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LEGOLand Dubai: Our opening day experience

Published by Abigail

We were at the official opening day of LEGOLAND Dubai last October 31, 2016. The park is UAE’s first amusement place designed for families with children aged 2-12 years old.

Before we reached LEGOLAND Dubai we had a lovely long walk along RIVERLAND but sadly not all of the establishments are open yet.

First impression on ATTRACTIONS

The park features 6 themed land – Miniland, LEGO City, Adventure, Kingdoms, Imagination and Factory. One obviously have a lot of ground to cover and a day might not be enough to fully enjoy the whole park.

Miniland which is located at the center of the park and is sort of the gateway for the visitors to go through to visit other themed lands is beyond beautiful. It features mostly UAE’s landmarks like the buildings along Sheikh Zayed Road, Grand Mosque, Dubai Airport, Burj Khalifa with the fountain and my favorite Dubai Creek. The attention to detail is so impressive and they have added more by making some of features interactive. Go press a button and you will witness the Dubai Metro train speeding one stop to the other. We’ve been to the Kansas City LEGO Center and was amazed but this one just took our breath away. I can spend half my morning admiring every single building. The Miniland dome is fully air conditioned, spacious to maneuver a stroller and for the kids to run around, seats are available around the dome with small building stations situated next to it.

However at the opening several rides were still not available and then we have to face height restriction on some – minimum is 80cm We are definitely looking forward for the Submarine Adventure and Duplo Valley to welcome guests soon.

photo credit – LEGOLAND Dubai

My children are not so much into rides, if you have one like mine don’t fret because a lot of building stations that caters to every guests are available in all themed lands. Around the park expect to meet some LEGO characters, be in awe at LEGO figures and arcade games.

We highly recommend making time to watch the 4D LEGO Movie and Ninjago Puppet Show.

First impression on FOOD

I packed lots of water and snacks for us the day we visited but it was still not enough for my hungry bunch. Our bags were not checked for food or drinks during the event so I can’t guarantee if a guest is indeed allowed to bring one inside.

Knight’s Table – we chose to eat here because it was near the theatre where Ninjago Puppet show is played. The burger combo with drinks and fries cost 45 DHS while the kids combo meals cost 35 DHS each. We were not impressed with the food we ordered – thin burger patty and the chicken tenders were tough.

The Café – located at the front of the park and has access to Miniland offers quick snacks – a typical coffee shop. Kids had muffins and juice while Daddy C and I shared a coffee and sandwich. We were happy with what we ate and can say that it was yummy.

We can’t help but compare our dining experience at Disneyland which was really yummy and cute with all the character shaped food and packaging. Our family have not been to other LEGOLAND besides the center at Kansas City which did not have any restaurants inside.

I hope the management works on making everything LEGO themed, yes even the food.

Is it worth the visit?

YES. We definitely recommend checking it out with the whole family specially when all of the rides are open. If you are planning to visit the park more than two times then it would be economical to purchase an Annual Pass. Like any other amusement parks prepare to spend a lot for food, games and souvenirs from the LEGO store. Once the waterpark opens we are looking to visit both parks.

Watch the video below to see how much fun we had that day

Bento Lunch Box Menu November 6-10

Published by Abigail

I created a lunch box packing FB group, you can join via this link. The aim of #LetsMakeLunchFun community is to inspire and help families pack / prepare a healthier lunch.

Sunday – November 6: Leftover roast chicken and fried rice for today.

Monday – November 7: I was planning to pack spam musubi only to find out that I don’t have the main ingredient in my kitchen, so hotdog was use to fill rice wrap instead. Cut one musubi differently that was a perfect shape for eyes.

Tuesday – November 8: We have homemade chicken fingers for todays lunch. To make one at home just marinate chicken breast on a yoghurt mix with salt, pepper, garlic powder and five spice. Roll on breadcrumbs the next day and pan fry or bake.

Wednesday – November 9: Store bought butter croissant with ham and mixed berry smoothie.

Thursday – November 10: Both kids packed homemade chicken nuggets.

McDonald’s Open Kitchen Tour

Published by Abigail

Yesterday, McDonald’s opened its kitchen doors to us! We were given a special tour by Mr. Fayez Ismail, Operations Manager for McDonald’s UAE.

The Open Door Program is open to the public and aims to educate and assure customers that McDonald’s is committed to serve quality products, prepared in the highest standards of safety and cleanliness.

Children under 10 years old are not allowed inside the kitchen for safety purposes. My kids were only allowed inside because they we were invited as media guests. McDonald’s Bin Soughat Center branch was not busy during our visit. We were assisted by 3 staff during the tour to ensure that the kids are safe from any hot surface and sharp objects.

