Top 5 Sosyal V-Day Date Places in Riyadh

When I suggested this entry, Eyecandy quipped, "Baka magalit na sa'tin ang mga asawa ng readers natin ha!" Lol. From shopping to dining to making lakwatsa... we suggest them all. And sometimes, our readers, mostly ladies, tend to bug and nag their husbands to heed our suggestions. Well, that's just great! Haha! (Women empowerment, woot! :) We didn't know we've become so helpful to fellow ladies out there! Lol. All we're saying is, guys, please indulge your wives and girlfriends once in a while. After all, you love them right? *wink with an extra bat of gorgeous eyelashes*

For this year's Valentine's Day, we suggest sosyal dining places that will melt your wife's heart and make her fall in love with you again. We're addressing this to husband and wife only because you all know by now that gf and bf can't go out together in public. At least when you're husband and wife, the religious police will see this as a normal dining out scenario and will not accuse you of celebrating the red-letter day, even if you are indeed out to celebrate it. So going back to the sosyal part... well, there's no harm in indulging once in a while, right? Right?! Even if it's not Valentine's these places will create a fantastic place to date. Romance is definitely in the air...

For dinner, fancy schmanzy hotel restaurants will probably be in your mind. Truth be told, we had this connotation about hotel restaurants: they're no good. The food is expensive and overrated. Well, some are. That's why, we're suggesting places we've already dined in. The food are relatively okay but what caught our attention in these places are the ambiance and the privacy they deliver. After all, when eating, especially on a date, all the senses must be heightened. Here are some hotel restaurants we've tried:

1. Radisson SAS' Brasseries On Four
Enjoy authentic pan-Arabian and global fusion cuisine at the Brasserie on Four restaurant in Riyadh. Indulge in a casual and light dining experience with the à la carte menu, or choose from the lavish spread of lunch and dinner buffets. Brasserie on Four also hosts the hotel's Super Breakfast Buffet, which includes fresh breads, delicious cuts and homemade pastries.

Shrimps galore!

Dinner starts 7pm in BOF. We enjoyed the seafood buffet and desserts. The shrimps and squid are grilled while you wait. Waiting is not an issue though because there are other dishes right in front of you. We heard Shogun, the Japanese restaurant in Radisson SAS is also a good choice.

2. Sheraton Hotel's La Piazza Gather everyone for the sumptuous buffet and specialties. An exclusive ambiance, mouthwatering cuisine, and personal service create a great dining experience.

La Piazza's chocolate fondant
(Ever since Duo, we've been on the lookout for other chocolate fondant in the city and so far, nothing came at par... well, except Cafe Ceramique's which appealed greatly to our Filipino taste buds.)

The La Piazza is Sheraton's Italian restaurant and they do look like one in a tiny village in Italy offering the authentic experience. There's even private dining areas where you'll have total privacy and yet you'll still feel the earthy, rural Italian village atmosphere. Dinner starts 4pm and goes on until midnight. We love the pizza and the lamb chops.

3. Kingdom Tower's Spazio 77
Plates are served to taste, but also to enjoy every bite! The various savors and wide range of signature Mediterranean dishes made from the best ingredients and always keeping in mind the authenticity of each flavor.

What better way to enjoy dinner than to eat at the 77th floor of Saudi Arabia's tallest building? Delicious food and amazing views, that's what you get from Spazio 77. Perfect for a lovely date! Your journey starts at the amazing elevator, which looks like a planetarium with its "stars", that zips you up to the restaurant floor. Then the meals, which is great. (S ate there on a buffet and she remembers there was a lot of salmon and a pasta that is cooked right in front of you.) You can also opt to go to the Oxygen Room, which is one-of-a-kind in Riyadh. Very interesting!

You might want to consider Al Faisaliah Tower's The Globe too. We haven't eaten there so we can't vouch for it but if you're looking for spectacular city views while eating modern European cuisine then you'll be in a treat at The Globe. You can also visit The Experience, Faisaliah's public observation gallery, after your hefty dinner. Fancy a cigar? Then the Asir Lounge is for you. Now, who wanna be a billionaire so effin' bad?!

