Max's Restaurant launched its new menu, adding more authentic Filipino feast staples to their other world class offerings. I wasn't able to join its official launch, my schedule didn't permit, as always, but our friends from Max's Restaurant had us try it at a later date.

We arrived at the restaurant after around a 5-minute walk from our house and were ushered our table, the same table where we were seated when we first got to dine at Max's. :D After placing our orders, which Mark took charge of, our Filipino food feast began!

Early this year, our dear friend, Kristel, visited Dubai. We haven't seen each other for quite some time so we made sure to allot time to show her around the city. Since our schedule's won't permit, Mark and I only had a day to spend with her. After a sumptuous brunch, we headed to Dubai Garden Glow.

We also haven't visited the place when it opened last December, and because it was just near our place. we decided to give it a go on their first season.

Feels like yesterday when I was drafting a blog post about my first year here in Dubai, and now here I am, working on an entry for my second year! As the cliche goes, time really flies when you're having fun!

Photo taken from HERE.

Being a blogger, I've come to embrace the fact that my voice also counts, so I always make it a point to give honest and unbiased views and opinions. I always get giddy when I receive messages from my readers saying how they somehow get to "taste" what I ate just by the way I write.

But I must admit that, in as much as I'd love to, I still haven't mastered doing regular updates in this blog, and so this is where social media and local business rating apps and websites come in handy. With that I can just post a quick review about my experience and share photos of what I ate or where I went.

But then again, it also gets tedious and most of the time hinders the actual dining experience as I'd usually have to take note of every single detail of the experience. Plus, I'm still not sure how far my little voice gets heard, especially by the restaurant management for when I didn't really have a good experience.

Good thing JustShouts came into the scene. It's where you can shout, listen, review, discover, and connect with the world around you like never before!

For my first food trip in Dubai for 2016, we had it at Liwan Restaurant. Mark took me out on a dinner date to Liwan Restaurant one Friday night, special thanks to the dinner voucher that Al Ghurair Rotana gave him. :p

We've both been to the restaurant and have already experienced their buffet during Iftar, which we both liked by the way, so I was more than excited when Mark brought me back for another dinner buffet.

It has been 2 years since my last hair treatment. It was still back in the Philippines when I had my hair curled. I sported a long curly hair for over a year, after which I cut short before I left for Dubai.

I have a naturally straight hair, which I got from my Mom, so I seldom had to worry about bad hair days. I would also have hair relaxing treatments just once in a while.

I am not sure if it's because of the weather or the usually hot water from the showers, but my hair suddenly became dull and dry. I can no longer sport the wash-and-wear hair so I had to have it ironed almost every single day, which of course made my hair's condition worse.

I had been meaning to try out the keratin hair treatment which is offered in almost all salons here in Dubai, but I just haven't got the time. Good thing I finally got to try it yesterday at Infinity Beauty Salon & Spa, with Ate Cherry and Tita Liz, who have been raving about the salon's keratin treatment.

After having some food and refreshments at the media preview of the Halloween at Wild Wadi, we went to the changing rooms and left our things at the lockers. And then our Wild Wadi adventure began! :D

Wild Wadi offers 30 rides and attractions for all the family. It is themed around the tale of Juha, a known character from the Arabian folklore, and his adventure in an island with rivers and rapids.

JUMEIRAH SCEIRAH

This was what Mark chose to ride first. But before we got to the two tandem slides, we first had to climb the 32-meter tower!

Mark with Jumeirah Sceirah at the far end :D

Climbing up the tower already made my knees wobbly, so I wasn't really up to try the ride. But my fear of heights were somehow eased when I saw this spectacular view of the entire waterpark...

...and got a closer view of the majestic Burj Al Arab.

Burj Al Arab

Mark and I, together with Cherry, were privileged to be part of an exclusive media preview of Halloween in Wild Wadi Waterpark last weekend. We got our watches and wrist bands at the ticketing booth at the entrance the moment we arrived at Wild Wadi.

They say that first love never dies. They also say that love is lovelier the second time around. Wait, what? Where did that come from? Oh sorry! Kindly pardon the hopeless romantic in me. :p

It's just that I can't help but feel all giddy when I got another invite for a dinner cruise on board Radisson Blu, Dubai Deira Creek's Old Lady, the Al Mansour Dhow. I had fun during our first time, so Mark and I felt privileged trying it out the second time and gracing the launch of the newly-renovated Al Mansour Dhow a couple of weekends back.

