Tag Archives: Eating & Sleeping

National Spicy Guacamole Day – Taqado Mexican Kitchen

Posted on November 13, 2012 | 3 Comments

NATIONAL SPICY GUACAMOLE DAY

On Wednesday 14th November, Taqado Mexican Kitchen is giving FREE nachos and spicy guacamole to every guest in celebration of National Spicy Guacamole Day! 

Taqado Mexican Kitchen brings a fast, fresh and friendly taste of Mexico to Dubai with home-made cooking, using market fresh ingredients and colourful flavours, serving locally sourced, made-to-order burritos, tacos, salads, soups and desserts. Located in the Mall of Emirates Food Court, call 04-385 1171

In addition here’s a summary of my last visit to Taqado

The ordering concept is simply made up of four choices :-

  1. Choose you Meal
  2. Choose your Filling
  3. Choose your Toppings
  4. Choose your Side Orders

As I’m trying to reduce the number of carbs I eat (you can spot the flaw in this thinking later in my post!), I decided to go for a Burrito Box.  If you are into carbs then choices include Burritos, Tacos, and Fajitas.  Also on the menu are Mexicali Salad and Soupa De Tortilla.

As a filling I was able to sample a mix of chicken and pulled beef (barbacoa) other fillings include Steak which is cooked on the grill behind the counter or Guacamole made fresh everyday.

For toppings I choose Black Beans and Sour Cream – other choices available include two types of rice, salsa, pinto beans and monterey jack cheese.

For side dishes I had Guacamole and hot Salsa along with a portion of Tortilla chips.

As I was on a tasting trip I also tried chili con carne and Churros for dessert (yup there were a few carbs in this !).

I loved the burrito box which was consisted of juicy chicken and pulled beef and with a generous portion of beans and sour cream it certainly hit the spot.  The Chili Con Carne was delicately spiced with the chili pleasantly warming.  The guacamole and salsa were very fresh and tasty and went well with the Tortilla chips.

And as for dessert – stunning – I loved the Churros served warm and with a dusting of sugar, they were much lighter than I had imagined they would be and as for the Mexican chocolate sauce – it was great – and I have to admit that my finger might have strayed into the container to get every single drop of it out – had I been at home it would have been my tongue :-)

Everything I tried was beautifully fresh and tasty and relatively health as well as being great value too.  Service was great – the staff were knowledgeable about the ingredients and helpful advising people with what to order.   Taqado has only been opened a few weeks, but it was great to see a queue of people ordering from the counter, which is always a good sign.

I will definitely visit again, not only because I loved the food, but also to sample some of the mexican drinks which were sadly sold out (though more are coming soon) but also to taste some Mexican coffee which I’m told will be on sale very soon and as you know I’m a sucker for my coffee :-)

You can find out more about Taqado on Twitter or on Facebook or on their website.

You can read GeordieArmani’s review of Taqado here.

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Barakat Juices

Posted on October 15, 2012 | 5 Comments

If you follow me on twitter, you might remember the Fill A Blue Belly project which I helped out with during Iftar this year at Regent International School.   Barakat, a local Dubai company agreed to help with the event and sponsored the provision of fresh fruit salad and juices for the labourers for two evenings which as you can imagine made the a lot of labourers very happy.

Intrigued by the company, GeordieArmani and I arranged to visit the Barakat factory in Jebel Ali to see what happens and how fresh fruit is transformed into the lovely fresh fruit juices and fruit salads which are on display in supermarkets and also are provided to a large number of restaurants, airlines and events here in Dubai and further afield.

On arrival we were served a chilled glass of fruit juice – watermelon for me and pomegranate for GeordieArmani before we slipped into padded jackets, hairnets and foot covers (most attractive!) and started our tour of the factory.

Starting in the goods in area you get to appreciate the scale of the operation here.  The factory started in 2002 with just fifteen staff and now employs almost 400 staff and operates 24/7 with the production line being in operation 16 hours a day.  All of this to ensure that the freshest juices and fruit is despatched to a supermarket or hotel near to you in the twice daily deliveries.  The first one starting at 4 am so that fresh juice is delivered to the major supermarkets by 6 am.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the goods in area is the smell of fresh oranges – that and the fact that the chilled area process 30 tonnes of oranges a day, makes you appreciate just how much fresh juice the Barakat team produce.

Throughout our tour we saw how different juices are made – from the biggest seller, orange juice  through to some more unusual juices – including carrot juice, watermelon, strawberry, avocado etc.  The vast majority of juices are just juice squeezed directly from the fresh fruit, with only a few of them having extra sugar added to enhance the taste.  The carrot juice tasted fresh and light and I will certainly be adding that to my grocery list.  We were able to sample watermelon and carrot juice straight from the vat you really can’t get any fresher than that.

We also marveled at how skilled the staff are in terms of fruit preparation.  Orange segments were produced effortlessly by one member of staff whilst others were removing the skin from watermelons and melons so efficiently and effortlessly they made it look easy.  Apparently in these areas, they are able to trim the fruit more effectively with less waste than machine trimmed fruit and this is testament to the Barakat on-job training which is provided to them.

Few areas of the factory are fully automated, the majority are labour intensive productions where the staff take a very hands on approach, in the pomegranate section we saw three people dedicated to washing, cutting and tapping out the pomegranate seeds before they are processed into juice, the juice is then hand bottled.

As you walk around the factory, its apparent that Barakat are passionate about what they do and the juices they provide.  If a particularly tasty fruit isn’t in season or available then it can’t be produced and sold – this might seem frustrating as a consumer, but with a maximum shelf life of 3 days and a reputation for consistently fresh tasting juices – the Barakat team have they won’t compromise on quality or the taste of the product.

