Lunch with Family at Uptown

Last Aug 27, I treat the family for a lunch at Uptown Restaurant here in Jeddah. Uptown was formerly known as Casper & Gambinis. We've been to Casper & Gambinis before and I can pretty much say that they both have the same ambiance. It's seldom we eat lunch on an upscale restaurant so I can't tell if the crowd is pretty much the same at night and during noon time -- that particular lunch time, it was mostly a business crowd. I thank God til now for granting me the privilege to be with my family and also the privilege of having to dine-out with them from time to time. I know not all OFWs have the same privilege as I have now.

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A Chopsticks Foodventure

Since we know people will be crowding the place during Iftar, we decided to have another foodventure around 10pm at Chopsticks Restaurant after a short trip at Toys R Us.  Before going to our destination, we took some pictures outside because during Ramadan they put a lot of fancy things and decorations like flashing lights and lanterns on the streets much like our Christmas lanterns and Christmas lights.

Chopsticks restaurant is located in Falasteen Street and just the opposite of Starbucks and Burger King. By the way the place is crawling with other restaurants, come to think of it this should be called Jeddah restaurant district because of its overwhelming number.

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A Great Birthday Experience at Sakura

Last May 30, my wife gave me a treat at Sakura Japanese restaurant here in Jeddah. Sakura Japanese restaurant is Crowne Plaza Jeddah Hotel's signature restaurant. It's not my first time to eat at a Japanese restaurant so I can definitely say that compared to my previous experience, we had a great experience even for my wife who just had her first Japanese food experience. Their price is quite reasonable compared to my past experience.

Nothing really beats Japanese food presentation and with regards to the ambiance, although the place is small, it still looks elegant. I just wish that they have something to offer children too. I am quite afraid to let my eldest son try the Japanese food because of the raw ingredients mixed into it and it might upset his stomach. The only food I made him try was the ramen and dumplings.

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An Unscheduled Fine Dining Experience

Friday - December 7, while meeting a long-time friend who we haven't seen for awhile in Balad, we received a call from another friend from Riyadh (Sir Allan, thank you very much!) and was eventually invited for a dinner at Al Diwan Restaurant in Radisson's Blu Hotel. It was actually an event held by the company we are in business with. The organizers have also prepared a presentation and we were given pointers on how we should take care of our business. The presentation was really educational and inspirational as well.

After the presentation, we were invited to go to the lounge for the buffet dinner we have been waiting for. We have tried eating at a hotel restaurant in Hongkong before but the experience at Al Diwan's was more exciting, not just because it was free but the food was much tastier and probably because of wider varieties and some were quite exotic too.

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A 10K Run Burger Dinner

Last Saturday (Sept. 29), we were invited to visit Runner's Burger Grill and Chill by one of its owner Marsha (we call her Sham but she was known as Khaki), one of my best-friends. Waltz, another best friend of mine stood us up, so if you are ever reading this Waltz - "Indyanero!". I brought along Mom and my two kids since I can't leave the kids with her because of her current condition so I just decided to let her go with us too and she also wants to try their burger.

We had a few chat before we decided to order for our meal. Since Mom was full and me, Ize seems to be full too, we decided to order a 10K Run Burger and share with it. If you see the picture below, you'll be drooling for it already. It's been a long time since I've seen a burger looking that good. If I wasn't so full I would have got myself a 10K Run Burger for myself, it was great. Marsha also let us taste their newly added pasta/salad on their menu which is called Greek Tuna Salad Pasta which is by the way mega-superb delicious! You have to try it. My mom and I and even Ize loved it. It's a pasta but also a salad. It has the right consistency for both the sauce and the pasta. And you can also blame the crunchiness of the fresh veggies for its amazing taste.

Click the image to make it larger

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Birthday Lunch @ Steak House

It was always a dream for me to have a very loving family and I am so blessed to have one. Yesterday is a special day for me and it feels great to spend it with my family. The original plan was to go to American Corner in Khaledyah but it was too crowded when we got there and there are a lot of smokers too, can't believe we were on the family area. The funny thing was, the place was crowded with locals--and I thought they hate the Americans.

After witnessing the over-rated restaurant (me sour-graping), we then decided to go to Thalia and visit our old favorite place - Steak House Restaurant. I was so hungry that time. Thank goodness we reached them on time. As I opened their door I heard the first call for Dhuhr prayer, we even managed to order our food and get our soups and salads. It has been a long time since we ate at the Steak House.

Their place still looks amazing as how we remembered it, the ambiance and they still are a favorite to locals too. And since we're all hungry (even Noah agrees to that), we decided to order a heavy meal - the Black Rock Steak. It's a good thing that they have a lunch promo which is very timely for us hungry people. I still can't believe how tender and juicy their steaks are, so yummy!

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