Bab Al Shams

A friend of mine was keen to explore a place called "Bab Al Sham" - he saw the sign posted on the large roundabout where Dubailand will be built. At the weekend we jumped into his huge 4x4 (Nissan Armada) and took the short drive of 37km through the desert.

The drive was actually quite interesting as at certain intervals there were large billboards of landscapes of various "world projects" that are being planned...for instance there was "Europa" and "Americas" - it all looked rather impressive.

Soon enough we arrived at Bab Al Shams - it is basically a luxury resort out in the desert. They offer lots of outdoor activities such as horse riding and falconery, also they put on traditional Arabic evening entertainment with Sheesha and belly dancing - sadly I did not get to see any of that on my short visit.

We had a little nose around and saw the very nice pool area but were not able to get into any of the rooms as they were fully booked at the time.

What did get our attention was the smell of grilled chicken kebabs - so my friend stopped in and tried their buffet lunch. It was excellent with a really good variety of food - my favourites being the grilled chicken kebab and the handmade ice cream. At 165AED not including beverages it was a little expensive but in the middle of the desert not many other options presented themselves.

The rack rate for a room starts at 1600AED a night (that is a lot!) but they have special offers at around half that price. I would go there for a weekend break providing the weather cooled down a little. The infamous "hair-dryer" wind was in effect and gave an amazing burning sensation on the toes of my flip-flopped feet. How people were enjoying the pool was a little beyond me in what felt like 50C temperatures.

Teatro

I met some very nice people this Thursday through a long time friend of mine. Like myself they were fairly recent arrivals into Dubai. This led to lots of common ground for some quite amusing conversation as we exchanged "settling in" stories. I did feel a little sorry for one of the chaps who works for HSBC - so he ended up getting some teasing for their "special" customer service in the UAE.

After a few drinks we headed for dinner at Teatro which is situated on the third floor of the Rotana Towers. The restaurant has a very nice atmosphere and tasteful decor. The service was attentive but the most interesting thing was the menu. It was an interesting fusion of western food and eastern cooking styles - with a wide ranging menu.

I ordered a roasted lamb loin - cooked to perfection. I also sampled one of my friend's Ahi Tuna - again really well prepared. We did not opt for any wine but the list looked comprehensive.

Overall - 8.5/10 - great food if a little too "noveau" for me but I will certainly be back.

Lekgotla

The choice of places to eat in Nelson Madella square in Johannesburg can be a little bewildering. Fortunately my friend over there recommend we eat in an African restaurant called Lekotla. If you go to their website it gives you a real feel for the place. It is an upscale modern restaurant where traditional African music is played and they even offer face painting for the ladies.

The menu offered a real variety of dishes that too a simple Englishman like myself looked very exotic. I ended up with the "safe" sounding Botswana roast beef fillet. Looking back I wish was more daring in my choice. Neverless the beef was outstanding and dare I say it - better than the Butcher Shop...

I really enjoyed the ambience of the restaurant, the service was great and it was well priced. I am keen to go back again and try something a little more "local"

Overall 9/10 - a real taste of africa

Butcher Shop and Grill

My friend and I went to the Butcher Shop and Grill for an evening meal. This restaurant is located in Nelson Mandella square alongside numerous other restaurants and attached to a giant shoppng mall. It was also great to see the large bronze statue of the man himself.

The restaurant is fairly unusual as they have a full butchers counter as you walk in displaying the fine array of meat and sea food available. The waiter who led us our table gave us great service all night and I was quite surprised just how large the place is. Anyway down to the steak!

I orderd the prime rib medium rare and it was pretty good - a little fatty for my tastes but it was an epic large piece of meat on the bone. The great thing about it was that it did not come at an epic price - 10UKP - stunning. I have paid more in a beefeater in the UK for something that tasted like shoe sole.

Here is said steak:



Overall for value and service that was hard to beat - 9/10

Gardinia

Gardinia is a buffet restaurant in the Rotana Towers hotel. There is also a very good bar in the basement called Longs.

The Gardina offers a fixed price of 129AED to include as much as you can eat and a selection of alcoholic drinks. The night we went they had a theme of "rotisserie" this essentially meant a whole lot of roast meats (even pork) and yorkshire puddings. I found the prime rib beef they had to be excellent and easily as good as anything I tried on my recent vacation to Las Vegas.

Overall - 9/10 - great value, tasty food in pleasant surroundings - a big thumbs up

Ponderosa Steak House

I visited this restaurant which is situated in the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. They have a couple who spend most of the night singing latina type songs accompanied by tom-tom drums and guitar. I quite enjoyed the music but overall I found it a little loud at times when trying to talk to my fellow diners.

I had a rib-eye steak with some mash potato and sauteed spinach. I found the meat quite tasty though there was quite a lot of "eye" on the cut I had making it more of a "small" portion. The Chilean wine we had with it was quite tasty. Despite not picking up the bill the price was more on the side of expensive as opposed to value.

Overall 7/10 - I would go back and try something else on the menu