Eighty percent of Barakat’s juices are sold directly to other businesses and hotels, with the remaining twenty percent making it onto the shelves of our supermarkets.

We ended our tour, with a sampling session of some additional juices and smoothies eg avocado juice, guava juice, strawberry smoothie all of which tasted great.

One of the things I’ve noticed when doing foodie tours is that often the owners and workers of the business take for-granted the things that they do that make them special and separate them from the rest because, it’s “just the way they do things”. The Barakat team are no exception, they are passionate about producing fresh quality juices using great fresh ingredients.  There are no concentrates in this factory, just fresh fruit, juice extracting machines and a whole bunch of people passionate about making sure we have great tasting fresh juice.

Our next visit will be to the Barakat vegetable processing factory to continue to gain a better understanding of the Barakat team, their ethos and production methods and their passion for producing all things fresh.

For more details about Barakat you can find them on their Website, Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.

You can also visit their shop which is located on the in Villa 516, Beach Road, After Jumeirah Beach Park and Near Sun Set Mall.  Tel : 800 Barakat (2272528) for delivery.

You can read GeordieArmani’s review of our trip here.

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UAE Coffee Club visits The Farm

Posted on October 15, 2012 | 2 Comments

UAE Coffee Club visits the Farm

I’m a member of UAE Coffee Club which meets once a fortnight at different locations across Dubai either to learn and be educated about coffee in some shape or form, or to socialise at a different venue often over a late breakfast or brunch and always over a coffee or two.  The venue for the most recent trip was The Farm.

I hadn’t really heard too much about the Farm and have to admit that the website left a lot to the imagination as the information posted is minimal, however, having seen a few photos of the venue, I knew this was somewhere I wanted to visit.

The Farm is located at Al Barari which is on the opposite side of the Emirates Road from Global Village. And although it’s a bit of a drive, in my opinion it’s worth the trip.  When you leave the Emirates Road, it feels like you’ve left Dubai and found a hidden lush oasis.  From the moment you leave the six lane highway you are tempted down a quiet road which is lush and green with local trees and plants and I have to admit to immediately feeling more calm and relaxed, it’s amazing what a lot of lush greenery can do to you when you get used to our mainly sandy views.

Arriving at The Farm, I was immediately drawn to the lovely setting and spent a while before breakfast wandering around the location taking photos of some of the plants, sculptures and water features which surround The Farm Building.  It’s really quite a tranquil haven.  Comprising of a herb garden and grassy lawn area plus a water feature and a large outdoor decked terrace its a great location to relax in.

Inside the building the restaurant is bright and airy with a mixture of tables and sofas all looking quite inviting.  Outside there is a decking area overlooking the pond which had oversize beanbags and some individual hammock swing chairs which looked incredibly inviting, albeit, the temperature was just a little too hot to enjoy them fully – so yes, I’ll need to revisit as I’m sure one of those hammocks had my name on it :-)

The menu comes in the form of an iPad which was easy to use and had some great pictures and descriptions of the meals, a touch which I appreciated and was a fun way to choose what to order.

I had arrived just in time to order from the breakfast menu, so ordered a waffle which was served with chocolate sauce, maple syrup and strawberries in balsamic vinegar.  The waffle was great, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and the maple syrup and chocolate sauce went well, personally I wasn’t so keen on the strawberries in balsamic vinegar as it didn’t sit well with the other rich ingredients, I would have preferred some yogurt.

Other diners on my table were munching their way through cooked breakfasts (sadly no pork licence) or scrambled eggs.  From the empty plates I an only assume that their food was good.  Of particular interest to me was the fruit platter which was presented beautifully and I’ll be sure to think about ordering this on my next visit as it looked great.

Over the course of a few hours I sampled a skinny cappuccino which I wasn’t keen on, for me the coffee just didn’t taste at it’s best and judging from the amount of coffee left on our table I wasn’t the only one who thought that (having said that we are hard critics as we are all avid coffee fans).  I also sampled a mint lemon which was made fresh to order and was tasty, others on the table ordered juices and various cold chilled drinks which were received well.

Around the restaurant there are plenty of mainly items to purchase, some organic products, fruit and vegetables and fresh bread along with a selection of cakes, bottled water and drinks.  There are also some unusual tea and coffee sets.

Overall the menu at The Farm has lots of variety from Breakfast through to dinner and there are plenty of dining options to suit most tastes which includes raw, vegan, vegetarian and diabetes-friendly items.  I only sampled the breakfast menu so will visit again to sample from one of their main menus.

What stood out for me most about The Farm is the location and the sense of tranquility that you get when you visit.  It’s s superb place to while away a few hours for an ‘out of Dubai’ feeling.  It’s also a great place to take visitors and when it’s cooler it will be a great venue to enjoy some outdoor dining in a great setting.

And as for the UAE Coffee Club meeting,  well as always, it was great to meet and catch up to share news and information on the latest coffee gadgets, Barista competitions, upcoming coffee events and coffee finds as always enjoyed over a cup or two of coffee.  Come join us sometime.

You can find out more about The Farm on their website, their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.

UAE Coffee Club  is an on-line community of coffee lovers who meet up every two weeks to visit venues across  serving up some of the best coffee.   You don’t need to be a barista to join; just enjoy discovering new places, meeting interesting people and getting your caffeine fix. If you’re a tea-drinker, we won’t judge :)

You can find out more about UAE Coffee Club on their Facebook Page or follow them on twitter or by using the #CoffeeClubDubai 0r #UAECoffeeClub hashtags on twitter.

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