Just saw the note from Picplz saying they intend on shutting down in one month. I’m guessing they’ve figured it just makes sense to get out of the business with an inconvenience to a subset of users than fight the growing monopoly that is Facebook+Instagram.
While I’ve been a user for some time, I’m not an avid user as I tend to just post pictures here instead. However, I thought the least they could have done was to provide a link allowing users to download multiple pics or say 30–50 at a time, which I’m sure wouldn’t have killed their time. Their solution of ‘we’re providing a download link for each individual picture’ is just…annoying.
Update, June 16: While I doubt my blogpost had anything to do with it, Picplz came out a couple of weeks later with a single archive link of all pictures, which they intend to keep available until September 3. Yay.
Note: I was given a Samsung Slate PC Series 7 review unit this week to play with. Okay, maybe those weren’t their exact words, but how else would I describe it?
Note 2: I intend to write this as a series of two posts — First Impressions — covering Day 1 with the Slate and an overall review.
I’m a little confused, actually. I’m not entirely sure where Samsung intended to place the Slate PC Series 7 in a consumer’s lifecycle and I think if they figure that bit out, they’ll have done well.
To clarify, I don’t think it’s a bad device at all, but I’m unsure how this fits into my laptop+smartphone life. However, it is already clear to me that a comparison of the SlatePC with something like the iPad is not possible — the two do not deal with the same market or have the same goal at all. So I’m going to do my best to keep the iPad away from this discussion. The SlatePC is a PC replacement for someone who wants to be fairly mobile, where you want the full functionality of a PC operating system but the mobility of something like the iPad. So I think this is something that would compete with the Macbook Air for market share.
Staying on point, I can see how the SlatePC would be a good alternative to the PC for someone like me, who moves around, works with wifi where I can, considering it runs a full version of Windows (Win7). At the same time, this is where the problem is. For a devicefocused on having a touch screen, Win7 is extremely cumbersome to use with touch. Thankfully, the device does come with a compact docking station and external bluetooth keyboard (I’ll say it again, thank goodness, the on-screen keyboard in Win7 is pure torture to use with my fat fingers, and using it with the Slate pen feels like a game of whack-a-mole). But this is a software problem.
Going back to the hardware, the packing is simple and clean. I wish they’d put in a little crevice to unattach the device though — I ended up having to flip the whole thing over to get the Slate PC out. All in all, not a bad looking device on your table by any means.
But with Win7, the device acts more like a regular PC than a portable device, forcing you to carry around the keyboard/mouse and dock for usability. What’s more, without any data capabilities, you’re reliant on a wifi connection or one of those USB 3G modems, so I didn’t really benefit from having it with me while I was stuck waiting on my EmiratesID appointment.
So my first impression is that this is a good device from a hardware standpoint. Powerful, pretty robust, a little awkward sizing compared to other devices in this form factor — but not something that you cannot get used to. However, the software aspect is a major problem with Win7 not being ideal for touch/on the go.
That said, there is potential if packaged with Win8, where you’d have both aspects — touch and regular PC use — covered and the Slate PC has the hardware to run this — something I hope to test over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!
The best thing about traveling is getting a chance to savor the local cuisine. The foodie in me plays a big role in deciding where to go on a holiday. And yes I do travel with a list of restaurants ready!
On a recent trip to India’s capital Delhi, I was of course blown away by the amount of good food available. So much so that I did manage to put on a few kilos, but it was much to my delight!
Pictured here is the ultimate chicken tikka from a traditional Indian roadside eatery- Rajinder da dhaba. The thing about these quintessential dhabas are although you might not like to sit there and eat, you cannot resist the amazing aromas each one carries. Rajinder Singh is known among the Green Park area residents for this scrumptious, succulent and perfectly spiced chicken tikka. Served in a little bowl made of dried leaves, with cool mint and yoghurt chutney on the side, his chicken morsels will melt in your mouth leaving behind an irresistible aftertaste of tandoori spices. Like so many other traditional eateries, this one started out as the eatery for taxi drivers, truckers and assorted transport people. Now though, you can sit in his air conditioned hall and enjoy.
