About Boy Dubai - Page 74 of 80 - Boy Dubai: Experiencing Dubai

2011 PBA Games Live in Dubai

Ion

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June 8, 2011

UPDATE: Meet and greet your favorite PBA teams and players for autograph signing and picture taking at Pinoy Grill in Al Rigga, Deira:

June 29 Wednesday, 12:30PM (BMEG Llamados *)
June 30 Thursday, 12:30PM (Talk and Text Tropang Texters *)
July 1 Friday, 12:30PM (Barangay Ginebra Kings *)

– source Pinoy Grill Facebook Page (* subject to change, please call Pinoy Grill at 04 222 2225 for confirmation)

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Philippine Basketball Association will again play official games in Dubai. In cooperation with UAE Basketball Association and FBC Sharjah, the PBA are bringing 3 high-profile teams for 2 matches. Grandslam-seeking Talk & Text Tropang Texters will play Derby Ace Llamados and crowd-favorite Ginebra in a rare 2 consecutive days matches.

It will be the 2nd time for Ginebra and BMEG (formerly Purefoods) to play an official game in Dubai. In 2007 Fiesta Cup, Ginebra defeated Purefoods 92-82. Ginebra was without its superstars Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Eric Menk then. Purefoods was less Kerby Raymundo. Mark, Jayjay and Kerby were loaned in the National Team while Eric was nursing an injury. This time, these superstars are present.

Ginebra will also be sporting a promising back court courtesy of the surprising Rob Labagala and John Wilson along with Mike Cortez, Willie Miller, Ronald Tubid and Jimbo Aquino. Willie Wilson, Enrico Villanueva and high-flying JC Intal will add more flavor to the game for our kababayans.

Derby Ace will also have Rico Maierhofer, PJ Simon, Jonas Villanueva, Rafi Reavies, Roger Yap, Rommel Adducul, Don Allado, Marc Pingris and the newly-acquired MVP-contender Joe Devance.

2007 Dubai game between Ginebra and Purefoods.

Talk and Text will definitely add excitement as they’re not only bringing their superstar lineup lead by Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag, Ali Peek, Ranidel De Ocampo, Jason Castro, Harvey Carey, Larry Fonacier and Jared Dillinger; Their latest 2 championship crowns are enough to say that they’re bringing a heavy competition in the games. Not to mention, they’re coached by Chot Reyes.

In 2007 Dubai game, Ginebra still has Andy Siegle, Mike Holper, Mark Macapagal , Gec Chia and Sunday Salvacion. Purefoods still has Rey Evangelista, Noy Castillo, Paul Artadi and Jun Limpot

The games will be held at Al Shabab Sports Club, beside Century Mall in Al Mamzar.

Derby Ace will first play the Tropang Texters on June 30 at 7:30PM. On Friday, July 1 at 6:30PM Ginebra will test the mettle of the Tropang Texters – it will also be their first game since the Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Ticket prices are AED 150 for ringside and AED 60 for upperbox; available at the following outlets:

Orlando Sports (Dubai, Sharjah, RAK, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi)
Pinoy Grill (Dubai)
Pizzeria Uno (Dubai)
Mr. Inasal (Dubai)
Tipanan Restaurant (Dubai)
Tagpuan Restaurant (Dubai, Sharjah)
Royal Palace Bakery (Sharjah)
Mabrook – Mabuhay Restaurant (Fujeirah)
Filipino Club (RAK)
Golden Pinoy Restaurant (Abu Dhabi)
Dana Travel (Dubai
Agemono (Dubai)
Naysee Trading (Dubai)
Al Barjeel Restaurant (Al Ain)
Boracay Club / Asiana Hotel (Dubai)

For more info call Ramon Pizzaras (050 6901779), Jimmy Santos (050 1874481), Rico Cardoniga (050 5854836), Ryan Palad (056 7240677), Karlo Calleja (050 4656378), Sherwynne Pizzaras (050 9091257), Kitt Sanque (050 8057189)

In 2007, Ginebra was with import Rod Nealy and Purefoods was with Marquin Chandler.

