Desert Adventures

C has been to the Middle East on several occasions for work and has been trying to interest the family to go. After our initial plans to go to Jordan fell through due to some political unrest there, we decided to spend some time in Dubai enroute to Europe.

Dubai in December is pretty cool around 18C. We visited the beach and ducked for cover when it rained. It's quite nice to see families out enjoying the water. We went to the gold souq and the spices souq. The spices souq is quite an eye opener.

The highlight of Dubai trip was the Desert Adventures. We booked a private tour and a 4 wheel drive came to pick us up. We travelled for some time before reaching the desert. 

The desert was beautiful.  The driver then took us to sand bashing, revving up to the sand dunes and sliding down. Very fun! This is very commercialised in Dubai and C said it was more thrilling in the desert in Jordan when he did it.

The next stop was to the camp where there was a big area set up for dinner. Before dinner, the kids took a ATV vehicle and ride around the desert and we went for a camel ride. Dinner was buffet style and we sat on cushions and watched belly dancer, turkish dancer and eating middle eastern fare. The weather was cool and we dine under the stars. It was a memorable day!

20th Wedding Anniversary Dinner at Catalunya

Catalunya is situated at The Fullerton Pavillion, a stand alone pavillon with a rooftop for private parties and wondeful view of Marina Bay.

The decor of the place is nice though the tables are quite close together. The vibes on entering the restaurant is lively, a happening place. We were ushered to our table and offered ice water (no checking if we want sparkling or still :)).  There's a deck you can walk out to to enjoy the lovely sunset.

We ordered 4 tapas and 2 mains with a drink each. My drink Santigo was refreshing - limey with a touch of chilli. C had a beer.

It put me in a good mood to enjoy the food. The tapas came - pa amb tomaquet (toast with olive oil and tomato - $10) - bread was crispy and light. The croquetas Jamon was really good (4 pieces for $15). We had the crispy paella ($16) which is paello cooked in saffron until crispy and eat with fish broth. The presentation was cool as the broth was poured from a pot. The last tapas was Chorizo Yestrellados ($18) which is very rich with egg, chorizo and potatoes. The first bite was great but subsequent bites were too rich for me. My favourite was the croquetas de jamon.

Our mains were baby lamb ribs ($55) and snapper ($45) with medley of vegetables with romesco sauce. The lamb was really good with the sauce. The snapper was not overcooked and goes nicely with the lemon puree and sauce.

We were given a treat of the light and laser show at 8 pm at the Marina Bay.

We were too stuffed to have desserts and I had a lovely anniversary dinner.

Lovely drink

Pa amb tomaquet $10

Croquettas de Jamon ($15)

Chorizo Yestrellasdos ($18)

Crispy Paella ($16)

Snapper $45

Lamb Ribs $55