Oh and I only managed one shot because I couldn’t wait to tuck in!
Note: Having known Arva couple years now, our manakish discussions have always been interesting. So when I mentioned the falafel manakish a while ago, it just had to be tested. Who cares if it took 8 months to actually make the trip happen. I’m excited then, to bring you a joint foodie post — the first of its kind. Think of it like a special episode.
Note 2: The word man’ousheh in our post is not some kind of auto-correct defect. It’s the singular of manakish in Arabic. Yes it is. No, it’s not right to say can I have a manakish with cheese. Yes, we know you’ve said it before, we have too. No, it’s never too late to change.
Chirag had told me about these falafel manakish in Karama. That’s like waving a bone in front of a dog, go fetch. I barked till he agreed to take me there.
I came across the falafel man’ousheh quite by accident — come to think of it, this is starting to ring true for a lot of really good food I find. The term they first used at Moulin D’Or when I walked in a few years ago during late night certification classes was: falafel sandwiches. But sandwich it was not. I watched their chef make what looked like a green topping man’ousheh wondering what he was up to, before I realized they really meant ‘falafel man’ousheh.’ I’d had falafel manousheh just once before in Abu Dhabi, where the guy tried to break open what I believe was a solitary falafel over labneh in a combination that, well, was clearly not worth blogging about.
Moulin D’Or however, put a nice spin on a traditional offering, spreading delicious falafel batter on a manousheh dough, topped with tahini, tomatoes, some greens and pickles. I can get aboard that train any day.
Me too…any day, ALL day. And if I’m hopping on any train, I’m taking both Chirag and Sheban — two outrageously smart, tech-wired entrepreneurs — with me, and making a food tour working session of it. Yeah I know, *everything* these days is about the food tours. I’ll launch it and then I’ll shut up already. Or maybe you’ll see promo SMS spam on food tours violently possess your cellphones. You can turn off the TV, turn off the radio, shut your eyes tight when you pass an annoying yellow bakeshop-plastered billboard, but cellphone…that’s where I’ve got you *right* where I want you, because Dubai has established that your cellphone is the one place you can never opt out of promo spam. It’s the Hotel California of ominous marketing spam, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave…
But I will admit, when I stepped into Moulin D’Or, the food tours were the last thing on my mind. For someone whose Achilles heel lies in warm buttery baked goodies, this was heavenly hell. I walked in and it all just smacked me in the face: giant croissants puffed up like angry birds, small white discs of pastry smattered with za’atar and cheese, chocolate glazed rows of ganache and coffee buttercream-layered Opera cake, boats and crescents and all the usual shapes of tiny fatayer with cheese and meat and veggies. How had I not ever given Moulin D’Or a second glance on my visits across the street to Al Reef Bakery? Imagine, all those mornings where I could have been living the dream with HULK buttery croissants…
Seriously? You know you can get giant croissants anywhere right? It’s the falafel man’ousheh that’s a rare species around here. And to think we almost missed it that evening. When I walked up to Moulin D’Or’s manakish oven, my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t see the A4 printed sign in Calibri that used to read “Falafel Sandwich, 5 Dhs”. It would seem we were a couple months too late to make the trip, and the falafel man’ousheh had now morphed into a mainstream falafel sandwich, no frills. Dejected, we walked back to the table. I was devastated, Sheban looked sad but could potentially be won over with a meaty fatayer, but Arva? Arva hadn’t really accepted the tragic news at all. She just strolled right back to the counter, because one more attempt at sighting the falafel manousheh was *absolutely* necessary. Skipping over a comment relating to women, better service and the GCC, I will merely point out that the chef agreed to make a couple of manakish just for us.
I’m ashamed to admit that I do use my chubby womanly charm when it comes to food. That’s not a bad thing now, is it?
