Tacos on the Terrace, Burj Al Arab, Dubai

09 March 2019 Dubai - United Arab Emirates


I'm alway on the hunt for good food around Dubai & when it comes to Mexican food, Tacos are the first thing that comes to mind!

The seven star hotel, Burj Al Arab recently launched their taco pop-up truck at Scape Lounge as part of the Dubai Food Festival so Stacy & I had a little peek & let's just say our tummies were satisfied!



There were 6 different options to choose from & for 90 Dirhams I get to choose any 3 of these, 

🐄 Smoked Wagyu Beef, 
🍢 Soy-glazed Fried Tofu served in a Purple Beetroot Taco Shell (Vegan-friendly)
🐑 Sautéed Lamb
🐟 Yellowtail Ceviche - which I highly recommend*

& for the sweet stuff

🥭 Dulce Leche Creméux (Mango Salsa, Coriander)
🍋 Lemon & Cinnamon Cream (Apricot Marmalade, Caramelized Hazelnuts)

Also, if you happen to visit the Scape Lounge on any other day for some relaxing R & R, do try their signature mocktails- These should be your top priority. 



🍹Yellow Sunset (mango, passionfruit, papaya, orange, pineapple)
🍸45°C (raspberry, ginger ale, tabasco, pink pepper)




Amazing photos by @thestacysmith & @shehanaberathna, do follow them on Instagram!

Scape Restaurant & Lounge does Saturday brunches too, click here for info!





Goodbye Cairo, Hello Luxor..

07 November 2017 Luxor, Egypt



There's not much to write about Luxor as I only spent one night there. So this week's episode of #FarhanGoes will be simple, which is the exact opposite of life.

Gotta thank cars.airasia.com for bringing me to this southern part of Egypt. They offer wonderful deals for car rentals.

The drive from Cairo to Luxor takes about 7 hours. Road was good. Strong winds however, will make your driving a bit challenging. Be sure to put on some good music to distract yourself from the boring journey.



  Few REALLY IMPORTANT notes, 

  • For some reason, it doesn't show on Google maps but you will go through a lot of toll gates for a fee or 5LE each.
  • If you use the Desert route (which is the western part of the Nile river) it's a highway without service for 300km so make sure to fill up your tank full and have enough food supplies.
  • Navigating was pretty easy and straight forward, you won't get lost.
  • If you are not a fan of long straight roads, you will get bored of driving.
Oh and can I just share with you one embarrassing story? I stopped at one of the rest areas before leaving Cairo for a toilet break then realised I didn't have enough small change to pay for toilet so I kept a huge bottle in my car and used it as my "toilet".. Thank god I didn't have to do number 2.. Eww but apa boleh buat, save money #wink

As you enter the town of Luxor, you will pass through A LOT of military checkpoints like literally every half a kilometer (not exaggerating).


If you've played the game Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation before, you would want to visit The Temple of Karnak which was what brought me to Luxor.


Though I really did want to visit the other temples, but time was just not on my side as I can only spend a night in Luxor and I had to leave for Sinai the next morning.

I have to give it to the wonderful Roberta & her husband Mohammed for giving me such a nice apartment which I rented for only RM50 per night fully equipped with a living room, a kitchen, washing machine and all what a real apartment should have! Check out the listing here





If you are in Luxor and have plenty of time, go here..

  1. Valley of The Kings/Queens
  2. Luxor Temple
  3. If you could go a little bit further south, visit Abu Simbel







End of Egypt part 2.. To be continued...

Walk Like an Egyptian

06 October 2017 Cairo, Egypt



All I could think of that day was "OMG pyramids! Nda sabar!" but it wasn't all that simple. I got lost at Cairo Int'l airport for 2 hours!!

          
Here's a rundown

  1. Cairo Airport has 3 terminals + 1 Seasonal terminal
  2. Most of the people I met don't speak english
  3. There were a lot of security screenings even when you exit the airport
  4. Giza is a city outside of Cairo (distance macam KK pegi Papar la lebih kurang)

Because it was my first time travelling solo, most of my delays were caused by miscommunication & language barrier and self-stupidity ada juga la sikit.

Vital thing to take note, never take taxis to change terminals. They'll scam you big time. They offered me 10USD to go to a different terminal.


If you land in Terminal 1, Hall 3, which was where I was, there's a shuttle bus stop for inter-terminal travels FOC (free of charge). Located behind a building of travel agents. There wasn't any signboards to lead the way so at 3AM I trusted my guts and whad'ya know?, there it was the bus!

Picked up my car rental from cars.airasia.com, received a courtesy upgrade from manual to auto transmission (which I'm thankful for)


I underestimated the road in Cairo, thought It was very straight forward like KK roads, but no, I made so many wrong turns and had to take faaaaaar exits (again, driving without GPS/Wifi, bad idea) so consider getting a local sim or a WiFi dongle. I tried Vodafone.

