Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

It is one of those few days when you get to have a break from the humdrum life of the working routine. A day where you get to enjoy for yourself, and not think about what to cook for lunch tomorrow or washing clothes and ironing some that have already dried. Just doing something that you'd enjoy like exploring.

And in one of these rare occasions of exploring that we end up visiting the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It was a Saturday a day after Eid. We hailed a taxi cab and head out to the mosque.



It was pretty hot that day. At the height of summer season in the middle east is like being cooked alive under the heat of the sun. Everything is glaringly bright. The clear blue sky is just perfect for a good sun tan moment but only for 5 minutes.  Beyond that, you'd end up bein toasted.



When we arrived there, we were not expecting it to be packed with visitors. Since, it was posted in the magazine that there will be a free guided tour on that day, I guess, everybody saw that small ad.

Before we proceed with the guided tour with the rest of the curious tourists. Women have to wear the abaya, to show respect to the holy place of worship. Abaya, is the black dress that covers the whole body of the women. A shiela is like a black scarf that covers the hair. Free abaya and shiela are being handed out on the east wing of the entrance. So I got my own abaya and tried to don the black dress and cover everything except my face. The hair should be completely covered, for whatever reason, I forgot to ask.



Then we picked a group where we could join and start the tour. We were lucky because our tour guide speaks clearly and very engaging in telling the details of the mosque. The columns, made in marble but have precious stones embedded in the shape of flowers and vines. All columns that surround the mosque.



Next stop is the the inside of the mosque. But before we entered we were asked to take off our shoes in the open area. Take note, it was around 11 am that time but the marble floor outside still feel cold. According to the tour guide, these marbles were fabricated from China that repels heat and keep the floor cold despite the increasing temperature. Then we head inside through a huge door which is elaborately adorned in vines and flowers. Inside the prayer room, are two halls. One big prayer room for women. The prayer room for women, has a beautiful ceiling that has the exact design as the carpet that covers the floor.



The main prayer room, is the grandest among the structure. The chandelier that adorns the beautiful ceiling just takes your breathe away. Made in Germany and in Swarovzki crystals, natural lights just dances rainbows on the walls of the prayer room. The columns of the inner prayer room is just astounding, marble columns with flowers and vines designs, but instead of precious stones embedded its mother of pearl. The walls are covered with white cold that protects the etchings. And the huge carpet that covers the entire prayer room was hand woven by Iranian women. A quick trivia on the carpet, a subtle line is visible to align the people who are going to pray, to maintain order and no overlapping will happen.


The mosque really deserves the name grand, because of everything it stands for and everything that is made of. It simply is a work of beautiful architecture and everything expensive roll into one.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Bread Anatomy

I grew up in a bakery. Every meal is not complete without bread on the table. What ever the time of the day, there are variety of bread to choose from. I am a bit spoiled when it comes to bread. And because I am so into breads I made it a point to learn on how to make it. But that was my life before I got married. Baking was my stress-reliever and my way of keeping the family "healthy." When I got here, my search for the perfect bread (a.k.a the kind that I am accustomed to) had began.

My search for that perfect bread took some time to commence, since I was so overwhelmed with new flavors that I have encountered. Until one day, when I woke up for breakfast, I began to crave for loaf bread. In the Philippines, loaf bread or the white bread or the milk bread is known with so many nicknames. American bread, Tasty Bread, White Bread and Loot Bread (this is for those who doesn't really know the real name of the bread but just uttered the word that sounds the same with loaf bread).

So the first bread I bought was the milk bread. Most groceries have many bread to offer. I tried the milk bread. This kind of bread looks like the Filipino loaf bread but has the different texture. It is flaky and does not taste as creamy as what I have expected. Next is the White Bread. Still looks like the loaf bread but not that soft. The taste is okay but still not that taste that I am looking for. And finally, I found Golden Fork White Bread. (This is not free advertising, seriously). This is the kind of bread I am used to eating. Soft and chewy texture. It doesn't break up when you try to flatten it or roll it. Just perfect.


Then I went out for a ciabatta craving. A variety of ciabatta is hiding in the baskets of Spinney's grocery. I particularly like their sun dried tomato ciabatta. Try reheating it in the grill and dip it into a balsamic vinegar and EVVO mixture. Perfect combination for any soup and salad. A perfectly grilled ciabatta is when the outer crust is crispy and warm on the inside and easily absorbs the soup when dipped.

