If you ever find yourself in the Dubai Mall and would love to try a great sushi restaurant with a unique concept, Yo! Sushi on the lower ground level (LG) is just the place! (Grid reference C2)  Like their sign pictured above reads, it’s so much “more than sushi!”Yo! Sushi restaurants (or simply “YO!” in short form) can be found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Norway and the Middle East. (Click for for a full list of locations.)  This was our first time experiencing this restaurant franchise and we loved it!Like the menu reads, you just take what you like from the conveyor belt and you can know the price of each dish by the color of the plate.I love the option of unlimited miso soup for only 15 Dhs (or about 1.5 OR/$3.75 US).It was so cool to see all the dishes pass before us on the conveyor belt! (The belt moves at 8cm per second.)All the dishes we tried were of the highly quality.The sushi kitchen ninjas were quite busy as this place seemed very popular with shoppers. (All food is freshly prepared daily in the restaurant.)  Even though it was busy, it never seemed too crowded though as there are plenty of tables.All kinds of choices for dessert as well.  The ricecake was fantastic!Can’t say enough good things about our experience at YO! Sushi!We couldn’t believe how low our bill was after stuffing our faces! A fun, exciting and delicious experience!Any other YO! Sushi fans out there?! website: www.yosushi.com, For delivery, call: 800-YOSUSHI, Opening Hours: 12 noon to 12 midnight

If you make it to Dubai and love sushi as much as we do, Sushi Counter is a great chain of restaurants to try out.  The one we tried (pictured here) is on Sheikh Zayed Road in City Tower One.Served before your eyes in a matter of minutes!On each table, customers have their choice of salty soy sauce or sweet soy sauce. Both were good to my taste buds!Plenty of seats downstairsUpstairs as wellLunch Combo #55 (55 AED) – Here are the details of the lunch combos. This was my lunch combo (also #55).  Although not pictured here, don’t forget that these combos come with miso soup and your choice of fresh mango or pineapple.  We were both impressed with the quality and prices of the food.We decided to try something different as well so we went with the Avocado Shrimp Tartare which contains Ebi shrimp, cucumber, avocado, creamy spicy, blue flower, dill leaves, black and white sesame seeds (35 AED).  Not bad! Other tartares available include salmon, tuna, and white fish tartares.

The menu is far too big to post every page, but I’ll include a few here to give you an idea of the options:Overall, it was a great dining experience for us at Sushi Counter on Sheikh Zayed Road! (Tel:04-388-8065/8069).  2 lunch combos + 1 avocado shrimp tartare + 1 coke + 1 small water = 156 AED.  We just might try other selections from their menu at their other branches including: Dubai Media City (Tel:04-375-1095/1096), Dubai Motor City (04-375-1686/1687), The Dubai Mall, Lower Ground Food Court (04-388-2245) and Dubai Marina (04-442-7503/7506). Dine-in, pick up, or delivery.  www.sushicounter.com or check them out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sushicounter Open 7 days a week.

While in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, we decided to try out Miu Shanghai which proved to be a delightful dining experience for us.We were immediately impressed with the look and ambiance of this restaurant.If you google “miu shanghai”, you’ll find that a lot of websites refer to this place as “Miu Shanghai Teahouse” and with good reason.  It’s really a nice place to enjoy a cup of tea after a few hours of shopping at the impressive Mall of the Emirates. Some places refer to it as “Miu Shanghai Teahouse and Restaurant”. Strange that this restaurant is not on the list of dining options on the official Mall of the Emirates website.The “Chef’s Special Sushi Platter” sounded so good that all 3 of us chose this.  Here’s a pic of my platter:This was a fantastic dish!  Here’s the same platter but this time my wife’s brother-in-law, Noel, attempted to take an “artistic photo” of it.  Actually it was a challenge more than anything as I know he has taken photography lessons! There was no indication of how long the “Chef’s Special Sushi Platter” is on for (at 68 AED) but if you dine here and it’s available, we recommend it.Of course I just had to have the Miso Soup! (32 AED) Kind of pricey for miso soup, but good nonetheless!As always, I try to put as much of the menu as possible in these reviews in case you’re wondering what’s available!My wife and Noel thought the Crab Corn Soup (38 AED) was quite good.Overall, another great dining experience in Dubai. (Despite the Filipina waitress who seemed to be hoping that someone from The Voice, XFactor or other talent show was going to “discover her there in the restaurant!)  For all the food mentioned above + one American coffee (other beverages provided with the Chef”s Special) the bill came to 327 AED. (All prices on the menu already include taxes!)Miu Shanghai (Tel: 04-3413618) is just one of over 95 dining options at the incredible Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. This mall was really impressive and worth a blogpost of its own…coming soon if I have the time.  Check out other options for dining, shopping and entertainment at the Mall of the Emirates here.

