Thanks Mark! :)

@IshitaUnblogged - So I've been goggling to find you laksa noodles in Dubai, and of course, the Asian queen Scribblelicious has written about a version she found in Waitrose. Not quite the laksa noodle pack you'd hope, it's one of those instant mixes, but she's given it the seal of approval so I'd definitely recommend checking it out! http://www.scribblelicious.com/?p=6595

@LaMereCulinaire - And try you must! I hear noodle bowl in Satwa does deadly noodles, so maybe there's an option to be tried closer to home...

@abigail-mynappytales - ...and somehow, after tasting your fabuloso ube cupcakes, I get the sense that your magical chef hands could whip up a wicked bowl of noodles for your boys too? ;) Share the recipe and make us all drool in misery!

@saleem - of course dad, I would LOVE to take you and show you around, the best thing you could ask me to do ever :D

@Sally - aw thank you! On a separate note, I do love your comments. Someone could wipe your name off of the comment and I'd know the sweet, thoughtful response would always be yours.

@Mark Ng - ahhh printouts would be fabulous! or even better, a second tummy so that I can fully appreciate everything I eat on tour ;)

@Platetrotter - it is a foodie paradise indeed. And people like Robyn Eckhardt have revealed the 'choicest fruits' to pluck in that paradise...thank God for smart food writers to show us the way ;)

@Francine Spiering - thank you! And your article on Chiang Mai had pretty much the same effect on me...though in retrospect, I expressed it quite ineloquently (I know, that's not a word, but it should be.) in my comment on your site.

@Didi - It is an Asian thing, I think I'd have similar noodle enlightenment were I to visit Singapore, China, Japan, Korea. And true that, pork sort of narrowed down my options, so maybe that was a blessing in disguise else I'd have totally got lost in the noodle haystack ;)

@Punit - Another Nihal veteran! And I had no idea there was Methi Koki as an option. Both the versions will be gracing my lunch table soon!

@saleem - dad, but I did get you guys a sampler home! (except that they forgot to include the chillies, which is probably why the experience was so...forgettable.)

@nadia - yes, I fear that I prefer those chillies over the koki itself!

@Sally - you're welcome! I'll have to take you sometime :)

@Didi - Yep! It was...next time lady, never refuse my breakfast pleas ;)

@Vibha bhatt - I hear, I hear. I've even heard they serve something extra special on Friday's...is that true?

@Raji - True that. How those bachelors stay awake after an entire koki beats me. Or maybe they don't. Maybe they've mastered the art of sleeping at the sales counter without being caught. I need to learn that skill, what with all the sleep-inducing food that hits my tummy at lunch time.

@accordingtodina - YAAAAAY! SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE HAPPY! :D Never expected Nihal to get such an awesome response, but I'm psyched that it sparked happy paratha memories for you!

@Life in the Foodlane - Thank you for the support...it's reassuring to hear someone else say: "go with your gut." I have in this case...but knowing me, I won't drop the issue, I'll probably call back and see what their manager has to say. Thank you for the supportive words!

@Devina - I'd love to humor myself that a restaurant would try and change if they read what I wrote, but in most cases, I venture into such hole in the wall places where I doubt the owners really bother to read restaurant review blogs (though in a few cases, owners have...so I better hold my talk on that one...). Somehow with this restaurant, I can almost BET that they wouldn't give two hoots about an online negative review.
I agree, given the number of blogs sprouting up in the city, I do wish someone would clarify the law. Maybe we can ask one of the papers to cover this or us...I mean, at the end of the day, when people leave online restaurant reviews on 3rd party websites, no one gets sued right? So is a blog any different? I don't know. But unless I'm sure, I don't want to risk it.
Will wait to read about your experience...

@Nasreen - Just did! And thank you for the support, and standing up against a crappy restaurant even though I didn't feel comfortable publicly naming them. ;)

@FooDiva - I think what you've said makes a lot of sense - I do aim to be transparent, and to give readers a true insight into my experience at a restaurant. But the sad reality is how the legal framework works in this city - much of which I don't even know about anyway. We've had a past case of a name and shame website being shut down, and even if one argues that that only pertains to people rather than institutions, I just feel like I'm not going to risk the odds of the law being interpreted in my favour. If I don't like the food at a place, I've definitely written about it. But something as admittedly caustic - while very true - as what I've written above can impose far more risk if associated with a name than I'm personally willing and able to take on at this time.
Sorry readers, I just don't have the kind of cash, nor clout, to have legal immunity in this city.

@RRG - Thank you for the vote of confidence! Sadly, I won't be going back, no matter if they sprinkle their kababs with gold dust and beg me to enter on a red carpet. ;) Lack of decency poisons the food and the experience in my mind.

@stitchy1 - Yep, I hate being self-centred, but self-protection is more important to me than bringing down a restaurant I fear will never change. I walked past the restaurant the other day, and I kid you not, it's like the servers walk around with a 'my rear is made of 24 karat gold" attitude.
...by that last line, I'm guessing you don't mean that you're angry at me for hoarding the name, but that you're as outraged as I am? ;)

@LaMereCulinaire - You know what? That actually might be a BRILLIANT idea. Would you be up for it? From the way I see them pander to certain guests and not to others, I can bet they'd be (a) super duper courteous (b) totally in denial of behaving like buffoons. But it'd be SO worth it. When/if I simmer down, we're having an Iraqi lunch date there. ;)

@neelu - yep, sadly we've all had it...but yaaay to making shitty experiences better with comics! ;)

@Sheryn - I actually did call back, multiple times, but the manager wasn't in. I will try back again at some point. And yeah, trust me, we didn't tip!
...and at the end of the day, sisters will grow up and love you. I doubt these people would ever grow up.

@Dracp - You're right, those privileges do exist in the West. Sadly, I'm not sure they do here - by not identifying them, I'm protecting my own self-interest. ;) check out this article - http://sandierpastures.com/dubai/in-the-news/no-m...

@Dubai Bites - UGH. That's revolting behaviour. I wonder what possesses people to behave like that. Behavior like that downgrades the people to a level of being primitive and narrow-minded that is shocking in this multinational day and age. I'm sorry you and your husband had to face that.

@sarah - at least at home, you'd get good service (from yourself!) or no service...which is 20 times better than crappy service. Thanks for the support, gonna DM you the name of the place!

@le chef - it IS a shame. But it's also a reality, sadly very true in a city that claims to be so cosmopolitan. I think having a bunch of nationalities together in a city doesn't make it a melting pot, unless there's true integration socially and at the workplace.

@elainegan - yeah, the 'we're too precious to serve you tea' attitude was obnoxious. I did tweet about it too, my fingers were itching to write (very impolite things)...and so I spewed it all out over twitter and this post!

@abigail-mynappytales - Agreed. ME NEITHER!

@Guest - Guess away! ;)

@saleem - yep dad, that's the best way to deal with it - don't go to such places, though given how buzy this place was (presumably with the 'right' nationality), a little lost business they'd didn't have to begin with, won't harm them. But I did need to vent, and feel better that I did. Won't expose them...this article might tell you why: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/law-force...

@Sally - absolutely agree. Colour was the only way I could display it in the comic ;) but I think often, in Dubai, it extends more to nationality. I like that term...'voting with your feet.' And I'm glad so many readers are sympathetic to this, have asked me to DM them the name of the place, and will do just that!

@Sliceofmylyfe - You're probably right...and I don't want to test how 'easy' it is do it here. Writing usually helps to vent, and in this case, it did the trick for me!