Join the adventure at IMG Dubai

September 1, 2016September 1, 2016llmatjvt 2 Comments

Yesterday, I went on an adventure that I am sure would interest other residents of JVT. I attended the grand opening day at IMG World of Adventure. Only 17 minutes from home, it is well worth the visit.

The rides are top notch and clearly on par with the world’s best. We did experience a few delays and a closed attraction due to some operational glitches, but I’d chalk that up to first day jitters and would expect that the little snafus get quickly resolved.

Here are the top three attractions that we enjoyed the most (although I hear the roller coasters are wicked but I just couldn’t tempt my kids to try!):

Ben 10 Hero Time is a 5D adventure located within the many Cartoon Network attractions. It’s a ride that will leave you wishing for more.

Avengers Battle of Ultron in the Marvel comic heros zone doesn’t disappoint either. I would say the sets and scenery in this ride were among the best we saw.

Hat’s off as well to the Lazy Town team for a spectacular half hour show. This was a display of energy that surely can’t be beat.

The restaurants are definately well above the typical fare you find at an amusement park. You can enjoy Indian samosas while seated in a tuk-tuk or dine on delicious Chinese cuisine, as we chose to do, feeling like you might have just stepped off a plane in Beijing.

In case you are not yet convinced and want to see a little more before you head out there, here are a few more shots to scroll through. My recommendation is certainly to make a full day of it (starting at noon) and experience the adventure first hand!

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The Warrior brings Healthy Eating to your Door !

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016llmatjvt

Pompeii Warrior is a great new service for anyone trying to count their calories and manage their weight. Prepared and packaged just next door in Jumeirah Village Circle, you can expect truly fresh produce delivered right to your door.

When I heard about this new service, I decided that I had to check it out for you!

Just back from a visit to the Pompeii restaurant, I got a behind the scenes look at the food preparation. I also had the chance to chat with the restaurant manager to understand the service better.

It is straightforward and hassle-free. Simply log onto their website and select the monthly meal plan to suit your needs. You start with an easy-to-do calculation which will indicate your recommended daily calorie intake. Then you have only one choice to make: should they deliver meals for 5, 6 or 7 days out of the week !

The meal plan provides the number of calories you selected over breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks and even the occasional dessert. Simply select ‘order’ and leave all the meal planning to the Warrior. No more lists, shopping trips or counting calories. This is all done for you whether you require 1,200 calories per day or up to 3,000 for the really active among us.

Fresh cooked meals will be delivered to your home on a daily basis. The well-balanced, meal combinations were designed for Pompeii by a nutritionist from South Africa. “Fresh ingredients are key to locking in all the important vitamins and nutrients. Nothing is frozen in our monthly meal plan,” Katrina assured me. If you are health conscious but don’t have time to plan and shop for all the right ingredients or feel overwhelmed by calculating the amount of food you need to consume to maintain or lose weight, the Warrior is for you!

I was curious about the Body Building menu plan. This offer includes only high-protein lunch and dinner but, alas, no snacks and clearly no desserts! As the Body Building plan is aimed at trainers, I am told it is the perfect choice for someone looking for healthy meals and the option to use their own hi-energy shakes for example. “We have selected and developed very yummy dishes that satisfy your cravings while keeping you in shape,” says Katrina. It’s worth mentioning that the Monthly Meal Plans can be adjusted for special dietary concerns. The price may vary but don’t hesitate to ask if there is a particular food on the plan that you can’t eat.

If you don’t want to subscribe to their monthly meal plan, you can also order ‘a la carte’ off their healthy menu for a one-off delivery. With healthy options, such as the beetroot and feta salad or the hammour fish fillet with vegetables, this seems like a great option when you just arrive home from a long trip and have nothing in the fridge.

This service could certainly be a life saver for the busy professional who doesn’t have the inclination or energy to cook after a long day at work. Why not give this a try one week when you have no time for shopping! And do tell your friends as their deliver all around new Dubai.

Visit their website

To order, call: 800POMPEII OR 04-3697746

And if you just want a pizza, they make some good ones at the Pompeii restaurant.

What’s a Bokashi?

July 12, 2013June 30, 2013llmatjvt 1 Comment

Is it a game? a new dance? a science experiment? Not exactly, but it is Dubai’s answer to increase recyling, give a second life to food scraps and improve sandy soil.

Plenty of people with gardens in less harsh climates are familiar with the composting concept. My parents had one, as did their parents before them. When I bought my first home, many moons ago, I scouted out the ideal spot in the yard to toss my organic trash. But moving to Dubai seven years ago ended my novice career in recycling. Finally, we now have a number of industrial size bins across the city where we can deposit our paper, aluminum and glass trash. But the thought of piling up vegetable peels, apples cores and other smelly waste in a corner of the garden to attract rats & ants never seemed very appealing.

Enter the ‘bokashi’ – a Japanese word meaning ‘fermented organic matter’. The bokashi bin is not much more than a large garbage pail with a lid and handle. It does have a raised perforated bottom that allows juices to collect which avoids your trash stewing into a smelly mess. Scroll down to see one.

Simply drop in your peels, leftover lettuce or any fruit and veg, add a handful of sawdust (not to be forgotten lest you don’t mind wearing a nose plug) and close. Continue layering every day until full. Then, my advice is to get your gardener to do the dirty job of burying the waste in the garden. Drain off the liquid once a week to feed your flowering plants.

In a few months time, you’ll have a much more nourishing soil. The prospect of plumper tomatoes and a succulent harvest of deep purple eggplant keeps me going with my Bokashi routine.

You’ll be alerted when I find my first earthworm !!!! — Posted by Lee

PS – if you want to know where to get yours, just google bokashi dubai. Or try the Change Initiative or Ripe in Umm Suqeim.

Geant starts Online Grocery Delivery

June 23, 2013June 19, 2013llmatjvt Leave a comment

Geant supermarket (http://www.geantonline.ae/) now delivers to JVT…Yes, you heard it correctly!! Why brave the summer heat, parking space debacles, trolley malfunctions, endless queues, hunting for coins, loading the car and unloading those heavy cool drinks and embarrassingly large packs of loo rolls when you can order your groceries online.

Geant has started offering the online service with FREE delivery to JVT recently and I gave it a try this week. I found the website easy to use and well organised. The products are divided into sections like, Fresh, Canned goods, Dairy etc. You can easily adjust quantities and I didn’t notice an increase in prices compared with the actual store prices. You can request a specific time and day and mine came on time, with cold things still cold!

Ladies who are going away for summer, leaving poor hubby to fend for themselves (or overdose on take-aways), there is even a favourites section where you can simply duplicate your previous orders for ease and convenience. Give it a try, you won’t regret it.

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