  Korean Choice Restaurant & Guesthouse is extremely easy to find.  It’s located in Azaiba, not far from the Sultan Center as you can see on this map located on the back of their business card.  Korean Choice Restaurant is in the building immediately to the right of Azaiba Shopping Center which is just a few shops including a barber shop. The owners are currently scouting out good spots in Muscat to open a larger restaurant as the demand for authentic Korean food in Muscat has grown.  For the time being, it will remain at 2849, Way 4846. (Not to be confused with the other Korean restaurant I reviewed 3 months ago which is also in Azaiba.)                                                    This is the smaller room in the restaurant which can seat up to 12 people.   Plenty of tables in the main room for customers  The friendly owners, Mr. Yeom and Mrs. Kim! (Korean women do not take their husband’s last name in Korea.) The food pics in this post are from 2 different visits.  They only charge 5 rials per person! (and 500 baizas per soft drink)  The food was fantastic!  By the way, they sell kimchi for 4 OR/kilo!   Mrs. Kim prepared us some sashimi on our 1st visit as they went to the fish market that morning!  It was great to have our friends, Kim and Bill, with us on our first ever visit to Korean Choice Restaurant. We share the “Korean connection” as they also lived in Korea (for 1 year) and we also share a love for Korean food.  Another friend who has “the Korean connection” is Geoff and he jumped at the chance to try out Korean Choice.  The sweet potato (goguma) was so delicious!  If you order bulgogi, you have the option of having them cook it in the back kitchen or in front of you at your table.  As you can see, we opted for our table.  As with any authentic Korean restaurant, there are plenty of sidedishes (panchun) and then you have some choices for the main dish: beef, chicken, fish or pork (bulgogi).  The steamed dumplings were good.  The Dol Sot Bibimbap was a real treat. Now that’s some authentic Korean food that I’ve really missed!  3 of us had this for lunch on our 2nd visit.  Speaking of our 2nd visit, we had the pleasure of dining with new friends, Gokhan and Naomi, who have been in the Sultanate a little over 5 months.  Map of Korea with photos of some regular customers  A platter of fruit is always a great way to end a meal!  This was a special order of duck prepared for us on our 2nd visit.  SO good!  I didn’t have any of the fish, but I was told it was very good.    This “garden” on the side of the villa is where Mrs. Kim grows many of the plants used for authentic Korean cooking!   Here is what the guest rooms (5 available) look like at Korean Choice Guesthouse.  Not bad at all for 45 OR/person each day including breakfast and dinner!  With only 5 rooms available, make sure you book far in advance if you wish to stay here.   In case you were wondering what “Muscat” looks like in Korean: 

 Charley’s Philly Steaks (also known as Charley’s Grilled Subs) is a great addition to the fast food market here in Oman.  I believe the Muscat Grand Mall was the first branch they opened up in Muscat and they just opened up another in Muscat City Center after the renovation and expansion of the food court there.I’ve been to Charley’s Philly Steaks twice in the past few weeks and I believe it’s one of the best options in the foodcourt.I’ve included the entire take-away menu in this post to let you know exactly what they serve there.This was what I ordered with a friend on my first visit to Charley’s. The cost of 2 small Philly Steak Deluxes, 1 cheese fries, 1 ultimate fries and 2 pepsis for 5.4 OR. Not bad! And quite delicious!  I really like that the prices listed  already include all taxes and service charges.                On my 2nd visit, I tried a medium Chicken Teriyaki (with ultimate fries).  The bread was soggy and fell apart a bit but it was still good.  I think I’ll stick to small subs on any future visits as I was quite stuffed with the medium.With all of their subs, you have only 2 options for bread: white or brown.  It would be nice if you had more options which included healthier breads.                           A closer look at the Philly Steak Deluxe.  You can add all kinds of extras with your sub for no extra charge like Mayonnaise, Pickles, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Lettuce, and Jalapenos.Our family really enjoys the seating at the newly renovated Muscat City Centre food court. If you haven’t been there yet, you should definitely head down there and check it out. Like any foodcourt, it’s best to avoid during weekend peak hours.My wife and her sister really enjoyed the Signature Philly Bowls. That’s obviously the Veggie Rice on the left (1.3 OR) and the Philly Steak Rice (1.7 OR) on the right.It was disappointing that they didn’t have any of the Signature Lemonades which look fantastic on the menu! We had to go with the original lemonade which tasted basically like sugared water.The Ultimate Fries (1.1 OR) are awesome.  I love the taste and texture of cheese and turkey bacon bits on the fries.  Mmmm!!!Here are all the other locations in Oman and few more opening soon.One last thought…You’d think they’d get the spelling right on the receipt!

