Mark and I had such a fun experience during our dhow cruise dinner care of Radisson Blu Hotel in Deira. So when I got another invite from Radisson Blu, I knew that it would be something not worth missing out on.

We were again invited by Radisson Blu Hotel in Dubai Deira Creek a couple of weeks back to try out their Kids Are Kings Family Brunch at the Fish Market, which offers a delectable sea-worthy selection inspired by Fish Markets of Thailand.

Mark was still nursing an injured leg, so I had to walk him through the buffet spread first so he can choose. I was only expecting plates of seafood not until I saw the rest of the spread. The brunch is apparently a collaboration among Radisson Blu's restaurants and Fish Market is just one of the hosts.

I got to stay in Abu Dhabi for a week during my first few months here in the UAE. So I somehow got a glimpse of the city and I was also able to visit the World's Largest Indoor Theme Park, Ferrari World (alright I totally forgot to write about that, so watch out for the details in my next posts :D).

Mark has also been telling me about how Abu Dhabi is the richest among the Seven Emirates, with it's oil resources and all, but I must admit that Dubai has left me totally flabbergasted more the moment I set foot on it than Abu Dhabi has.

Mark and I do not really go out on "romantic" dates. You know, all the dressing up, dinner  by candle light, slow soothing background music, and a romantic setting, it's just not our thing. Although I, I mean the hopeless romantic in me, must admit that from time to time I'd picture ourselves in that setting too. Ehem! Ehem!

It was also only once that I decided to arrange a "romantic" dinner for us via a dinner cruise along Manila Bay when Mark and I were still back home, but it was postponed once until it was finally put to a halt and never materialized because of the bad weather. You can read the story about it here and here. :) And since then, I decided to just let go of the idea and just stick with our usual dates. But I'm still not closing my doors. Hi Mark! Hahaha! :p

So imagine my delight when I got an invite from Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, for a dinner cruise on board their Al Mansour Dhow. And of course, the hopeless romantic in me suddenly awakened and got more excited too!

So there, last Friday, Mark and I finally experienced a dinner cruise that we never got to have back then. Seeing the Al Mansour Dhow as we were nearing the Dubai Creek already got  me all giddy, more so when we mounted the vessel.

Just like in every fast-growing nations, life in Dubai also seems to be fast-paced. Living here for more than half a year now, I observed that most of the people, locals and expats alike, tend to be too preoccupied with work that they almost forget to unwind, spend quality time with their families, and "live life".

And I think it's a great idea for The Westin Dubai to try to get people back to "living life" with its Saturday "Pik-Nik".


The Westin Dubai, Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, announced its new Saturday "Pik-Nik", which launched last Saturday, March 7, 2015. Mark and I were lucky to be part of the launch along with other families. Seeing the place immediately made me feel as if we were transported to a different site, far from the hustle and bustle of the city life.

Although it was hard for me to leave my family behind, I must admit that I also got excited because of the new experiences and adventures that are in store for me here in Dubai---the culture, the people, the places, and of course, the food!

I'm very excited every time Mark asks me out on lunch or dinner here in Dubai as I'm always looking forward to share our dining experiences here in my blog. For me it's already a privilege to get to experience dining in different restaurants here in Dubai through our lunch and dinner dates, but I can't believe that there will be a lot more to it!

Lunch for Two in Suba Hotel's Cinnamon Restaurant

Although I've already had a number of invites for events and restaurant reviews back in the Philippines, it never crossed my mind that I'll be doing that here in Dubai. So imagine how giddy and thrilled I was when I got an invite through email for a hotel restaurant review! I immediately tagged Mark along and confirmed our presence for a lunch at Cinnamon Restaurant in Suba Hotel last Friday, January 2.

Summer time is family time! I know most of you have already been busy planning a lot of summer vacations and activities which your entire family will enjoy. But if planning for a summer fun is getting to be a challenge, why not just indulge into a family feast and bring the folks and the kids to Eastwood Richmonde Hotel's all-day dining restaurant, the Eastwood Café, and have a delectable yet affordable feast that everyone will surely love? :)

I was invited to the launch of Eastwood Café's Weekend Family Buffet yesterday at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel. Along with other guests and food bloggers, Mark and I got to indulge into an extensive buffet spread, with stations strategically placed in the cafe, featuring hot-off-the-grill meats, healthy hot pot, native delicacies, unlimited sweets, and so much more!


Starting this weekend, Saturday, April 6, and for all weekends of April, May, and June of 2013, Eastwood Café pays tribute to the summer sun and brings a scrumptious Weekend Family Buffet packed with dishes to satisfy every family members' cravings all for just Php 880 nett!

Asian Spices Bar and Restaurant, housed inside the Segara Villas and Suites, is where Mark and I had our lunch as we arrived in Subic from Manila.

Mark and I also liked the restaurant's ambience just as how we fell in love with Segara Suites. The restaurant is chic and elegantly designed and decorated in shades of gold, ochre, and earth tones.

Also very evident in the restaurant's interior are the Balinese accents.

