FAMISHED EXPLORER

Ila is one of the restaurants located in the newly opened Al Seef mall along the creek. Walk about five minutes from the parking, and you'll find this restaurant. The weather was ideal for sitting outside, and the lovely views of the creek made it even better.  The staff is friendly and attentive, and guided us to a table.  We started with a plate of f alafel . It was served with tahina sauce on the side. It was hot and crunchy, and I could get a good flavor. Then we had the foul with tahini . Usually the fava beans are kept whole, but these were partially crushed, and made into a thick paste, then topped with tahini and served with hot bread. It tasted a bit different that what I was expecting, but certainly not bad. For the beverages, we had a Turkish coffee . This one was served in a very artistic cup, and with a piece of baklava on the side. It tasted good, but moreover, I really found the presentation to be fantastic. I had the pink lemonade . Initially...

This is a buffet restaurant with a special focus on barbecue. I had been here last year, and they invited me again as they have a  new menu now. I must say, all the items were interesting, with almost everything new. There are so many items, that you can barely even taste all of them.  Being an Indian, I can barely resist chaat. Started with the pani puri which was good, the dahi puri even better, and sev puri was the best. A little bit spicy.  I liked the machhi tandoori tikka which was soft and had a good taste.  The tandoori chicken was really spicy, but since I like it spicy, I really enjoyed it.  A post shared by Famished Explorer [ UDIT ] (@uditss) on Nov 25, 2017 at 2:49am PST We ordered a sangria for the drinks. This had a bit of a gulkand taste, and I liked it initially, but after a few sips, it becomes too sweet.  We also had the desi version of thumbs up (with chaat masala). It was really good. I enjoy...

I would like to start by mentioning about the location first. It is beside the Dubai Creek and you get an amazing view of the burj khalifa and the buildings on the other side. Whether you go durin the day or at night, you are sure to love the view.  The restaurant might be a bit confusing to find, but if you follow the map correctly, you'll reach the building. The restaurant has valet parking which costs AED 10. The ambiance of this place is fantastic. They have a smoking area (indoor and outdoor) as well as a non-smoking. I was invited for a tasting here, and the staff that is really courteous offered to set up the table for us, i.e. get their best dishes for us to try out. Their chef Charbel came and explained about their dishes. The manager Charbel (yes, he too had the same name) was friendly and ensured that everything went well throughout. There aren't too many places where I end up liking almost all the dishes, but here I did. We started with the cold mezzeh...

Azerbaijani food has a lot of Middle Eastern influence, and a lot of dishes are variations of those you get in the Middle East. There were a few good local restaurants I visited, and a few others too. I'm going to talk about all of these in this post.  The name of the dishes may be a bit different in Azeri (language), and some might just be a translation / description of the dish. You can click on the name of the restaurant to get the exact location.   Burc Qala [well known for Azeri cuisine]:- This is located in the heart of the city - Icheri Shehr (which means Old City). While walking through the old forts in this area, we came across this restaurant. The interiors feel really traditional. Also, a lot of shades of red are used. Here, I had the qutab , which is a very famous local dish; more of a snack. It is made from thinly rolled dough, and has filling inside. It usually has two variants - minced meat, and mixed greens. I had both and they were delicious. Both f...