Review: Healthy Little Secrets Cafe

Healthy little secrets is a quaint cafe with some very delicious goodies! 

Most of their menu is based on salads or sandwiches. We opted for organic sprouted quinoa salad, pulled chicken sandwich, classic avocado toast. We absolutely loved and devoured the huge salad portion that came with lime and coriander dressing. My guest loved his pulled chicken sandwich as well. Our desserts were khasha cream & carrot cake. While we did not enjoy the khasha as none of us are buckwheat fans, we loved the healthy version of carrot cake and would mind going back for the same.

For a drinks, my guest opted for whey protein shake in almond milk & I opted for pink Pitaya smoothie in regular milk. Both were decent enough in taste. We loved the chocolate chai bubble tea that we had with our desserts.

Overall, HSL is a great cafe option for deliveries & takeaways. The prices are tad higher than usual but considering the fact that they have completely organic ingredients one wouldn’t mind paying additional.

location: Shop G09, Ground Floor, The One by Omniyat, Business Bay, Dubai

Contact: 04 4306820

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Al Seef’s Gem- KP Vibes

Kailash Parbat, a well known vegetarian restaurant brand that has branches across the globe has launched a new concept restaurant known as KP Vibes

Located at Al Seef Dubai, this licensed restaurant offers interesting twist to Indian cuisine.

We tried their famous dishes from menu, pav bhaji fondue, paneer chow chow, paneer tikka pizza, thai green curry, vegetarian chowmein & paneer sizzler. All the dishes are great quantity wise & quality wise. We loved the chowmein noodles & the sizzler too. However the pav bhaji fondue could have been accompanied better with soft pav rather than croutons. The pizza had great flavor but the crust was overcooked and hadn’t risen well. We loved our desserts, the malai kulfi was delicious & jalebi rabri too.

If you are seated at the terrace you can also enjoy drinks from the bar that opens 2pm onward. Absolutely stunning views and you can also choose to be seated indoors where they have live music bands and shows. They do have a good range of non alcoholic drinks as well.

With stunning bar settings, killer drinks & gorgeous views Kp Vibes nails the ambiance quotient. They do have a kids play area as well which is free for diners. The restaurant is family friendly & wheelchair friendly as well. They have a elevator for those who wish to visit the bar area.

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Where?: Kailash Parbat, Al Seef, Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair, Dubai

Contact:04 3492771

Izu Bakery – Dubai Mall

Tucked in the corner of grand Galleries Lafayette, Dubai mall is Izu Bakery.

Chef Izu Ani famous for his restaurant concepts has designed a concise menu for Izu Bakery. They offer all day breakfast, salad & burger options.

We tried the fried egg with avocado for guest, avocado toast with labneh for myself & special tomato & Goat’s cheese salad. For viennoiseries we tried cheese croissant & almond chocolate croissant. To end our meal we had French toast.

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Whatever we ordered sounds so simple, however simplest dishes are the most complex to master. We loved the goats cheese & tomato salad and also the French toast which is the best one I have had till date.

If you haven’t already, do visit this delicious bakery & try out their dishes. Service was spot on & the woodworks decor adds a nice touch.

Where? Galleries Lafayette, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai

Contact: 04 3399933 (10-6pm)

Extravagant Maison Rouge

If you have been to Vegas, live shows and dinner would be a familiar concept for you. However for those who haven’t, you can try this experience out right in the heart of Dubai! Maison Rouge offers a unique and thrilling experience to all. Performances for dance, live singing and magic and weaved into one beautiful story.

Besides the performances we tried some really good food. Flawless is probably the word I would use. Decadence, flavorful and exciting! We tried Georgian Kachapuri which was even better than the traditional version of it. Alongside, we also tried Pesto Burrata salad which was delicious as well. Since it was a dry night for me, I opted for cranberry mocktail which was refreshing and perfect to pair with my appetizers.

For our mains we opted for Chicken Roulade, Black & Truffle pasta. My guest enjoyed his chicken dish and even stated that he has never had a dish as unique as this. My truffle pasta was another hit! A perfect dish for vegetarians. I love truffle and this was the perfect amount in the dish.

For our desserts, we opted for three. Yup, it was my guest who wanted to try all out. We opted for Matcha tiramisu, white chocolate cheesecake & honey cake with berries. All three were delicious and our plates were swiped clean!

Service-wise, our lovely server Agnes was helpful and informative with the suggestions.

