Choco Monarch is Now in Jumeirah!

Good news for all you crepes and waffles lovers. Choco monarch is now in Jumeirah J3 Mall!

Cozy ambiance, same delicious chocolate creations and more can now be enjoyed! I tried sushi crepe roll, chocolate brownie with ice cream and my guest tried out the the breakfast crepe and chocolate waffles. We paired our dishes with hot chocolate and oreo milkshake.

The crepes are absolutely fantastic! delicate and covered in chocolate. Totally wishing myself to transport there right now because I love chocolate and truly heavenly to watch chocolate dripping on any dishes ❤

address: J3 Mall, Al Manara Area, Al Wasl Road, Umm Suqeim, Dubai

contact: +97145474000

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Desi Pizza From OvenStory

I was at office when I discovered that ovenstory is now in Dubai! I had tried them on my last vacation to India so I knew what to expect from their pizzas! The sauces are packed with flavor and the pizzas are generously topped with cheese 🙂

Ordered a large one because I knew that the moment the pizza waft is in pantry, a few of my lovely colleagues will definitely want some. I tried of the cottage tikka pizza (paneer pizza) very desi and delicious! I am a regular now because their pizzas are just so good! To those who arent use to spicy or power packed flavors the pizzas from here will be intense for those but they are definitely different and worth a try!

find them on

or call the on +97142471133

location: Karama and Business Bay

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

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

Authentic Turkish Cuisine At BABAJI

I never really got why my best friend is obsessed with Turkish cuisine. That was until I tried Babaji!

Located in Citywalk 2, Babaji offers Turkish dishes that are authentic & are made from scratch. My friend has been raving about them as she tried their branch in London. The staff were courteous & helped us suggesting dishes. We settled down for tomato & pomegranate salad, hummus, cheese Burek, four cheese pide, lamb kofta & chicken pide.

To be honest, all our dishes were so good that we enjoyed all. Especially the four cheese pide, it was fresh out of the stone oven and you can even request the chef to show you how its made. The soft breads, light turkish music in backdrop.. everything added to our lunch experience. Those who are new to this cuisine should also try burek that was stuffed with cheese under several layers of flaky pastry.

To end our meal we tried our three desserts! The kunafa, burma kadiyaf baklava & chocolate cake. Of the three my favorite was the baklava because it was Not too sweet but just perfect! My guest on other hand loved the kunafa. We unanimously voted the chocolate dish to be the weaker one in terms of taste.

Our food was presented in gorgeous white plates with blue motifs. The service was spot on right from the restaurant manager to our server Humaira who took care of all our needs.

Babaji is a must visit for those who want to try authentic turkish dishes!

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• Wheelchair Accessible
• Wifi
• Outdoor Seating
• Kid Friendly
• Vegetarian friendly
• Weekend brunches

contact: 04 3854605

Location: City Walk, Al Safa Street, Al Wasl Area, Dubai

Restaurant Review: Moombai & Co.

Moombai & co. Is the latest addition to H Hotel’s array of dining options. Inspired by Bollywood songs & movies, the bar-resto offers indian cuisine with their own twist.

Some dishes in the menu are of Irani-Parsi origin.The decor of this bar restaurant is very kitchsy with movie posters and famous dialogues framed. The lights are dim so photography was an issue here.

We set to order from the menu provided, I opted for paneer achari tikka and Bombay grill sandwich. The paneer dish was good but the grill sandwich was a tad undercooked. It surely wasn’t grilled perfectly but tasted fine. My guest’s Akuri egg cheese toast too came with slight burn on top which indicated that it was overcooked.

Our mains arrived, the paneer kurchan & daal both were delicious! These are simple dishes and familiar tastes. The apricot biryani was good too! We paired our daal dish with cheese & garlic naan that was flaky and oozing with butter( weight watchers, strictly avoid!)

My guests has savory lassi and I had two very interesting cocktails. One was saffron based and the other was Baba Bhudan Martini both were strong and bang on the buck!

Our desserts were a huge disappointment with falooda being too damn icy to the chocolate pudding being undercooked which left a really bad aftertaste. Not only that, the dish took a long while to arrive, even longer than the mains! The same had been highlighted to management post my visit.

The service was a concern for me. Since it was a busy Friday, the restaurant was full and there were only 1-2 servers in the area we were seated in. I am unsure If our server was nervous or wasn’t able to comprehend with the feedback given to him. The manager too was constantly trying to justify the delay and the taste of the dessert stating that that’s exactly how the dish is served.

Overall, Moombai & Co. Is great for casual drinks hangout and I will be definitely back for those. Especially the boozy golas! I really liked the interiors and the way its been designed. The restaurant looks smaller but is quite spacious. They need to work on menu execution though as I feel the dishes can taste much better if the ingredients are treated correctly.

Contact: 04 5018607 for reservations

Location: The H Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area, Dubai

via Daily Prompt: Egg

The Courtyard – Manzil Downtown

Sheesha places have become popular amongst all in Dubai. Sheesha places that serve lovely dinner are much more appreciated. The Courtyard offers a vast menu, however not many for vegetarians. Our order consisted of burrata salad, halloumi salad, felafel, cheese saj & vegetarian pasta. The service is quick and they do offer suggestions. A word of caution though for those with children/ allergic to smoke as this place is not smoke-free. This licensed venue offer also a list of interesting cocktails and drinks. I opted for Zojito, Zaatar mojito which was refreshing and delicious! While my guest opted for berry concoction sans any alcohol and it was refreshing too.

