Aside from Filipino food, Filipino-themed gastro-pubs and night clubs have also been one of the most effective coping mechanisms of our fellow Filipino expats here in Dubai. You'll most likely find Filipino clubs, either in Deira or Bur Dubai, bustling with Filipinos (and other expats alike) during weekends.

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.

Dubai has a thriving night life. There are a lot of pubs and lounges here, most of which are in New Dubai. There are also some in Old Dubai (Bur Dubai) but only quite a few can boast about being classy. Estrellas is one of them. Mark and I have opposing opinions, but I totally loved the look and feel of Estrellas!

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!

Mark and I visited Qwerty a few weekends back to try their new menu. They have appointed a new chef, thus the menu revamp. It's our first time here, so we never really got to try their previous offerings, but I've heard a lot of good feedback about this restaurant and we were very much excited to try out their newest offerings.

Filipino cuisine is probably one of the most underrated cuisines in the world. I don't wanna sound biased here but there's really a lot more to Filipino food than being salty, oily, or icky (as others may perceive).

While the dining scene in Dubai is at its height on weekends because of brunches here and there, weekdays don't come far behind. Most of the hotel restaurants offer theme nights on weekdays—which is sort of a mini version of a weekend brunch and is mostly focused on a specific "theme" or cuisine each night.

While there are a lot of brunch choices here in Dubai, only a few caters to the whole family, especially the kids. Some have dedicated kids' play area, yes, but nothing like the one that the Play House Brunch offers.

Winter in Dubai is just around the corner and the brunch season has already started. It's been ages since I last experienced a Friday brunch and I've also never had the chance to catch up with Tonnee, a friend from high school, who's been here in Dubai for almost a year already; so when an invitation for a Friday brunch came my way, I immediately said yes and tagged my friend along.

I had been having this huge craving for dim sum for weeks! I guess the universe heard my pleas when an invitation from Long Yin popped up on my email.

It's World Chocolate Day today! As early as last Monday, our friends from Movenpick Hotel Bur Dubai sent us a sweet surprise in preparation for today.

I have a confession. I used to be part of the bunch of people with wrong perception when it comes Indian food. I always thought that Indian food = spicy-mouth-burning food.

Have you ever dined in a restaurant where you had nothing but praises for every dish that you ordered? Seems impossible, right? I myself had been to a number of restaurants both here in Dubai and back home, but never had a single experience where everything that I got was superb. There will be dishes that will stand out but there will always be a dish or two that won't meet my expectations. But that definitely wasn't the case with our dining experience at Market 24!

Imagine this: all-you-can-eat choice cuts of prime steaks, mouth watering ribs, a selection of Indonesian, Japanese, and Arabic grills, and fresh seafood; all grilled right before your eyes, plus so much more! Too good to be true, eh? Well apparently not!

Behind Dubai's fast-paced advancements are hardworking individuals, that is definitely no doubt. Comprised mostly of expats, who shoved the idea of having to spend time with their family in their homelands just to provide for their needs; they are mostly preoccupied with work allotting only a single day for rest (consider yourself lucky if you get a two-day rest!).

Eat, work, sleep, repeat—same old routine that I'm sure most of us can relate to. But wouldn't it be nice to get to pamper yourself and indulge into a gastronomic feast after a week's worth of hard work? Who wouldn't want that, yeah? That's what Evenings at Gloria Hotel advocates.

The Art of Brunch immediately captivated my heart (and tummy!) when I first got to try it almost a year back. So when our friends from Movenpick Hotel & Apartments Bur Dubai extended another invitation for us to sample their revamped Friday brunch offer, I immediately confirmed as I already knew that I'd be having one helluva gastronomic treat!

It was also very timely that my college friend, Kristel, is in town for a vacation so I didn't have second thoughts when I tagged her along. I was sure that The Art of Brunch would not let me down.

Oh how time flies! Can't believe it's already the last quarter of the year. And to kick off the month, Hofbräuhaus, the popular Oktoberfest venue, is opening its doors to a live German band, hearty food and merrier times.

Although there are already a number of Filipino restaurants here in Dubai, it is very rare for international restaurants, or at least with the ones that I tried, to include Filipino cuisine in the menu. Which is why I was stoked when I knew that the Eatery Restaurant in Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Dubai devoted an entire night to highlight the Filipino cuisine. They have International themed-buffet every night and on Fridays, they have this Filipino themed-buffet which they call Kabayan Fiesta.

I haven't been to a lot of Iftar feasts this year, too bad my schedule didn't permit. I had no choice but to turn down Iftar invitations, but I also made sure not to miss one that has always been close to my heart. And so for our last Iftar this Ramadan, Mark and I got back to where we first experienced an Iftar like no other—a Royal Iftar in no less than Radisson Blu in Deira.

Ramadan is about to end in a little over a week from now. What seemed to have started just a couple of days ago is actually more than halfway through. While I do not observe fasting and abstinence, I make sure to embrace the Ramadan season by joining Iftar invitations. Apart from the feeling of togetherness during Iftar feasts, with generosity being a basic tenet of the month of Ramadan, I enjoy it even more if it's an Iftar for a cause.