We stepped in the kitchen with hairnets and proceeded to hand washing area. Kids were taught to sing “happy birthday” twice (total of 20 seconds) while washing hands. Mr. Fayez then showed us staff corner, walk-in freezers and different cooking stations. Watch the video below to see what happened during our tour.

Kuya V listed some things he learned:

All McDonald’s employees working in the head office (yes, even the boss) are required to work at least 2 months in one of the McDonald’s restaurant. They all need to know how each meal is made and the whole process behind it.
Everyone working inside the restaurant needs to wash at least once every hour. Singing “happy birthday” twice while washing hands ensures that all germs are gone.
They have walk-in freezers to store meat, fruits and vegetables.
They make their own ice that is used in all drinks.
Burger patties are made from 100% pure beef meat, they only add salt and pepper when its done cooking on the grill.
Your meal is cooked only the moment you paid for it at the counter. They are doing this to maintain quality of food and ensure less food waste.
Blue gloves are used to handle uncooked food and white or clear gloves for cooked food.
They use different fryer for each food item. One for fries only, another for nuggets and another one for crunchy chicken patty. Each one use dedicated vegetable oil as well.
A special gadget is used to check if oil is still good to use.
They don’t throw away used oil. Used vegetable oil is collected and transported to a biorefinery located in the UAE which converts it to 100% biodiesel. All of McDonald’s UAE delivery trucks runs on biodiesel.

Visit McDonaldsArabia.com to book your kitchen tour.

Bento Lunchbox Menu November 1-3

Published by Abigail

Here is what we packed for school lunch this week. Most of the lunches packed are straight forward and made cute with some food picks and separators. My kids now know that all the food decorations must come back home with them and if a friend asks they need to ask Mama first.

Tuesday – November 1: My kids are crazy over dimsum’s – siomai in particular. I try my best to re-create wantons and siomai at home but both kids would also comment that it does not look or taste the same. Even though they would reassure me that the ones I prepare are better, I know that they would always prefer store/restaurant dimsum.

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A post shared by Abigail (@cuddlesandcrumbs)

Wednesday – November 2: We have dinner leftovers for Vierte’s school lunch and Chloe asked for sandwich.

How cute are these animal food separators! Adding them sure did make the lunch box happy.

Thursday – November 3: One of the easiest pack lunch to date is making use of leftover food, which seems to be the theme this week. Chloe asked for chicken nuggets today, she wanted easy food to eat for school field trip.

Spreading Healthy Lunchbox Fun with Al Islami

Published by Abigail

We had a fun filled and exciting weekend at the Al Islami Kids Club mall invasion held at Arabian Center last Friday.

The event I was most excited about that day was the Lunchbox Competition. We had more than ten participants who prepared healthy and creative lunchboxes.

A lot of the participants had a clear game plan on how to present Al Islami protein products the star of their lunchboxes. It seems like the parents were more tensed during the competition (I would be too), I could hear them giving instruction to their kids and making sure that they don’t forget important components like fruits and vegetables.

I joined Alisha Haque of SCAFA and teen Chef Bella on stage as one of the judge for the competition.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMJgTFLjxAF/

Before the competition, I was in the meet and greet booth talking about the three bento lunch boxes I prepared showcasing six Al Islami Food products.

Inside our first lunchbox we have a grilled Al Islami Chicken Sheesh Kebab on top of a whole wheat, Al Islami Cheese Samosa, lettuce, grapes and kiwi.

Our second lunchbox is similar to what the kids had for school lunch last week. Use Alladin Chicken Popcorn as pizza toppings with some vegetables, Al Islami sweet corn kernels, Al Islami Tuna Spring Rolls and kiwi.

Finally for the third lunchbox we use Al Islami’s Beef Kibbeh and Alladin Chicken Nuggets packed with panda shaped rice, grapes and cherry tomatoes.

Here’s the rest of the lunchbox I prepared for the kids to bring at school last week.

Chicken franks turned to octopus and crab on top of pasta with marinara sauce.

Chicken popcorn as pizza toppings similar to the one I presented on the day of the mall invasion.

Fellow mommy blogger, Sheila of AB and Me and I got a chance to show and talk to families on how to make healthier and fun lunch boxes for their kids.

It was such a fulfilling experience sharing all the fun ideas with the parents who like us also struggle to keep their kids interested in eating their food at home and school.

I think that we have at least encouraged few parents who visited our booth to take that extra step to pack a fun and healthier lunch boxes for the kids.

Thank you Al Islami Food for giving me the opportunity to join your campaign to inspire happier and healthier kids.

Make sure you follow our accounts on Instagram, @cuddlesandcrumbs for more lunchbox ideas and use #LetsMakeLunchFun hashtag on all your pack lunchboxes.