Anyone else out there a Charley’s Sub fan?  Have you tried Charley’s before?  What was your experience?

                                                                        Elevation Burger opened in Muscat Grand Mall (MGM) about 8 months ago. They are a chain of American restaurants that originated in 2002 with its founder, Hans Hess.  They have branches throughout the GCC including Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. I kept hearing great reviews about this place and how the burgers are so healthy (especially from our friend, Geoff, who goes there often) so we finally decided to give it a try tonight.  It’s a very spacious restaurant and was quite empty on our visit (awesome!) but I think it’s because it was on a weekday. The employees told me that they are much busier on weekends.  They have an interesting pamphlet on each table that explains the difference between Elevation burgers and others.  I’ve included the whole thing (broken up and intermingled with pics I took) so you can get an idea of the health benefits of their organic burgers and fries.  Less fat, few calories and fries that are cooked in olive oil sound good to me.  Obviously burgers made from 100% organic grass-fed cattle are much healthier than grain fed ones.  This visit to Elevation Burger and their focus on healthy options reminded me of this video called “The Meatrix” with “Moopheus“:   I had the Elevation Burger (with 2 patties) (3 OR) and my wife had the cheese burger (2.4 OR).  The burger was delicious but fell apart easily as I had too many toppings I think. My wife loved her burger.  There are your main choices.  I can’t imagine more than 3 patties on your burger as my mouth could barely fit around 2.  The Vertigo Burger has an option of 3 to 10 patties!  Toppings are free (except blue cheese dressing) for any of the burgers (or cheese sandwich).  Be careful though as I asked for all the toppings and was surprised to realize after biting into my burger that there were jalapenos. They are not listed on the toppings!   The fries were an all-around winner!  Sit somewhere within eyes reach of the main counter to check out how they take fresh potatoes and squeeze them through their manual cutter right before your eyes.  If, like me, you are accustomed to overly crispy and salty McDonald fries, it may take a few forkfuls of fries before they win you over. They may seem soggy at first but just keep digging in and your tastebuds will be glad you did.                                              Nothing beats free refills!  You don’t have to hand your cup over the counter or ask a waiter for it; you just get up and fill it yourself. Ah, the simple pleasures of life! By the way, there are no “waiters” really, as you check out their simple menu, order and then pay at the front till and once they bring you your food, you’re on your own. (Apart from the standard “How is your food?” question at some point. )  Apparently their hand scooped icecream is a real treat but we’ll have to save that for another visit as we were pretty stuffed. My recommendation is go for a single patty (hamburger/cheeseburger) and save room for iceacream or a root beer float!  3 of the friendly employees on staff during our visit.  They were extremely helpful with explaining the menu and how it all works at Elevation Burger. (Even though it should be pretty straight forward)  The club card is a great way to promote repeat visits!

  Not bad at all! 9.3 OR in total and I always love when a restaurant includes taxes and service charges within the price on the menu!  (Take note that there is a tip jar at the front counter, folks!)

Have you been to Elevation Burger? If so, what did you think?  Check out the Elevation Burger in Oman facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ElevationOM  They definitely get the Andy-in-Oman stamp of approval!