Just like before, we immediately experience the Arabic hospitality and warmth as we mounted the vessel. We were served with welcome drinks and canapés as we were ushered to our seats.

We've already tried the canapés and pastries of Paul in Al Ghurair, as it is always the venue of the blogger meets during Al Ghurair Centre's events, and we fell in love with Paul since then.

So when I got past my first year mark as an expat here in Dubai last August 24, we decided to celebrate it over a lovely dinner at Paul in Burjuman Centre.

It's already past 10pm but diners are still packed at the al fresco dining section of Paul. If it weren't for the hot weather, I wouldn't mind joining the crowd. We decided to dine inside and it turned out to be a good choice too.

Today marks my 365th day in Dubai. Wait, what?! It's been a year already? Oh how time flies!

People may see me as someone who can do almost anything, most of the time even without someone having to teach me--cook, bake, sing, dance, blog, paint, draw, name it, and for sure I'll excel in all of it. But only the closest to me knows how big of a coward I am when it comes to being all on my own.

Dubai Miracle Garden - February 2015

Mark and I found ourselves in the streets of The Walk, in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) last Friday, as we were invited for a night of hearty and healthy organic food and drinks at TR!BECA Kitchen + Lounge. It's name was coined from New York City's trendy neighborhood, Triangle Below Canal, and takes a great deal of its inspiration from Manhattan.

Located in Ocean View Hotel in Dubai's JBR, it's as if we were not in Dubai the moment we set foot in Tribeca. The funky interior was what we first noticed as the staff welcomed us and ushered us to our table. We were immediately attended to by one of the staff who gladly took our orders.

Choosing what to have was bit of a struggle, the happy kind of it, as the dishes were all inviting. Tribeca's menu, which is a product of chef Giovanni De Ambrosis' passion, offers a variety of organic dishes directly sourced from regional farmers and fair-trade cooperatives. It is a fusion of contemporary American and traditional Mediterranean cuisine with a bit of Italian inspiration.

Mark only comes to Dubai on weekends since he works in Abu Dhabi. And because he eats at their camp's restaurant every single day, I make sure that he gets to enjoy his favorite dishes even just on weekends.

Although I love to cook, there are also times when I seem to be infected with the lazy bug. And at such times, Mark's invitations on having dinner outs are a music to my ears!

Ravi Restaurant would be our usual dinner  destination when we dine out, but since Mark was craving for Filipino food, we opted for Buongiorno Café, which is just one restaurant away from Ravi. :D I was already delighted when Mark told me not to cook for dinner one weekend night, more so when he craved for Filipino food! Yay!

May the choicest blessings of Allah fill your lives with love, peace, joy, good health, success, and prosperity from today and always!

Aside from the traditional Arabic Iftars, restaurants in Dubai also offer non-Arabic Iftar deals to cater to the non-Muslim palates. And with Ramadan ending in a few days from now, I'm sure more families will flock into hotels and restaurants for Iftar. Good thing restaurants came up with Iftar meals for delivery for families to enjoy Iftar at the comfort of their homes.

Exercising Ramadan's spirit of sharing, Max's highlights it's penchant for sharing quality time with family and friends over great food with their "4 Sharing Meals".

Max's 4 Sharing Meals

Celebrating the Ramadan spirit with an innovative and scrumptious spread, you can indulge in Max's 4 Sharing Meal which can be delivered right at your doorstep. Starting from only 149 AED, the meal includes:

• Max's Whole Regular Fried Chicken
• 1 Beef or Seafood dish from their menu
• 4 Soup of the Day
• 4 Plain Rice
• 4 desserts
• 4 Soft drinks

But of course, for families of more than 4, you can always choose to have the same old goodness of any of their dishes from their menu. Max's Dubai was generous enough to let us experience Iftar at home a few weeks back.

Our Iftar at Home courtesy of Max's

And because I'd like to share the meal with the rest of our household, Mark and I opted for their regular menu items. We ordered for almost the same set of dishes that we had when we were invited to review their restaurant, with Sizzling Tofu now instead of the Beef Sisig that we had before.

