StublueKPL

Ended up in Mango Tree at the Souk al bahar.

nice location but food was very very poor. Im not a big fan of thai food but my g/f is. I thought it may just be my taste buds but she hardly touched hers as well. It was a good price for the lunch (80dhs for 2 courses) but if i had got that at night paying full price, i would not have been happy. Very bland.

Anyway, i guess thats why we try different places.

scrubbedexpat141

Been once, was alright but mightily expensive for din dins.

StublueKPL

I meant to say thanks again for all the advice. apppreciate it

Blue Cat

have you tried Shang Thai on SZR near Safa interchange, handy for where you are, good food and excellent pricing.

scrubbedexpat141

No but i will. A new place has opened in Exec Towers (not Bobs Fish and Chips, although I'm going to work my way through thousands of nuggets soon)...it's an asian place; Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. I'm hoping for great things.

Get paid this week so might treat the missus to Vietnamese at the Shangri La because she'll love that and deserves a treat.

britexpat76

****, that was my suggestion........Sorry! We went 6 weeks ago, had a spicy chicken salad starter and then a beef main. It was spicy (almost too much) but good. Wonder if they have changed it as I like hot food and it tested me. The wine ain't bad and the views all right?! And 80 chips is reasonable.

scrubbedexpat141

80 chips is great. The bill for three of us for dinner was quite a lot more. Still, fountains are cool.

the_red_sheep

My experiences there have been the same, in that the food was mouth numblingly spicy almost to the point it was inedible, and that was after they asked if I wanted toned down to be 'white man hot'. Like most places in Souk al Bahar I think its overpriced and average quality at best.

The whole of the upstairs in there is looking pretty dead these days, shame that can't get a few more bars and licensed restaurants up there and bring it along as an evening destination like Madinate Jumeriah.

Meow

Have you been to Hanoi in JLT yet? We went a couple of weeks ago. It's a very basic place (a few hundred dirhams on decor would pay dividends), but the food was pretty good and reasonable in price. We'd go back.

Meow

There are signs up of loads of the properties in Souk al Bahar saying such and such a restaurant coming soon, although that's been unchanged for a while now. It is a shame as it could be buzzing. I guess the rents are very high.

scrubbedexpat141

No, I'm never down this end of town with the mrs...I'm not sure Vietnamese for lunch will help me avoid the current 3pm slump.

Where in JLT is it?

Or am I going to get that bloody google thing.

In fact, I'll google it.

Blue Cat

I think it is Cluster C, near the JLT Metro. Just got back from some amazing beef ribs at Texas Steakhouse, sat outside and saw a bit of the fountains.

the_red_sheep

Yeah I noticed those the last few times I've walked over, I'm still doubtful as to whether they'll all open though, and if when they do if it mean others close as the footfall won't increase enough to sustain all.

The last couple of times I was in Left Bank it was painfully quiet, it used to be buzzing during happy hour, then they stopped having one! Not sure if the brunch is busy. Karma Cafe is still relatively busy, but also overly expensive.

scrubbedexpat141

Thanks

silversilver

Talking of places not to race to for lunch or dinner.... I just had a pretty poor dining experience at Times of Arabia (Lebanese at the Madinat) It was in the 'Fine Dining' gold section of the Entertainer. Shish Tawouk 150 dhs - however buy one get one free. Lets just say give me my local Cedar Tree version any day - far superior and a quarter of the price! Excellent fine dining experiences so far - Frankies and Ronda Locatelli.