     The Manhattan Fish Market (Tel: 2449-9102) has been open for about 2 weeks now (since Feb 12th).  The pics and videos we’ve seen being shared on facebook were enough to convince us to try this restaurant out for ourselves. It was this video in particular with their new “sea-lections” that really caught our attention:

The Manhattan Fish Market is on 18 November Street in Azaiba.  If you’re driving from the direction of the Wave, it’s on the right hand side of of the road just before the shell station and Al Fair supermarket.    Several tables near the front doorSeems to have more privacy in the back room where we decided to sit.                                                The menu is fantastic.  It contains some of the history of this restaurant chain and plenty of clear, laminated pics of all the dishes.  Manhattan Fish Market also has branches in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. It obviously originated in Manhattan! We all enjoyed the Fried Country Mushrooms (1.9 OR) for our starter. Here are all the starters available at MFM:2 choices of soup and 3 chowders.  They only make one of the 3 chowders each day so you will only have 1 choice. On the evening we went, it was salmon chowder. For salads, they have garden (1.7) and Caesar (1.9) with the option of add-ons: crispy whitebait (.9), grilled chicken (1.7) and tuna (.9).  They also have coleslaw (1.8), corn salad (1.7) and potato salad (2.2). Sides include Chef’s baguette (.4), garlic herb rice (1), chippy fries (1) and hot veggies(1).The wife and I both had the Salmon Chowder (1.5 OR). Delicious!Our friend, Geoff, enjoyed the Cream of Mushroom Soup (1.2). The pastas look SO good. Will have to try one on a future visit. This is just one of the pages of pastas available.  It is hard to decide what to get from the menu as it all looks so great.Grilled Dory (3.2 OR)My wife had the small flame (4.9 OR). Manhattan Flaming Prawns with grilled dory fillet on a bed of garlic herb rice, chips and veggies. Our Omani friend had the fish and chips (3.2 OR). You can choose Dory or cherry snapper for the fish and chips. Our friend ordered cherry snapper and he didn’t have anything bad to say about this dish!The MANHATTAN FLAMING SEAFOOD PLATTER (11.9 OR) which we were told is the “1 indisputable choice of manhattan seafood market fans”.  After trying it, we could see why.  This was a fantastic platter and highly recommended.  Hand battered fish fillets, oysters, calamari and Manhattan flaming prawns, all on one dish! This dish is large and intended for at least 2 to share. 2 more of the 6 platters available on the menu  Citrus Mint (1.8 OR)  Gummy Bear (1.6) From the menu: “The exciting flavors of Curacao and tropical fruit mix is guaranteed to liven up your senses”. Looked more exciting than it tasted…  4 satisfied customers! Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience at Manhattan Fish Market! In total, the bill for 4 people came to only 37.39 OR which works out to only about 10 rials/person.  We highly recommend this restaurant and we’re already looking forward to our next visit.  Check out their facebook page and go through the menu items in the picture folder there. We didn’t have room for dessert, but they looked incredible.  Have any of you been there yet? If so, how was your experience?  (Tel: 2449-9102 / 2449-9627) http://www.manhattanfishmarket.com 

As I posted before, Shangri-La is a having a Taste of Thailand promotion until March 9th.  As a local blogger, the wife and I were invited to the first night’s media invitation along with several other bloggers and newspaper/magazine outlets to sample the food for ourselves! Bend my rubber arm! As if we need an excuse to visit Asia! The evening started with social drinks and entertainment in the form of dancing in the courtyard of the Omani Heritage Village before dinner started. Fabulous way to start off the evening!Here’s a much better pic from the Shangri-La Barr al Jisseh facebook album of this event.If you’re interested, you can click here to see my original restaurant review of Asia. Or here for their Indonesian promotion they had in November.Would you believe they served us an 8-course meal?! Wow!  Here are the dishes we were served one by one: This appetizer is called Miang Kham: fragrant betel leaves filled with thai herbs, chili, lime and dried shrimps.  Make sure you have plenty of water nearby if you try this as it’s spicey!This soup was SO good! Tom Yam Gung – hot and sour soup with prawns flavoured with lemongrass and thai herbs. If you get to Asia during this promotion, be sure to try this soup!One of the guest chefs hard at work in the kitchenThe salad was quite good.  Yam Ma Muang Pla Foo – Crispy shredded catfish with green mangoes and cashewnut salad.This was one of my favorite dishes of the evening.  Kaeng Massaman Nuea – Slow-braised beef short rib in rich peanut curry.  It went so well with the steamed Jasmine rice (Khao Suai).The other dish that was one of my favorites was whole lobster in dry red curry (Chu Chi Kung Mangkorn).  By this time, I was getting pretty stuffed!  Not enough to stop, mind you! The guest chefs pictured here who flew in from Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang whipped up this dish specifically for this photo. Here’s a closer look at the dish:It’s always a treat to meet up with Ingrid Hotanijaya, the Communications Executive.  Nobody does hospitality like Shangri-La! Back to the set menu…Steamed seabass with lime and chili sauce (Pla Nueng Ma Nao).  This was quite a delicious dish.  Only one more dish to go…dessert!Khao Niew Ma Muang did not fail to please! Sweet sticky rice with ripe mangoes, sesame seeds and honey.  Great way to end a fantastic evening at Asia! We showed up at about 7pm and didn’t leave until around 10:30pm with all the socializing and fine eating. Wow! I’m glad that Rasha al Mandani insisted on getting a pic of me and the wife under the Asia sign just inside the main entrance. Here we are together with Rasha who always makes everyone feel right at home when visiting Shangri-La:Thanks Rasha, Ingrid and the entire crew at Asia for another unforgettable evening!The chefs take the time for a thumbs up (from Shangri-La’s facebook page), but it’s really them and their cooking that deserve a big thumbs up! Try to get down to Asia before March 9th to try all these great dishes for yourself.  There are also specialty drinks specifically for the Taste of Thailand menu that are definitely worth trying out!