Rented 2 nights at the Pyramids Loft from airbnb, The view, the majestic Pyramids! Check out photo below!




Things to take note before renting a car in Egypt


  1. Gas price is more or less the same as Malaysia (easy conversion)
  2. They drive on the opposite side
  3. They don't follow the road rules
  4. Lanes don't exist
  5. Pedestrians often cross roads without noticing
  6. WAZE app, It's not the best way to navigate
  7. Traffic jam 24 hours!
  8. There's NO free parking
  9. I'd strongly advice against driving a manual car
The Egyptian pound is super easy to convert. 10LE = RM5. Egypt generally accepts USDs but It's better if you have a local currency and If you're flying from Malaysia, make sure to convert your cash from MYR to USD/Euro first then only when you reach Egypt, change it to their local currency as it is not available at money changers in Malaysia.



If you have never travelled on your own before, I strongly recommend you doing so. Provided that you have enough research of your destination country. Don't be like me ok. Egypt was my first real solo trip. 



Places of interest in Cairo/Giza (for a fee. You may refer this link)


  1. Egyptian Museum (in Tahrir Square) 
  2. The Citadel
  3. Khan el-Khalili
  4. The Shpinx & Pyramids of Giza (of course)






End of Egypt part 1.. To be continued...


Muscat Love, Oman

22 September 2017 Muscat, Oman



What can you do to kill time on a 9-hour layover in Muscat, Oman? Renting a car can actually be one. Booked mine from cars.airasia.com but little did I know, driving was on the opposite side. Yes, my first time. I exited the airport, noticing the car approaching me was headed towards my direction and I gotta say I am quite surprised how I am still alive today..

  Few things to consider before renting a car in Oman or any country for that matter.

    1. Get an International Driving Permit from your country of origin (If necessary) JPJ for Malaysia
    2. Download & install an offline map app e.g. Maps.me
    3. Find out which side of the road they drive
Driving on the opposite side can be quite challenging for inexperienced drivers (finger points to me). I got honked so many times for driving so slow. For few minutes, I actually stopped on the side of the road thinking whether or not I should continue. I went inside a housing lot to practice, trying to get used to driving in the opposite side. Punya budu..


Nonetheless, I decided to proceed to few locations before actually giving up. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque was the nearest (padahal, that was the ONLY place I went bah astaga) & thank goodness for FREE parking!

Despite having few more hours remaining with the car, I decided to just return it to the airport. Giving up was a choice.

Moral of the story, Never, I repeat NEVER drive in a foreign land without GPS or internet at least.

If I remember it well, conversion rate (as at November 2015) was 1 Omani Rial = MYR10, which explains why I didn't get a souvenir #expensive


I then spent the remaining 4 hours at the airport editing photos to post on Instagram. Oh and please make sure your telco allows roaming, at least to be able to receive SMSs coz Muscat airport's WiFi requires the pass-code to be sent to your phone via SMS. 4 hours without internet can be detrimental to your health, serious!


  If you happen to make Muscat as your transit city, you should checkout these places..


    1. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
    2. The National Museum
    3. Royal Opera House Muscat
    4. The Muscat Gate
    5. Al Jalaili Fort
    6. Bimmah Sinkhole (a lil bit in the outskirts)




Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more crazy stories..


Dinner In The Sky, Sabah

06 September 2017 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia


The question of "where shud we go eat?" has always been the hardest to answer. How bout we do it differently this time, UP IN THE AIR!


Upon reaching, they make you feel like you're a star by asking for your autograph.. Actually it's just a mandatory release form lol. We then proceeded with choosing our menu.

From a choice of :

Beef
   Chicken, or
  Fish 
  Add-ons available on their website

Strapped onto our seats like in roller coasters, you can barely feel the lift as it was done very slowly. Good news if you're afraid of heights lol!


45 metres above ground, overlooking the picturesque South China Sea, as the sun sets. The view of Kota Kinabalu was stunning!

Best thing is, you don't have to worry about not getting the best views because the dining table rotates.

It can accommodate up to 22 people in one go and since it's only an hour duration and for safety reasons, food served were pre-cooked (Imagine the whole thing goes on fire,, ya that's why la). The actual cooking was done on land. Though, food was delish!


Now here's an interesting tip, whatever you do, DO NOT look down. Instead, look into the horizon as it definitely helps to overcome your fear of heights.

You know how they say, The sky's the limit, even when it comes to dining..


Dinner in The Sky makes a stop in KK, Sabah for a limited time. Book your seats now at dinnerinthesky.my

Compliments to Dinner in The Sky Malaysia & Sutera Harbour for an amazing fine dining experience!



#ditsmalaysia #dining #adventurous #kotakinabalu #sunset
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