Little Miss Turned 10

Little Miss recently turned ten, and we had a really simple celebration. A few weeks prior, I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday. As simple as she is, she didn't wan't anything extra.

"Just donuts," she said.

How about, let's watch Inside Out 2 at the cinema?

"Isn't that expensive?"

OMG, this girl. I assured her, it was fine since it was her special day anyway, and we got to do at least something different, but she did not want.

"Just donuts," she said. "With custard fillings".

LOL.

So on the morning of her birthday, I went to Krispy Creme and bought a dozen donuts. Oh boy, did I underestimate my children! The three of them (ehhrm, plus me) almost finished the dozen.

Dinner

Hubs had work that day so we decided to fetch him after 5pm and just dine out. I used to cook and prepare everything for our birthday celebrations at home, but I don't feel I have that energy nowadays. The shopping, preparation, cooking, and cleaning are too much for me. I would rather spend money for dinner at the restaurant than go through all of that.

The Catch Seafood Grill.

Location: Istiqlal St., near Corniche, Abu Dhabi
Average Cost: AED 100 for 2 pax (~$ 27)

It was our first time at The Catch Seafood Grill. The Little Miss requested seafood (crabs). We used to go to another seafood restaurant with unlimited rice and drinks, but this time I decided to check out The Catch since they have a "family feast" that not only has seafood combo, but fried chicken and BBQ beef ribs as well. Of course, there's unlimited rice and drinks, plus dessert, all for AED 189 (~$51)

The server even put the seafood in an artsy manner - made a heart design with the cajun sauce before dumping all the seafood and rice on the table. Hmm, pretty impressive. Can't wait to try the food.

My youngest is the world's pickiest eater so the fried chicken on the menu is a lifesaver for me. I just ordered extra french fries, and with the unlimited iced tea, he was good. Well, apart from the fact that he had to eat his rice with bare hands. LOL.

I just wasn't impressed with the chicken cuts they served. It seemed that only the batter made the pieces bigger. There wasn't enough meat. That deserved a 2/5 rating from me.

I truly enjoyed the BBQ beef ribs though. It was so tender and tasty. The sweet, smoky flavor was partying in my mouth.

My eldest also loved the ribs, which was good, since he isn't a big fan of seafoods as well.

Time for dessert.

Ahm, I can't tell much about the banana turon because I was not able to try it. LOL. The ube ice cream served with it was a disappointment, though. It tasted so artificial, almost bitter. Obviously, these two did not mind. They even found a way to get all the ice cream using their straws. LOL.

Birthday Tradition

The kids love bobba milk tea, but not to the extent that they would ask for it all the time. I have very low-maintenance children that they are fine with occasional treats, like on birthdays. What's best is that this milk tea shop offers a buy 1 take 1 free for a birthday celebrant. Cool, yeah?

Quick Review

The ambiance at The Catch Seafood Grill was great. They had good music that pumped up the scene, it was clean, and there was a big space for parties, if you need such. The staff were accommodating as well. We went early hence it was not too busy. I actually called ahead to check if I needed to make a reservation, and they said it was not necessary. You may opt to call and pre-order your meal, but then, in our case, they said the waiting time was only 15 minutes and we were fine with that.

As for the seafood, well, I was not too impressed. They were also smaller as compared to our favorite, Off the Hook. The sauce at Off the Hook, which really is the flavor enhancer for the seafood was comparatively better than that of the Catch. The price were pretty similar too. As I said above, the chicken was a disappointment because they seemed to have given us those unwanted, just plain boney parts.

The experience was pretty decent. I would not say I will not come back again, but my bias is still on Off the Hook.

All in all, it's a ⭐⭐⭐ of 5⭐ for me.

Still, it was a great, simple family celebration of Little Madam's 10th birthday.