Istanboly is another fine choice for cheap but good Turkish food in Muscat!  If you enjoy the Turkish House, you’ll definitely enjoy Istanboly as well.  The pics from this most recent visit are from the Istanboly in Al-Khuwair next door to Rawasco Supermarket. It’s a fantastic place to hang out with friends seated outside in front in the cooler season (Oct-March) and of course there is also plenty of seating inside as well.  The other location in Al-Khoud is more of a take-away place as there are mostly male students hanging around there from the nearby (SQU) university.It’s called “Istanboly Coffee Shop” but I didn’t put that in the title as it may confuse North Americans who mostly think of places like Starbucks, Costa Coffee or Second Cup when they think of “coffee shops”.You can never go wrong with the Istanboly Mixed Grill!! (4.3 OR) 9 times out of 10 this is what I order when we go to Istanboly.My wife almost always gets the Lamb Chops (4.2 OR). This is also a fantastic meal. Chances are if I didn’t order the Mixed Grill it’s probably because I went with the Lamb Chops! The humus is always good at Istanboly as well as the hot pita that comes with it. There is also this other bread that is great as well that they will most likely bring to your table:Here’s the full menu:The bill usually works out to 4 or 5 rials per person.Here are the locations and phone numbers of the 3 locations of Istanboly: 1 in Al-Khoudh and 2 in Al-Khuwair including the main shop featured here which is by far the most enjoyable. Have any other Muscateers tried Istanboly? If so, how was your experience? Would you recommend Istanboly to your friends?

If you make it to Dubai and love sushi as much as we do, Sushi Counter is a great chain of restaurants to try out.  The one we tried (pictured here) is on Sheikh Zayed Road in City Tower One.Served before your eyes in a matter of minutes!On each table, customers have their choice of salty soy sauce or sweet soy sauce. Both were good to my taste buds!Plenty of seats downstairsUpstairs as wellLunch Combo #55 (55 AED) – Here are the details of the lunch combos. This was my lunch combo (also #55).  Although not pictured here, don’t forget that these combos come with miso soup and your choice of fresh mango or pineapple.  We were both impressed with the quality and prices of the food.We decided to try something different as well so we went with the Avocado Shrimp Tartare which contains Ebi shrimp, cucumber, avocado, creamy spicy, blue flower, dill leaves, black and white sesame seeds (35 AED).  Not bad! Other tartares available include salmon, tuna, and white fish tartares.

The menu is far too big to post every page, but I’ll include a few here to give you an idea of the options:Overall, it was a great dining experience for us at Sushi Counter on Sheikh Zayed Road! (Tel:04-388-8065/8069).  2 lunch combos + 1 avocado shrimp tartare + 1 coke + 1 small water = 156 AED.  We just might try other selections from their menu at their other branches including: Dubai Media City (Tel:04-375-1095/1096), Dubai Motor City (04-375-1686/1687), The Dubai Mall, Lower Ground Food Court (04-388-2245) and Dubai Marina (04-442-7503/7506). Dine-in, pick up, or delivery.  www.sushicounter.com or check them out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sushicounter Open 7 days a week.

                                                                                                            This sounds like it’ll be a LOT of fun! Details: 35++ including wine,beers, soft drinks, signature cocktails and non alcoholic beverage. Food only: 20++, Beverage 15++    Anyone else plan on attending?!

