A mama's life

Sunday, May 29, 2016

A Slice of Mediterranean Goodness

Those who have lived in Dubai for a while will tell you there is one certainty about this city: continuous change. We have grown accustomed to roads suddenly diverting and new buildings popping up out of the blue. And it is quite exciting witnessing how Dubai keeps on inventing and reinventing itself. But it is also easy to forget what used to be and every once in a while, a place will take us back to that time of new beginnings when we first discovered what was going to be our new home.

Biella is one of those places.

Source: Wafi Restaurants

For as long as I can remember, we have known and loved this restaurant. It is simple, warm and the food is really good. And our last visit to Biella at Wafi Mall validated once more our expectations.

We were greeted by a lovely hostess and the manager, Dante Biagio who made sure we were comfortable and happy at all times. The children wanted to sit outside at first and we usually do as the setting on the terrace is charming. But quite honestly, the humidity would have upstaged everything else and we opted for a comfortable table inside, with a nice window view.

Source: Zomato

It is always a relief to find staff willing and happy to talk to the children and make them (and us) feel welcome. Kids can sense people's energy and from the get go, Mia connected with our hostess who won massive points by promptly bringing the coloring kits to our table. We had enough space to park our stroller on the side and even sit Jad in a high chair at the end of the table. Everything was just perfect.

The kids attacked the bread basket and raced to grab as many breadsticks as possible while we ordered their meals: a pizza margarita and penne with red sauce. Classics, of course.

Photo: R. Abouzeid

Once this was out of the way, we focused on our treats: Organic Salmon and Burratta for starters and Beef tenderloin, Fritto Misto (seafood basket) and Salmone for our main dishes.

Photo: R. Abouzeid

Each and every dish was absolutely delicious.

Biella manages to blend the quality of top Italian cuisine within a family and budget friendly experience that will keep you coming back for more.

Source: Wafi Restaurants

The menu is varied and will please all taste buds with a large variety of pastas, pizzas as expected from an Italian restaurant but also amazing meat and seafood options. Salads are exquisite and the antipasti in general are so good, it is almost a struggle to decide what to choose.

Source: Wafi Restaurants

Mamma Mia's Checklist:

Parking / Access: Located at the heart of Wafi Mall, access is not an issue and the mall recently opened a new extension with a large car park that has resolved any parking issue you might have encountered at Wafi in the past. Valet parking service also available from the Mall

Staff: Kind and very friendly; absolutely lovely with the children

Service: Prompt and professional

Food: Delicious and always at the right temperature; some of the presentation was as much a delight to the eye as it was to the palate

Kids Menu/Meal: Extensive choices of meat, pasta and pizza for the children, inclusive of a juice and dessert; and of course the amazing coloring set that the children always love

Play area/Playground: Not available but the restaurant is at walking distance from the mall's playground

Baby Chair: Available

Changing Table: Available at the mall's restrooms

Outdoors: Agreeable and welcoming; beware of the street though as the gate is open and cars drive right by the restaurant but when the weather is cool, the terrace is a delightful change of scenery

Indoors: Elegant and comfortable

Drinks: Non-alcoholic beverages only

Credit card: Available

Bookings: Not necessary, walk in available

Shisha: Available

Family Seal Of Approval: YES! Grown ups and kids both loved the venue and the food

Links and Contacts:
Wafi Website
Wafi Restaurants
Facebook
Phone: +971.4.3244666
Email: fnb.sales@wafi.com

This review was written for Mums Like Us.

Mamma Mia+Jad

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Monday, November 30, 2015

Olea: a delicious breath of fresh food ... and air

We have been living in Dubai for over a decade now and we have seen restaurants and culinary concepts rise and fall throughout the years. But if there is one thing we have learned, it is that people have got to eat at some point and the classics never fail.

That is not to say a twist here and there, well designed and beautifully executed is not welcome. Actually, it has become a necessity. Food can get so boring so quickly. Everywhere looking the same. Everywhere tasting the same. It is almost a burden to pick a nice place to go out on the weekend. And with children, forget it! So many factors and prerequisites come to play. It is truly a challenge.

To be honest, when we decided to visit Olea, I was expecting yet another Lebanese restaurant.

But what a wonderful and delicious surprise

Olea turned out to be.

The restaurant concept is brilliant in its simplicity:

« Olea presents the most authentic Levantine cuisine and a complete Levant dining experience that will delight all the senses.

Levantine cuisine is the true traditional cuisine found in the Levant region, known in Arabic as the Bilad ash-Sham or Land of the North, which today spans Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, southern Turkey and Cyprus. »

Source

What is fun is that all of these countries have similar cuisines and sometimes even the same national foods but there are twists as to how they cook each dish. Olea is presenting some of these signature dishes as prepared by one of these countries.

And so we were handed a menu that looks familiar, but tastefully executed in ways that varied from the usual.

Some tasted like what we knew from home and other Lebanese and Syrian restaurants but others were new and exciting. The Cypriot grilled Halloumi cheese for instance was such a hit the minute it landed on the table that I did not even have time to snap a photo! It is amazing: crunchy and golden on the outside, creamy on the inside; overall, very different from how Lebanese restaurants will present it. The four pieces had already been swallowed when I took out my phone for a quick photo!

The portions are quite generous and the waiters keep the stream of hot freshly baked bread coming continuously. We gave some appetizers, main dishes and a dessert a try and all were exquisite. The chefs clearly know they stuff and they excel at it.

Three mouth-watering Hummus.

We started with a selection of Hummus from three different countries, which was a delightful change from the regular Lebanese one we usually order (also available and equally delicious), three kinds of Labne to die for, the tastiest kinoa Tabboule in town, amazing Sojok, superb raw Kebbe and a lentil soup Mia could not stop eating! Needless to say we had a difficult time refraining from licking our fingers in public, as my prolific (and well deserved) use of adjectives will indicate.

Please, please, do click on the photos to enlarge them and get a glimpse of what I am talking about!

After such treats, we could only tackle two main dishes which left us in awe and definitely coming back for more!

And finally, because there is always room for sweets, we shared this fantastic piece of home that sealed the deal:

All wrapped up in a delightful setup.

The weather was gorgeous and we opted for the charming terrace where the kids enjoyed running around and watching the Metro pass by, which incidentally was not loud at all (we almost missed it most of the times).

A breath of fresh air at the heart of Dubai!

Mamma Mia's Checklist:

Parking / Access: The restaurant is at the Kempinski so the hotel's valet service is available; alternatively, the mall parking is also quite near but it is necessary to enter the restaurant via the Kempinski lifts (2nd floor)

Staff: Bilingual (Arabic/English), kind, knowledgeable and very friendly; lovely with the children

Service: Prompt and professional

Food: Delicious and always at the right temperature; exquisite presentation

Kids Menu/Meal: Not available but the children can easily find something they like in the main menu (meat, chicken, fries, soup, mana'ich which are baked dough with various toppings like thyme, cheese, etc. - a sort of an Arabic pizza)

Play area/Playground: Not available but the restaurant is at walking distance from Magic Planet at Mall of the Emirates and the beautiful terrace is also a gorgeous alternative to the usual places kids are confined in

Baby Chair: Available

Changing Table: Not available; the restaurant patrons have access to the Kempinski restrooms which do not provide baby facilities

Outdoors: Agreeable and welcoming; beware of the pool as it is accessible from the restaurant terrace and although it makes for a lovely view, it could be dangerous to allow the little ones to wander nearby (a lifeguard is always on post)