Speaking of crusty shells and chewy insides on the inside - this also spells the perfectly cook pandesal. Let me tell you about the pandesal. This is the staple break fast food of most Filipino in the Philippines. This can be dipped into coffee - commonly done by Lolo's and Lola's whose set of teeth has long retired. Pandesal also goes well with any sandwich spread. And it also goes well with any viand. After 11 months here in Abu Dhabi, I have finally found pandesal. Choitram supermarket sells them here in Khalidiya for 1 AED for 4 pieces. Pandesal came from a Spanish word pan meaning bread and de sal meaning of salt. Pandesal is a bread made basically with salt.

Good to know that some corners of the city offers food that reminds you of home. Comfort food for the homesick soul, I must say.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Winter in Hongkong and Macau

For the last 30 years of my existence, I have but 2 experience of winter. Both caught me off guard but both experience had me giggling like a school girl. It was like a dream come true. I have always thought that winter is not winter without snow, but, have realized that winter is the time of the year where I could wear every clothes in layer and won’t worry about having any nook and cranny parts of my body perspiring while I strut the city streets. Plus I get to wear boots! No sweaty foot too.



Coming from the Asian country where every day is a Sunny day, I was always curious with winter, how it would feel if I get to be in a place where temperatures go below zero. Hongkong in February is my first winter wonderland. The trip was a wedding gift and what a way to spend a honeymoon on a winter season right? Right! If honeymooners are always caught cooped up inside their nesting haven, my husband and I opted exploring Hongkong. The first time I visited Hongkong was on May 1999. In that 10 years, Hongkong haven’t change a bit. But this time, I am able to shop with my own moolah (I think, hehe).



My winter in Hongkong was a mixture of thrill and pain. Thrill because it was winter and pain because I could feel most of my extremities numbing because of the cold. We were not expecting Hongkong to feel so freaking cold. I brought summer clothes! We came from Bellarocca ( summer paradise) then we head straight to Hongkong, how could I possibly pack for two different season in one travel. But it was a good excuse to shop. Truly! I was able to shop for boots! Beautiful warm boots ranges from HKD 100 to 300. All worth it, I must say. For the perfect bargain visit their night market in Temple Street. Compare prices first before plunging into the buying anything. One night is not enough to haggle and shop. Another sure bargain street is Nathan Road. International and local brands are up for grabs in that area. The entire stretch of the street is a bargain hall. Everything was on sale on a very low prices (well, at least during that time)



Another good thing about Hongkong is not the usual tourist spots to be visited. It’s their food. You would think that once you have tasted one noodle you have tasted every noodle that they could offer. That’s a misconception. Hongkong has a lot of noodles to please your palate in any time of the day. And if you have already gone tired with Hongkong jump into the ferry for 2 hours and you are into Asia’s own Las Vegas – Macau! The ferry costs around HKD 133 one way economy. The terminal station is at Tsim Shia Tsui not difficult to locate. A MRT station is near the terminal and taxi cab drivers also know where it is.



If Hongkong was cold, Macau was definitely colder. I was not prepared for the onslaught of very cold air (again!). I was wearing a dress and was wearing tights and my new boots but alas, it was still useless. Stepping out of the terminal was convenient. Free shuttle buses are readily available to take you to big Casinos. First stop is the Venetian.



Inspired by the floating city of Venice, the big casino has the features of the city itself. Gondolas circle the building via artificial rivers. For those who want to try and feel the moment of riding the gondola while you pass by bridges and picturesque view of the casino, you can take a ride on the gondola for a fee. The price range is HKD 100 per person. What makes the ride worth it? The serenade. While the gondoliers push the gondola along the clear water, they sing. And I must say it was very nice, its a like front row seat at a concierto. Shops of international brand are also open to accept any credit cards if you can't resist buying stuff that are on sale. Don't forget to buy egg tarts made fresh everyway.



The sad thing about our visit in Macau was that it was cut short. The cold was simply unbearable. My toes were already frozen. So I can't walk further. We were not able to visit the other sights in Macau. But then again there is still another chance, hopefully. So we went back to Hongkong to change my attire and continue shopping instead.



Winter in Hongkong is everything and more that I have expected. Hopefully, the next time I visit another country during winter, I'd finally get kissed by a snowflake.