It was real honor to be invited by Rasha Al Mandari and the gang at Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa for their very 1st “Full Moon Beach Buffet” which was a smashing success!  The appetizers were so good! I wasn’t able to get all the food choices in these pics as otherwise it would have been a 40 pic blogpost!   The chefs are ready to cook you up whatever you desire.  Ingrid Hotanijaya (Communications Executive) and Chef Lila Shrestha King Fish. I couldn’t believe the size of these fish! 2 more of our favorite folks at the Shangri-La: Eihab Attia (Communications Manager) and Rasha al Madani (Restaurants Marketing Manager). The live band was fantastic! Here is a clip of them playing, “Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?“:Almost every guest who attended the full moon buffet opted for the full course deal which included unlimited beverages including: house red&white wines, Mojito cocktails (awesome!) and a couple of choices of beer as well. Just a quick pic of one of my plates! The food was phenomenal!Always leave space for dessert! :-)Ingrid and Eihab pictured with Khalid Orabi, the editor of Al Isbou’a, Oman’s free Arabic weekly.  It’s the Arabic version of the popular “The week” English publication. It was an amazing evening socializing with such fascinating people!We had a table right next to Dahlia Al Riyami and her husband, Mohammed.  Dahlia runs the wonderful blog “Aish Elaqtta” (one of my favorites!) which is Arabic for “What’s Happening?“.  Here’s another clip of the live band. In this clip, you can hear them performing, “Red Red Wine“, “I Saw Her Standing There“, “I Feel Good“, a Spanish tune called “Besame Mucho” and “Moondance” (so appropriate for “Full Moon buffet”!). I was not surprised to learn that the talented singer is in fact a Filipina! ;-)It’s always nice to meet up with this super social couple! Susan is the owner of Totem clothing. I just blogged about their new shop opening at MGM.  She has also started a new food blog, called “HeyFatsu“.  Her husband, Maurizio, runs the ever popular Muscat-Collective-Intelligence blog and is a social media expert and organizer.     These guys had the right idea; they selected the Arabic style seating on cushions near the beach! Scott Armstrong is on the far left. He is the new Chief Executive Editor of the Times of Oman and we wish him all the best with his new post.      Got a pic of this friendly European couple enjoying a romantic evening on the beach. They were staying at the Bander Hotel. (Just in case you get the wrong idea that it was only bloggers and members of the media at this buffet! :-) ) There were plenty of guests who enjoyed the full buffet + all you can drink.  If you plan on attending the next Full Moon Beach Buffet, I would highly recommend making a reservation at (+968)2477-6666.  I think Shangri-La plans on having another Full Moon Beach Buffet in April.  I’m guessing that the evenings will be too hot and humid from May to September.  Details: 35OR++ including wine,beers, soft drinks, signature cocktails and non alcoholic beverage. Food only: 20++, Beverage 15++

Grand Hyatt Muscat is putting on a Thai Food Festival from April 8-12th.  This time around to celebrate the Truly Thai food festival, they’re going to spice things up a little and and want to make sure that some of the local bloggers are also getting involved in something fun. They are organising a social media competition.If any of you are interested in winning a one-night stay for two on a weekend (breakfast included!), just comment on this post and give your answer and an email address where you can be reached!  Here is the question you must answer:

How many days will the Truly Thai food festival run for at Marjan restaurant?

a. 4 days 

b. 5 days

c. 6 days

You should be able to answer that one with ease! ;-)  Just leave a comment and contact info and YOU could be the lucky winner! By the way, they are giving away this prize to THREE LUCKY WINNERS!!! To increase your chance of winning why not head over to other local blogs and answer their specific blog questions:

• Muscat Mutterings
• Muscat Collective Intelligence
• FatSu
• The Duncan Adventures
• Aish Elaqtta (What’s Happening)

I went to O’Malley’s at the Radisson last week with a few buddies for the first time. It was a lot of fun and Mc Mo really rocked the house!  There is no cover charge and O’Malley’s has a lot of great pub food like Shepherd’s Pie, Irish Stew, fries (chips for you Brits!) and a whole lot more.  If you’ve never been to O’Malley’s at the Radisson, it’s really worth a visit. Great spot! And there’s no better timet to go than on a Thursday night as you get R&B night thrown in for free!

