desertedinuae ماري

Where to stay in Tblisi Georgia

Working in the UAE certainly has its pros and cons. I ain’t here to talk about the cons coz I’m all about them pros hun! #positivevibesonly

Firstly, before we get to the Georgia blog I want to quickly note how grateful I am to be here. Working in the UAE has opened up a lot of opportunities for me and I am able to experience not most employees in other countries are able to. 30 calendar leave…

In our office we hold a monthly staff gathering where we have lunch in the showroom every last Thursday of the month to celebrate the birthdays for that month (what?). Let me explain haha! We have a tradition that if you’re celebrating your birthday you have to treat the office with either lunch or cake or sweets whatever you fancy (more like whatever you are happy to pay for hihi). Since it is way too much for one person to feed 55-65 people (although only once a year) it has been decided to gather once a month and those whose birthday falls on that month they will all chip in and get lunch for the whole office staff.

So what do we order then?

As part of my job (well more like ‘as the person who LOVES to eat most in the office’) I have always been tasked to place the order for staff gatherings. Although communities in facebook are really helpful with wonderful ideas on where to order I haven’t found a blog post or article on this – specifically in Abu Dhabi. Hence, my blog post.

So what do we order then? (Come on Marie get to the point!)

Okay, first I would like to note the demographics in the office. We are mostly Filipinos, Indians, a few Europeans (like 3 people) 1 Australian, 2 Egyptians, and some Bangladeshis. It is quite a challenge to ensure that the food to order must cater to all these nationalities and not to mention their religion-specific dietary requirements. It’s quite funny really coz you can tell which nationality is the majority of the birthday celebrator (or celebrant? – I don’t know which one is right actually but who cares you understand hehe).  If it’s Biryani duh it’s from the Indians. If it’s fried chicken and pizza – well it’s from the Filipinos (we like junk food hurray lol). Something like that. but over the years of eating so much we have come to know each others palates and we found ourselves with a few favourites! Please find below a list of our favourite places to order food in Abu Dhabi.

Regards,

Marie

PLACES TO ORDER FOOD FOR OFFICE GATHERINGS IN ABU DHABI

RITAJ

Chicken 65 Biryani from RItaj (this was my plate) I know it does not look so inviting but I actually forgot to take a photo of it before I digged in because I just couldn’t wait to eat this dish it is so DELISH!

CHICKEN 65 Biryani – we prefer this rather than the regular chicken biryani. We order for 60 people so they deliver about 3 massive (and I mean massive) trays of this biryani and one small tray of vegetable biryani (for the vegetarian staff). It is dry to the taste which actually is what we like. It does come with two sauces – one yoghurt (it’s called ‘raita’ in Hindi) and one coconut chutney (I made this name up but that’s exactly how it taste like). The biryani is spicy – I don’t know if they make this non-spicy but that’s no fun then. We kinda like our mouths on fire herherher! The Indians are such naturals with spicy food – I am jealous! The coconut chutney (orange in colour) is a must try. Just slather the chutney over the biryani before putting it in your mouth – oh gosh I am salivating right now! The chicken pieces (the chicken 65 that is) is salty and tasty but in a good naughty way. I don’t care how it’s made or cooked for us it’s heaven! We spend about Dhs 600 for this.

CEASARS CONFECTIONERY

(Image from allrestaurants.eu)

Chicken Quiche – creamy, cheesy, with bits of chicken pieces what else should you be asking for?

Cheese Buns – soft and fluffy with cheese filling ooh so sexy! (cheese filling tastes like Kiri abit sour and salty)

Samosas – Mmmmm our British boss loves this! Not sure what we call that samosa but we normally get the one with potatoes inside served with chutney.

Sliced Cakes – the convenience of not having to cut and allocate cake pieces just makes this the best choice – no fighting on who gets the bigger part or the corner piece with more icing! Their cakes are light, fluffy and not too sweet.

MIXED GRILL

A tray of Beef Kabab, Beef Kofta, Sheesh Tawook and Grilled Chicken Quater pieces plus Khubz (arabic bread) served with garlic sauce and hummus

Sheesh (chicken) Tawouk

Arayesh (beef pastry)

Tabouleh (salad)

We order mostly from Al Fawar in Muroor. A tray of 3kg mixed grill costs about Dhs 120 each and for 60 people we order about 4 sometimes 6 if the treaters are feeling generous. (If the birthday person has a higher budget we order from BESBAS – it’s a Yemeni restaurant and we call the Khalidiya Branch. Their Chicken Madhbi with biryani rice is a must try!)