After a hefty dinner, you'll probably crave for a fabulous dessert. Enter two in our must-list:

4. Cafe Lenotre

Located in Centria Mall, Cafe Lenotre is a restaurant and a dessert place in one. If you're there for the latter only, then we'd suggest you pick a table outside. The terrace, overlooking the Olaya and King Fahd Road, is lit with romantic candles and made cooler by water sprinklers. Try their Lavazza coffee and apple pie. Also their chocolate fondant and macarons. Oh, phone in a reservation okay. They don't accept walk-ins. They're sosyal that way. Lol.

5. Laduree Cafe

Also in the same mall you'll find a quaint, dainty cafe by French icon Laduree. Again, this is a reservation only cafe (and they're strict about it). You'll enjoy mouthwatering macarons, cakes and pastries... if you can pronounce them in their French names. Lol. Have their flavored coffees and ice cream too.

Laduree's famous macarons *nibble, nibble*

So, did we give you a good list or what? Don't lose the romance this coming red-letter day! Pop-in a delightful surprise to your wife (or okay, husband)! Have a romantic dinner in the city of Riyadh! :)

Sneak Peek at "Lusin"

Tonight, I had the special treat of peeking in a budding new restaurant in town due to open on February 14 (soft opening) called "Lusin".

Most of our readers already know my affection with the Noodle House in Centria Mall...it just so happens that this new restaurant is a brainchild of the same company but this will cater to a more Middle Eastern/European flair serving Armenian food. Now, I am not sure what Armenian food is, but I've been informed that it is similar to Arabic food in a way. I guess I have to wait until the opening to find out and tell you all about it. Otherwise, this is what Wikipedia said about Armenian cuisine.

Meanwhile, here are some photos I was able to take as the crew was kind enough to show me the inside of the restaurant:

The sign on the door reads "Lusin" brightly, and the rest of the exterior of the entrance shows two gate-like doors on both sides and in the middle is a glass wall which allows passers-by to view the big, clay oven situated inside as the cooks go about their business. You'd have to imagine it for now as it escaped my mind to photograph the whole entrance.

The inside: The interior palette is made up of rich browns, beige, dark purple (it may be maroon, but the lighting must have me confused) and dim-lit lamps, almost looking like an arabian sunset. Further on the back is an outdoor section, overlooking the Olaya area. It's still in need of finishing touches.

The table setting. The brass lamps may very well allow diners to have a good look of their food before enjoying it. I hope to have a seat in one of these tables very soon!

So there you have it, in case you want to try out something new come February 14th, Lusin will surely welcome you.

Cheers!

-ec-

The Top 5 Malls in Riyadh

We're introducing a new section in the blog where we list five favorite any thing. Just the Pink Tarha ladies' choices orayt? Feel free to add yours in the comment boxes. :)

For the first entry in this section, we write about something dear to our hearts (lol). Since we're still high from shopping, why not write an entry that involves our favorite past time?

One of Riyadh's allure to women is its being a major shopping destination, especially during the sale season. The mall is the main destination of women who are seeking respite and therapy from all the day's work (or non-work). The mall is the oasis, the first refreshing frontier in the ongoing life of Filipinas in Saudi Arabia. It's wide, air-conditioned, and the displays are endless and dazzling! Filipino men can settle for Batha but we women can hold our fort in Riyadh's huge malls. The Pink Tarha lists down our five go-to malls in the city with their matching pros and cons.

1. Riyadh Gallery
This mall located at the end of the King Fahad Road tops our list. It might be far to a few but we say it's location is just right. Not too near and not too far. The distance is compensated by the King Fahd Road, which is a relatively wide highway with little traffic. But the most important reason is that it's a one-stop complete mall. It houses three of our favorite department stores - three! - Debenhams, Centrepoint, and Citymax. It also has a famous one-stop beauty shop, Sephora. Eyecandy says it also resembles a Manila mall the most (say Trinoma) because of its wide space and nature (albeit faux) landscape in the center. The coffee shops are rightfully (and tastefully) placed in the nooks of this mall garden. The lack of in-house branches of popular restaurants is compensated with a brightly-lit, colorful food court with interesting eating stalls that we like. E likes Indian Garden in the food court which serves a mean Chicken 65 while Mary likes the no-fuss pasta at Pastalita. Overall, Riyadh Gallery is the Pink Tarha's main retreat.

