Medley Pullman City Centre Hotel | Deira, Dubai

My mom's currently obsessed with groupon deals. So it's no surprise that when she found a brunch buffet deal at 99aed per person (usually costs 220aed per person), all of us had to go.


The interior was very sophisticated with wooden décor and marble floors. The staff were friendly and some of them were in roller skates! Not sure if it was a one time thing or if they do it everyday. If you have kids, this place is amazing as they have a designated kids area with toys and they serve small finger foods like nuggets and fries.

The buffet served an international cuisine with free flow drinks. They has an enormous variety of bread and cheese and endless side dishes.


They had a live cooking counter where you can order Western food like burgers, onion rings, hot dogs, fries, etc. Outdoors, they had fresh barbeque which you can order and they would bring to your table (they never showed up with mine tho!).

I only noticed this area in the end when I was so full, but near the desserts they have a variety of sandwiches which I didn't get to try.

Ofcourse, I could not help getting my hands on anything chocolate! They have SO MANY desserts, loads of cakes, puddings, mousses you name it. Also, if you go around to the bar area they can whip you up a nice ice cream milk shake to enjoy.


Overall, it was delicious, the food was great and the service was amazing. On the groupon deal, it was really worth the money. I would probably even pay the full price on special occasions.

♥ Jess

Location: Level 1, Pullman Hotel, beside Deira City Centre, Dubai
Number: 04 6038201
Opening hours: 6:30am - 11:30pm
(Friday Brunch 12:30-4:00pm)
Website: http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-2022-pullman-dubai-creek-city-centre/restaurant.shtml

Betawi Restaurant | Karama, Dubai

My parents attended an event in the Indonesian consulate not too long ago and they catered from Betawi. The food was so good that we decided to cater from them too for my niece's birthday (not before we have lunch there first tho!).

It's a small place with a lot of wooden designs, just like common restaurants in Indonesia itself. The view outside is quite saddening... An apartmentment covers the whole view from the window and you can see the laundry shops and small cafes in the bottom.

The staff were helpful and service was fast. Majority of the staff is Indonesian but there are some Philipinos, we found out by talking to them in Bahasa and having them look confused. I guess we Indo's really look like Kabayans and vise-versa sometimes. The restaurant received a few TimeOut awards, Two commends for great South-East Asia food and one for budget dining. So naturally, I kept my hopes high.

I ordered Nasi Padang (30dhs) and was super happy with my decision. An extremly large plate appeared in front of me for the price I paid. I picked the beef rendang option, I was a bit sad at first since there was only two pieces in my plate but in the end I only ate one because I was just too full! The rice was covered in the most mouth watering curry and the dish was complimented with some vegetables, peanuts, an egg and some prawn crackers.

My mother ordered Batagor (27 dhs) which is kind of like fried siomay with some tofu and fish which is also fried and then topped with peanut sauce similar to the ones you use for satay. This is usually an appetizer but since my mom's not a big eater this dish really filled her up.

As for my dad, he ordered Pecel Timbel (30 dhs) which was beautifully presented and just like the Nasi Padang, the plate was huge! It came with soup, chicken, prawn crackers and assorted vegs. The red chilli in this dish is less spicy than that of the Nasi Padang one. Overall, a great experience. If you're missing Indonesian food, this place serves very authentic Indonesian cuisine at affordable prices.

Note: When they catered to the party, the food was fantastic. We ordered a bit of everything and the guests were in love with the food!

♥ Jess

Location: 4B street, behind Park Regis hotel, Al Karama, Dubai
Opening hours: 12pm - 10pm
Phone: (04) 4542329/056 7598118
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betawifanclub

A visit to the Miracle Gardens | Dubai

So Dubai decided to open a flower garden for tourists after I left to Australia. Now that I am no longer a resident of United Arab Emirates, I thought of seeing what this place is all about.

It costs 30 dhs per person to enter and children under 3 enter for free. You can grab a good deal if you are planning to visit both the miracle garden and the butterfly garden that is located beside it. It is quite spacious place with a lot of various flower arrangement that is said to change every year.



Most of the statues (if not all the flower structures) seems to be made out of the same type of flowers. If you've seen one flower house there, all the other houses pretty much look the same. It is a lovely place to take pictures in, especially if you're a selfie whore like me! Also, they have adorable flowers beside the houses.




The food court is covered with upside down umbrellas which is taken from the concept in the village at Dubai mall, it is so cute and makes the day much more fun and brighter.

Oh, almost forgot to mention. If you want some super cheesy lovey dovey photos with your one and only, this is the perfect place. It has plenty of instagram-worthy backgrounds from heart archs and heart benches to a heart walk away. Let's face it, what's more romantic then getting a snap with a bunch full of flowers? My parents couldn't resist snapping a quick shot.

If you are coming here, I do suggest eating beforehand or bringing your own food since the food that is sold here is not exactly wallet friendly. I bought a cup of watermelon for 30dhs (the price of the ticket!) and it was not worth it.

Definitely come down for a look, it honestly would not take you a whole day so fit in more things in your agenda while going all the way up to visit this place like global village or the outlet mall for instance.

Enjoy your Saturday!

♥ Jess

Al Waha - Jood Palace Hotel | Al Rigga, Dubai

For my Aunt's birthday, we had a lovely Friday brunch buffet in Jood Palace Hotel (previously known as Taj hotel). I have dined here once before I left to Australia and I recalled not being that fond of their food, so my hopes were not that high.

Upon arriving to the venue, you could see the food buffet table along side of the walls as you make your way to the seating area. The seating area had a certain Arabic feel to it and the dimmed lights created a rather romantic atmosphere.

As I was exploring the buffet table, I was happily shocked to learn that the whole hallway was actually filled with food that we could take, even though it stretched passed their other two restaurants (this might be included in the groupon deal we bought so I'm not sure if everyone's experience is the same). It was certainly not how I remembered it to be when I visited last time.

The waiters/waitresses were very helpful and had great customer service skills, I felt like a princess. Every time I ordered from a station, they would kindly tell me that I need not wait for my food to be cooked as they will deliver it up to my table.

The best thing about the buffet were the stations, lots and lots of stations. They had a chocolate fountain station, sushi station, satay station, kebab station, shawarma station, pasta station, Mexican station, Indian station and so much more! I was overwhelmed by all the choices for this price we paid (79 dhs). It certainly had more than most buffets I have eaten in before!





In addition to the stations, they had a variety of dishes laid out in the usual buffet style. The stations, in my opinion are more worth it as it is cooked freshly when you order. It would be cool if they have a dessert station aside from the chocolate fountain, but hey the dessert table is good enough.




It's times like these where I wish I was a cow and had four stomachs. I visited the sushi station three times and probably ate seven plateful of yummy goodness, certainly happy that I don't live close enough to come here often or obesity would be around the corner.

Here's a picture of my Auntie with a purple cheesecake I made, you can find the recipe here.

Check out the groupon deal we purchased by clicking here.

♥ Jess

Location: Ground level, Jood Palace Hotel, Al Rigga, Dubai
Opening hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
7:00pm - 11:00pm
(Friday Brunch till 4:00pm)
Website: http://www.joodhospitality.com/Dine-detail/1/Al-Waha