It’s been a busy week! My cousin came into town from London for Easter weekend and we’d had quite a busy weekend. On Sunday I had my morning session with Rama, and then Dad took us to Hakkasan for lunch. I’d booked a table for 2pm, but the restaurant was very quiet when we got there.
We decided to go for the set menu for AED120. We had a choice of starters, a choice of main course and a choice of dessert. It also included steamed rice and greens. To start, Dad had the hot and sour soup with chicken, while the two of us went for the assorted steamed dim sum. We also ordered a portion of the prawns on toast with foie gras. We then had the prawns, beef and steamed red snapper to share. The choices for dessert were lemon tart and assorted sorbets. The portions were quite generous and I thought it was good value for money.
After lunch we went to the mall – we all had a couple of errands to run. My cousin and I wanted to rush back and sit by the pool but it was quite a cloudy afternoon. We relaxed at home for a while and then got ready for dinner. I had booked Okku for 8pm but was still full from lunch. Of course we went anyway. My cousin and his wife joined us for a couple of drinks while we ate. We had edamame, spicy tuna and crispy rice, rock shrimp tempura, sashimi salad, and of course the truffle fried rice. The waiter asked whether we wanted something to eat with the rice – black cod, chicken? I was perfectly happy to have it on its own. At 9.45, the waiter said they would need the table by 10pm for the next sitting, but we could hang around by the bar and have a few more drinks. We decided to do that – a waiter took the drinks we already had and we followed him down to the bar. He disappeared in the crowd, never to be seen again. I complained to one of the staff and told him what had happened – and he replaced our drinks. It was quite crowded – I’d been told that Thursdays and Sundays are their busiest nights (Sunday being retro night). We started chatting to some random people, had more drinks (which the bartender didn’t charge me for – I’m definitely going back), and eventually decided to leave at 1am. I only left because I had yoga the next morning, and was already dreading it.
After yoga, we decided to sit by the pool before lunch – it was a hot day and I took my book. When we got to the pool I realised I was still wearing my bedroom slippers. Thankfully there was nobody else around. I was outdoors for about an hour and had to come back in – it was too hot for me. After lunch, we went back down to the pool (in my flip-flops) and I sat under an umbrella while she lay out in the sun. I managed to get some colour, however, and no longer look anaemic. Hurrah! I went back indoors at 4pm as I was meeting a schoolfriend at Gloria Jean’s at the mall. I hadn’t seen her since we left school in 1991.
It was nice catching up – finding out who the other was in touch with, what everyone else was doing. We chatted for almost an hour and a half, and then I went to Wafi Gourmet to meet some friends who were in town from London for the Easter holidays. They’d booked their tickets to Dubai before I booked mine last year – and I couldn’t believe how quickly the time has gone and that they were already here! It was great to see them.
My cousin left early on Tuesday morning, very unwillingly. Back to the cold and the rain and the office. I love my life. I thought I’d sit by the pool that afternoon but it was cloudy so I decided to stay indoors and do some work.
After my Wednesday session with Rama, I went down to the pool for some fresh air and to finish my book. The pool area was pretty crowded – there were seven of us there. That’s the most crowded I’ve seen it since I moved here. By 1.15 I was sweltering and decided to go back indoors for lunch and some work. I had an umbrella covering most of me, but the three girls sitting by the pool didn’t and I wondered how they coped in the heat. I went back down at about 4.30 with some proofreading – it was still hot but there was nobody else around.
On Thursday Joy and I did our weekly shop at Lulu. I’d written a couple of weeks ago that going to Lulu is a pointless task for me because all I do is push the trolley. I’ve since learned that that is not the case. I’ve noticed that Joy shops according to her list, not according to what aisle she’s in. For example, if she needs chicken fillets and minced chicken but they’re not next to each other on her list, she will get the chicken fillets, and then look for whatever comes next (toothpaste, homous – it could be anything) and then eventually come back to the minced chicken. She could spend all day at the supermarket if she continued shopping like that. No wonder it has taken us so long in the past – today it took 1 hour. There is no method to her madness.
On our way home from the supermarket, our cab was suddenly surrounded by dust and sand – and there was debris flying into the windscreen. It was a sandstorm! I don’t know where it came from but by the time we got to our block of flats, I couldn’t get the cab door open as the gusts of wind were so strong. We managed to get the shopping into a trolley and take it into the building. After unpacking everything I decided to go to the gym. It was still windy outside and while I was on the treadmill I could see the sunbeds and umbrellas being blown over. And then it stopped just as suddenly as it had started.
On Friday, my friends from London invited me to brunch at their hotel. We had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon by the pool but one of the kids had a skiing lesson at Ski Dubai so we went there instead.
I didn’t do much at all on Saturday – went to the gym, sat by the pool, watched ‘Game of Thrones’. I love my life.
See more Dubai updates here.
Notes by Nectar 
Rofl at Joy!