Reef Mall

Reef Mall is conveniently situated within downtown Deira close to Fish Roundabout ( with a concrete fountain sculpture of, you guessed it right, a giant fish, he he he). During our first year in Dubai, we live a bit close to this mall that we used to walk our way there almost every weekend. It is a fairly sized mall and strolling its entirety is not a tiresome adventure in comparison with the much newer malls which are really huge. It stands within a neighborhood of generally working class community so the shops are at medium class range. One of the boutiques in this mall is Bench ( my " alma mater", he he he ). Derico's favorite venue is the Level 2's Fun City, an amusement center for kids. He also gets a regular haircut here from a Pinoy hairdresser exclusively for kids. Diego also had his first haircut here.
Last week, we went there to meet my cousin, Kuya Resty, a long time expat here inDubai. My mother and him had a long chat about their rural past in Negros. We just enjoyed our Taza chicken while listening to their stories...

Esca at Qamardeen

As a post valentine treat to my family, we went for a lunch buffet in this new, cozy and warm hotel located in " Old Town Dubai", within the 1 kilometer radius of now getting famous Burj Dubai. The district is officially called " Old Town" as the buildings in this town are decidedly old world arabic inspired. But the town is definitely very new having been opened to public late last year.



Esca is the lobby level main coffee shop offering breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets apart from the ala carte menu. The interiors are contemporary Italian and quite minimalistic yet elegant. The dining areas are divided into pool side and lobby side. We chose to dine al fresco to get a better feel of the swimming pool with oriental landscaping and mini waterfalls. The food selection on the buffet table were fusion of different cuisines which were just right for a healthy and hearty meal, no excesses whatsoever! The chefs seem to mean real business and with lots of substance and quality to boot. We enjoyed the freshly baked breads which you won't find anywhere in Dubai ( I assure you! ). The seafoods, steaks and vegetables were given new interesting twists. The service was of course five star and delivered with gusto by, again, filipino speaking crew, he he he he he. My sons had a great time with the desserts specially the ice cream. My perennial favorite , chocolate mousse, made my day.

Apart from the lunch, the kids ( and the adults, too) enjoyed lazing around the amply sized pool. I had my lunch finale of brewed coffee while watching them. My son, Derico, requested that we'll have a holiday stay in the hotel sometime and seeing that Diego liked the idea, too, promised them that one of these days, their wish will be granted...

Tracy Anne, 24

Last February 1st, our niece, Tracy celebrated her birthday in our flat unit. The inuman, videoke and dance party was attended by her friends from the Filipino Dance Club. As usual, my two sons joined the merriment by doing some videoke numbers.

Minato

Being "suki" of Radissons Hotel in Deira, we still continue to discover interesting dining places inside this downtown hotel. On my Mama Clariza's first weekend in Dubai, we went to the creek to watch the grand fireworks display as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival. After the fireworks, we crossed the street and went inside the hotel and chose to dine in Minato, a Japanese restaurant with Filipino speaking staff ( of course, they are kabayans, he he he he). Expectedly, we enjoyed the food and I had a taste of Japanese beer. The eager hospitality of our kabayans added more flavor ( and free extra servings, he he he ) to our dinner. Surely, we will come back there one of these days!