DeConti (Tampines 1): 1 For 1 Gelato For Students (till 16 Aug 2013)

Source: DeConti 

DeConti (Tampines 1): 1 For 1 Gelato For Students (till 16 Aug 2013) 

- Valid till 16 Aug 2013
- Valid from Mondays to Fridays from 4pm to 6pm
- Flash your student pass/card to redeem 1 for 1 deal

Shamiana Tandoori & Indian Cuisine at Deira City Centre (UAE, Dubai)

At Dubai, we stayed at Copthorne Hotel Dubai which is sited just 5 minutes walk away from the Deira City Centre (shopping mall) and the Deira City Centre Metro station. In addition, the hotel is located just 10 minutes drive away from the International Airport. To sweeten the deal further, we were upgraded to the Dubai Suite. As it was already past 2pm by the time we check in, we decided to quickly pop by the Deira City Centre for lunch. There are many restaurants located in the mall and the food there was generally quite expensive. (The cost of living here is very high too!) As we wanted something quick, we headed over to the food court. 

There were many stalls offering different variety of food in the food court such as Western, Italian, Middle Eastern and even Chinese cuisines! In the end, I decided to patronise Shamiana. Shamiana specialises in serving a wide variety of Indian cuisine such as tandoori, curry, biryani, kebab  and naan. I found out later that it is also available in food courts at other shopping malls such as The Dubai Mall, Dubai Festival City and Mall of the Emirates. It then occurred to me that it may not be so authentic after all. If I really wanted something authentic, I should have gone to explore the 'street food'.  

Chicken Tikka Biryani 28 AED (S$9.44)

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Biryani which cost 28 AED (S$9.44) and was served with a yogurt. 

Chicken Tikka Biryani 28 AED (S$9.44)

Three pieces of chicken tikka were served along with the biryani. The chicken tikka with its aromatic blend of seasonings were outstanding - soft fragrant tender meat. Whereas the basmati rice was just average. Some parts of the rice were in lumps and were not fragrant enough. 

Yogurt

The Yogurt was watery and sourish. It had a very weird taste as if it had turned bad. We took a sip each and left it untouched. I wonder if this is their version of raita which is made from yogurt and complement as a sauce to the biryani.

Overall, I thought this was just average. The chicken tikka was great, however the basmati  rice (an essential component of a biryani meal) was disappointing. Even though this was a food court, I thought that the prices here were on the high end compared to Singapore.

ps: the currency used in Dubai is called Dirhams (AED). Not all money changers in Singapore carry this currency.

Shamiana Tandoori & Indian Cuisine (UAE, Dubai)

Food Court

Deira City Centre

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tel: 04 2954393

Website
Location

The locations are as follows:
A - Copthorne Hotel Dubai
B - Deira City Centre Metro station 
C - Deira City Centre Shopping Mall

View FoodieFC's Dubai Map ‎ in a larger map

Dinner On Board Emirates Airlines From Rome To Dubai

Before we returned back to Singapore, we stopped over at Dubai for two days. Once again, we took the Emirates airlines from Rome (Leonardo da Vinci International Airport also know Fiumicino) to Dubai (Dubai International Airport) via Boeing 777. We had dinner on board the plane at 10pm (Italian time).

Dinner Menu

The Dinner menu allows passengers to choose between Grilled Chicken Breast or Lamb Biryani. 

After our fantastic foodie experience on board Emirates Airbus A380, I was hoping for that the meal this time would be as good. 

Dinner - Grilled Chicken Breast 

We both chose the Grilled Chicken Breast which was served with Marinated Shrimp, Pear and Chocolate Delice and Cheese and Biscuits.

Marinated Shrimp

The Marinated Shrimp; Mediterranean vegetable salad, served with marinated shrimp and feta cheese failed to impress. The shrimps were not fresh. 

Dinner - Grilled Chicken Breast 

The Grilled Chicken Breast was served with creamy red pepper sauce, sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. Although it was not mind blowing, this was decently executed. The grilled chicken breast was well seasoned at the outer layer. However, the flavours did not penetrate the inner layers of the meat and the meat was dry (which was understandable as this was breast meat). The creamy red pepper sauce which was yummy complemented the chicken meat. Dipping the dry meat into the sauce helped soften it and also enhance its flavour. Maybe this was the whole purpose of the sauce. I felt that the mashed potato was a tad too dry. Overall, this dish was delish.

As for the Pear and Chocolate Delice which was described on the menu as "barlett pear compote, topped with moist chocolate fudge brownie, encased in a rich chocolate sauce" sounded so enticing! However,  it did not appeal to me.