Author: Abigail

Eataly End of Term Party

End of First Term Party

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Kuya V’s class spent the winter vacation preparing for their first term exams. The school has changed the examination format from 3 exams to just 2 major exams with assessments in between. Last year assessments and exams where scheduled before school break, this change is not something I (or my fellow parents) are happy about. Believe me when you are a parent, school homework and tests is so stressful. I have never prepared and studied this much during my time. Let’s not talk about how I did in school, my Mom did see me go up the stage and receive my diploma. The kids deserve (parents as well) a treat for the hard work and doing their best. We surprise them with an “End of First Term Exam Party” at Eataly. I joined the giveaway hosted by The Son and The Moon and won this party package.   The party was scheduled on the last day of their exam, we had 13 confirmed kids, a mix of Kuya V’s year 3 classmates and family friends. Excited 8 year …

Kids fun at Dubai Park

Afternoon at the Park

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For us desert dwellers, Dubai weather is freezing at 18c well not so much for my children who refuse to wear jackets when we go out. An afternoon in the park with  no gadgets for the kids just the good old running and getting themselves dirty. LittleMiss was happy playing mama to her baby alive doll Lucy. That afternoon we stopped by Paul at Sahara Centre to get a complimentary picnic bag filled with delicious sandwiches, pastries, fresh juice and salads. Paul’s picnic concept is convenient for those spur of the moment picnic outdoors.   Disclaimer: We were given a complimentary picnic basket from Paul.

HOFBURG

A family dream trip to Vienna, Austria

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Growing up looking at photos of my Papa’s business trip and watching movies made me want to travel and see the world. I was able to recognize Europe on the world map when my Dad left for a month long training to France. The postcards, souvenirs and stories during his trip made me dream and want to explore Europe.  My dream to be able to set foot at Europe came true when I was given a chance to volunteer for World Youth Day 2005. The movie Sound of Music played a big part on why I want to visit Austria, but sadly I did not get a chance during my trip. It is still on my list of places to visit and hopefully this time with my own family. Travelling with the family needs a lot of planning since we need to be able to cater to everyone’s interest. One thing I know for sure is that we all agree that to fully explore and immerse oneself during trips is to explore the food scene. …

Xiao Long Bao Din Tai Fung Dubai

Our first Xiao Long Bao experience

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We finally got a chance to dine at  Din Tai Fung, the latest restaurant franchise to open it’s doors here in Dubai at Mall of the Emirates. Two of Din Tai Fung’s franchise in Hong Kong was awarded a Michelin Star. The Taiwanese restaurant is known for it’s Xiao Long Bao (XLB), a dumpling with soup inside. Anthony Bourdain refers to them as “pillow of happiness.” We informed our server that it was our first time and she patiently explained how to eat the famous dumpling. She also prepared a ginger, soy and rice vinegar dip to complete our XLB experience. To eat the Xiao Long Bao: Make the soy ginger sauce. Our server warned us that the dumpling is piping hot, wait a few minutes before eating. Take your XLB and dip in your soy ginger sauce. Place your XLB in the spoon and poke a small hole to release the broth. Blow some steam off and enjoy. The original XiaoLongBao is made with pork but the restaurant doesn’t have a license so we settled …

Pedestrian Friendly Dubai

A request for more pedestrian friendly Dubai

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Our area which consists mostly of residential building has 6 schools and two hospitals nearby. The traffic situation can be busy in the mornings during school week and scary during off hours. Ped Xing – means pedestrian crossing Pedestrian – a person walking LittleMiss C and I have been walking to and from school everyday since she started. Her nursery was just 5 minutes on foot from our old place and now the new school is just 10 minutes walk from our place. It’s convenient, healthy and economical to just walk specially during Dubai winter. On our walks we have only seen 2 Ped Xing lines and notice a lack of road signs that inform drivers a school is present. With 6 schools in the area motorists will encounter parents with children walking and trying to cross the street. Most of the drivers respect pedestrians and take time to stop even if Ped Xing is not available, sadly some do not stop. We need to cross 1 main road and 2 residential streets to get to school. On the main road a crossing …

Boulevard Kitchen Grilled Calamari

Lunch at Boulevard Kitchen, Manzil Downtown

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The whole stretch of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard offers various restaurants and has become a haven for food lovers. Our latest find came in a lunch invitation at Boulevard Kitchen of  Manzil Downtown. I gave our reservation details at the reception and they seem confused and surprised that we were there. A gracious lady asked where we want to be seated, the kids replied that they would love to sit outside, the courtyard area, she informed us that we can’t because it’s the smoking and shisha area. We settled at the corner table with a view of the open kitchen, the kids always enjoy watching the chef’s work. It was surprising that we were only handed a two pages lunch menu, refreshing as it gave an impression that the dishes were carefully chosen. They now have a 3 course menu selection with shisha for AED 119 per person from 12pm until 4pm. We started off with dishes from the Soup & Salad selection and chose Grilled Calamari Skewers and Smoked Salmon. Roasted peppers and tomato salsa with chili vinaigrette complimented well with the perfectly charred calamari. Even …

School lunch box ideas

2016 Bento Week: January 3 – 7

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Hello 2016! I’m back to preparing baon for my happy crazy bunch. I hope this will help and inspire you to pack lunch. Sunday It’s the first day back to school after the winter break. Fried chicken was baked the night before and the steamed rice prepared that morning. LittleMiss starts FS1 in her new school. I wanted to prepare something that will make her smile while she’s in school. She was crying when I left her but was very happy when I picked her up after class. Thankful that her schoolmates made her feel happy. Kuya V was excited to see his friends. It’s going to be a busy month for us since we are preparing for his term 1 exams. How I wish they stuck with the exam schedules we had last school year, it was less stressful for all of us. Monday The night before we bought bread from Ceasars Bakeshop for baon. Chicken Tikka Roll for Kuya V and Cheese Bun for LittleMiss. Tuesday Bread was toasted on a hot frying pan with butter because I don’t own a toaster. …

new years eve fruits and cakes

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year! We welcomed 2016 in the comfort of our new home. The initial plan to watch fireworks live like we always do every year was cancelled since we wanted to finish unpacking and not leave the house all alone. For NYE dinner we prepared ham, sinuglaw, garlic shrimps, fruit salad and Moist Chocolate Candy Cake that LittleMiss and I baked. It has been a tradition in our family that we welcome the new year with at least 13 round fruits to signify prosperity for the coming year. We wish you a happy and prosperous 2016!