Dubai Post 63: Food, Food and More Food (Post 2)

Samantha and I had great experiences at the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab but they were on the pricey side.  That being said, we decided to keep it low key for a few nights before we headed to Ras Al-Khaimah for the weekend.  As it turned out, these few low key nights were actually some of the best meals we ate during Samantha's time in Dubai.

All I could find was the logo online. I will try to take a
picture the next time I order from here. 

We first ate man2ooshe which is a Lebanese take-out pizza joint. I say pizza since their logo has a pizza on it but it was not when decided to indulge in.  We decided to get two Mana’eesh’s, a Cheeki Chicken wrap and a Burek.  As usual, we ordered WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! Although it was delicious, Samantha and I overestimated how much to order because it was so cheap (and we were so hungry).  My logic was that since it was so cheap, it probably was small portions- wrong.  The Mana’eesh, wrap and Burke were massive.  I would recommend this place to anyone as it is super cheap and very delicious.  Do not let the cheap prices fool you, one item will be enough!

After dinner, we headed to XL Beach Club to get into the Euro spirit. 

On Wednesday night we had our best meal of the trip, and there was no meat involved!  My friend from work was going to FactSet training for a month in London.  Therefore, we all decided to go to a local Indian restaurant for some Southern Indian cuisine.  It is very popular in India, but more so in Southern India, for meals to not include any meat.  That did not matter, the food was amazing and I plan on taking my friends here when they visit in two weeks.

Our waiter brought us a spicy fried appetizer.  Had a no idea what it was,
but it was amazing!

Our mixture of different vegetables with curry.  It was just the right
amount of spicy.  The homemade bread might have been the best part. 

A flattened rice wrap which was enormous.  However, it was so good
we devoured it all. 

Of course we got dessert. 

The last meal worthy of writing about was the Thai restaurant, Safforn, at the Banyan Tree. I will post about the hotel later but basically, the resort is split into two properties: The Desert Resort and The Beach Resort (where we stayed).  They are close to each other which is nice because most of "the action" occurs in the desert.

Falafel wraps at lunch at Banyan Tree, good but we had better. 

No sunset is complete without some wine and cheese. 

Our grilled shrimp at dinner our first night at the Banyan Tree. 

Saffron was a close second for my favorite meal of the week, right after the Indian.  We learned that the chain of Banyan Tree resorts started in Thailand which would explain why the main restaurant on our property was Thai.  I have not eaten much Thai in the past but I loved it.  It instantly bumped Thailand to my number one most desired place to travel.  The ambience was just as incredible as the food.  We sat on the balcony gazing into the moonlit desert.  There was also something about the dimly lit landscaping that made you feel as if you were in an Asian paradise as well as the desert.

Our Thai appetizer, words can not describe how delicious it was. 

My Thai curry with duck. 

Samantha's extra spicy Pad-Thai. (See lesson learned below)

Once again, we got dessert. 

As I am writing this, I am realizing that Saffron might have been my favorite dish of the week.  I guess, I will consider it a tie with the Indian meal.

Lesson Learned: Do not make it a point to make your Pad-Thai spicy when sitting in a desert.  It will be extra spicy and you will find yourself having to leave dinner to splash water on your face.