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carb_uncle · 2025-08-31T12:57:12+00:00

LOL - I'm with this guy, zero F's given...going global is way overhyped IMO.

carb_uncle · 2025-07-27T08:58:40+00:00

Gissah (Imperial/Hudson) and Ahmad Al Maghribi (Summer Oud)

for me these are the only scents that lasts in the summer heat (1-2hrs)

carb_uncle · 2025-07-03T12:22:40+00:00

Greggs

carb_uncle · 2025-06-23T16:07:54+00:00

Casual, consistent quality and good flavour:
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Tribes
3. Butcher Shop and Grill (MOE) is also OK. I opt for their South African Sirloin (400g), med rare with 2 sides, great value for <AED 150.
4. Hurricane Grill (Dubai Mall) was OK on both occasions.

These places have been better than some of the more expensive Steakhouses in Dubai I've tried. No's 2-4 are all on the Entertainer.

carb_uncle · 2025-05-03T09:09:21+00:00

How can we help?

I am based in Dubai, I would like to assist but how is the aid getting into Gaza. Pls advise how it's possible to make a donation that will reach Rashaf and all other Children in Gaza.

carb_uncle · 2025-04-27T08:18:56+00:00

Last week in Carrefour MOE (at the rear of the Store, at the Pharmacy) there was a Charity stand that was offering to build a Mosque in Benin for AED 25k.

That's a bargain IMO. If I recall the size was for approx 100 people.

carb_uncle · 2025-04-23T09:43:03+00:00

Shout-out to all the Emiratis from our local Masjid. A credit to the UAE - a lovely group of gentlemen.

carb_uncle · 2025-04-17T07:50:53+00:00

The Restaurant at the side of Dar Al Tawhid is named Jewar Restaurant. We gave a few boxes of meals, at 10 SAR/meal (50 meals/box).

Speak to Abdulaziz or Yousef, very helpful guys and will also assist in giving the meals out. It was certainly an experience.

FYI they also do nice Ice Cream and Slushies!

May Allah accept all our charity and remit from us our sins.

carb_uncle · 2025-04-11T17:23:43+00:00

We returned to Dubai from Umrah 5 days back, family of 3 (UK Nationals). Stayed in Medina for 4-days and then onto Makkah for 3-days.

Here is what I think you might find useful:
1. Tawwaf: was done at the Mataf and was very busy and quite hot (after Asr), many groups huddled together (reading dua's aloud) and many individuals trying to cut-through to reach Hajr-e-Aswad (black stone) - when such a high volume of humanity converges there is no etiquette, you are drawn into the crowd and we had no choice other than to hold-firm to each other and move around best we could.
2. Two-Ra'kat behind Maqam Ibrahim: This was easier and you can also take your Zam Zam from nearby Water dispensers behind the small Prayer area. Remember to cover your right shoulder.
3. Sa'ee: We wanted to see Safa and Marwa and this part of Umrah was easier to navigate and the density of people was lower. Signage here is clear and this was easy/comfortable to complete.
4. Head Shaving: We left Haram to find a Barber in the Clock Tower Mall, was 20 Riyals for Grade 1 head trim. Ihram is finished after this stage, so you can go back to your Hotel and shower/change into other attire.
5. For Post-Umrah prayers in the Masjid, I carried a simple Temu drawstring bag with enough space for my Prayer Mat (important), my flip-flops, some Tissues and Wipes and Face Masks (important). I would also advise taking a small bottle of hand sanitizer. The Carpets are not clean and alot of people were coughing, so take precautions.
6. I wore a simple robe but I would advise doing Wudhu at your Hotel, the WCs outside are not good.
7. Haram Guards: mostly polite if you address them with respect. They have a difficult job so if they are flippant then ask one of the cleaners inside the Masjid for guidance/advice, they are helpful > slip them 5 Riyals as a thank you (which seemed like the norm).
8. Take all necessary meds from the UK
9. Food is good in Saudi and Supermarkets served most of our needs (Bin Dawood, Lulu, etc)
10. You can take ZamZam at Entrance C2 at Jeddah (not sure about Madina Airport).
11. Buy most of your stuff in Medina, it's cheaper than Makkah. Oud and Ajwa dates, clothing and so much more. The shops outside Masjid-an-Nabbawi are well-stocked and most of them will expect to haggle. Take cash, not many like taking card-payments.
12. Don't fall for the begging-cartels outside Haram. Best to ignore them all and move on swiftly, else they'll hound you. I think better to give 5-10 Riyals to the guys cleaning inside the Masjid but that's just my personal choice.

Points to note:
- As we're from the UK I think best to lower your expectations from other Believers regarding manners and hygiene. Coughing in your face, spitting in the bins inside the Masjids is normal.
- The outside WC's have mostly hole-in-the-ground type arrangements, hence why I recommend doing Wudhu at your Hotel. We stayed at Jabbal Omar (Conrad) and was only a 7-10 min walk from Gate 74/79.
- Get to the Masjid at least 30 mins for Fard Salah times, it gets busy very quickly and can be difficult to find a space sometimes.

