Chinese New Year in Arabia

Chinese New Year market at the Promenade, the Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration! Technically, Chinese New Year is still on (it’s a 15 day celebration after all!!!) Here’s how we celebrated ours in the UAE, in 15 photos.


Our Reunion-tine Dinner – What the heck, there were only the 4 of us, so we clubbed Valentine’s and Reunion Dinner in one, and here’re the results – roses and candles for Valentine’s and SEVEN Reunion Dinner dishes for our small family of 2 adults and 2 kids! (When Anu cooks, she really cooks!!!)


Angpows for the kids! And New Year decorations on our door – it’s the Dog Year, let’s hope that it’s not gonna be dog days every day…


Mommy and the kids, resplendent in red!


Gong Xi Fa Cai! The Galleria Mall, Abu Dhabi


Smile, you’re on candid camera!


New Year decorations for the brand new Dog Year (the hanging character in gold means Dog!), Galleria Mall, Abu Dhabi


The Wishing Tree, the Galleria, Abu Dhabi


The Promenade, the Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi


Chinese opera performance at the Galleria Promenade


Welcoming the New Year with fireworks, the Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi


Welcoming the Dog Year, DragonMart 2, International City, Dubai – I dunno why some Muslim folks in Malaysia think dog images are offensive. The Arabs seem to have no complaints!?!


A drum performance, DragonMart 2


The Noodle Pavilion, DragonMart 2, Dubai


Chinese New Year Pavilion, Dubai Mall

That’s all folks, wishing you a super dog year ahead!

Something Chinese for Chinese New Year

Chinese Lantern Festival Gala, on Chap Goh Meh 2017, in Amity University, Dubai – (Didn’t know there were so many Chinese in Dubai, didya?)

Chinese New Year is fast approaching. So is Valentine’s. I am still in this never-seem-to-end Project in Abu Dhabi, and have not planned anything for Valentine’s, or CNY!

But I’m sure the wife has something up her sleeves. And that, friends, is the beauty of having a loving wife around, haha! (I’d never imagine myself saying that before I tied the knot!)

Anyway, here’re pictures of assorted Chinese things in Dubai in the past year. Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!!! Going back to work now, can’t wait for the friggin weekend. Umm… just 3 friggin days to go!


DragonMart 2, Dubai


Old Wood Village Restaurant, DragonMart 2 – The décor is beautiful, but, nah, haven’t tried it. It’s a Chinese vegetarian restaurant! How on earth am I gonna convince dear ol wife to fork out some cash to try out a vegetarian restaurant?!?


Now, that’s more like it, seafood! The wife loves seafood, especially Chinese seafood! Sun Tour Restaurant, DragonMart 2, with niece Sweety


More restaurants – Dad at the Quan Jude Peking Duck Restaurant, International City. I have lots of complaints about International City, but when it comes to authentic Chinese food in Dubai, International City is the place to be! You’ll find restaurants from all over China. Just imagine the variety!


Buhaiwan Restaurant, International City – ‘the best’ noodle restaurant in Dubai according to my Chinese colleague and friend. It specializes in noodle dishes from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Province of China. The Uighur people look nothing like Chinese (they’re a Turkic group and are predominantly Muslim), but they’re Chinese nationals and speak Chinese. (No, my Chinese friend isn’t Uighur, he’s a Han from the neighbouring Qinghai Province). Don’t visit on weekends though, you’ll wait hours to get a seat!


Free Kung Fu Classes in DragonMart 2, for the entire summer!


See! Dubai has its own acupuncture and traditional Chinese treatment centre – DragonMart 2, Dubai




Lanterns and Lion Dances for the Mid-Autumn Festival aka Mooncake Festival

Happy New Year Everybody! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Wan Shi Ru Yi! And for the love birds, Happy Valentine’s!!!

The Bond of Brothers

‘Helping’ Mommy pack for a trip to Jordan, Dec 2015

I’ve posted photos of Justin, and photos of Jayden, but rarely of the two boys together. So, here’re some photos of them together. They squabble most of the time, but sometimes, they’re really sweet with one another. These precious times are what every parent would like to see, I believe. I hope they remember the bond of brotherhood, stay close to one another and look out for each other for as long as they live.


Stuck in Bahrain Airport, on transit from Amman, Jordan back to Dubai, Dec 2015


Luckily, there’s some shade, Taman Ayun Temple, Bali, Indonesia, Mar 2016


What the boys are up to when their Mommy shops, DragonMart, Jul 2016




Fooling around in the hotel room in Isfahan, Iran, Dec 2016




This fun is freezing! Velayat Rud, Alborz Province, Iran, Dec 2016


Justin loves hot baths, Jayden ummm so-so, (he’s scared of water), May 2017


Savvy in matching outfits, May 2017


Sharing a pizza, DragonMart, Jun 2017


In lazy mode, thanks to the telly …at least they’re quiet and not making more mess, Aug 2017


Awww… this place stinks! At ‘Smelly Beach’ (beside Barracuda Wine Shop), Umm Al Quwain, UAE, Sep 2017


Another set of matching outfits! Thanks to Mommy. At Mirdif City Centre, Sep 2017


What izit with sand that kids are crazy about?!? At the public playground near our house, International City, Dubai, Oct 2017

By the way, Jayden’s started school in January. Here’s an update on Jayden’s baby language before he grows up and it all disappears – Lelo (yellow), Shimish (finish), Vegeble (vegetable), Mumber (number), Simima (cinema), Excamador (excavator), Tranmowers (Transformers), Acabraca (Abracadabra), Open Semeni (Open Sesame).

And here’re a couple of songs. Yes, he sings! Unlike his brother! “Twinkle, twinkle little star, haiyu haiyu little star!” And “Let it go, let it go, here I stand and here I stay, brother Jan (let the storm rage on), the cold body anyway (the cold never bothered me anyway), deng! (that’s the sound of the door closing at the end of the song in the video).”