Kodak Bloggers MeetUp / TweetUp and the Special Ostadi

Events

Ion

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June 1, 2011

0

Tweets and bloggers in Dubai gathered for a dialog with the Social Media Manager of Kodak Europe, Middle East and Africa, Madlen (@madleeeen). Madlen is in town to attend to some conferences and to meet and greet different blogger groups and tweets. She was with Rashid, Marketing Manager of Kodak Middle East & Africa. and Sarah, Account Executive of RAEE PR.

The homey Special Ostadi – Photo from TimeOutDubai.com

The place is called Special Ostadi, located in the old streets of Bur Dubai. It is a homey restaurant – Iranian cuisine they say. I was surprised about the food. I seldom go to Arabic/Persian restaurants lately. But indeed, Special Ostadi serves one of the best, if not the best, kebabs in town. Thanks to Paul (@Daddybird) for choosing the place.

The witty restaurant owner plays with us

Rashid presenting Kodak products

@cnystedt @mnystedt @hshippey @daddybird @madleeeen

We spent some fun time sharing about what Madlen has to see or experience or learn about Dubai on her short stay. We also briefed her about various activities of bloggers and tweets.

After the chitchats, Madlen and Rashid presented us with the new range of Kodak products. Easyshare point-and-shoots, Wifi-enabled digital frames, Playsport and the most interesting Easyshare Max.

The Kodak Playsport

Playsport is a waterproof, shockproof 5MP camera. We had it thrown on the floor and it is still working. Had it dunked in a glass of water and yes it is still fine. The LCD display just looks smaller though than my Olympus. But I wanted to test its mettle on the underwater of course. I’ll have a beach holiday this June and would want to try it out. Definitely a shoo-in my camping backpack.

Easyshare Max

My personal favorite is the Easyshare Max. This DSLR camera has an impressive 30x optical zoom with optical image stabilization, a 12 megapixel backside illuminated sensor, a 3-inch HVGA LCD and EVF ’round back, and full 1080p video recording. At first impression looks like I could trade my old Nikon D60 for this. And it only costs around AED1700 in Dubai. Not bad at all.

The rest of the Easyshare group of cameras are as impressive as well. The touchscreen Easyshare PnS could probably one of the reasons why Flip folded up. The digital frames comes in 7 and 10-inches. Currently, only the 7-inch frame is wifi enabled, and social media ready.

Surely there’s a whole lot more to say about these products. Once I’ve tried them, I will definitely share what’s the best recommended for your lifestyle.

It’s not everyday we hear about Kodak. Most often, it’s Canon, Nikon, Olympus even Samsung. Yes, Kodak is really one of the frontrunners in camera. I thought they’re being left out. Thanks to this meetup, I was reintroduced, in fact I’m reminded about Kodak.

Thank you for Kellie (@DubaiWriter) for the invitation.

Ping Pong: The Best Dim Sum Experience in Dubai

Food Trip

Ion

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May 20, 2011

0

What a great treat to kick-off the weekend. With my wife, we visited Ping Pong Dim Sum Restaurant anew at the Dubai Mall. We had our last food at 12pm and really starving already by half past seven. She’s been craving for some ‘authentic’ Chinese cuisine and so I thought of dim sums. Was just wondering, I thought we’ll have a heavy dinner; will dim sum satisfy our BIG hunger?

