Red Letter Day

The countdown for the V day has already began.  By the time the calendar hits February every malls will be putting down the christmas garlands while putting up Cupid.  *Sigh* Love.  What can I say?  It can make you cry, laugh and completely gaga. So for those who are into the big hoolah over the red letter day, plans should be finalized by now.  And if your are stuck in a new city like Abu Dhabi I have some list I got from Abu Dhabi Life where you can spend your moolah and have a little lovin' at some of the city's restaurants on Valentine's Day

Gourmet Abu Dhabi Promotion at Beach Rotana

Chef Claire Clark of the three (3) Michelin starred The French Laundry will be preparing desserts and pastries on V-day from February 14-17, 2012 at Rodeo Grill and Café Columbia.

Contact: 02 697 9000 for more information and reservation

Café Arabia

A three-source set menu on the open air rooftop overlooking the Mushrif Park for AED 150 per perso with complimentary tea or coffee.

Contact: 02 643 9699 for more information and reservation

Marakesh Restaurant, Millenium Hotel

Moroccan inspired meal with a bottle of grape beverage, belly dancers and singers for AED 750 per couple.  The party starts at 8 pm.

Contact: 02 614 6000 for more information and reservation

Flavours, Sheraton Hotel

Indian cuisine buffet with live music for AED 185 including bottomless red and white wine and AED 150 with beverage. 

Contact: 02 677 333 for more information and reservation.

Bravo, Sheraton Abu Dhabi

Serves tapas dinner for a group of people with free flow of Spanish beverage for AED 155 per person.

Contact: 02 677 333 for information and reservation

Benihana, Beach Rotana

Features four-course menu for AED 249 per person with a glass of bubbly.

Contact: 02 697 9000 for more information and reservation

Boccassio, Intercontinental Hotel

Features a four(4) course set menu with a bottle of bubbly for AED 650 per couple.

Contact: 02 666 6888 for more information and reservation

Hoi An, Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri

Features a special four-course menu with welcome drinks and flowers for the ladies for AED 500 per couple.

Contact: 02 509 8555 for more information and reservation.

Afya, Traders Hotel Qaryat al Beri

Dinner for AED 125 person with a welcome rose and chocolate for the ladies.  It includes bottomless beverages.

Contact: 02 510 8818 for more information and reservation

Allure

Free chocolate-covered strawberries and bubbly at the terrace of Allure during sunset for couples.

Contact: 02 657 5400 for more information and reservation

La Veranda Restaurant, Sheraton Khalidiya

Valentine buffet for AED 400 per couple.

Contact: 02 666 6220 for more information and reservation

Abu Dhabi City Golf Club

Dinner buffet for AED 150 with bubbles and roses for the ladies.

Contact: 02 445 9600 for more information and reservation

The Park Bar & Grill, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi

Offers  four-course set menu for AED 1500 per couple with a bottle of bubbly.

Jones The Grocer

Three-course dinner for AED 299 per head.  The meal includes matched beverage for every course.

Now, the list will continue to grow, but for now, this is quite a selection of options depending on your budget, your time and your  zeal in celebrating Valentine's Day.

HostGator promos

Finding Jones the Grocer

It took me almost two (2) years to finally find this shop.  I was still in Davao and preparing for my weddin and I wanted to buy some pecorino cheese as my wedding token.  I found some shops in Davao that sells gourmet cheese unfortunately they don’t sell whole rings.  They sell it by grams.  So I asked my husband, fiancé back then to check the market in Abu Dhabi and that’s the first time I encountered this shop was when I was scouring the internet for cheese sellers in Abu Dhabi.   My husband, fiancé back then, had a hard time looking for the shop, I didn’t believe him the, because knowing men.  When I finally got here, my search for this shop continued.  Still it was difficult to find unless you have your own car to leisurely scour the area.  And recently before Christmas, we finally did found this shop.  Though not the first shop but the shop located here in Khalidiya area, still it is Jones the Grocer.

Here is a quick direction.  If you are traversing along Sheik Zayed First Road heading towards First Gulf Bank of Khalidiya you will see the Khalidiya Garden Park on the left side and you will come across an intersection.  After the intersection you will a small road on the ride side before the old Adnoc Petrol Station.  Take that road and head straight, you will see Oryx Hotel on the corner, turn left then take another sharp right turn then you would see a shop with bluish glass windows and doors.  That’s Jones the Grocer.  It can easily be missed because the signage is quite small.

Now on to what is inside.  If you are into organic products, cheese and wine this is definitely the place to be.  Maybe this is the reason why the location is somewhat hidden because they serve wines and other meat that is not usually serve in restaurants in the city.  The ambiance has the feel of friendly charm of a high end diner.   The staff are all friendly and accommodating.  You don’t have to wait and wave for somebody to take your order.  Once we got inside, a friendly staff ushered us on the seat we find comfortable.  We were informed that the right wing of the restaurant is colder while the left wing is warmer.  Since it was 72 degrees F outside, we chose the warmer side.  We were given the menu and left us to study it.  After some time the very accommodating manager went to our table to take our order. 

 I got the pastrami panino and my husband ordered the char-grilled chicken with couscous.  We also ordered iced tea and homemade lemonade, which is their house specialty, and mash potato.  Our drinks arrived within 5 minutes of ordering it.  The lemonade I must say is good.  It has the right amount of tanginess and sweetness.  Just perfect for my palate.  Then our order came.  I dig into my salad and enjoyed it.  The mashed potato was served last because it was just an additional order.  The chicken was good, it tasted a bit like curry chicken but grilled.  The couscous was a bit dry and bland for my taste.  The sandwich was not as warm as I have expected.  The meal was good.  They cleared our table once they saw that we have already polished everything. 

My husband wanted to order some sweet.  A lot of pastries were displayed and you would definitely drool over each of them.  It all looked so delectable.  It took us sometime to finalize our order for desserts.  And decided on moist chocolate cake for husband and homemade ice cream for me – vanilla and pistachio. 

The cake, sad to say has the texture of a one day old cake.  The icing is gummy and the cake is dry.  Not at all what we have expected.  But the ice cream gets 2 thumbs up.  The vanila was incredibly creamy and the pistachio is yummy.  Our total bill for that night was AED 163.00. 

Reasonable price.  You would think with all the glass exterior and modern interior design that the price would be a bit stiff, but no, it was ok.  Asked if I would recommend this place?  Yes, definitely.  Next time I’d try the Wagyu Burger next time.