Year-end Lunch at Chili's Dubai

After shopping for Mark's birthday gift for me, with the shop-hopping, non-stop walks, and all, we were both ready for some hearty feast. Chili's was where our grumbling tummies led us.
We have a number of Chili's branches in the Philippines, but I can't believe that I haven't tried any of them yet. I've heard that Chili's is known for serving good food in huge servings, which made it a perfect venue for an ever bigger appetite that Mark has. Chili's has always been his go-to place for some cheat meals when he was still Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and he had been raving about Chili's since.

Glad to have finally tried it here in Dubai, in their Deira City Centre (DCC) branch, before 2016 ended. :D

I always see the restaurant packed whenever we pass by it, but it was good that we got there past lunch time, so there weren't much diners and we were able to score a table and couch inside. The ambience was playful and lively, with colorful walls, vibrant tiled tables, and bright lights, plus a bustling music in the background.

While I was having a hard time checking the menu, Mark already knew what to order even before the menu was given to us. :p I was craving for shrimps, but they only serve it in fajita, so I decided to just order something else.

I got the Triple Dipper as I was torn between chicken and burger, and I badly wanted both. So even if it's supposedly an appetizer for sharing by 3-4 people, I totally didn't mind. Haha! :p From seven appetizers you can choose three, so I chose Craft Burger Bites, Mozzarella Fried Cheese, and Boneless Buffalo Wings.

I kinda thought that my plate looked sad. Dull. Dry. But I still gave it a chance. For AED 59, this is actually a steal considering the serving size, but taste-wise, I wasn't quite impressed.

Triple Dipper - AED 59

Though I love how the burger was very filling, the beef was dry which made it taste bland. The mozzarella sticks were okay, but I would have loved if it were served hot. I didn't get that stretchy cheese when I took a bite. The buffalo wings were a bit mediocre, and I was a bit disappointed when it was served with the sauce already in it when I specifically instructed to have the buffalo sauce served separately. I enjoyed the fresh celery sticks and marinara and ranch dips though. :p

Strawberry Margarita - AED 25

I also ordered Strawberry Margarita which just stayed at being an eye candy. It was huge, yes, and I got me really excited. However, it was too acidic that my tummy started to hurt after a few sips. :(

Strawberry Margarita - AED 25

And just when I thought that I already broke the "spell" of how Mark always gets to choose the yummier order, I again failed this time. Mark's order was way better than mine again this time. Two full racks of fall-off-the-bone goodness of baby back beef ribs slowly smoked over pecan wood drenched with Chili's classic BBQ sauce—okay, I concede. :p It was also served with your choice of two sides, so there's really no winning for me here.

Mark's order was so good that my fork mostly ended up on his plate. Haha! :p

Beef Ribs (Two Full Racks) - AED 119

Juicy fall-off-the-bone goodness!

Service was fast, but the staff were kind of inattentive which happened for the second time (first was with the sauce of the buffalo wings, remember?) when we requested for our bill. There was a little mix up and different servers still kept coming to our table asking for our payment when we already handed it to the first one.

My first time at Chili's wasn't how I'd expected it to be. Kind of bitter sweet, but Mark loves their beef ribs plus I still have yet to try their most talked about Molten Chocolate Cake, so I guess we'd still be coming back. :D

CHILI'S