If you’ve never been to Mokha Cafe at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, you really should give it a try!  We were thrilled to be invited to their Easter Brunch on Friday, April 19th.  Egg painting was one of several activities for the kids at the brunch. They had some painted eggs decorating the restaurant as you can see here.  My favorite was this Omani easter egg:Plenty of egg painting materials for the kids.  It really was a well organized and fun day!My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting up with Kate Ginn from Y-Magazine.  She was in charge of the Easter egg camel cookie hunt for the kids at 12:30. Up for grabs at the 12:30pm Y Easter camel cookie hunt was a hamper full of Easter goodies.  Let the games begin!Mommy and Gershom hunting for cookies. They were hidden in the bushes and even on the sides of the palm trees.  Mommy Our son managed to find 11 cookies!Jakob was the big winner with 15 camel cookies! Here he is pictured with his family and Kate Ginn. She hesitated getting in this photo, but I thought she should definitely get in there as she organized the whole event so well! :-)Looking down on Mokha Cafe from the top of the stairsHere are just a few pics of the incredible food that was available at the buffet. Our son Gershom’s favorite – the “Y-Magazine cookies”. Be sure to check out the latest Y-Magazine (Issue 316) which includes a home recipe for these delicious cookies.Nice to see Hot Cross Buns at the buffet! :-)Our friend Don joined us for the buffet. He is another fan of the Grand Hyatt as he has stayed here on numerous occasions.  Our son, Gershom, really loved his time with all the fun kid activities and didn’t want to leave, so Don and I enjoyed a coffee in the lounge until our son tired himself out. I could get used to this “getting served on a silver platter” lifestyle. ;-)A truly fun day out for our son. Here he is pictured with the horse rider monument in the main lounge. It was only during the recent Social Media Competition that I learned (from Maurizio’s blog) that this bronze monument of a Arabian falconer on a horse actually rotates slowly and makes a complete 360 degree turn every 60 minutes. If you ever make it to the Grand Hyatt Muscat, watch the back foot of the horse and you’ll slowly see it moving if you look close enough!Gershom at home showing off one of the eggs Mommy helped him paint. Even today (Sat. 20th) Gersom said, “I want to go back to the place from yesterday!”  Easter Brunches come but once a year my son!  When the Hyatt has a promotion like this (and many others) in the future, you don’t want to miss out.  Stay tuned because apparently there’s another big prize give-away from the Hyatt to be announced and I heard that it’s far more impressive than a free one-night stay for 2 on the weekend…

Thanks to the Hyatt and Y-Magazine for such a fantastic experience during the Easter Friday Brunch!

Would definitely be going to this if I didn’t already have plans tonight!

Have any of you tried the new German Doner Kebab which opened up in Muscat City Center on April 5th?  Everytime I thought to give it a try, the lineups were too long! Finally got a chance to try it out on Saturday and now I understand why the line has been so long!  The Doner Kebab is a lot like a swarma but even more delicious! Plenty of toppings and so fresh!  For my first meal at Doner Kebab, I tried the Doner Kebab Meal for 2.9 Omani rials.  It was a very filling and satisfying meal!  Let’s take a closer look at the sandwich:  I love the taste and texture of the waffle-like bread.  You really have to try this for yourself if you’ve never had one.  Doner Kebab is also open in Zakher Mall (since April 7th).  According to their facebook page, they are planning on opening in several other locations in Oman. Why not post a comment on their facebook page and let them know where you’d like this fantastic chain to open next?!  Like Charley’s Subs, this is another great addition to the dining options at MCC!

  The Cave is a huge multi-restaurant complex (with plans to open hotels there as well in the near future) on Qurum Heights Road in Darsait.  This first post will be of the place itself before I get to another post in which we were invited to a fabulous food tasting event at what is sure to be one of the best locations at the site…  My friend, Wanda, recently blogged about her visit to the Cave and her experience dining at Harbor on her blog. It was her 100th blog post. Be sure to check it out!  I count 8 places to dine on the main signboard (although it seems “Clouds” is on there 2 times with another location (?) called “Above the Clouds”).  Several are to open this week including Rumba which was where we had the pleasure of dining Friday night! For now, as far as I know, only 2 restaurants are open: The Harbor (Seafood Restaurant) and Clouds Terrace.   Beautiful view overlooking Darsait.  This is the Omani restaurant which should open soon. Love the door.  We weren’t that impressed with the look of Harbor especially after seeing the incredible interior of Rumba…coming soon to a post near you.               Loved the look of the palm trees off the glass there!  The pictures fail to capture the beauty of the place and its surroundings.  I must admit that I was skeptical of the whole “cave thing” but it looks like they’ve created quite a unique place.  I recommend heading down there yourself and walking around and through the place.  These were the only 2 places open for business when we were there on Friday.  Stay tuned for our exciting food tasting evening at Rumba, the Latina Restaurant, at the Cave in the next post. 

