough will prefer theirs with all the vegies and chillies – if you don’t mind onions and green chillies in the morning then order this (they call it special sometimes). Some order just a plain omelette paratha – basically just the egg and the paratha. My preference is the Egg & Cheese paratha. In the cafe we order from I think they use Kiri or some kind of cream cheese that has a sour taste to it. Combined with the slight saltiness of the omelette this has become my breakfast go-to ever since it was discovered! Those on a diet they may also have the wheat version so don’t be afraid to ask – customise that anda paratha! ANDALE ANDALE! 🙂

How about you? Where do you order food from? What are your favourite restaurants or cafes in Abu Dhabi? Feel free to share them below as we are constantly looking out for new food to try! TIA x

  Food for Office Parties in Abu Dhabi Okay, so FOOD. That's what this post is about. Nom nom nom. In our office we hold a monthly staff gathering where we have lunch in the showroom every last Thursday of the month to celebrate the birthdays for that month (what?).

[ebadventures-blog1]

The Melting Pot Beginning

  (Names may be changed to provide anonymity to individuals - The names of all places, businesses, and services remain true to fact)   The move, like any move might, had stressed us to the brink of our limits, so I decided that we needed a date to blow off some steam. It’s important to share mutually new experiences with your spouse on occasion. It becomes an adventure that you share more deeply because it belongs to both more equally - neither being more experienced than the other in the endeavor. When we arrived it seemed that their staff were a little stand-offish about seating. Since I’d never been I didn’t initially understand what they were talking about, and they seemed to expect us to know a few critical pieces of information about their restaurant. They told us that we’d need a reservation to be seated. One of the servers (Taylor) told us that there was open seating in the bar dining area, and one of the hostesses quickly chimed in that we were required to order the full course meal to sit there. We had no idea what this meant…

  We agreed and were seated by Annie who turned out to be our server. I don’t want to spoil it too much for you if you’ve never been, but I’ll tell you a few things are important to know about this restaurant:

1. The menu makes things look like they’ll be expensive individually, but really aren’t. 2. You’re not required (regardless of the hostess’ quips) to order all courses just to sit down. 3. The servers are much more personable and polite than the seating staff. 4. There’s plenty of parking if you’re willing to walk a block to make it work, or there’s valet parking available.

  We chose to go ahead and try the full set of courses thinking it would be pretty expensive. Expensive… Eh, we needed to relax anyways so we ordered a bottle of wine and got to trying to figure out the mildly uninformative menu. It turns out that one set of courses can be shared by two people reasonably and that you can bundle the costs by purchasing the entire set of courses. Sesame avocado salad was our lead dish and was delicious. It had sesame, lemon, avocado, spinach, mixed greens and more that I can’t remember now. The flavors blended to make a great char taste that I’d never experienced before and really enjoyed. I finished mine and my wife’s, lol… The next course was a cheese pot mixture that came with bread, apples, and veggies. Yes, I said apple. I was taken aback by the suggestion of apple and cheese! That being said, it was delicious. Who’da thought?   As we sat there in our booth looking around we felt tickled by it’s structure and design. It had a nice aesthetic, being both rustic and modern. The front view was provided through large garage-like bay doors that did more to add to the shabby chic design than detract. Through them we looked out to the city. It was a quaint view and typical of such cities so I asked Aleksandra (my wife) to come sit next to me on my side of the booth to enjoy it with me. There’s a certain dilemma one has while dining with their ‘other’. Do you sit across from each other and keep a cold distance so that you can look each other in the eye? Or, do you sit next to each other so that you can feel their warmth and touch, but sacrifice their visage? I usually opt for mixing both because I adore getting the best of all experiences. I’m a bit of a natural lush for pleasure in general. That being said, the fireplace was a nice touch for a natural pleasure lover such as myself.

  Sometimes we get a little bored just sitting around so we informed Annie we were going on a walkabout. I sometimes feel a very slight twinge at telling a server we’re going to explore their building because I’ve heard stories that folks sometimes use excuses like these to ‘dine and ditch’ on them. Some places have, in the past only I hope, put the onus of responsibility for this on the server themselves. I certainly hope that this is illegal now. Consider it… The server can’t stop someone from leaving so how could they possibly be held responsible for the leaving??? Anyways, we stood, stretched our legs, and prepared to find what awaited within the depths of this comfortably dim building - we aren’t fans of dining in brightly lit venues so the ambience was perfet. We walked all over and enjoyed the layout. It provides a ‘nooks and cranny’ feel that I look for from larger buildings such as this one. There is both up and downstairs dining, private party areas and common room dining, and it feels comfortable and inviting. While the booths are all partitioned to afford privacy (only beyond the bar which is very open), the upstairs seating felt far more secluded. The building is a nice brick and some of the artwork doesn’t match the general flavor of the business. Overall, we liked the location.

  The main course was a pot of veggie stock that was delicious! The morsels meant for boiling in the stock were mostly bitesize, a little better than subpar, and there was a flight of sauces to go with them. Our only complaint with the sauces was that they were too sweet. Otherwise, it was pleasant and easy eating. Another convenience The Melting Pot could offer is some type of container to take the stock home. Almost all of it was wasted and Annie (our server) mentioned that this is a frequent request. Seems to me like management isn’t listening to customer demand in this case.

  We mentioned to Annie that we’d just moved from Florida and were excited to see what The Pacific Northwest had to offer. She was excited for us and made us a list of places to see. They all sounded pretty great and we didn’t want to forget them so we designated a small pocket sized book in which to write down all of our potential adventure ideas. So here’s how it works: We take notes on potential adventures, we visit the venue, and catalogue our experiences at each destination in the form of a dated blog. What’s really nice about it for us is that we’re active folk so it also serves as a memory journal for each adventure time.

  The Melting Pot isn’t done yet… The total cost wasn’t bad, just eighty some for all courses and a full bottle of wine. The major problem was that we were double-charged for our meal. We called that night and were promised a return call (Friday), no call came; we called Saturday and were promised a return call, no call came; we called Sunday, we were told we’d receive a call Monday, no call came; we called again on Monday and were met by the voice of an indifferent manager who absently and impatiently assured us we’d possibly receive our money back that day, we didn’t. We finally received our refund for the double-charge on Wednesday with not one apology or mention of compensation for the trouble. I personally didn’t expect that. I have a rule for dealing with the business blunders that inevitably come from being an American consumer: be awesome, patient, and just don’t come back if you’re treated poorly. It’s important to remember that those that are the rudest or most apathetic need our kindness and connection the most.

  We will be back at least once. We didn’t eat our desert course, and were given a convenient ticket to come back and enjoy it later. It’s a pretty great convenience and shows that, despite the troubles The Melting Pot has currently given us, that somewhere in the company someone’s listening. Let’s hope they fix the rest of their issues. After going back to redeem our dessert ticket and blow off some steam, we were ready to give it a rating. First, we’re taking off a half a star for the pushiness and demanding demeanor of the hostesses; second, we’re taking off a half-star for the way our double charge was handled; next, we’re taking a half a star for the inability to take home the tasty veggie stock we paid for; finally, we’re left with three and a half stars for the positive portions of the visit.

  About the food in general we’d say that it’s not amazing, but certain parts definitely stand out as tasty. 3.5 stars seems right in this case. We’re looking forward to our next adventure and plan to write about all sorts of experiences. We’ll catch ya next time.