Woes of Working in Abu Dhabi

Today, 23 June 2011, is the crappiest day of the month. I should have known, when the week started, all the tell-tale signs of a bad week was everywhere to give me a warning. Working abroad is anything but predictable. Something always comes up and usually whatever is up is not really good. I don’t know if I would have preferred my foul-mouthed Chinese boss from the past or my temperamental American boss of the recent or my smoke-belching Arabian boss of the present. All of them can be categorized in different level of laziness. Not in order but, one is really, really lazy, the other one is just plain lazy and the other one is not lazy at all.

When I set foot in this dessert land of a country, work was far from my head. I came here because I want to join my husband. I came here because we both want to start a family already. Unfortunately some circumstances need some immediate remedy that I have to take a job to lessen the burden on my husband’s part while looking for another employment. You see, living in Abu Dhabi is not that simple. I came here using a husband’s visa. This visa depends basically on the employment of my husband. If his contract expires so does my visa. Anyhoo, their project was almost completed, so some of their personnel were being transferred to another site project, which is Ruwais. A 3 hours something drive from Abu Dhabi proper. My husband doesn’t want to take me there, since it is far from the city amenities, knowing that I’m a sickly person, I always need to be near a hospital. But enough about me.

Working abroad always entails contracts and visa. Your stay in the country depends basically with your work. This is true here in Abu Dhabi. Most of the Filipinos who came here to try their luck here entered the country using a visit visa. This visa allows the holder 30 days stay here in the UAE. An extension can be applied to a maximum of another 30 days. When applying for visa, once it is granted you need to use it within 2 months else, the visa will expire and will no longer be usable. Once a visit visa holder lands a job, the company will be the one applying for the visa of that person.

Employment visa varies. There is the missionary visa and the employment visa. The missionary visas are given to those who are hired directly from their mother country and sponsored to work in Abu Dhabi for six months. The employment visa however is the real deal. The validity of such visa is the entire period of the contract signed by the hired personnel. For those who are holding visit visa and have found a job during the stay here in Abu Dhabi, their visa are usually transferred to employment visa , but before getting that they have to exit the country first for certain legalities. Exit can be to other countries outside UAE and one in particular is Kish Island. No one has ever heard of Kish Island, but if you are here in Abu Dhabi it’s the last place you would want to go for an exit. Horrible stories about the island. Some of those who go there for exit are already forgotten. Many are raped and killed. That is why some hotels there are haunted. I don’t know for certain the truth in those, but 3 of my officemates were told to exit to Kish Island and yes, it was a scary place for any woman to go to.

For those who are lucky to get an employment visa without any hitches, they get to finish their contract and jump into another company. But before doing so, expats should complete two years of their contract before they can transfer to another company. This is the new UAE employment law. Back then, once your contract is completed, you are to go home in your mother country since you are banned to look for another job for the next 6 months.

So many clauses surround you when working abroad. And so you try to comfort yourself with the stuff that you could buy when you get your salary at the end of the month. In that way, in a little way the hurtful things that your bosses and officemates hurled at you is not that ego blowing anymore.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Things I Would Have Done with My Tatay on Father’s Day

Father’s day went by like any other normal day. Albeit the buzz in the net and all around the world our office stayed cold and unfeeling about the whole idea of celebrating the day. Despite my distance from my Tatay, this does not hinder me to daydream a little of what we could have done during this day.

IKEA day – We could spend the entire day checking every item in IKEA. My father, who is a very good handyman in the house, loves to check out the latest innovations in house improvement or do it yourself renovations. He loves to tinker anything that needs tinkering. So a day in IKEA would definitely bring a smile to his face.

Fishing – The laziness of fishing suits my tatay well. Not that my tatay loves to laze around, but fishing is sort of a lazy activity. You cast your line. You sit. And then you wait. A moment of elation and a hurried unhooking activity is the exchange for hours of waiting. But I guess, this is fishing for my tatay a way of relaxing.

Eating Out – I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat out huh? Old or young, boy or girl, eating will always be fun. Tatay loves to eat, he wouldn’t be tagged the night crawler or the fridge invader for nothing. The key in fridge is not a hindrance at all. If my tatay is here, I’d probably take him to an eat all you can restaurant. Like Ponderosa, I have always wanted to try that restaurant, Tatay would definitely like to check out the there too.