It’s my 4th time in the restaurant and her 2nd. We already have ‘favorites’ – the steamed Har Gau and the Crispy Prawn Balls. We’ve tried some signature dishes, and their flowering teas, but we want to try more…

On the menu, there were about 15 categories (dumplings, veggies, rice, fried, platters, etc) and 8 sets to choose from. It’s so hard to choose as we both love anything dim sum. Here’s what we ordered all in all:

STEAMED DUMPLINGS

2 Har Gau (King prawns & bamboo shoots)
Coriander Dumpling (King prawns in translucent pastry)
Seafood Shu Mai (King prawns & scallops topped with carrots)
Seafood Roll (King prawns & fish wrapped in cabbage)

STEAMED FLUFFY WHITE BUNS

Char Sui Chicken Bun (Honey-roast barbecue chicken)

FRIED & ROLLS

Crispy Hoi Sin Duck Roll
2 Crispy Prawn Balls

DESSERTS

Chocolate & Banana Spring Roll

BEVERAGES

Strawberry & Coconut Yin Cocktail
Strawberry & Vanilla Bubble Tea

Did I say we’re just 2? Haha, I know – because the way to order at Ping Pong is to tick the box of your choice on a lengthwise paper. We just couldn’t stop. It took us quite to decide which to try 😉

Anyway, the prices range from AED 12 to AED 25 only. It’s not that much, neither cheap at all. There are 3-pieces of dim sums per order served in a traditional steaming Chinese basket (if steamed).

Har Gau, Seafood Shu Mai and the Char Sui Chicken Buns in their baskets

The crunchiness of the flakes covering the savory king prawns combined with that translucent pastry, dipped in sweet and sour sauce is just so heavenly. Prawns are tender and not half-cooked (photo below).

My favorite Crispy Prawn Balls (below)

And… Har Gau – it’s the king of all steamed king prawn dim sums. It’s best when eaten right upon serving – while it is still steaming a bit. The Coriander Dumpling is as good as well. I guess it’s the mix of bamboo shoots in Har Gau that made it more tasteful for me. Ping Pong’s Steamed Dim Sums are not slimy and sticky. It cuts when you bite at it. Though they come in ‘tiny’ bits, these dim sums are tightly and heavily wrapped.

Har Gau – I forgot the traditional pork dim sums when I tried it.

The Seafood Roll is again, king prawns and fish wrapped in cabbage (see below). It doesn’t taste bad – maybe I’m just not a cabbage guy – but my wife appreciates it. It’s best when dipped in chili soya sauce. Looks unique too!

Seafood Rolls – wrapped in cabbage

The rest of our food are as sumptuous. What highlighted the dinner was… well, the dessert! Yeah we’ve tried various banana rolls a lot of times – but their chocolate filling in the banana spring rolls are out of this world. I never actually thought it would taste that good. A bite of this hot fudgy roll plus a scoop of cool ice cream equals a luscious finale to a palatial dim sum dinner!

Chocolate and Banana Spring Roll with Chocolate Ice Cream

We’ve really had a lot, but there’s a looot more to try. There’s over 50 items in the menu and I’ve heard they’ll be introducing more exciting dumplings very soon.

Service
I can’t say a word about the service. Maybe it’s the nature of dim sums that is easy to prepare so our orders came in no time – and always at the right time – not altogether. The crews are also very courteous, polite and hospitable. We were greeted and ushered to our table by a smiling crew, January – that’s the way to set a great mood for dinner.

Ambiance
You’ll feel a balance of a high-end and a cozy restaurant inside. I think the neon-blue on elegant black theme of the outlet is creative. You’ll forget that it’s inside a mall actually once you’re in. The music was not loud – perfect for a hearty tete-a-tete.

Activities
Activities? Yes there are other activities happening inside other than dining. It was 3 days before Easter when we came and at one corner, some kids are busy painting Easter Eggs guided by a friendly crew. There are also boardgames during Sundays. I remember the last time there was a fun chopstick-oriented game too.

Tomorrow, Friday (Lazy Fridays), there will be unlimited dim sums for a very reasonable value. Who’s with me?

So, did dim sum satisfy our BIG hunger? Yes. So much. Thank you Ping Pong Dim Sum for the treat!

Bake Fest Dubai (BakeFestDXB) Round 2

Events

Ion

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May 13, 2011

0

I stumble upon this event post on Facebook and got interested to attend.