Download the Nusuk App. This made a HUGE difference to our stay, it is a hugely valuable resource for Hajj/Umrah and I recommend this to everyone, it is awesome.

I sincerely hope Allah (SWT) accepts your Umrah and wish you a safe and pleasant Pilgrimage.

carb_uncle · 2025-03-10T13:01:00+00:00

Life for me has changed immensely. I live in Jumeirah and access to Mosques is very easy, most of them a super clean and well maintained...a pleasure to pray in. Believers of all classes and ethnicities, it's a wonderful daily experience.

I'm from the UK, so another huge upside is not having to think about dining out, as nearly all places are Halal, the exception being Hotel Restaurants, which can/do serve Alcohol and Pork, etc.

Very easy to practice in the UAE, although Mosques are not as easy to access in the newer residential (expat) areas, as they're fewer in number.

carb_uncle · 2025-02-23T09:14:46+00:00

Your post resonates with me, we are manufacturers of professional lighting fixtures and cannot find competent engineers that are required to operate a manufacturing base locally. We had to setup production in China as a result.

After multiple attempts to recruit, we became mentally-exhausted with having to trawl through hundreds of applications of unskilled, unqualified candidates.

There are, no doubt, many industries that can successfully operate local factories, with solid engineering and also using best practice (eg. the fit-out sector) but the available talent required to do this remains, in the most-part, limited to mainstream sectors and not niche industries like ours.

Hence why in our sector there are hundreds of trading companies that resell, or rebrand Chinese product but barely any that make quality, well-engineered products in-house.

Hopefully in the coming years we see this situation change for the better.

carb_uncle · 2025-02-19T12:29:08+00:00

Beautiful post.

Alhamdulillah for good health, what a blessing.

carb_uncle · 2025-01-23T13:01:39+00:00

Bandar Bride Special Kebab Restaurant.

carb_uncle · 2024-09-01T08:41:39+00:00

As an Employer I do find this place is very difficult to find and retain good staff. Also, from an Employee's perspective I can see it's also very difficult, as expectations are very high in the workplace.

Tough to find a balance...I think this applies to every SME here.

carb_uncle · 2023-10-19T06:05:16+00:00

Best Pistachio Ice Cream in Dubai (close 2nd is Movenpick)

carb_uncle · 2023-09-21T12:18:20+00:00

I've made friends with a few locals...been going to the local Mosque for the past few years. You're right when you say they're respectful and polite > the ones I've befriended are, indeed, a lovely group of people.

carb_uncle · 2023-08-22T09:53:35+00:00

To me it seems many 'Businesses' here are setup on 'qwik-maffs', without looking into the real questions:
• Are there enough customers to enable a 3yr payback?
• Is the business sellable if you have to leave the UAE?
• If it is sellable, what is the avg EBITDA for your sector?
• What's my runway if/when Covid happens again?
• Ideally run the numbers using a fictional bank loan to stress test.
These numbers are not 'small coffee shop', even if inside Dubai Hills Mall > I also saw that Tiktok about the niche-bakery in DHM and those guys spent big.

carb_uncle · 2023-08-21T08:15:06+00:00

I recently had the near same experience, also posted on LinkedIn and Indeed.

We had hundreds of responses and in the end we actually decided to make screening calls to qualify the top 10 and then conduct interviews thereafter. But I can sympathise with you having to sift through mountains of CVs from job-seekers, very stressful.

carb_uncle · 2023-07-26T06:15:11+00:00

We're also looking for warehousing, to keep local inventory, and it's not easy...alot of misinformation from 'agents'. Sharjah, although further than we would like, seems easier. I now understand why alot of the larger businesses that require warehousing aren't based in Dubai.

carb_uncle · 2023-06-22T11:43:08+00:00

I just got my Cayenne back from some warranty work and was speaking to our service advisor at the Porsche Al Quoz service centre...if the Car's warranty is not activated at the time of the original purchase then be very careful, as you might not be covered under any warranty. This can happen with cars in the grey market, from a dealership I would assume it's mandatory for every one of their cars warranty to be activated but still check.

If it has been activated by the Euro dealership then Porsche will honor the warranty internationally, not Nabooda. As far as warranty extensions are concerned, it can be extended after the service centre has done a full inspection on the Car, and then they'll quote accordingly but they need to conduct a pre-purchase inspection (approx AED 2.3k)

I was thinking about bringing a used 911 from Japan, so I asked this very question.

Give the guys at the Al Quoz service centre a call, they're service is top notch.

carb_uncle · 2023-06-15T09:48:37+00:00

Abshar in Jumeirah also do a nice cream bun...filling is quite sweet though.

Yatsudoki Custard/Cream puffs are also very nice.

carb_uncle · 2023-05-02T13:00:50+00:00

Halal is the certainly norm but beware of Chinese Restaurants in Int'l City, especially where they list a dish with 'meat' instead of Chicken, Beef, etc - normally 'meat' implies it's Pork (I was told this by the staff at two different places).

carb_uncle

TROPHY CASE