Window shopping – This is I guess the best activity I could do with my Tatay. Window shopping is the last thing men would want to do, but my Tatay had his years of practice with Nanay when shopping for shoes, thus the patience to follow and look around with all of us. Tatay likes to window shop for any bric-a-brac or even shop small things that you might consider mundane. Even when he is travelling, sometimes his paslaubong is a door knob, but mind you, it’s a pretty good doorknob. Food for pasalubong is an old timer crowd pleaser but doorknob? It is something you would always remember. I did.

I could think of a lot of things that we could do. A hug would have been good to take away the homesickness feeling in my gut. But for now, I’ll just enjoy their voices over the phone and enjoy their pictures at Marina Bay with the rest of the gang.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Pillow Talk

Finding a decent place to live in Abu Dhabi is as harrowing as finding a good paying job in the same city. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), as we are often identified in our country, usually settled for what is the cheapest available accommodation. There are different ways on how to get the best and not so best deal in finding a bed in the city.



The most common accommodation is the bedspace. This I guess is the cheapest accommodation one could have. Rates could range from AED550 to AED800 per person for one month, inclusive of electricity and water usage. Accommodations like this have free kitchen and washing machine usage. The internet is separte payment. When you say bed space, this entails the tenant one bed in a big room with bunk beds. Most bedspacing rooms, have 3-4 double deck beds with curtain to give the tenant his/her privacy. Though this is cheap and you could have your salary more or less intact, this accommodation robs you the privacy one would need because you would be sharing the room and the space with the rest of the 7 tenants, which means that if you feel like sleeping early the odds of achieving that is slim. Another downside, some bedspace accommodations mix men and women in one room. All the more awkward moments for the women since men don’t care how they change clothes. And, sad to say, some tenants are just too callous to notice their roommates that they even bring their partners in the room and do the humping activities. This is a true account from an officemate who used to occupy the upper deck of the bunk bed. Sleeping is way too impossible to do if you could feel the lower bunk moving and moaning sounds make up the night sounds. Plus, most of the bathroom of this kind of accommodation is not maintained. You have to deal with whatever is crawling on the floor and walls. The stink and the bad lighting adds to the horrific state of the bathroom. These are just a few of the faces of living in a bedspace.

Another accommodation is the partition. This setup is more expensive compared to the bedspace. If you are with a partner or with a sibling and you would like a bigger space for your privacy this is the accommodation. Unlike bed space, the partition is a space in one room where your space is divided by a partition. Partitions usually comes in different type, this could be a curtain, a cabinet or a plyboard wall. Rates range from AED 1500 to AED 1800 per space. One room is subdivided into 2 or 3 parts depends on the size of the room.




If you have extra budget for accommodation and is very willing to spend more for your privacy, you rent a room. Room rates usually depend on the location of the building. City rates for room rentals range from AED 2500 to AED 4000. The good side about having to pay much is that you can have the room all to yourself. You can have all the space you need and don’t have to share with anybody else. Unless, you took a master bedroom, the room rental will also require you to share bathroom.

If however, you value your bathroom time, then it is suggested that you get your own unit. Payment for one flat usually requires you to pay twice or thrice a year. Contracts are renewed annually and you also have to pay the agent who is managing the flat. Agent’s fee usually depend on the agent, some of them charge 5% - 10% of the total monthly fee. The good thing about having your own flat is that you can invite friends for a sleepover. You have the entire space to yourself and no more timing for bathroom use. Plus you get to apply for mawaqif sticker for cheaper parking rate. Flat owner/ flat tenant can buy the sticker for 800 good for one year. Parking fees cost 2AED per hour. Imagine the cost that you could save. The downside about having your own flat is that you have to worry about bills, electric bills, water bills, internet bills.

Every year, reports have shown that accommodation rentals are lowering due to more residential buildings being built outside the CBD. But then cheaper houses don’t really compensate the costs of transportation. So people continue to hunt for cheaper and livable flats which is just within their budget and still be able to send money back to their family in their country. Sigh. This is the life of the OFW.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Friday Gatherings

One would think that living and working abroad would be quite difficult for some religions. This is particularly true for Catholics living in Muslim countries. Again, another misconception, for the newbie. Despite the presence of mosques everywhere in the city, still Abu Dhabi catered to other religions. For a Roman Catholic like me, there is St. Joseph Church.