To end our meal we had two delicious desserts, ashta and almond ice cream and sticky date cake. Both superb in their own way!

The restaurant has very dim lights, so much that even the menu reading is a bit of trouble. Otherwise this open restaurant located right in the middle of the hotel is spot on location for sheesha and dinner! The restaurant is generally completely occupied even on weekdays so its best to check if advance reservations can be made.

Location: Manzil Downtown, Ground Floor, Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, The Old Town, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, UAE

Contact: 04 5509331

Breakfast & Brunch At Boulevard Kitchen

A staycation is not complete without good food and Manzil Downtown offers a wide variety of restaurants like boulevard kitchen, via vineto and such. We chose to dine at boulevard kitchen for breakfast and brunch.

Boulevard kitchen served international cuisine ranging from authentic arabic/levant to Italian. I am dividing my review in two for clarity.

Breakfast:

One word: Variety! There is a large variety of dishes on offer from various parts of the world. My favorite from all was the patisserie section that served some delicious and fresh croissant, muffins and cakes. They do offer eggs your way too which can be ordered once seated. My only concern with the buffet was the Asian dishes on offer. The dosa was tad to tough to eat and it was a struggle to have the same and the fried rice were overcooked. I have had better breakfast experiences at other hotels, this one was decent enough in comparison. There is something for everyone. You can choose to sit outdoors which I personally loved as early morning you can enjoy the downtown street views.

Levant Friday Brunch:

Wide variety of food with ranges from Arabic to Italian. I love that fact that they introduced a live pasta counter which was clearly most popular amongst people of all ages. The Arabic counter has a lot of meat based dishes and that was popular too. Our brunch package included cocktails which weren’t too strong but great presentation wise. Major attraction post brunch is the dessert counter that offers continental desserts and also arabic ones such as kunafah, Raha bil ashta, mamoul & many more.

The staff members are very friendly and upon our visit we were guided on the restaurant layout and offerings. Restaurant is great for family brunches.

Address: Manzil Downtown, Ground Floor, Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, The Old Town, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, UAE

Contact: 04 5509334

Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery JBR

Bouchon bakery is a brainchild of famous 7 star Michelin chef Thomas Keller. Post the launch of Bouchon Bistro & The French Laundry, the chef decided to try out bakery options for everyone in form of Bouchon. The bakery quickly blossomed into a full grown establishment.

Bouchon bakery is open from breakfast to dinner. Located at JBR, this bakery offers beautiful views! I visited here for dinner but definitely will be back for breakfast. Here’s all we tried.

Monkey bread: Cinammon-ney goodness and fresh bread that is perfect accompaniment to coffee.

Cream Cheese Danish: I want to wake up to this everyday!!!

Almond croissant: okay, one cream cheese danish and one almond croissant everyday!!

White bean soup: not a fan of this one as I felt the piquillo pepper vinaigrette was a bit too strong.

Quiche Forestier: my guest tried this one. His experienced palate has never tried something like this before. In another words, he loved it! In fact he went back to try it again!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich: I could taste the mature cheddar and the fontina too. The bread was fresh!

Secret sandwich: that’s not on the menu but as they didn’t not have a vegetarian sandwich available. I requested if anything can be done about that and the manager instucted his staff to whip up a special one just for us! It was a version of their roasted mushroom sandwich and as per my suggestion it was served in walnut bread. That bread was super moist, I could taste how fresh it was and also how pairing it with roasted mushrooms made it even better. Both walnuts and mushrooms complimenting textures and earthy flavors.

We moved on to desserts. I was overwhelmed as the there was so much to try. However I opted for some of the best ones I have read about earlier.

Famous TKO- Thomas Keller Oreo, dark chocolate biscuit with white chocolate ganache filling. Classic and better than any oreo any day! This tribute to oreo is a hit!

Macrons: assorted macrons, each flavorful and delicious! My favorite was saffron & coconut ❤

Paris Brest: I don’t know where to to begin with this dessert. It’s more like a dream! Raspberries, pistachio, lightly rose flavored cream and raspberry jam sandwiched between choux pastry.

Chocolate eclair: do I have anything to compare this on? Really not because this is another dreamy pastry I would give up my entire meal for. It’s filled with just perfect amount of cream and chocolate. Topped with 22 carat gold leaf this delight is perfect for Dubai-ites!

OH OH! – I was wondering why it’s named as such but then I tried out the pastry. My expressions were exactly OH OH! Covered in thick chocolate shell is a delicious chocolate swiss roll.

The food is undoubtedly delicious! There is no fussy presentation. It’s simple, the flavors and freshness of ingredients are inviting enough. The manager Mr. Alex was very kind to suggest us few dishes to try. He also informed us that everything in the bakery is made from scratch with the finest ingredients and secret recipes that only few know. Freshness is emphasized here as they bake their breads and other viennoiseries as early as 4am!

At the beginning of the session, our service was a bit slower and we had to repeat orders twice to our server. As the evening progressed, the service gradually improved.

Overall, bouchon Bakery’s dishes are simply delicious! This is one place you must not miss! Perfect for breakfast dates! Their coffee is sourced from Ghana and it’s strong and the fragrance is really inviting! The viennoiseries  are flaky, buttery and simply divine!

Bouchon Bakery validates parking at any spends more than AED75. Valet service is available as well.

Contact : 04 4190772 for reservations.

• Walk ins welcomed
• Wifi not yet added
• Valet Services
• Wheelchair friendly
• Breakfast spots
• Fresh bakery items