Tag: Shangri-la Abu Dhabi

A Jazzy Culinary Affair

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Abu Dhabi is hitting all the right notes with the launch of JazzArabia the Middle East’s first jazz radio station at p&c by Sergi Arola, creating a unique ambience at the hotel as the new restaurant complements food and beverage offerings with distinct sounds that gets guests in the mood before their arrival with the sounds of the night and then following them home.

Top radio talent broadcast live from a custom-built studio inside this Spanish tapas restaurant by acclaimed two-starred Michelin chef, Sergi Arola. Through broadcasting a blend of mainstream, Arabic and Latin jazz music, JazzArabia can be streamed live or via the JazzArabia app, which is available for download from the app store on all smart devices.

As a Fijian I love dining with live easy music and welcome JazzArabia.com bringing a new element to the overall dining experience that perfectly complements the sharing concept at the restaurant.

The quirky infusions served at p&c by Sergi Arola certainly goes well with the casual, easy listening blend of music. With the growing social dining concept in the Emirate, trying new experiences with food and music is always welcome for food connoisseurs.

JazzArabia will also air the works of jazz legends, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and the more contemporary Michael Bublé and Diana Krall, meaning there is something for everyone. Leslie Nachmann, a world gold medal winner at the New York International Radio Awards, will be chief presenter. She currently presents on JazzRadio Berlin and on regional and national TV in Germany.

Artists featured on JazzArabia include all-time greats Frank Sinatra, alongside such contemporary jazz stars as Michael Bublé, Diana Krall and Natalie Cole. Crossover artists will include Amy Winehouse and Sade.

Latin greats will include Gilberto Gil, Brazil’s former culture minister, Tito Puente, Astrud Gilberto and Chick Corea. Arabic jazz will feature such artists as Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Anouar Brahem and Rabih Abou-Khalil. Rather than having separate programmes for each genre, JazzArabia will mix the different music styles.

p&c by Sergi Arola is a signature restaurant at Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi. A first in the Middle East for the Michelin-starred Chef Sergi Arola, the standalone restaurant brings an eclectic experience, pitting cutting-edge modernity against a traditional backdrop of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Shereen Shabnam

Its time for Dim Sum

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Little Diva NJD is ready for dim sum in Seoul Korea

Taking mandarin lessons is tough….the language is tough as it is but for some reason, most syllabus use food a lot in the lessons – I guess because everyone knows Chinese food so our dear teachers think it’s the easiest way to teach us the language.

Tonight my lesson was on Shaomai (shāo mài) which  is a traditional Chinese dumpling served in dianxin/dim sum. The first time I had this was on a roadside stall in Malaysia on my way from KL to Penang. My companion spoke mainly Cantonese and was a huge fan of dim sum. All I knew was that I loved the little bamboo steamers it came in and enjoyed each delicate piece with a dollop of spicy chilli sauce.

In my lesson today, I learnt that I should be able to recognise a Shaomai as it has a fluffy and flowery shape on the top. Although shaomai originates from steamed stuffed bun (I’ve seen a lot of these a lot on the streets of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore), these two similar kinds of food have two main differences. First, the outer covering of shaomai is made of a thin sheet of lye water dough; Secondly, shaomai differ from steamed buns in that their outer covering is not sealed but instead has a pomegranate shape….i prefer the shaomai any day.

Once well steamed in the pot, shaomai are prized for the thin skin and abundant fillings. Shaomai is in the shape of a cup, not only delicious but also beautiful. There are two regional varieties of shaomai: a Cantonese version and a version from the Jiangnan region…frankly I couldn’t tell the difference but I certainly love a good shaomai in my Friday brunch.

In KL, I loved the dim sum varieties at the Pan Pacific Sunday brunch, In Singapore its best to try it at Paradise Point and in Dubai, Shangri-La does it best! I didn’t have much time in Korea and Macau to try good recommended Dim Sum but the best has to be in Hong Kong – I wanted to go to Maxim’s on the way to Fiji but the stopover was too short so I tried random restaurants and they were all awesome for dim sum.

Once again, I have diverted to food… I blame my Mandarin instructor. Each lesson this week was related to food and brought back heaps of memories from Asia.

Diva is smiling….HEAPS!!!

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Diva in the Mercedes SLK350 convertible

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday one week ahead…..partly because the love of my life NJD is going away on a ski trip to Switzerland on my birthday so my focus will mainly be on her this week…afterall this is her first trip on her own with her friends and at the age of 11, she may be confident about travelling and sliding down an icy mountain with no qualms but this mama is having mini heart attacks every hour as the trip gets closer.

So,,,,after a hectic and heavy week last week that included heaps of mental stress, PMS and warning signs to everyone around me to watch their step if they value their life, I decided to go on a sabbatical….not just any sabbatical but where I would live the life that I have become very accustomed to…in pure luxury.

Thankfully my early birthday presents came in form of experiences – Nick of Daimler reckoned diva needed a HOT car so he arranged for me to have for a few days none other than the top of the range 2 door sports car Mercedes SLK350 which I realised when I signed my life away to him was worth close to US$68,000/- (AED248,000/- roughly). But it was all good when at the touch of a bottom the roof came down and my hair went all sorts. It was an awesome convertible and since I get to drive the most expensive cars as and when I want, it really means that it must be fabulous if I start crooning about it. I don’t normally write entire blogs on cars but this baby deserves a whole piece dedicated to the fabulousness of the SLK….watch this space!

To top it off, Sarah decided that since I was meditating and moping anyway with all the problems my mind and body was going through, why don’t I breeze down to Abu Dhabi in the Merc and she would arrange for me to stay at the Suite in Shangri-la that came with a fabulous balcony, and separate living and dining area. Now most of my Malaysian friends were in Abu Dhabi this Friday so I breezed in, picked little diva up for the weekend and we spent the most amazing time at the Shangri-la suite, spa and I got to catch up with my Malaysian friends on Friday at the ‘Glorious Malaysian Galore’ festival in Mushrif Mall (Amazing stuff every evening until the 3rd of March). Lots of dancing, Malay food & Tim Hortons…what more can a woman want???

So all in all, I had an awesome time Friday night and Saturday thanks to two amazing people plus my Malaysian friends (Sakina & Sally ++) at a time I really needed to wind down. I feel a lot better in terms of being chilled and physically…well….if my PMS gets any worse and if these herbal remedies from Abu Dhabi don’t work their magic, I am seriously thinking of becoming a hermit for a week next month. (I wouldn’t be surprised if all the men in my life have noted the dates down to make sure they disappear during that period…women tend to be a bit more understanding and supply loads of chocolates, luxury holidays, sinful food and sweet & sour snacks instead).

Anyway… Having such a great time has left me smiling heaps…. I can’t wait for Sakina to return again to Dubai as she encourages me to get out of my shell, travel to new areas in UAE and generally have fun. I just hope she gets here while NJD is away cos I will be missing the little tyke heaps when she leaves on the night of my birthday and be away the next 10 days. Or I shall distract myself and write about my 2 nights of living in luxury at Qaryat Al Beri indulging in all sorts of fun stuff.