Going to church on a Friday or Sunday is one of the most effective ways to overcome the homesickness bug. Filipino mass is being celebrated by Fr. Troy de los Santos, who is gifted with words that could effectively deliver the word of the day. He is funny and very accommodating. He never fails to remind church goers that the family is the most important treasure one person could ever have. And that, sacrifices these OFW’s made for their family made them unselfish providers. Filipino homilies are always soul enriching and will always uplift your spirit every after mass.



Aside from the mass and the lively crowd, going to mass remind me so much of home because of the barkers outside and the kakanin vendors. In the Philippines jeepney barkers are everywhere. When we say barkers, they sound like dogs who are crying for your attention.
Barkers holler the name of the place where the jeepney is heading and what route it is taking. Here in Abu Dhabi, it is the minibus instead of the jeepneys. Its pretty funny, Pinoy barkers mostly look like any other bystanders here, they are well dressed. Most of them are wearing long sleeves and slacks. Despite the heat and the possibility of being soaked with sweat, long sleeves shirt is still the in thing to wear.

The kakanin, home grown Filipino delicacies completes the church going activity. All Filipino stuffs are sold outside the church, biko, itlog na pula, cassava cake, tuyo, embutido, tocino and sapin-sapin - anything that you missed eating from the Philippines. Although, I must say, the quality is not as good as you would like it to be. However, that is better than nothing.

I will never get used to going to church on Fridays except when I was still in high school and college when a first Friday mass is often celebrated. I grew up hearing mass on Sundays and enjoying family gatherings with kakanin on Sundays. Everything is done on a Sunday. But if you are in Abu Dhabi, you learn to adjust and adapt. Whether it be Friday or Sunday, still it is good to know that you are given a day to hear the Word and celebrate being alive with the people you don’t know personally but definitely speak your language.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Dubai Day Trip

The good thing about Middle East is that countries are separated only by mountains that serve as boundaries. And these so called boundaries do nothing to hinder travelers to jump into exploring one border to another. With this in mind, a day trip in Middle East’s hippest city is likely to happen. Dubai is a two hour drive from Abu Dhabi city. Known to be the favorite city among expats and even locals, Dubai rose to fame around 2006. Construction of high rise buildings and luxurious hotels were booming until the world was hit by the great recession. Most of the ongoing constructions in Dubai stopped, buildings no longer have occupants and foreign-invested companies began to close down, but despite all the downside of the recession, Dubai continues to glitter like the jewel of Middle East.



The trip started around 7:00 am, but the waiting took almost an hour, we left Abu Dhabi around 8:00 am already. The convenient part of this road trip is that we have our own car and driver who knows the road both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. For those who would like to take a day trip to Dubai, you can take the bus. The bus terminal is located at Muroor Road – Taxi Stand. Bus fare is AED 25.00 per person. Unlike private drive, the bus will take 2- 3 hours drive. Also, note to the driving public, when going to Dubai from Abu Dhabi, make sure you have your Salik ready. Usually found on windshields, this stickies are prepaid stickers that automatically deducts when it passes through the tolling gate.

The first part of the road trip is to visit the Dubai Outlet Mall. This semi-warehouse mall houses many brands for apparels and shoes that are factory priced. If you are into sports visit the Addidas, Nike and Puma Outlet shops. If you are into designer clothes, outlet shops are everywhere. Bags and shoes for Nine West and Naturalizer also have their place in the mall. Make-up and perfumes range from 10 AED and up. I bought this Wet n Wild diamond glitter lip sheener which only costs AED 10. Good buys. A day in this mall is not enough. The top level also has a food court wing where you can eat and rest while taking a break from shopping. The Mall opens at 10:30 am.

Next stop, is the Palm Jumeirah beach. We took our lunch there, too bad though because we got there around 1 pm already so the beach was packed. Good spots were already taken. But then, any spot is perfect for the hungry travelers, we settled for on bench near the walkway with no grass to sit on. Boohoo.





Our driver was enjoying taking us around so he took us to Atlantis the Palm. The hotel has this big arc in the middle that truly shoes the culture where the hotel is located. It was a masterpiece. Plenty of people visit the hotel just to have the hotel as a backdrop for picture taking. Facing a serene beach, the hotel is one of a kind.