Bake Fest Dubai (BakeFestDXB) is an event for community bakers here in Dubai. This year’s will be held at the new Wild Peeta outlet which can accommodate a LOT more people.

The new Wild Peeta is located next to Dubai World Trade Centre Metro Station (next to Pizza Express and Japengo).

According to the Facebook event post, those who are selling baked goods will be given 1 table measuring approx 70cmx50cm, and will be allowed to set up from 11.30am onwards.

For any questions send a tweet to @theregos. RSVP on the Facebook event post here.

Here’s a lineup of bakers on show:

Anja Schwerin
Abigail Concepcion Caidoy
Rajani Mani
Sidiqa Sohail
Maggie Tuite
Radia SiYoucef
Nick Rego
Fatma Bin Shabib
Yasmin Mebar
Toffee Princess

Geekfest Dubai April 2011

Events

Ion

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April 24, 2011

0

It’s the time again when the geeks face the flicks – Geekfest! On April 28th 7PM, let’s mingle to the jungle as we socialize, share and like each other’s ideas in real life. This will also be the last Geekfest to be held at its birthplace – The Shelter in Al Quoz.

This edition will feature Mobile Apps Showcase, GeekTalks about World Bloggers Day, MidEast Post, Voila Dubai and The Angel of Peace. It will also feature The Biggest Picture in the world.

Here’s part of the blog entry of Alexander McNabb of Fake Plastic Souks:

GeekFest Mobile

We’re putting on a mobile showcase for app developers: we’ve invited some of the leading mobile applications developers in Dubai to showcase what they’re up to at GeekFest – including ishopaholic, CareZone, ME360, Aramex Shop and Ship and more! They’ll be demoing apps as well as answering questions about platforms, markets, opportunities and whatever else you want to bug them about. In Aramex’ case, this is the first time their new app will be shown in public – it’s literally fresh from the coding shed!

Geek Talks

World Bloggers Day
What are we going to do about bloggers?
Ion Gonzaga is by passion and profession a web designer, as well as being a keen blogger and online socialite. He’s been tapped by World Bloggers Day to raise the word among the UAE’s bloggers. How do you want to mark World Bloggers Day? Any ideas? Ion’s looking for feedback and participation alike during this GeekTalk session! If you’re interested, you can check other countries’ agendas at www.worldbloggersday.org. There’s already a page created at www.worldbloggersday.org/dubai!

MidEast Posts
Content aggregation = voices of the region together
Blog aggregator, voice of the region, the Arab Huffington post or an online newspaper? MidEast Posts represents probably the most diverse and vibrant reading from around the Middle East every day. Co-Founder David Westley takes us through the voices of bloggers from around the region and how MidEast Posts plans to represent those voices.

Voila Dubai
A community to serve the community
Voila Dubai is a new initiative that plans to bring the city to life through reviews of its places to go and things to do – sharing consumer feedback within a community. Narain Jashanmal explains the idea behind the site – and takes a look at the development of the region’s new digital platforms and innovations.

Malaak, Angel of Peace

The Angel of Peace
Creating content, popularising content, funding content
Malaak, Angel of Peace, is a highly popular Lebanese cartoon strip created by Joumana Medlej, the prolific multimedia and digital artist and graphic designer. The strip has gone from strength to strength, growing in popularity as it has in scope – and is now in its fifth book. Joumana’s travelling from her native Beirut and will be be talking about the story behind Malaak as well as looking at the innovative online fund raising methods she’s now using to fund the new book of the Malaak story.

Stuff

The World’s Largest Picture
45 Gigapixel image to be auctioned for charity
What do The Next Web, Engadget, CNET, Wired, Gulf News, Gizmodo, Geek.com, The Independent, Popular Science, Petapixel, and countless other websites and publications have in common with HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum?

