With only a couple of weeks left before Ramadan, aside from our Muslim brothers getting ready for this holy month, restaurants and hotels alike are also gearing up for their Iftar and Suhoor offerings—ranging from traditional feasts to lavish and extravagant ones.

With Dubai's sprawling selection of culinary destinations, it's really hard to pinpoint which is the best. Some claim that they are, while some say otherwise.

We had a hearty dinner at Bambooda for Mark's birthday last week.  Haven't had Thai food in a while so I was very much excited for this night, too.

When I got an invitation to try this place out, its catchy name made me immediately say yes and I had been wanting to capture a "The Hungry Coach at The Hungry Monkey" photo since then. Hahaha!

Have you ever been to a cafe which instantly made you happy? I have. It's actually during our visit in Seedology at Al Wasl in Dubai.

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.

Hi dear readers! I'm Gia, contributor of Sweet Nothings. :D Together with Jeffrey Perida, photographer, we were sent by Kriska, my sister and the owner of this blog, to cover the food tasting event in 5th Taste Restaurant last Saturday, July 25.

Hi, I'm Gia! :D

5th Taste is a Japanese fusion restaurant in the Philippines which offers modern Japanese dishes with a twist. As avid fans of Japanese dishes, Jeff and I were very excited for the event and can no longer wait to taste the dishes as we were intrigued with the terms “modern” and “twist” which came with the invitation that was sent to us. We were also thinking what the edge of this restaurant could be from all other Japanese restaurants.

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

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.

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.

I was first introduced to Bay Square during the opening of Circle Café. Noticeable there is a stretch of café and restaurants starting to sprout like wild mushrooms, which slowly makes Bay Square another haven of gastronomic adventures in Dubai.

The latest addition to this haven of good eats is Pantry Café’s new branch located in Bay Square at the ground floor of Building 6, which Cherry and I got to try.