Shop with nature in Riyadh Gallery (photo from here)

Pros
Relaxing ambiance (nature landscape in the middle)
Department stores (Centrepoint, Citymax, Debenhams, Sephora)
Popular brands (New Look, Zara, H&M, New Yorker)
Specialty stores (Konad for nail art and Stokes for funky kitchen tools)
Hyper Panda
Huge parking lot
London cab
Huge amusement center

Cons
Far location (at the end of King Fahd Road)
Death-defying high escalators
No in-house restaurants

2. Granada Center
Surprisingly, even if Granada Center is far from the city center, we are placing it in second because of a somewhat unique reason. Granada Center is probably the most men-friendly mall because most of the brands here carry their line for men. Like Topshop and H&M. So it's a pro for our fathers, husbands, and brothers. Pro for us too because they become more willing to drive us around. We also consider its distance a breather from the grinding, busy city life. It also proves to be an advantage because we still find our sizes here, especially during the sale season. Granada Center is like a walk in the park. It's spacious but not too huge to enjoy a stroll. It also has the must-go-to stores in our list like H&M, River Island, and Debenhams. Also, we don't encounter the muttawas here as much compared to other malls (not that we're hiding from them).

Far but worth it (photo from here)

Pros
Department store (Debenhams)
Popular brands (Topshop, H&M, New Look,)
Brands for men (Topshop, H&M)
In-house restaurants (Steakhouse and a Turkish grill)
Carrefour
Entertainment center
Huge parking lot
London cab
For women only food court area

Cons
Location
Limited variety of stores
Limited eating stalls in the food court

3. Sahara Mall and Hayat Mall
We decided to combine these two together because once you're in one, you can't help but go "ober da bakod" to visit the other. And you can also go to Sahara Plaza, the home of Zara and La Senza's liquidation stores. If not for the ongoing construction on the roads surrounding these malls, we could have placed it in the number 1 spot. But times and places have changed. The traffic in this area is a killer and you'll waste precious minutes in the surrounding intersections, U-turns, and detours. Also, it was a breeze before to cross the road to go from one mall to the other but now that a fence has been installed in between, the walk outside is a strain (unless you enjoy walking like we do... sometimes). Overall though, Sahara and Hayat offer a huge variety of brands and stores combined. What you can't find in one mall, you can find in the other. You can buy everything here from your clothes, groceries, books, cellphones, and appliances. It's a one-stop gigantic shop... which you can reach after having a headache from the road hassles.

Shoppers' [twin] delight (photos from here and here)

Pros
Location (near the city center)
Popular brands (Hayat: New Look, Zara, Lacoste, Al-Sawani, Paris Gallery | Sahara: MNG, H&M, Miss Selfridge)
Lots of food court choices
In-house restaurants (Hayat: Tony Roma's and Applebee's | Sahara: Fuddruckers, Cafe Ceramique)
Supermarkets (Hayat: Dabube Hypermarket | Sahara: Tamimi Market)
Sahara Plaza
Jarir Bookstore and Best Electronic Store
Entertainment centers

Cons
Major traffic in the area
Long detour in between malls
Always full parking lots
No London Cab

4. Kingdom Mall
Though we love this mall for the unique brands it carry, we find the stores very limited. What we love though is the ladies floor where we can step out of our abayas (which curiously, we keep) and relax with other women who love shopping and having coffee. We are also catered by women who know our wants and needs and whom we share the same interests. What goes on in the ladies' floor is our own dirty little secret. Lol. However, the prices are somewhat too high. Salon services cost twice or triple than salons outside. Kingdom Mall has an upper-class clientele and this mall gives off that ambiance. The food court, though, feels otherwise. The available eating joints are scarce and not as varied as other malls. One major point when being in Kingdom Mall is the opportunity to go upstairs and visit the Skybridge where a glass wall is the only thing that separates you from a panoramic view of Riyadh.

Go luxe! (photo from here)

Pros
Location (city center)
Luxury brands (Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany and Co., Saks Fifth Avenue)
Luxury hotel (Four Seasons) and restaurants (Spazio, Quattro, The Grill)
Ladies' floor
Spacious, wide, brightly-lit areas
London Cab
Skybridge

Cons
Limited variety of brands and stores
Only 1 in-house resto (Planet Hollywood)
Attacks on women outside the mall were 'reported.'