They all covered Gerald Donovan’s amazing panoramic image of Dubai’s skyline (Sheikh Mohammed on his Facebook page!) – at the time of its creation, it was the world’s biggest digital photograph. The 45 GIGApixel image was stitched together from thousands of zoomed images into one enormous, incredibly detailed image. To celebrate the first anniversary of its digital unveiling, Gerald has re-rendered the image using the latest software to correct stitching errors in the original version. And now – for the first time ever – it’s being printed.

There will only ever be ten copies printed, each one something like an incredible twenty feet by four feet.

The first signed print, numbered 1/10, will be auctioned for charity, and it’ll be on show for the first time at GeekFest. What we want to know from you is WHICH charity should it be sold off for?

GameFest

Powered by tbreak.com, who are also the team behind GeekFest Abu Dhabi, GameFest will feature, once again, the chance to act like a fool or kill people or even both!

Eats and deets

There is no registration, no formality, no requirement of you other than to turn up and even that’s optional. As usual, catering from the wonderful folks at LimeTree Café! There’s bound to be some other stuff cropping up, so do feel free to keep in touch – you can follow @GeekFestDubai on Twitter or find us on Facebook. If you’ve never been to The Shelter before, there’s a map (as well as a funky GeekFest video) on the Shelter website here.

GeekFest will sort of start 7.30pm-ish on Thursday 28th April and will, as usual, end when everyone goes home. The talks will start at 8.00pm and this time we’ll be keeping an eye on the clock! You have been warned! 🙂

Alexander is a communications, public relations and marketing consultant specialising in the Middle East telecommunications industry, particularly in the launch and operations of leadership operators in competitive markets.

Hot Air Balloon Ride over Al Ain Deserts

Life Abroad

Ion

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April 20, 2011

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Dubai Empire State of Mind (with Lyrics)

Music

Ion

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April 19, 2011

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Here’s the lyrics of this Youtube hit Dubai Empire State if Mind:

Goodbye Canada, I must say you will be missed,
I trade my winter gloves for a pair of oven mitts,
Flip flops in December, damn I’m loving this,
And I can still go skiing at the Mall of the Emirates.
All jokes aside… Dubai’s the best,
Just host a visitor and tell me if he’s not impressed,
Built from the desert but, you woulda never guessed,
Best of the Middle East, sprinkled with some West.
Perfect place to travel from, but this is where my base is,
What a perfect blend of fifty different places,
All the diverse cultures, languages, and races,
Adds a real spice to life that everyone embraces.
From a desert with some shrubs to a world hub,
From not being on the map, to it’s own rap.
Sheikh Mohamed raised his vision straight to the sky,
Make your arms do the same, let’s hear it for:

Dubai, concrete desert where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Now you’re in Dubai, you’ve got to love the mentality, turn dreams to reality.
Let’s hear it for Dubai, Dubai, Dubai.

I say hamdullah that things are back to goin’ well,
The economy and buildings are both growin’ well,
So bring the tourists on, we’ll play some show-and-tell,
Let’s add two to a five star hotel.
That’s the Burj Al Arab, in case you didn’t get it,
Just pick a record out, let’s make a bet we set it.
And if it’s set then we’ll break it and we will maintain,
Look up at the Burj Khalifa, just make sure your neck don’t sprain.
Wanna see some culture? You can see them all,
Wanna do some shopping? You should see the malls,
Shopping on a budget? You can hit Karama.
Wanna see Atlantis? You can skip Bahamas.
Lookin for some nightlife? Don’t look too far,
Pre-game at Caramel, party at Boudoir.
Some say its artificial, more like official art,
You really can’t deny, this city’s got some heart.

Dubai, concrete desert where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Now you’re in Dubai, you’ve got to love the mentality, turn dreams to reality.
Let’s hear it for Dubai, Dubai, Dubai.

