Food:
Something interesting which I had found was, you would be required to order only the side dishes here while the the Kubus is served on the table free of cost. Also the gorgeous looking bowl of salads was served for free!!! Surprise surprise... I hope some Arabian cuisine restaurant back home emulates this model. Anyway, coming to what we had:


We ordered a portion of Hummus and Moutabbal to go with Shish Tawouk, Half portion of Grilled Chicken and a portion of Chicken Liver. Both Shish Tawouk and Grilled Chicken came with a portion of French Fries and were served on a bed of toasted Kubus. I wonder how the French Fries had become an Arabian food! Nevertheless, the crispy fries were yummy and went well with the garlic paste.



My standout dish was the Chicken Liver. Kubus with Hummus and a dash of garlic sauce with small portions of Liver was simply amazing. The lemon played a major role in bringing out the wonderful flavours of the liver. Must try, for chicken liver lovers. The Grilled Chicken was comparable to the ones I have had back home, so was not wowed by it. Shish Tawouk was on slightly the spicy side when compared to the one I had at Il podio. I really wanted to have their Shawarma, but I was unlucky as they had run out of Shawarmas for the day.

Ambiance:
Simple dining comparable to the ambiance at Zaitoon or Sea Shells back home in Chennai.

Service:
No complaints here.

Price:
The meal here set us back by 100 AED.

Food - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Service - 7/10
Price - 8/10

Disclaimer : We paid for the meal.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

Food:
They served up some tasty papads along with sweet mango pickles which we binged on while we waited for our food. My mom wanted to slurp on a Lassi. So we got her Mango and Caramel Lassi which was definitely slurppy. Salty Lassi complemented by the sweet Mango and Caramel.

 Finally finished off the starters with the Jheenga Shan e Nisha. This was king prawns marinated in Yoghurt, Cheese and infused with cardamon and finally crispy fried. But that was not the kicker. The shocker came in the form of portion size which was just two pieces. Taste again not so great which was down to the mild flavour.




Moving to the main course we had the Dhaniya Murg, Dhal Makhani to go with Roti and the signature Kesar Biryani. Soft roti's with the simply outstanding Dhal Makhani, Yes!! Veg gravy was great. Dhaniya Murg which was chicken cooked in yoghurt and cashew nut gravy was another stunner. Despite it being a stunner combination, it was still mild for my taste. But I bet the Emeratis love it, because the restaurant was packed. We were too stuffed with this food and we skipped desserts.

Ambiance:
Typical to the mall style diner. Still had a few Indian touches to it.

Service:
We were served by Chap from Erode and I must say the service which was rendered to us was simply exemplary.

Price:
This meal here set back 420 AED for the four of us.

Food - 7/10 ( If you wouldnt mind Westernised Indian)
Ambiance - 7/10
Service - 9/10
Price - 6.5/10

Disclaimer : We paid for the meal.

Asha's is located in the Ground Floor of Mall of Emirates, Dubai.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

Continuing  the parade of food which I had devoured during my trip to Abu Dhabi we come here to my next stop, which was at The Cheesecake Factory at Yas Mall. Again I cannot thank enough my mom's friend Radha Menon for treating me here.

Food:
This place was highly recommended by Chennai Foody and Food in Chennai. In fact the dishes which I had ordered were the exact same which they had enjoyed. So I was not taking any risks here.  Little did they warn me that I should save space for the best cheesecakes I have had thus far.


 Now moving to what I had binged on. I had the Buffalo Chicken Strips for starters which was chicken strips covered with Hot Sauce which was more like Tobasco sauce served along with Blue Cheese dipping. All I can say is dip, bite and relish. Soft tender, still mildly crispy and the blue cheese was uuummmm!!! All I can say was this, a trip here ruins your food loving nature back in Chennai.



Moving along, my mom had a Chicken Madeira while I had the Hibachi Steak for our mains. Chicken Madeira was so heavy that my mom was unable to finish it on her own and I ended up helping her. So I had more than my fair share. One thing which I had noticed with both the mains was the grainy texture of the Mashed Potatoes which you do not come across that often here in Chennai. Maybe it could have been their off day, but rest was simply fantastic.

The Chicken Madeira which was sautéed chicken breast, topped with mushroom and asparagus and loads of melted cheese. Madeira sauce was the star  dish which was infused in the mushrooms and the tender chicken. It was such a delight to binge on this. It was simply exquisite.



Wiping the plates clean we contemplated whether to have a cheesecake, but a meal cannot be complete without a dessert so I ploughed on and had the Original Cheesecake as I was not brave enough to venture into the other variations. One bite... the BEST CHEESECAKE i have ever had PERIOD!!

Ambiance:
Dim lighting with comfortable sofa tables makes for the ambiance in all the Cheesecake Factory and this was no different.

Service:
One of the biggest USP for them has to be their courteous waiters, who took the time to explain the questions posed by my mom and myself.

Price:
This meal cost us 290 AED.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 9/10
Price - 7/10

Disclaimer : We paid for the meal.

The Cheesecake factory is located inside Yas Mall on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

Food:
As soon as we entered, we went head and placed our orders. I had the Crunchy Crazy Sushi while mom settled for a Cucumber Crabstick Salad and my mom friend had the Steamed Edamame.


It was my first time at having Steamed Edamame which was quite nice. A very good appetiser or in my case it was like a palate cleanser in between the sushi's.


The salad on the other hand was not a light dish, but rather a belter. Finely chopped cucumber topped off with a bucket load of Mayo followed by handful of Tobiko. Tobiko is otherwise known as Red Caviar. We had a few attempts at trying to gobble the dish with the chop sticks, but we ended up using our regular weaponry fork and spoon.


The Salad was mildly flavoured but rich thanks to the Tobiko and Mayo. Also the mayo helped to mask the slightly salty nature of Tobiko. The Crab meat was smooth and it just went down in one WHOFF!!!





Finally coming to my Crunchy Crazy which was Shrimp Tempura Roll covered with a sweet chilli sauce was simply outstanding. I bet I have never had a better shrimp roll than this. Served along with Wasabi which was just spectacular. The crunchy texture complimented the shrimp which was the icing on the cake.

Ambiance:
They had both outdoors and indoor dining. Dining outdoors with the temperature hovering around 45 degree would be just madness. Thankfully the well appointed interiors with large glass windows was comfortable to dine in.

Service:
Simple, fast and effective.

Price:
The short snack for three cost us 85 AED. Also I think I should stop converting the prices to INR to feel the impact.

I must thank my moms friend for taking me to this wonderful place. Also a couple others which I would be posting soon.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Price - 7/10

Disclaimer : We paid for the meal.

If you like what you are reading, Please share it with others.

*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

The Hersheys Chocolate Sundae which was part of their limited time specials was simply heavenly. I do not think anyone can stop with just one bite.

Main course on the other hand was mixed bunch. The Biryani with Butter Chicken Combo was something which all Indians should give a miss. The Biryani was more like a tomato rice and the Butter Chicken was more like water with red colour and chicken pieces. We had to order an Indian dish because of my niece. This was followed by Shish Taouk which was mild and highly westernised, but no matter it was quite decent. The Herbed Grilled Chicken was really good. Very very mild and very very tender.