Al Fanar, revisited (for reals).

Since we now have a proper working camera.... look! You can now see what I've been talking about regarding Al Fanar — Abu Dhabi's only revolving restaurant. The place is quickly becoming my favorite place to dine (especially when it comes to appetizers). The view is also yummy too. I promise I'll stop talking about it after this. But while I'm at it, have a look.

Let the drooling begin. First the view:




Around and around we go.


And now for the important stuff:

Wes' appetizer. I can't remember what it was exactly... but I know goat cheese was a main ingredient.


A close-up of the super de-lish salmon dish.


Me looking goofy.


Dessert in the desert.


Elysia's old standby: Crème brûlée


Wes' new favorite: Ice melon soup. Yum.

A Lebanese night out

The Lebanese Flower is located just around the corner from our hotel. Thanks to James and his nifty new Nikon camera, we have some photos of our evening.


The bright outside sign and garden/outdoor seating.


Shwarma, anyone? A sandwich costs about 3 Dirham (less than $1).



A man making some tasty falafel.


On the phone with my Mom. Also note the food spread.


The aftermath of our meal.




Wes and James smoke shisha (or as known in the West, hooka).


Wes and I.


Elysia gets her after dinner treat.... Mmmmm.... chocolate milkshake.

V? What about X?

Flash back to 2001: Elysia goes away for the summer to Europe where she literately bounces around Europe. Why does she bounce?

This is why:

V: Also known as liquid crack

I know what you're thinking, "Elysia, it's just Red Bull but with a different name." WRONG. So wrong. Two cans of this stuff will make you talk faster than you ever have in your whole life. You'll clean the house, do laundry, organize your drawers and scrub the insides of your fridge. That's two 250 ml cans. IMAGINE what three cans can do to a person...

So, what's in it? "A carbonated energy drink with 5 essential vitamins, invigorates you, replenishes energy levels, and improves mental alertness." Essential vitamins? I didn't know crack became classified as a vitamin.

And then you get into the small print near the bottom: "Not suitable for children, pregnant or lactating women, or persons sensitive to caffeine. Usage 2 cans max daily."

Needless to say, they don't sell this stuff in America. Probably because you never find out what the "5 essential vitamins" are since things don't have to be fully labeled here.

::slurp::

Good thing we're not in American anymore.

RE: Another Seattle throwback? Probably.

I wasn't going to post about our meal at Al Fanar yet because I was hoping we could get some of our photos to accompany this entry. Normal that wouldn't be a problem but now our camera won't connect to the computer for some god awful reason. This is officially the last straw concerning the camera. Thank god I get paid on Friday.

Anyway, about dinner... here are the two highlights.

The View: I thought it was amazing. I think Wes did too, even though he downplayed it the next day for some reason. The feeling of rotating was a bit odd though. I compared it to feeling drunk and watching the room spin — just at a slower speed. Eventually you do "stabilize" and don't notice it as much. We both agreed that lunch might be a better time to go because you can see more of Abu Dhabi. It's actually surprising how many building are not lit at night in the capitol.

The best salmon, ever: I have never tasted better salmon than what Wes ordered as an appetizer. And this is coming from someone who lived in the Pacific Northwest for over three years (and ate great fish all of the time). The dish he ordered had raw, bright-red cuts of Norway salmon that seriously felt like they were melting in my mouth. Accompanying the salmon was a thin cream cheese roll on the side with sliced and marinated cuts of shaved apple. The overall presentation was also great. I had a bowl of creamy potato soup with truffle. Although good, it wasn't the salmon dish.

The rest of dinner was good but not something to write home about. The service was good and attentive. My main course was good but I wouldn't order it again (beef tenderloin with a mustard-gravy). Dessert was good, although not what I was expecting (it was a malvia pudding from South Africa).

But yes, I'd definitely go back and try something else. Oh, and I'd get the salmon.

Show and tell

A SMALL sampling of the produce section.

One of Wes' favorites: Rambutans.


Bag of chewy sugar cane.


A WHITE and RED kiwi.


Basic root vegetables and some other stuff.

Another Seattle throwback? Probably.

Tonight Wes and I have dinner reservations at Al Fanar, the revolving restaurant at Le Royal Meridien. While the food is supposed to be fantastic (ex. malva pudding with black truffle ice cream), the view of the city is supposed to be equally as great. 

Again, we promise pictures. 

Complain-o-the-day

Taco Bell.
That's what this place is missing.

Even among the sea of TGI Friday's, Chili's, McDonald's, Hardees, Burger King, Starbucks, Cosi, Pizza Hut and KFC there isn't a thing like Taco Bell.

(There is, however, a Chi-Chi's. Go figure.)

Yes, I'm loving all the exotic fruit, cheeses and fine dinning....

But all I want at this very moment is a .89 cent bean burrito with no onions and extra sour cream. Oh, and a few packets of hot sauce with clever (but dumb sayings) printed under the Taco Bell logo.

Too exclusive to say no

Today I got this response from some co-workers: 

"Ooooohhhh... you're going out to dinner with someone who is NOT your husband... ON VALENTINE'S DAY?!?" 

Yes. Yes I am. 

I'm going out to dinner with a copy editor at work. James, a self-proclaimed foodie with a lot of street cred, got reservations at the Italian restaurant in the Millennium Hotel. Hard to come-by reservations are not a thing I can pass up. 

James met the chef last night and apparently got chummy with him. And that's the only reason we got reservations. 

I'll let you know how the food (and wine) is. 

Hey! I know you expected me to sit at home by myself and cry but if Wes isn't here then I go on about my day as if it weren't Valentine's Day. Just another day with a can't-pass-up dining reservation. 

Bnîn (TRANSLATION: Delicious!)

One of the things my hotel does really well is breakfast. Every day from 6 a.m. until noon it has the most amazing breakfast buffet. For 75 Dirham (or about 20 USD) you can eat until you burst.

For me it depends on how I am feeling that day. If I'm not super hungry I will generally go to the cafe in the lobby and get a pot of tea and a pastry for about $3 (USD). By far, the cheaper (but less impressive) option.

Today I had the "fancy breakfast" so I could show you a few of the joys and wonders.

The breakdown is basically this: There are multiple stations and each has a theme. Juices, fruits, Middle Eastern, hot foods, cheeses (yes! a cheese station), lunch meats, breads, pastries and cereals. I think that covers all of them. Oh, and at the hot station stands a chef who will make whatever you can't find at the buffet.

25 different kinds of fresh squeezed juice. Not to mention the other side that features smooties.


My course number one: Orange juice, rice cereal with strawberries, coffee and pastries.


One of the many stations.


Not only do they specialize in good regular breakfast foods but also in VERY exotic things (exotic to Americans). Beside having things like white kiwi fruit, emirates cheese and veal bacon they totally caught me off guard today when they replaced the "soya milk" (this is what soy milk is called). Instead of soya milk they offered CAMEL MILK.



When I arrived at work I was informed that camel milk is like Middle Eastern Viagra. A co-worker of mine, who's lived in the Middle East far long than I, once gave a stray kitten camel milk. Sadly, the Viagra effect must have been too strong for it because it died.