Travel: 2013

Ladurée, French tea salon, is internationally known for their macaroons. They have boutiques across the world: United Kingdom, Australia, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Indonesia, China, United States, etc. Surprisingly there isn't one in Canada.

When we found out they had one in Dubai Mall, we knew we had to go. It's located on the first floor of Dubai Mall. You have a choice to sit inside or outside of the boutique. We sat inside. It was more quiet there.
You can find more pictures on my website.

Macaroons (12 AED each)

Their Classical Collectionc of macaroons consists of the following flavors:

Vanilla

Coffee

Chocolate

Pistachio

Soft Salted Caramel

Rose Petal

Rasberry

Liquorice

Coconut

Orange Blossom

Aside from macaroons, they have selection of teas and cakes. Other items include french toast, lemonade, hot chocolate, etc.

What I ordered:

2 macaroons (pistachio & coffee)
Tea (Thé à la Rose: Black China & Ceylon Tea with aromas & rose petals)
Lemonade

What my sister ordered:

2 macaroons (pistachio & coconut)
Tea (Thé au Jasmin Yin Hao: Green Tea with fresh flowers from Yin Hao great garden)
Lemonade
Bottle of Water

I personally found the taste of the macaroons was much similar to the ones I normally get from Montreal. However, they were still were good and totally worth the price.

As for the tea, the rose petal flavor was a little overwhelming for me. I really didn't like it to the point that I stopped drinking it. My sister, on the other hand, enjoyed her tea. She poured me some and I liked it as well. I regret not taking it. It's always a risk to try something new (you might end up liking it or hating it).

After awhile, we got lemonade. I'm glad we got it. It was refreshing.

Overall Experience

We had a great time. Our waiter was nice and the service was good. We paid about 198 AED excluding tips (around $55). I will definitely go back there and try out their other menu items but stick to jasmine tea..

Burj Al Arab

This is world's first 7-star hotel. It's built on an artificial island and designed in shape of the sail of an Arabian dhow (boat). It has 28 floors and 202 suites offering private butler service. The guests can even arrive by helicopter landing on top of Burj Al Arab (the price of one-way airport transfer per person is 10,000 AED & 1,500 for each additional person). The cheapest suite starts off at 4,941 AED (about 1,500 CAD) per night. For more information, you can visit their website.

The security is tight and you can't just casually walk in Burj Al Arab. You need to be a guest or have a reservation to be able to enter. The cheaper option is to make a reservation at one of their restaurants (you can view all their restaurants here).

You can see more pictures on my website.

Reservation

You can call (+971 4 301 7600) or email them to reserve. You will need to provide them with your credit card information to reserve.

We made a reservation for Sky Tea at 450 AED per person at the Skyview Bar located on the 27th floor. We also requested a table next to the window (For more information about this restaurant, visit their website).

Dress Code: Smart Casual (I wore a maxi dress (see picture on right) and my sister wore a long skirt with a top. We both wore blazers and heels)
Minimum age requirement of 21 for the Skyview Bar

Access to the Hotel

You are allowed to go to the hotel 30 minutes prior to your reservation.

You can drive there, take the cab or hire a chauffeur. You can also take bus/metro but keep in mind that you have to walk and it can be very hot. We asked our hotel concierge for a transfer to there and then made arrangements with the driver to pick us up after.

Once you approach the causeway, the security guard will ask your name or confirmation number (we had our reservation printed, so we simply showed it to him and we were able to go in).

Entrance

Upon entrance, one of the employees approached us and said, "Welcome to Burj Al Arab." As we took further steps inside the lobby, we were just amazed by the structure of the building from the inside. The golden design made it look even more beautiful and luxurious. We headed towards the escalator and noticed the aquarium walls.

Upper Lobby

Once we reached a floor up to the upper lobby, there was another small fountain. After taking few more pictures, we headed towards the elevator to go to the Skyview Bar.

The elevator was made out of glass, so we got to enjoy the outside view while it was going up to the 27th floor.

Final stop: Skyview Bar

We were led to our table that was next to the window (we were happy that our request had been fulfilled).

They started off by serving us each a glass of sparkling date juice instead of champagne since we don't drink alcohol. It was my first time trying it.. I really liked the taste.

Then they brought the berry tart followed by chef's carvery of the day - roast beef with mashed potatoes. They also gave us a menu listing a selection of teas (I chose Chai Masala and it was good).

After the roast beef, they brought in a selection of sandwiches in a stand shaped of Burj al Arab. They also asked us if we wanted to refill our sandwiches and we said no. Although they were delicious, we wanted to save room for dessert!

Then came the scones and desserts (my favorite part) along with our tea.

Top tier: Spreads (jams and cream)
Second tier: Plain and raisin scones
Third tier: Assortment of cakes I wasn't a huge fan of the cakes. I liked the chocolate one.
Fourth tier: Muffins and creme brûlée
My favorite was the creme brûlée. I loved it!