Something charming bout the old Dubai like Bur Dubai and Deira,
But I still prefer the new Dubai like Downtown and Jumeirah,
And I love the other Emirates from Abu to Fujeirah,
But you really can’t deny that the party’s over here.
We could go to JBR and just chill and tan,
Or take a tour of some islands that were made by man,
Big events are every month so you don’t have to make a plan,
Rugby 7’s, Tennis Open, or the World Cup at Meydan,
And I’m barely scratching the surface,
This city’s got way too much for just a couple of verses.
So if you need another reason to come and visit just ask me,
Or better yet just move here, it’s tax free.
They come in winters when the weather is a dream to ’em,
Take off in summer when the city is a steam room.
The only two seasons are warm and hot,
It’s no wonder that this city’s such a melting pot.

Dubai, concrete desert where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Now you’re in Dubai, you’ve got to love the mentality, turn dreams to reality.
Let’s hear it for Dubai, Dubai, Dubai.

Samsung Smart TV Officially Launched in UAE

Events

Ion

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April 16, 2011

0

Samsung officially launched its Smart TV in a 4-day event from April 6-9 at Dubai Mall. As to my previous post, this latest innovation from Samsung aims to bring the internet experience to TV. It’s like transforming the television into your own YouTube, Facebook Live or Twitter Streaming and more than that. You ‘ll be able to share everything do you on the TV instantly and effortlessly.

To learn more about the Samsung Smart TV, please read my post at the Design Rockstar blog.

Here are some photos from the launch at Dubai Mall:

Samsung Smart TV Bloggers Meetup

Life Abroad

Ion

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April 13, 2011

0

From ‘idiot box’ into a smart box – that’s how Samsung sees the Smart TV will fit. In a special Dubai bloggers meetup held March 31 at Media One Hotel, Samsung exclusively unveiled their latest innovation and let us experience some of its features, well, some.

Basically, it is a TV that has access to the internet. Through its Smart Hub – the user menu interface, you can socialize, browse any websites, search for contents you want to watch – did I say in 3D? And like your smartphones, you can also install apps in it. So you can access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Talk or your mail, etc while watching. Imagine while you’re watching football, you’re seeing your Facebook wall and you can easily exchange rants and raves with your friends. Cool huh? Also, the Smart TV recommends contents related to your interests, primarily by your browsing history.

What we’ve spent a lot time on was its 3D feature. I must admit, it’s really amazing. The picture quality is superb. I’ve also learned that it also has 3D sound system so it’s definitely a shoo-in for a home theater.

Trying the LED 3D viewing

Another cool feature of the Smart TV is converting 2D videos into 3D – any video – be it from YouTube, a DVD or even a mobile phone video.

File Transfer
Transferring photos, videos or music from your mobile device to the TV is so effortless. Thru AllShare, you can wirelessly transfer files from any compatible media such as Samsung Galaxy Tab or other Smartphones and hard drives.

Input Mode
The presenter used what appears like a typical remote control to navigate through during the presentation. Although they say, a remote control with a trackball on the front and a QWERTY keyboard at the back is coming out. There’s also an Android app to download on your smartphone that you can use as remote control.

What apps does Samsung Smart TV support?
You can download Samsung Apps – which according to the presenter have around 300 apps to date. I know right! This is also what most of the bloggers cry about. But Samsung sees the number to grow byat least a thousand by the end of the year. If you’re an applications developer, you can contribute via their Samsung TV apps SDK.

The Expert Panel’s Clamor
One of the most evident clamor from the bloggers is pointed to the lack of Bluetooth support. It’s just an uncool idea to have a wireless smart device that doesn’t support one of the basics and first in short-range connectivity.

While currently it doesn’t have a built-in web cam, I hope it would support a 3rd-party webcam plugin too.

Nevertheless, I’m excited to pimp my living room with a Samsung Smart TV. It’s like having a YouTube on a boob tube – and more than that. Did I say you can also play your favorite games, and you can convert them into 3D as well?

More photos from the Bloggers Meetup: