The Cheesecake Factory, Dubai

The Cheesecake Factory, Dubai

CAN YOU FEEL MY EXCITEMENT??!!! This is like the ultimate foodie bucket list. The one thing that I wanted to have before I die. I know that a lot of people believe in all those adventurous things and ticking them off their bucket list. I too want to those things - scuba diving (Done, by the way), bungee jumping and the likes. But for me it's trying the food out there that is the ultimate goal. Tumne jiya hi kiya otherwise. Every time I am fortunate to pay visit to a new city, I think my time line is full of food and my friends generally go - Did you even do anything besides eating? My answer? Is anything more important than that??!! There truly isn't 

I had always imagined The Cheesecake factory to look and be designed more along the lines of The Big Bang Theory which looks more like a fast food place in the tv series. But at least in Dubai it is more Fine Dine Material. I think everything in Dubai is fancified ( I know that's not a real word, I just like to use it instead of fancy with a bow). Also, I think it's a trend now around the world that after every item served to you, they like to ask how good/ bad was it. What however, they haven't learnt is the art of charm (Since my visit to Farzi Cafe in good old Bombay itself, I understand the true meaning of guest interaction, not something everyone can achieve). I am not saying that the service had anything lacking, it was at par. 

For appetizers we had ordered the Roadside slider & for the mains we shared the Bang Bang Prawns (Shrimp) & Chicken Dish. Quite a funny name. Between the two, the road side sliders would be my pick. What is it about the Middle East that the burgers are just out of this world. I remember having burgers from small outlets, the way you have bhel puri & samosas in Mumbai and well, and nothing beats them. Obviously, this is cheesecake factory, so that makes all the difference in the world. Also, I am craving some now. The Bang Bang Prawns & Chicken is a Malaysian based dish, if I am not wrong. I always get confused between Burmese and Malay because to me some of it seems similar. I was very glad to see rice because I don't think I had rice in the entirety of my trip and don't know about you but I am a rice person. Everything & Anything that is based of rice, makes me happy. Also, this had Shrimps. In order of preference it goes - Prawns, Mutton (Goat Meat), Chicken, Beef, Fish. And if you know me, you would know how I obsess over Prawns. It also seemed to be a derivative of the otherwise Popular Nasi Lemak. At least, my taste buds did. 

A part of me wished I had a bigger appetite so that I could try something more but I had been specifically told to save space because their cheesecakes are big and heavy. Even though, initially I was apprehensive over having the red velvet cheesecake which is what I did end up ordering, it turned out to be a great choice. Though, my friend ordered it and I slyly ensured it that I had the first bite and made it mine. They don't know that. So let's keep it that way.  In general I like my cheesecake to not be completely infused with chocolate or any other flavor because the red velvet or the chocolate is mixed with the cheese instead of layering and then it doesn't really feel like a cheesecake to me. Here, however, it was layered and how! The heavy layer of cheese and the the thich thick red velvet made for a combination only the Gods in heaven could have devised and now I know I can die in peace (Well, after having maybe 10-12 slices more of this I would feel my purpose is served! ) The other was the original and I generally don't say this, because original is my preference where it's just cheese cake, naked in all its glory. It did live up to my expectations but didn't shine through against the red velvet. I could pay visit to Dubai every month just for this. At least, my dreams do!

WHAT WE HAD - Roadside sliders (I miss you! Like really!)

                           Bang Bang Chicken & Shrimp (Hello, old lover!)

                           Red Velvet Cheescake (God of Cheesecakes!)

                           Original Cheesecake (Yumness Galore)

DAMAGES - AED 200-250

WHERE - The Cheesecake Factory JBR., The Beach, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Dubai

D CREPES CAFE, MUMBAI

D Crepes Cafe, Thane

I had discovered this little gem of a place more than 2 years back. It features in one of those places that I can't help but keep coming back to. Food that is truly delightful and the reasonably priced is a rarity in this city. I generally don't mind as Food is my guilty pleasure and is not about to change any time soon, but, it's always nice dropping by places like these that are the very meaning of value for money!

