Tag Archives: Out & About

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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Antonio Carluccio Book Signing – Carluccio’s Dubai Mall

Posted on October 8, 2012 | 5 Comments

I was recently invited to cookery demonstration and book signing by Antonio Carluccio which was held in Carluccio’s in Dubai Mall.  I’m a fan of Antonio having watched him cook on many a TV show in the UK and here in Dubai and having eaten in his restaurants both in Dubai Mall often whilst watching the fountains with visitors or in the Marina Mall where I need no other excuse than a visit for a good cup of coffee and breakfast.

Affectionately known as ‘The Mushroom Man’ for his love of mushrooms, Antonio was in Dubai to launch his new Book – A Recipe for Life which is a memoir and also contains a recipe at the end of each chapter.

The cooking demo started off with Antonio cooking up a simple treat of stuffed hard boiled eggs.  The eggs were stuffed with a combination of egg yolk, freshly made mayonnaise, tuna, capers and anchovies.  Presented simply they were a tasty treat which were quite easy to make but tasted great.    When asked if you could pipe the filling into the eggs (Antonio was simply rolling the filling in his hands) Antonio responded that yes you could but that he preferred a Mof Mof approach – Maxiumum of Fuss, Minimum of Flavour and this certainly comes through in the recipes within the book and his general cooking style.

Having sampled the eggs, which were delicious.  Antonio then went on to make pasta with wild mushrooms.  Again, simplicity seemed to be the key to the dish as well as the use of good quality fresh ingredients and more than a liberal use of butter and garlic.  I’m a not a pasta fan, but the smell coming from the kitchen was amazing and the sample I tried of the mushrooms and the sauce surrounding the pasta was amazing – fresh and garlicky whilst rich with butter and indulgent in the use of the variety of beautiful mushrooms it was great.

At the age of 75 Antonio is a very charismatic chef, he was entertaining and fun when cooking, sharing an anecdote or two (age appropriate for the audience) and always showing his true passion for cooking.  He was really charming, entertaining the audience in a natural way and signing books in a very relaxed and non rushed manner even though I  was told that he had a busy schedule ahead.

I am now the proud owner of a signed copy of A Recipe for Life, after having a quick chat with the ever charming Antonio, and it’s full of amusing stories of how he came from a self taught chef through to the opening of his restaurants, his marriage to his wife Priscilla and finally the writing of his memoirs.  Throughout the book there some great family pictures as well as fourteen of his favourite recipes some of which I’m going to try to cook including : Pears in Vin Santo, Focaccia and Ricotta and lemon tart.  Watch my site for info as I’ll write about them as I cook :-)

Wandering around the shop part of the Caffe you will find plenty of Italian products, gifts, books and food items to take home and enjoy or as inspiration for a some foodie gifts :-)   As well as copies of Carluccio’s books.

Carluccio’s can be found on their Website, Facebook Page and you can follow them on Twitter. or call on Tel: +971 (0) 4 4341320

The book A Recipe for Life is available in Carluccio’s shops and leading bookstores.

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Lunch at Ruths Chris Steakhouse

Posted on September 29, 2012 | 1 Comment

I was recently invited to visit Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse to sample their new lunch menu.   Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse is located at two venues – the Address Hotel in Dubai Marina and The H Hotel (formerly the Monarch) on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Having never dined at Ruth’s Chris before, I accepted the invite and arrived to meet a few other foodies at the restaurant in the H Hotel.  There were a few other diners in the restaurant whilst we were there and as the lunch service is relatively new, I guess it will take a while before word gets out and other diners are there too.

The seating is interesting, there are both smaller and larger tables, and I particularly liked the intimate booths towards the back of the venue which would be ideal for a cozy lunch or dinner for two.  There is also a nice bar area and a superb collection of wine on display around the restaurant.

Being typical foodies, although we each ordered individually we also shared and sampled other peoples selections too :-)

For starters I chose Pink Peppercorn and Sesame Crusted Ahi-Tuna which was served with saffron mayonnaise and a cucumber salad.  The tuna was beautifully fresh and presented well – personally I would have liked more saffron taste to come through on the mayonnaise and we all felt that the dish needed the addition of some sea salt to really set it off.  The cucumber salad, whilst looking beautiful on the plate, was too vinegary for my taste.

A fellow foodie had ordered the stuffed mushrooms which tasted stunning and I’ll definitely order again.  I’m not usually tempted to order stuffed mushrooms from a hotel menu because I make a mean stuffed mushroom myself but I will make an exception to these – they were stuffed with lump crab and covered with romano cheese and were a great explosion of complimentary flavours in my mouth – I loved them.

My main course was Braised Short Ribs which were served with garlic mashed potatoes, bell peppers and onions and a drizzle of gravy.  The meat on the ribs was beautifully tender and melted in the mouth, the rich gravy, peppers and onions went well together and tasted great.  The mash had a very delicate garlic taste to it, personally I would have liked the mash to have more garlic in it to give it that extra kick – but maybe that’s just me and my love of all things garlic and of course, this is a lunchtime menu so maybe big bold garlic flavour is not appropriate :-)

For dessert we were served a selection of different desserts only one of which was from the lunch menu – this was the petite Chocolate Sin Cake which was rich indulgent slice of dark chocolate and espresso – it wasn’t as I expected as it was a rich thick mousse type affair rather than a cake as such.  I’m not a fan of dark chocolate so this wasn’t for me.

I did however love the Cheesecake, which I’m told is a best seller and was rich and indulgent tasting, and also the Apple crumble pie from the main menu – with just a hint of cinnamon and served with a scoop of ice-cream this was comfort food at it’s best. The portions for the Cheesecake and Apple Crumble are huge and at a cost of 52/AED – they are definitely made for sharing or to take home with you when you are defeated :-)

Finishing off my meal with a beautiful skinny cappuccino I was told that the venue at the Address in the Marina is quite different than that in the H Hotel, so of course, I need to take a trip to the Marina and sample the menu all over again :-)

The lunch menu allows you to order courses individually, or to take part in a promotion where any two courses are 99/AED, all 3 courses are 119/AED and with a choice of a glass of wine or beer for an additional 29/AED.

We were slightly surprised to find that there was no steak on the lunchtime menu, although this can be ordered off the main menu.The lunch menu has been recently launched and Ruth’s Chris are now open for lunch service between 12 noon and 4pm at both locations, Sunday – Thursday.

You can find out more about Ruth’s Chris Steak House on their website or on twitter.

 

 

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