Overall, Maison Rouge is highly recommended for those who love to dine in style. This unique fine dining restaurant is one of a kind and great to celebrate special occasions. They have a good selection of drinks both alcoholic & not alcoholic to pair with some delicious dishes. The performances are from 8pm -10pm and 10-12am everyday.

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• Full Bar Available
• Valet Parking Available
• Live Music
• Drinking Age Applicable
• Table booking recommended
• Accepts Zomato Gold

Contact: 04 3528169 for reservations

Address: Mezzanine floor, Conrad hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area, Dubai

Choco-licious Choco Monarch

Lately, many cafes have sprouted around Dubai that offer crepes, ice creams, desserts of various kinds. These type of cafes make perfect hangout those like me who love sweet dishes.

My quest to find some delicious desserts lead me to Choco monarch. Located in Al Ghurair, this store offers chocolate based desserts and shakes. My guests and me tried various dishes. Starting from chocolate fondue to pancakes to lava cake. The best part about their dishes is the generous use of good quality chocolate, both dark & milk. The service is quick and place is always packed with crowd of various ages because everyone loves chocolate!

Choco monarch keeps offering various discounts & also special rates for students. Otherwise too their prices are pretty reasonable. Do check them out and let me know if you liked my suggestion 

Location: 2nd Floor, Al Ghurair Center, Al Rigga, Dubai

Contact: 04 2551183

Thela Brunch At Bar Baar

I am generally not a fan of Indian brunches. To be honest I can only count a few handful of restaurants that do justice to the food. Bar baar was an exception to the same. With more than 65 dishes on offer, some are served on the Thelas ( carts) while some served on order.

The cuisine on offer is Bar Baar’s own take on Indian street food. We loved the different chaats served, the pav bhaji & the practically everything served from the thelas. While the starters offered apart from street food can totally be skipped as they weren’t that flavorful.

Moving to the main courses, there is ample choice for vegetarians and non vegetarians. I opted for desi chowmein whilst my guest opted for butter chicken with cheese naans. My vegetarian chowmein was bang on the buck and reminded me of Mumbai street eateries where desi chinese is a popular choice. My guest loved their butter chicken too!

For desserts they had many options. However we opted only for a selected few namely karak ice cream, baileys lollipop, kulfi falooda and gajar ka halwa cheesecake. We loved the cheesecake and the lollipop. The kulfi falooda was super creamy & delicious! This one is a must try!

Overall, recommending Thela brunch for two major reasons, the delicious food & super reasonable pricing! Service was a bit slow especially during the desserts but it was totally fine as we got more time to enjoy live music & some superb cocktails.

Cost:

AED 99 (Non Alcoholic Beverages)

AED 199 (Regular House Beverages)

AED 250 (Premium Beverages)

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Location: Majestic City Retreat Hotel, Mankhool Road, Mankhool, Dubai

Contact: 04 5269199

Friday Brunch At Nara Pan Asian

I love brunches as they are the best way to unwind on weekend. This week it was Nara that serves Pan asian cuisine.

What attracted me towards this brunch is the fact that every section of the brunch had choices for vegetarians. At this day and age where vegetarianism is a popular lifestyle choice, some brunch spots still disappoint by providing only salads! At Nara, things are different. There are multiple choices for vegetarians and non vegetarians to enjoy.

We started off with some delicious appetizers. Mine was the papaya salad which they absolutely nailed! Also the other dish, dynamite broccoli was so so good! I was only wishing the portion of these was larger..but well we had to move to the next course.

We tried out the unlimited dimsums from which my edamame truffle dimsum was heavenly! My guest opted for chicken ones which he liked as well.

Our next course was the sushi. I tried the veggie ones which were pretty average.

Moving to our mains, I went for the classic green curry with stir fried noodles whilst my guest opted for chicken katsu. My green curry was absolutely perfect! Creamy, slight heat from the red chilies and the fragrance of Thai basil. This green curry quickly climbed to my favorites list!

For the desserts we had a trio platter to share. Exotic fruit skewers (thai mango & dragon fruit), a pot of creme brulee & yuzu ice cream. I would happily skip these for another round of their delicious dimsums.

Our server was super friendly & great at suggestions! Everything from bao buns to dimsums is handmade by a chef of Asian ethnicity.

If you are looking to try out some delicious Asian cuisine, I highly recommend Nara to you.

 

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Brunch prices:

AED 199 (Inclusive of Soft Drinks)

AED 299 (Inclusive of House Beverages)

Reservations recommended.

Contact: 055 8390110

Location: Lake Level, Near Movenpick Hotel, Cluster A, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Dubai

Burgers & Shakes At BlackTap

Black tap is a well known restaurant all the way from NY. Famous for its craft burgers burgers & monstrous milkshakes.

I have been earlier to Black Tap but only for a couple of beers. This time around I was craving their milkshakes and so here I was..

First up, Our appetizers, pan fried Brussels sprouts & oozing mozzarella nuggets that were gone in seconds!

I was glad to see that vegetarians have two options for burgers. One was the felafel burger & the other being the vegan burger. I opted for the latter and glad I did as it was really good! Technically not a patty in the bun as it was rice and beans shaped as a patty and pan fried. It tastes great and surprising it works! Alongside my burger there was a generous portion of sweet potato fries. My guest on the other hand found his chicken burger to be tad dry and he enjoyed my burger more than his.

Honestly, we were stuffed but we had not forgotten what we had come for. We had come with the aim of trying out those famous milkshakes. I opted for sweet & salty while my guest opted for Brooklyn blackout. The former was delicious as it was a concoction of peanut butter and sweet treats while the latter came with a brownie on top. At heart of it, these are some good shakes. Nothing extraordinary taste wise but what sets them apart is the presentation. It’s instagram worthy and a portion good for two! We can’t wait to go back and discover more craft burgers and shakes.

I love the decor, it’s funky and reminds me so much of NYC. We visited to Jbr branch which is famous for parking woes more than anything. Despite the fact that the restaurant is situated in a hotel, valet is not free and neither is hotel parking. There is a charge of AED30 for valet (valid for 8 hours). Service wise, they are pretty quick and very friendly.

Contact +97143999076 for more info.

Location:

1) Rixos Premium Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Dubai

2)Jumeirah Al Naseem, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

Drool-worthy! Mr. Ben’s Cookies Dubai Mall

My biggest weakness is desserts & sweets. I can’t stop thinking about them and trying out new ones every time I celebrate me cheat day. I call it a celebration because why not? My body deserves a day’s break! So one fine cheat Day, I visited Mr. Ben’s cookies at Dubai Mall.

The waft is enough to draw you closer to them. The freshly baked cookies were flying off the shelves. I skipped my lunch for this so I wasn’t going to go with one cookie. I had three.. one bite of their delicious cookies and I forgot what calories are.. I forgot sugar and everything else. Goey, melting chocolate in the center is a sight that makes me weak!

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Suggestions, do try the triple chocolate cookie and the date & chocolate cookie. Both are sweet and heavenly. They were so good I had get a box for home too. Pair it with hot cocoa and you are good to go!

 

Their branch at Dubai Mall has limited seating but if you do get a chance.. get it and consume it at soonest.

Apologies if my images made you drool ❤

Location: Lower Ground Level, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai

Phone: +97143253391

Chilling At Kava & Chai Al Seef Dubai

Kava & Chai is hugely popular in emirate of Sharjah. I have been to their university city branch and it’s a perfect grab and go outlet.

They recently have opened up at Al Seef Dubai. A larger branch, gorgeous views of creek. I can totally vision myself visiting here more in winters. Enjoying a great cuppa along with some snacks. On my recent visit to this branch I was forced to sit inside because it was so humid in the afternoon. However once inside I was enjoying my delicious detox drink called green veggie blend. Kale, green apples and baby spinach have never tasted so good!

My guest loved his signature chai latte, it was strong and perfect accompaniment to his chicken ceasar salad. I tried out the cauliflower & quinoa salad which was a great portion for the price and tasted so good. We also tried out the halloumi sandwich, pistachios and halloumi a match made in heaven!

Coming to desserts, we tried the oreo red velvet cake. The looks of this one are clearly deceiving. It was moist, the gooey chocolate center and perfectly sweet! this dish was a treat. Our second dessert, the carrot cake was again delicious and lovely!

Kava & chai has range of teas to try from. Their staff members are well aware about the infusions offered and they are more than willing to educate guests of the blends on offer. I would have loved to try these but since I am off caffeine, I couldn’t really taste their lovely selection.

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Visit for great views, especially during sunsets and fabulous selection of hot beverages.

contact: 04 3941201

Location: S 26, Al Seef, Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair, Dubai