So admittedly I'm a bit late posting my January update but I really enjoying keeping this 'diary' of what I have been up to, and recommending places for you to try.
January literally felt like the longest month ever-I was totally on board with all those memes saying 'it's January 74th'.
2018 didn't get off to a brilliant start, I was sick from the second I landed back in Dubai on New Years Eve until the 7th January. Usual winter ailments, nothing serious but it was so tough to shift and left me feeling really crappy.
Luckily after that the month picked up...I had a parental visit, a trip to Cairo, a ton of trips to the gym, lots of food as always and I made a further commitment to my health by signing up to Personal Training sessions.
Zuma, DIFCMy most frequented restaurant of January was Zuma-I went 5 times for their business lunch with Maz. We always sit at the Robata bar and always in the same seats...it's the perfect escape from the office and it's a minutes walk away from our DIFC offices.
I love Zuma, the food is exceptional, the business lunch is phenomenally reasonable, the staff are great, the restaurant is light and airy and I have never been in there without seeing someone I know! I highly recommend booking a table but I also highly recommend if you're visiting Dubai and want to go somewhere really special that is always busy, Zuma is the one.
Whilst dad was working in Dubai, mum and I went to the Marina Social Friday Brunch. For me, this was a long overdue return and we absolutely loved our afternoon there! Everything was exceptional-the food, the drinks, the service, the views-this is one of my top 3 restaurants in Dubai (FYI Gaucho and Coya make up the other two). I know my mum absolutely loved it too. I also went for dinner there at the end of the month for Kirsty's 30th birthday and we had such a brilliant night. Another place I highly recommend.
I got the best surprise in January when an old friend popped over for a quick visit and I met her at Rockfish for a drink. Heather is my old boss Nick's wife and I love her very much-she has an infectiously positive personality and a wicked sense of humor. I haven't eaten at Rockfish yet but I absolutely love the setting-it's right on the beach with stunning views of the Burj Al Arab and is an amazingly place for sundowners in Dubai's winter.
I paid a visit to Pan-Asian restaurant Novikov. I think we went on the wrong night because it was really quiet and lacked atmosphere and the service was cold and unfriendly but the food was pretty good overall. It's definitely on the pricier side and if I was asked to chose my favourite Asian restaurants I would tell you to go to Hakkasan or to Asia Asia for a better experience. The restaurant decor was beautiful though.
BB Social Dining, DIFC
When a restaurant opens under your office you have to check it out! Introducing BB Social dining. This is a great addition to the DIFC dining scene and is quite niche in concept, isn't overpriced like many DIFC restaurants and has an interesting and varied menu. I follow the restaurants instagram page and chef and I like their approach to social media. The restaurant has a very French bistro feel to it, it's narrow and cramped yet cosy and feels a world away from Dubai. I definitely want to go again-every course I tried was strong. I really liked their innovative desserts and a lot of my friends have spoken highly about this restaurant too. I hope they keep to their niche and brand values.
Gaucho
Well obviously I went to Gaucho. The fact I only went once is the most shocking part! But we enjoyed another absolutely amazing evening dining at Gaucho-I love absolutely everything about this place-Danny and his whole team are the absolutely best, I love the food, the decor and obviously the cheesecake!!! The amount of instagram messages I get from people who have been and tried it too or want to try it is crazy!! Forever my fave, Gaucho you have my heart!
Other stuff
I went out to Cairo for my first business trip and had a very very hectic 48 hours where I saw over 20 clients and then flew back overnight and was at my desk by 9am on Wednesday. By some miracle I got bumped up to business class on the way home which literally made me want to dance with joy!
I had some health concerns in January (other than man flu lol) but everything is under control at the moment. I also had to have a bone density scan after I had some tests showing I had critically low Vitamin D levels and my oncologist thought I may have early onset osteoporosis. Luckily that scan was fine but it really made me focus on my health.
If you read my December post you know my friend Maz and I were pretty committed to a crazy gym challenge we started in November. We did it for fun to start with but the truth is it became routine-it's the perfect de-stresser after work, we really enjoy it and so we have continued on into January. I want to lose weight-I'm overweight and I don't like it. I have set a goal of 20kg this year. We do at least one class every day and it's just become part of our day now. Actually the best part of the day and having Maz's support has been instrumental in me sticking to it. We need it to cover all the Zuma's, Gaucho cheesecake and burgers we eat! But seriously, I'm getting so many benefits from going-it really boosts my mood as well as being good for me.
I got chatting through instagram to one of the Personal Trainers at one of the Fitness Firsts I use after I mentioned how much I loved his RPM classes on my instastories and when I told him my goals and a bit of my health background he offered to be my personal trainer to help me work towards those goals. I have had a lot of offers of personal training but it really scares me to be honest! But the reason I decided to give it a go with Ricardo was because I really love his energy and the way he pushes people in his classes in a very motivational way. He always looks like he is having fun in his classes and I am really sensitive to my surroundings-I feed off the energy around me-when that's such positive energy like Ricardo's it makes me feel inspired and motivated and I absorb it! So I felt like working with him might work. And so far I am loving it. I'll give a further update in my February post which I will write soon but I think it's one of the best decisions I have made.
That's all for now folks, I hope your January was awesome too!
No comments
Post a Comment