Kare kare will always be present on our table if it's in the menu. Just like what I said before, Max's version never really appealed to me because of it's bland taste. It was also a downer that no alamang (shrimp paste) was included in the delivery. Mark still loved it though.

Max's Kare Kare

The Sizzling Tofu is basically like the usual pork sisig with tofu as it's base meat instead. The tangy and mildly sweet mayo sauce was perfect with the savory tofu. The bell peppers and onions added texture to the dish. I must say though that it didn't satisfy my cravings, mainly because of the state of the food when it arrived to us, which is a given for all food deliveries. Of course it would've been perfect if it's on a sizzling plate, as how it's usually served in the restaurant.

Max's Sizzling Tofu

Max's Fried Chicken was the star of our Iftar! While the quality of the food was compromised for the Sizzling Tofu, it was otherwise for the chicken. I loved how the chicken maintained it's crunchy skin and juicy and tender meat. It's sarap-to-the-bones goodness never failed to satisfy our palates. I noticed though that the sweet potato fries, which is usually served with the chicken, were also missing.

Max's Fried Chicken

I also made sure to get my favorite Caramel Bars, but unfortunately, this one also didn't quite appeal to my liking. Not sure if it's because the delivery came in a bit late, but the bars seemed a little tough and wasn't as good as the Caramel Bars that I fell in love with back home.

Max's Caramel Bars

Aside from the quality of food being compromised during delivery, there was also a miscommunication between the staff and the management which made our food delivered a bit late than the supposed time. The 4 Sharing Meals are also offered for dine in so I guess it's always best to just have it in the restaurant.

Nevertheless, we all still enjoyed our Iftar that night. Nothing really compares to enjoying a feast with family and friends. And most of the time, it's really not about what food you're having but who you're having it with. :)

Thank you, Max's, for our Iftar meal! :D

For updates about Max's Restaurant, Dubai, you can visit and like them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaxsRestaurantME or follow them on Instagram: @maxschickenuae and Twitter: @MaxsChickenUAE. You can also visit their website: www.maxschicken.com.

MAX'S RESTAURANT, Dubai
Spinneys Bldg, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Road (Trade Centre Road)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
+971 04 325 7797
www.maxschicken.com
Nearest Metro Station: Burjuman (Red Line)

Our meal was complimentary, but as always, this post is sincerely written and all views and opinions are my own.

     sweetnothings.kriskamarie
       @kriskamarie   @kriskamarie

SPONSORED POST

As the holy month of Ramadan is a time of sharing, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek has yet again came up with another offer which will surely allow guests to enjoy all the comfort a Royalty deserves.

Photo by: Alex Jeffries | Instagram: @alexjamesjeffries

A couple of weeks back, I got to indulge into another lavish Iftar buffet, this time at Liwan restaurant in Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana. I was actually invited to the Iftar night for bloggers and media, but it's a weekday and my schedule didn't permit. Good thing Ferry was able to arrange a night for Mark, Cherry, and I on the following weekend.

A few weeks back, Wafi Mall created a day of rich experiences and festivities and invited a selected coterie of guests to sample the new menu at one of Dubai's best Indian restaurants, Asha’s in Pyramids Wafi.

Mark and I were privileged to grace the menu sampling. Warmth and elagence radiated from the red-brown-and-orange interiors as we walked into the restaurant. I love how the dim yellow lights also added a romantic vibe.

Along with a not-to-be-missed Iftar promotion at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, they have also created a special campaign for social media.

A few stuffed toy camels took a break from roaming the desert to join the sharing spirit of Ramadan. I received mine a couple of days back and named her Cammie. :)

As part of the hotel’s 40th anniversary celebration, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek invites guests to enjoy the vast buffet for Iftar. Mark and I have already tried their Friday Brunch and we enjoyed it, so we obliged when we got another invite for their Royal Iftar on the second night of Ramadan.

We already had our Friday Brunch at The Fish Market and Shabestan (will share more details on my next post), so we chose to have our Iftar at Minato this time. Minato is one of Radisson Blu's restaurant which takes pride of their unsurpassed hospitality and their authentic Japanese cuisine including hand-crafted sushi and teppanyaki.