They have a new branch opened up at Hiranandani Estate I believe, though, I always end up at Meadows. Infact I think I could be the unoffical ambassador of this place with the way I have promoted and made sure people from my friends and family pay visit to this place. They always come back with rave reviews! 

The service here is something that has been well maintained over the years, recommending dishes to your liking. They know their menu, something that I actually find in a lot of places that the attending staff may lack knowledge of the items on their menu. It always adds a nice touch when the person serving understands your taste palette and can recommend what would best suit you, making it a good expeience on both sides and strategically avoiding bad reviews!

It is obligatory to order a crepe when you step in here. After  all, the place is names "D'Crepes". So we began with a generous serving of the Barbeque crepe. I should also mention here that the serving size of the crepe has increased or so I felt. Previously the filling inside the crepes wasn't as generous as it was this time. Where most other places you will find it decreasing, here it is the opposite. Kudos.  Chicken and veggies mixed well with BBQ sauce stuffed in the crepe is the stuff of your dreams and it can get down and dirty, so forget your table manners at home to enjoy it the way it should be! Next on the item was some Pasta. The pasta range is under Do It Your Way with giving you selections on how you want it to be prepared. We went for Fusilli Pasta in Portugese sauce as recommended by our attendant. This is supposed to be a very spicy sauce and we had asked him to turn down the spiciness a little and we are glad we did that. Even after the spiciness being reduced, it still ended up being spicy, so eat if your heart, stomach, ears and nose are prepared for. (You know running noses, heart bun, smoke from your ears ) The sauce is a tangy sauce and takes a little after the Arabiatta, though not an arabiatta sauce. I would order it again. However, the one thing that I would want to change about it is the serving bowl. Previously, the pastas were surved in a wooden bowl which has been changed to plates. I always felt it gave a unique touch to the plating with the wooden bowls. We had also ordered some garlic bread on the side and let me just say this is one of the best cheese garlic breads I have ever had the honour to have. Cheesy, soft breads, retaining the garlic flavors. Life couldn't get better. 

I am going to take a paragraph break here. I am a very lazy writer but once I start typing, I think I over write. But it's food!  For drinks I had called for the Iced tea, because nothing like it and truly, over here, I can most definitely say - NOTHING LIKE IT! I order iced teas because it is the safest bet on the menu and I don't spot a lot of creativity in this section in most places. However, the iced ea here is one of the best I have had. Refreshing, tangy, sweet and the perfect balance of flavors. I could order one more. My friend had ordered the Red Velvet Shake and even though I was a little wary of this, because most places screw up the red velvet shake and it feels more of a chocolate shake itself (Arey bhaiyya chocolate shake order kana hota toh chocolate shake order karte na - is something that some people don't get!). Here? You can feel the red velvet taste in every sip you take and I was just in another kind of heaven. A must if you enjoy red velvet as much as I do. The only disappointment - we had ordered for chocolate cheese cake to end our order and this is the first time that I have been let down. The cheese was too heavy, dry and wasn't even exactly sweet. Something I hope they look into. Their dessert range has never disappointed me before so I was a little surprised. 

Go for D Crepes! Go for D' Crepes and in case you still haven't gotten the message - Go for D'Crepes! or well, live to regret. Perfect place for meeting a friend, or for your work from home or rather cafe days and even for a date where you want to impress the said date! 

What We Had - Barbecue Crepe (Yumness Personified)

                         Pasta in Portugaise Sauce (Yumness)

                         Cheese Garlic Bread (More is Less)

                         Iced Tea (Very very refreshing!)

                         Red Velvet Shake (Fantabulous, yumness personified)

                         Chocolate Cheese cake (Let Down)

Damages - Rs 1100/- (Approx)

Where - D'Crêpes Café., Shop 2, Avila Building, Near Godrej Nature's Basket, Hiranandani Estate, Thane West

Love & Cheesecake, Mumbai

LOVE AND CHEESE CAKE, Powai

I am going to be combining my two visits to the two-different out-lets of this place, one in Carter Road, the other in Powai. The first was because dessert had been calling out to us while we were roaming the roads of Carters, Bandra. The second being fairly recent and planned. I guess the success of the first visit led to the second one, as I wanted to try out more flavors before putting up a review. 