Considering how the evening had progressed, the manakish’s arrival to the table was that much more exciting. The consensus around the table was that it looked even better than expected (though I was just gobsmacked with hunger by this point to have any expectations at all). I was just glad our trip had not been in vain. Crisp manousheh dough, layered with awesome falafel mix, topped with tahina and crunch…a quiet calm engulfed the table as we ate (save for my incessant questions about food tours this and food tours that). Falafel makes for a very light man’ousheh when not fried, and although I felt that my memory of the manousheh I’d had here years ago was slightly better than the reality on my plate, this was still…
…satisfying. Of all the man’ousheh I’ve tried, the salty-bitter za’atar and cheese ones, the meaty sujuk ones, the creamy sweet lebneh ones, I’d say this falafel man’ousheh was the more subtle of the lot. The man’ousheh innards were so light that if you guzzled it down thoughtlessly, you wouldn’t hear the falafel spread murmur fragrantly from the crust. The base was thin and crispy, disintegrating into a crunch reminiscent of a stroll over dry autumn leaves in a city with four seasons. There was no cheese, and if there was tahina, it was barely there. The whole ensemble was delicate and understated.
The manakish must have been good, because we talked about falafels for about 20 minutes afterwards. Did you guys know there’s a falafel bar in Sharjah? NaaahsssSSSH! It’s a secret! …but more on that later. I can’t guarantee that Moulin D’Or will entertain more requests for the coveted man’ousheh, but having a woman in your party apparently helps. If not, they do have a decent repertoire of manakish to choose from.
And cheesy fatayer and angry bird croissants. Yumsies.
Moulin D’Or
Drive past Karama Post Office and you’ll see it on your right (before Options Furniture Building). http://www.moulin-dor.com | +9714 3547847
You can find the cross-posted version on Arva’s blog here.
For me, mexican food comes with a truckload of childhood memories (ok, some adult ones too) associated with it — from the weird experimentations that eventually lead to a decent home-made burrito to trying a variety of taco and quesedilla makers in the market (none of them worked, incidentally), to eating them in all forms — the traditional Maria Bonita style, the fast food Taco Bell style (okay, not anymore) and a few others in between.
So when I was asked to check out Amerigos, I was excited — but I also didn’t look them up beforehand so I didn’t fully know what to expect. My previous experience in the Yas Marina Circuit was actually rather good; but taking your parents along when reviewing food can always be tricky, what with specific food preferences and them having to wait while I snap up pictures of life, the universe and everything.
Now for those of you who want the answer quickly, Amerigos passed!
To begin with, I was happily surprised by the atmosphere and setup. While it is part of the Park Inn by Radisson, Amerigos has a very casual and comfortable decor, a semi-outdoor setting, an indoor sports bar *and* a pool area. With the weather still holding up, the experience was enjoyable — this is a place that works for friends, family, a nice quiet evening or an after-work hours meet and greet.
Food wise, the menu has quite a bit to offer. The menu is modelled more on what I would call Tex-Mex rather than pure Mexican. The guacamole was wonderful and among the freshest I’ve had. The other surprise item — well, surprise because we added it on as an afterthough halfway through the maincourse — were the Fajitas.
Trust me, their ‘stir-fry’, for want of a better word was so good, I just kept eating the mix without having the patience to actually roll up the fajitas.
Overall, the food was on well done & fresh. The chef seems to like keeping things simple — something that works very well for Amerigos.
We were a bit intrigued by something called Hojaldre de Vegetales which was a puff pastry filled with vegetables and an escabeche sauce. While there was nothing really wrong with it at all, it just didn’t feel very Mexican compared to everything else we had and enjoyed.
Since I’m sure those of you who got this far will want to know, I’m doing the smart thing and attachingthe dessert menu for your comfort. I went for the lime, mint & rum sorbet since I was looking for something light — and in hindsight, perhaps the rice pudding might have been more traditional option.
In the end, it boiled down to the usual two suspects — the food and the atmophere, and Amerigos does really well on both counts. There was a healthy crowd through the evening — people out with family and friends, and football fans enjoying the large screens at the bar. Amerigos makes a great choice if you’re up for a leisurely drive across the Circuit followed by a satisfying meal or if you happen to be in the area.
Amerigos Mexican Restaurant & Bar
Park Inn by Radisson, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi (Just drive down the Yas Island Leisure Drive until you hit the hotel area, Park Inn is the first one on your left) +9712 656 2222
Chirag Desai