5. Faisaliah Mall
We love Faisaliah Mall but it doesn't offer as much as the other malls. It is the nearest mall to our work and home but we only find ourselves drawn by the food court which has our favorite food (Subway, London Chips, and Samurai). We also love their selection of desserts (Cheesecake Factory, Baskin n' Robbins, a cookie stall, etc.) Their food court and Water Lemon have a nice view of the Olaya Road. It has a nice array of familiar brands like MNG, Zara, and Promod and has the only branch of Juicy Couture in Riyadh. It is also the home of upscale department store, Harvey Nichols. When done shopping, going to the view deck in Faisaliah's globe is a must. For SR25, you get a nice 360 degree view of the city and limitless number of photos using your camera (Kingdom's Skybridge prohibits the use of mainstream cameras; only mobile phone's).

Shop and dine with a view at Faisaliah Mall (photo from here)

Pros
Popular brands (MNG, Zara, Promod, MAC)
High-class brands (Juicy Couture, Coach, Roberto Cavalli)
Department store (Harvey Nichols, Al-Sawani)
Good variety of food court choices
View deck
Ample parking space in the basement

Cons
Busy intersection of Olaya and Thalateen Sts.
Filled parking lots outside
No London Cab

There are still a lot of malls in Riyadh and we cannot count the possibilities of fab finds and experience. These five, however, are our go-to malls but we also visit Panorama Mall (for their amusement center... lol!), Al-Akaria Mall, Al-Nemer Center, Othaim Mall, Khurais Plaza, etc. but not as frequent. If you have raves and rants on the malls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, do let us know in the comment box.

Happy shopping in Riyadh!

Hey, Feb!

First things first: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's almost Valentine's and we're still greeting you a happy new year. Wow, we are sooo late. But better late than never right? And it's still early 2011. (Excuses, lol!)

Second, we are embarrassed to have forgotten our blog's second anniversary. So er, HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY, The Pink Tarha!

Shoegarfreeruby noticed it late in the afternoon of the 24th. We shrieked in horror and didn't have time to make an entry so we just greeted ourselves in Facebook. We promise not to do that again on our third anniv. Speaking of which, there will be no third anniv if we don't churn out more blog entries pronto. We're hoping to stir things around our online home so please watch out for that. Be patient a little bit as we're trying to put our heads together to brainstorm and create chaos. Lol. Our minds were frozen by the winter season and it's just thawing now that summer is arriving (rather early!). The Pink Tarha ladies, all four of us... complete (yes, this should be emphasized), will come together for a huge TPT session (the first time in many months since the girls got busy with some other stuff) next week.

We're thinking of changing some things here and there. The blog's design, though very nice, is getting a bit outdated since you know how we look like by now. The content, which we hope you still find interesting and informative, should be beefed up more. (We are open for suggestions. What do you want to read in The Pink Tarha?) And the blog elements, which we're not so adept with, are getting boring. So a make-over is bound to happen soon.

We definitely have a lot of ideas. All we need is to put them into action! Woot! For now, we're still here, folks! You can still ask us questions and we'll answer as fast as we can. Relax and we'll surprise you one of these days. In the meantime, head on over to our Facebook page and get the latest steals and scoops about Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This weekend is the end of the sale season so hurry! Leave some for us though.

See you later!

The Big 3-OH!

One of the Pink Tarha ladies is finally graduating from her twenties today!

We kick off the New Year with a banging birthday greeting to our resident, superduperultramega SHOE FANATIC and timid yet eccentric, all-around fashionista, Shoegarfreeruby!

And not only that, she's the first one to step in the shoes (so to speak) of the dreaded 30's. But leave it to a positive Pink Tarha lady to look on the bright side of things. She is welcoming the next 10, 20, and even 40 years ahead with open arms and more fuel than ever by saying on her FB status to "..Bring it on!"

R with her smart companion, Betchay.

Out and about in one of her travels this year to Dubai. Now who would say she's a day over 30!?

We're throwing this one in for S, who we miss dearly! (You missed the foodfest!)

To our "ate" (haha), HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And thank you for the wisdom and beauty that you share with us and the whole sisterhood of The Pink Tarha.

We LOVE you!

Enjoy the 3-OH! ;)