The Noodle House is one of our go to places for last minute evening plans. It’s probably the cheapest option in Bain Al Jesrain to take in the beautiful view of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and the Bridge. They even have a terrace for when it’s cool enough. And they tend to have a promotion were kids eat free. The food and layout are formulaic – Singapore Noodles, Crispy Duck with pancakes, a couple of curries, and the obligatory open plan kitchen – but adequate for a quick no frills dinner with the kids.
Of course it wouldn’t be Abu Dhabi if there wasn’t a bit of drama sometimes. So a few nights ago we got there for what we wanted to be a really quick meal. And as we’re looking at the menu … the lights go out. The spectacle was nice for about 5 minutes – I realised that the Sheikh Zayed Bridge is illuminated at night, with the same running light motif that’s on Ferrari World. Come on, could we be more tacky? But I digress. I was really observing how the staff was handling the issue. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Half of them were touring the tables to explain what was going on, and half of them were lighting up Ramadan candles to bring to diners. The fact that they randomly missed half the table, and that there were only 4 candles for about 25 tables is just bad luck … at least something orderly and calm was going on.
Pretty soon the power came back on. We didn’t really understand our waiter’s explanation, but assumed the maintenance guys had found the breaker switch. Unfortunately it seems that they hadn’t really corrected the problem – since it all went south again 30 minutes later, for another 10 minutes. This time, we ordered dessert and the bill at the same time, just to be on the safe side.
Take home for that evening: The Souk Quariat al Beri doesn’t have emergency power generators, the Sheikh Zayed Bridge looks kind of nice at night, and bring your own flashlight for dinner at the Noodle House.
The Noodle House is located at the Souk Quariat Al Berri, between the Shangri La and the Fairmount hotel. Open Lunch and Dinner, Licensed.
A-t-on vu quelque chose de plus insignifiant, de plus stérile, de plus crétin… que les TimeOut Awards de cette année 2011, offrant le titre du meilleur resto de l’année à un grill banal (accompagnements de niveau Flunch, desserts de niveau anglais version comptoir de gare) animé par un service piailleur, obséquieux, et sans autre culture du produit que la répétition ? Ce magazine, un tabloïd d’affairistes larbinisés par le tropisme de cour, est un torchon de bêtise. Et Atayeb, meilleur MENA !!! Leur couscous est très en deça d’un Garbit, plein d’eau, sans épices, servi avec du chutney !!!