Bento Lunchbox Menu October 16-20

Published by Abigail

Here is what I packed for the kids last week. You will notice that some days are empty, reason is I was in a rush that morning and did not get a chance to snap a photo of the lunch box.

School Lunch Box menu for October 16-20:

Sunday – October 16: No lunch box photo

Monday – October 17: Our first lunchbox to support Al Islami Kids Club campaign of healthy eating. Made use of Al Islami Foods chicken thighs for our honey soy chicken.

Tuesday – October 18: Chloe had cream cheese sandwich and Vierte went to school with money to buy food at the canteen. *no photo

Wednesday – October 19: Celebrating Halloween with a pumpkin shaped puff pastry filled with minced chicken from Al Islami Foods.

Thursday – October 20: Two versions of burger to make both kids happy. A strawberry-eyed burger for Chloe and spooky one for Vierte.

#LetsMakeLunchFun and Healthy for our family.

Join in the fun of lunch box packing and use #LetsMakeLunchFun tag on your IG posts.

We are @cuddlesandcrumbs on Instagram. Follow us for more bento lunchbox ideas.

Getting Creative with 3Doodler Pen

Published by Abigail

We first saw and got a to try a 3D pen during the innovation week held at one of the malls here in Dubai. Vierte spent most of his time trying out the pen but he needed an adult supervision since the device tip is hot and not safe for kids.

Last week, I received an email from the representatives of Precise Group to try out a child friendly 3D printing pen, the 3Doodler Start. Precise Group are the sole distributors in the Middle East.

Out of more than 30 things he listed for Christmas, one wish was to own a 3D pen. I knew that he would be delighted to be amongst the first kid in Dubai to get his hands on this amazing tool.

Why we like the 3Doodler Start

No Hot Parts. Pen makes use of a special eco-plastic stick which melts at a lower temperature. The pen itself does not get hot and a kid can touch the melted plastic as it is not hot.
The 3Doodler pen is lightweight and easy for the small hands to grip.
Easy to use too. All you need to do insert stick, turn it on, press orange button and start creating.

Vierte is so excited and happy to show his friends that he created a short video to show them (and their parents) why the 3Doodler Start is a good investment for kids like him to get creative.

Visit 3Doodler website for more information.

3Doodler Start is now available in all Virgin Megastore in the Middle East.

Speedo Splash Session

Published by Abigail

One word that would get my kids excited and ready within minutes is “swimming”

We were invited to the Speedo Splash Session event that was held at The Palace Downtown.

“Oh Mama, I feel like we are inside one of the castles in my fairytale books.”

Stepping outside the pool area was just as beautiful with a view of the tall buildings and Dubai water fountain.

They promised a fun morning of swimming led by qualified instructors from the Speedo Swim Squad. I could not help but instantly say YES! because I knew my water babies will have fun.

Daddy C and I are firm believers that kids should know how to swim. It is one life skill that they will have in them always.

Kuya V had swimming lessons in his kindergarten years but this was no longer available when he transferred school so we made sure that he continue learning with him in our building pool and with a certified instructor. Chloe started swim lessons when she began Foundation Stage 1 and still continue to do so now since it is part of their sports curriculum in school.

Speedo team welcomed with new swimsuits and a chat of what will happen that morning. Yes, Mama got a new swimwear too from the recently launched Speedo Sculpture collection. It has been designed to shape, support and flatter a woman’s body – I definitely felt comfortable and beautiful. Speedo Sculpture is available on all Stadium and leading sports stores in the Middle East.

Each session was grouped by age – baby ducklings, ducklings and teaching levels. Chloe was under the ducklings and although it was a short session, she was very shy at first but wanted to do more when all the sessions were done. Lauren one of the certified Speedo Instructor incorporated play and fun in all the instructions given to them.

photo credit: Speedo Swim Squad

It was difficult to get the kids out of the pool, I could not even bribe them with the yummy breakfast spread prepared for us by The Palace Downtown team. They only agreed to finally leave when I promised them we would schedule another pool day.

It is fun, a good exercise, a sport where one can excel individually or as part of a team but the most important is that swimming can one day save a life.

Speedo Swim Squads conducts swimming classes for all ages across 7 venues in Dubai, visit their facebook and website for more details.

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Latest Posts

LEGOLand Dubai: Our opening day experience

First impression on ATTRACTIONS

First impression on FOOD

Is it worth the visit?

Related reads about Dubai Parks and Resorts from our friends

Bento Lunch Box Menu November 6-10

McDonald’s Open Kitchen Tour

Bento Lunchbox Menu November 1-3

Spreading Healthy Lunchbox Fun with Al Islami

Bento Lunchbox Menu October 16-20

Getting Creative with 3Doodler Pen

Speedo Splash Session