Aside from the clean and cozy rooms, Lotus Garden Hotel also boasts of its in-house restaurant and sports bar where guests can enjoy Filipino delicacies while unwinding and relaxing over a variety of drinks.

The Cilantro Restaurant provides guests with a fine dining pleasure while savoring a choice of Filipino dishes. Our accommodation at the Lotus Garden Hotel comes with a breakfast buffet for two per overnight stay. And since we booked the room for 3 days and 2 nights, we got to have breakfast buffet at the Cilantro Restaurant for two days! :D


The buffet opens at six in the morning. Breakfast stubs are claimed at the reception.  On our first breakfast, we arrived a little after nine and so we had to wait a little for seats to be vacated.  On our second breakfast, we came in earlier around 8 am and got the liberty to choose our seats. :D

Aside from the gym and spa, and the resort's relaxing ambience, Valentino Resort and Spa also has their own restaurant.



The rest of the group already had their share of the dining experience at the resort's restaurant over lunch, but Mark and I just had to skip having lunch with them since we brought our own food. :)

Come dinner time, Marwin suggested that we go out since they already had their lunch at Valentino's restaurant.  Unfortunately, aside from a kambingan, there wasn't any restaurant nearby, so we just went back to the resort's restaurant.

While waiting for our food. Galit galit? :p

Mark was on a diet and was prepping up for a competition, so he just ordered their grilled chicken.  Mark and I were both expecting a char-grilled chicken, but the chicken looked like it was fried.  I guess it was grilled using a turbo broiler.  The dish had a generous serving of chicken breast and it also came with a garlic mashed potato and sautéed bean sprouts.  Mark enjoyed his dish and was captured by the taste of the mashed potato that he ordered another serving for take out. :)

Grilled Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potato and Sautéed Bean Sprouts

I was on a meal plan that time and was only allowed to take in vegetables for dinner, plus whey protein, so I just settled for their chopseuy.  Another generous serving, the dish also had some kikiam and pork slices in it which I just had to set aside. :p  I was also very keen in setting aside the sauce because I was actually allowed to have only raw veggies, or steamed/boiled at the least. :p

Chopseuy

I wasn't able to jot down the price but as far as I remember, Mark and I only paid less than Php 500 for our dinner (which included 4 bottled waters).

Our accommodation includes free breakfast, American and Filipino breakfast were the ones I remembered, which also come with a choice of coffee, hot chocolate, or juice.

Mark had coffee while I chose to have the hot chocolate.  I guess it was a bad choice for me.  The hot chocolate was just, uhmm, too sweet. It actually tasted like chocolate syrup (like the ones used in pancakes) placed in hot water.

Hot Chocolate

Everyone who ordered coffee was raving about how good it was, so when one of the servers gladly obliged when Marwin had his cup refilled and asked who else wanted a refill, I immediately asked Mark to get a refill for me. :p

My meal plan doesn't really allow me to have liquids other than water or fresh orange juice, but since I already deviated from my meal plan by having hot chocolate and coffee,  I thought that I might as well indulge in Valentino's Filipino breakfast! :p The Filipino breakfast comes with a choice of tapang taal, daing na bangus, tocino, or longganisa; plus scrambled or sunny-side-up egg and steamed or fried rice.

Filipino Breakfast: Tapang Taal, Fried Rice, and Sunny-Side-Up Egg

Mark and I both chose the tapang taal.  The tapa wasn't like the ones that I got used to but it was just delicious!  It actually looked and tasted like the Filipino version of Beef Steak, or Bistek Tagalog as what we all know of.  Although I was really enjoying the dish, my stomach just didn't want to take in that much food, so I was able to finish only half of my plate.  The other half was devoured by Mark.

Filipino Breakfast: Tapang Taal, Fried Rice, and Scrambled Egg

He must have been very hungry that time that he got another order of the Tapang Taal meal, making him finish a total of 2 and a half meals!

All of us had a good dining experience at Valentino.  Aside from the good food, their customer service is also commendable.  There was this one staff who never failed to greet us each time we were in the restaurant.  Most of them were also very accommodating especially with our (mine and Mark's) requests and numerous questions regarding their menu. :p

With food that are both palate- and budget-friendly partnered with good customer service, I guess I can just forget about the glitches in the resort's accommodation and that middle-aged lady. :p  Over-all, I can say that I enjoyed my stay at Valentino. :)

VALENTINO RESORT AND SPA
Barangay Pinagtung-ulan,
San Jose, Batangas

 

After our make believe photo shoot, Mark and I were both tired and hungry when we got to the hotel.

Pancakes and scrambled eggs were prepared by Ate for breakfast. I love the eggs because it didn't have salt (I don't like salty eggs!) and the syrup made from Mascobado sugar was just right for the moist and soft pancakes.

We also made sure that we captured every moment of our first breakfast in Boracay! :D

We were just planning on where to have lunch, when a tuna vendor passed by. He offered the tuna for Php200 so we bought it and had Ate cook it for lunch. And as usual, we again took photos of it! :P