This tray of mixed grill is so filling – not only the taste but also the aroma! It does fill our showroom with barbecue essence so if your office does not tolerate this scenario skip to the next tip!

Krispy Kreme

One of the less expensive choices for treating our staff of about 60 people – a few dozens of these leave smiles on our faces

Marks and Spencer

Image from M&S UAE website

A favorite of our British boss! It is a British brand after all hehe! Just like how we Filipinos love our Jollibee! Mostly during Christmas, we get to receive sweet treats from M & S courtesy of the boss – sometimes minced pies, sometimes chocolates, and at times some really nice biscuits (Americans call them cookies). I also buy the same (biscuits) for when we have long meetings.

Tip: M&S have a section for reduced price items like half price and the brownies is my personal favourite (note that these items are mostly nearing their expiry date like weeks before) I buy from here sometimes (for my personal consumption) and I just make sure I eat them before the bb date. They taste as good so would recommend to those who want to taste test first.

Subway

Image from Subway UAE

This option is mostly when we want something quick as we have a Subway right around the corner and also they have sandwiches for everybody (veg and non-veg). Their platters can be customised and the sliced pieces are perfect serving size.

WOW Sweets

Image from wowsweetsad twitter

Sometimes you don’t have to look further – step outside your office and check out the surrounding cafes and restaurants you have in your area. First it’s convenient plus if they get to know you and you develop some kind of a relationship ( not the romantic ones I suppose) with them, they can offer you special discounts being neighbours!

Wow sweets is our next door neighbour. Their main products are their chocolates which we adore but is a bit pricey to treat 60 people with! LOL! However, they also have these beautifully arranged mini sandwiches (they have the regular size too – for 7dhs a piece) as seen in above image and they are quite a delight! They are freshly made and the bread is what makes their sandwich taste really good! Some of our favourites would be the tuna, chicken and mayonnaise, turkey, halloumi, and cheese. Am sure the rest will taste just as good! The packaging as well will make you feel so special – trust me on this.

Miss J Cafe

Feeling a lil naughty? Then go for this devil(ish) chocolate cake only if you are craving for something really sweet and rich! If you have problems with being fair to everybody you can ask to pre-cut the cakes before they deliver (or before you collect). Their black forest is also quite nice but the chocolate one is our favourite. Price ranges from Dhs 85-130. For this 1kg chocolate cake we pay Dhs 85/- and it suits about 10 people (on a fair fight, less if someone cheats and grabs a bigger chunk!)

EGG PARATHA

This is an actual photo of my egg paratha

This last recommendation is not really for a party or a staff gathering but more like breakfast/snack for individuals. I just needed to include this on this blog post because we order this on a daily basis! if you are new to the UAE and looking for a cheap but filling breakfast this is what you order! Not only does it taste good – this omelette paratha can help you save money lol! If you eat this between 10-11am then you will be sure your will cut down on your lunch food. hehehhe!

There is no specific restaurant I would recommend for this as it generally taste pretty standard everywhere I guess. So hunt down the nearest cafeteria from your office and order the Anda (Egg/Omelette) Paratha. Now there are different ways they can prepare this – the one we order from knows us all too well by now that when we order there it’s like ordering from Starbucks! =p Our Indian colleagues  and those who are brave enough will prefer theirs with all the vegies and chillies – if you don’t mind onions and green chillies in the morning then order this (they call it special sometimes). Some order just a plain omelette paratha – basically just the egg and the paratha. My preference is the Egg & Cheese paratha. In the cafe we order from I think they use Kiri or some kind of cream cheese that has a sour taste to it. Combined with the slight saltiness of the omelette this has become my breakfast go-to ever since it was discovered! Those on a diet they may also have the wheat version so don’t be afraid to ask – customise that anda paratha! ANDALE ANDALE! 🙂

How about you? Where do you order food from? What are your favourite restaurants or cafes in Abu Dhabi? Feel free to share them below as we are constantly looking out for new food to try! TIA x