For Reservations at Harbor or Clouds, call 80006000, or email info@thecave.om.  Website: www.thecave.om (which will actually direct you to their facebook page)

 Rumba Lattina is one of the 8 restaurants within the Cave Complex on Qurum Heights Road.  We recently had the privilege of attending an official “food tasting” evening there thanks to our friend, Maurizio!  The place itself is spectacular and I hope you get a good sense of the ambiance and an idea of just how good the food is from the following 28 pics within this blogpost.  The artwork located throughout Rumba restaurant is gorgeous.  It was all shipped from South America and Mexico! I love the lighting and look of the Tapas Bar!   The Champagne Bar – Oh la la!   How cool is this smoking room?!  The gents preparing mocktails for guests. This is the main Cocktail Bar.  The liquor license for the Cave Complex will be available soon and will cover all locations there I was told.  Rumba will be open until 3am and it’s sure to be a cool place to hang out and have a drink.   My honey and Susan in front of the Tapas bar. Check out Susan’s food blog “Fatsu” here.     Carlos, one of the friendly waiters at Rumba.  The drinks they prepared were so delicious and they kept bringing more and more!  Tapas we tried include seafood tamales, arepa reyna pepiada and vegetable empanada.  60% of the materials for cooking are imported so you can be sure you are eating authentic Central and South American food!       The Aperitivo we tried: Caribean Ceviche.  One of my favourite dishes of the evening.  The fish and shrimp cooked in lemon juice was like nothing I’ve ever had before!   Ensalada: The Watermelon Salad was also very good!   The first dish we tried from the “Principales” or “Main Dishes” was the Chicken Mole.  It was made with a chocolate sauce but I would not have known it was chocolate if they hadn’t told me.  Some of these dishes were completely new to me as I’m unfamiliar with South American cuisine.  I’ve definitely been missing out as the food is so unique and something that you really have to try for yourself.    The 2nd main course we tried was the “Nogada”.  Nogadas are stuffed capsicums.  They served us 2 actually: Lamb & Vegetable. Both were fantastic.  And here we have Maurizio in action, the official photographer for Fatsu! ;-)   The 1st of 3 desserts we were served: Quesillo.  “Mmm, Mmm” and once again let me say “Mmm!”     “Tres leeches” – Let’s hope they have this on their main menu as it was a winner with everyone at the table.  This is a Venezuelan dessert that simply must be tried.   And last of all but definitely not least was the “Marquesa”.  Note the spices on the side which were arranged to represent the colours of the Omani flag.  Nice touch and great dessert!  The head chef, Guillermo, (3rd from the left- not including the Amazon-warriorish statue!) and the other chefs and kitchen staff taking a bow at the end of an incredible gastronomical evening of great food and equally good company.  The restaurant should be opening some time next week.  When it does open, this is a restaurant I would definitely recommend trying out for yourself!

  Looking for a cool place to hang out in the evenings during Ramadan? Marjan Lounge which is normally closed during the hotter months has been transformed into an “Arabian tent” for the next month or so.  The food is a fine selection of Arabian dishes that we were lucky enough to sample a few nights back during the Germany-USA game.  They will have 4 or 5 50 inch screen tvs up!  I highly recommend catching a game there as they’ve put a lot of work into making this an awesome venue.

  Very comfy couches with plenty of ACs and fans to keep you cool.

    Open every night from 8pm to 3am, they will be serving suhour, shisha, delicious Ramadan specialties and juices and showcasing the FIFA World Cup games.

  They have lots of interesting shisha flavours at Marjan Lounge including a new one I tried called orange and mint. (Susan pictured enjoying her lemon and mint! :-) )

  We had a blast trying out the lounge at a “pre-launch party” hosted by the Grand Hyatt! (Yeah, it’s a rough life, haha!)  This is actually the 3rd venue  where you can enjoy Ramadan in the evenings at the Grand Hyatt with the others being The Majlis at Sirj and Mokha Cafe.

So come on down to the Hyatt and enjoy!  Even if you’re not a big football fan (or “soccer” for those of you who REFUSE to conform to the world, haha), you might be surprised how fun it is to head to such a venue with friends. Nothing like good food, good fun and good company! :-)