The last stop was, Dubai Mall. After a long day being under the sun and bombarded with the summer heat, the cool interior of the mall is a welcome relief. Packed with weekend shoppers, the mall was a buzzing mix of cultures. Expats and locals come in and out the mall with one purpose only – to be entertained. In this mall, a splendid aquarium attracts adults and children alike. If you want to take a closer look with the fish, packages are available at the counter. If going under the tunnel it costs AED 50 per person. If you want to be inside the aquarium it will cost AED 150.



Outside this mall, the perfect view of the world’s tallest building can be viewed – Burj Khalifa. Coffee Shops are open where you can bask in the beauty of the structural masterpiece. And when dusk comes in, the dancing fountain will light up the night.


A day in Dubai is not enough to visit every good spots. Save the rest of if for another visit like during the Summer Festival Sale.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Shopping the new Hobby in Abu Dhabi

It is a common fact that most countries in the Middle East women and men wore certain clothes that basically covers the whole body. Women wore the abaya while men sport the thob or the kondura 24/7 whenever they go out in public. And one would wonder why franchises of designer clothes keep on opening everywhere in Abu Dhabi? I wondered the same thing. But then again, expats are aplenty in the country to make the shops worry about having to close up soon. Aside from the locals who live here, expats from all over the world have made Abu Dhabi as their second home thus the continuous sales revenue. Local women, despite being covered can also shop for designer clothes and they can show it off when they have gatherings.

Special occasion or not, where does one have to go to buy that perfect outfit? Malls in the city could readily cater to such needs. Here are some of the malls frequented by many of the shoppers:

Marina Mall – located near the Yacht Club. This mall houses plenty of designer shops. Shopping is not only activity you can do in this mall. A cinema that shows the latest and current movies is located at one end. And on the opposite end is the food court. The downside of this food court is that it only has a few restaurants and fast food chain. Right next to the fast food court is the entertainment area where kids can play around and take some rides. The mall also boasts of its grocery – which sells everything you need from electronics and appliances, to home accessories, to RTW’s, toys, clothes, fresh fruits and vegetables and the freshest meat. When your kids grow tired of the entertainment area why not try the skating rink. Or if you feel like being a recluse, find some coffee shop or restaurant at the farther end of the mall where you can have a cozy ambiance while sipping latte. For big events like anniversaries or perhaps a marriage proposal, the Tiara is always available to cater such a big event. This rotating restaurant is known for its cuisine and one of a kind view of the city.

Al Wahda Mall – If you are one of the few who prefer a more subdued mall, Al Wahda is the place. This mall does not have a cinema, but still delivers the need of the public in terms of shopping. One of the best bookstores here in Abu Dhabi is also located here – Magrudy's. All kinds of books are readily available in Arabic and in English. If they don’t have it, they can order it for you with no additional cost. Another must visit store in this mall is Daiso. A Japanese store that sells every bric-a-brac you could imagine for a lesser cost. Located at the basement of the building is the Lulu supermarket. Like Carrefour, Lulu supermarket also sells everything you need at home and other family activities.

Khalidiya Mall – Home of Krispy Kreme donut store, Khalidiya boasts its homey ambiance, unlike the other malls, Khalidiya Mall, is not that big but still deliver the usual elements you need from a mall. The royal cinema is always updated with current movies and it is not crowded. The food court is a must place to hang out. Plenty of fast food chains surround the 3rd level of the mall. You can binge your heart out. Lulu supermarket is also housed in this mall.

Abu Dhabi Mall – If you feel like splurging on some shopping like within the month, this is the place. When the salary date is still quite far, you can still shop without using too much of your moolah. But then, if you have tons of cc you can go all the way. A crowd pleaser is the Aeropostale shop. Near Starbucks coffee shop, this American brand has the latest trends in apparel. From shirts, to pants, shorts and other accessories, this shop often gives sale promotions like buy 1 take 1 or 60% discount on everything. Another must visit in Abu Dhabi mall is the Sharaf DG. The electronic shops that always give good prices and if you are looking for an item that they offering but out of stock, you’ll definitely get it for free. Or something like that. Abu Dhabi Mall is also in tandem with Abu Dhabi Coop for the grocery stuff.

Shopping never goes out of fashion in Abu Dhabi, there is always a reason to spend that moolah. So let your CC out of their hiding and do the swipe-swipe now.