Cheese cakes is my weakness, the few things that you can use to bribe me if you want some favor from me, put me off my diet (which I am never on anyways! :P), but I hope that puts across the point I am trying to make. I can never refuse cheese-cake, be what may. For a food lover, who wants to explore, I some times feel like, I still try to find my comfort zone where I don't have to try something extreme. For example, I had a while ago tried Burmese cuisine and it did not sit well with me, try as I may. Though, I still want to give it another try, like I always say you should know what to order as well, like the recently popular Baos, which I did indeed like. 

Okay, getting back to love and cheesecake, well its a one word actually, cheesecake = love. :P. The decor in both the outlets were distinctively apart from each other. The Carter Road one does not have any seating available and is only take-away, but the chandeliers and lights used seem much more inviting in this place. Moreover, they have more options on their menu besides cheese-cake like pancakes and waffles. This is something that was not available as far as I could see at the Powai outlet. If they did indeed have, they would have if nothing a small kitchen, or waffle makers or anything that gave indication, which was a little disappointing as on the small tables laid here, there was table triangles advertising Hot Chocolate which looked very tempting. I should have asked, but I didn't. I have to speak of the small round tables and the aristocratic chairs they had uses in the Powai outlet. You know how as a child, girl child, you play with barbie-dolls and do tea parties, with Doll Houses which have pink cushioned- on royal looking white chairs?!. That was made the insides of this little outlet. I did indeed feel like I was having a tea-party without the tea. I guess, all in all, both the outlets had their own perks.

In totality I have tried 5 cakes from here, The Baked Oreo Cheese cake, The red velvet cheese cake, Brownie Baked Cheesecake, Dulche De Leche Baked Cheesecake and the Belgian Chocolate Marquise Chocolate Cake. In exception of the last one, all the other four were cheese cakes. If I had to rank in Order, it would be Brownie, Red Velvet, Oreo, Belgian Chocolate Marquise and then Dulcha De Leche. Their cheese cakes are heavy, mind you and hence it is advisable to not go here after a very heavy meal, which I had done the first time round. But even then the love for cheesecake had made me not a single morsel go to waste. :D To be very frank, the cheese cakes are extra-ordinary and I love the quality of the cheese cake, you can tell that they have used extremely high quality ingredient. What would be the minus point? That there feels to be more of other ingredients than the cheese cake, especially in the Chocolate Cheese cake, where I could hardly feel any cheese to be around. in fact, there was more of chocolate cake and hardly any signs of cheese or chocolate-cheese, fell more or less like having chocolate cake. The Brownie cheese cake was my favorite of the lot, which had a perfect balance between the chocolate and the brownie based used. It would be an almost tie between the Oreo and the red velvet. Though, I have to say this, that the brownie cheese cake that I had had from Rolling Pin is still the best. The Chocolate Marquise, was chocolate and for something that says Hey! I am chocolate and does not pretend to be something else, is actually really-really- good.

I fell in love with cheese-cake before it became trendy. Yes, like fashion, food also has trends and this trend is in full swing for the past few years, and for some one who has had a weakness for cheese cake from before, I can tell you this, you are missing out, if you havn't been here yet. Like the name says, its love at first cheese cake! :)

WHAT WE HAD - Oreo Cheese Cake (Yumness!!)

                           Brownie Cheese Cake ( Need More...!!)

                           Red Velvet Cheese cake (A knock on Heaven's Door!)

                           Chocolate Marquise ( Yum-Yum and yum so more!)

                           Dulcha De Leche Cheese cake (Need more of cheese??!!)

DAMAGES - Rs 150-180 is a cost of a single cheese cake

WHERE - Love and CheesecakeEden 2, Central Ave, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai

               Shop 10, Gagangiri, Off Carter Road, Bandra, Mumbai