I’m not in the UAE as I write this. I had to travel for some work, and according to social media, I’m missing out on a number of exciting events each day I’m away. I gather that October and November are the busiest months for blogger events, so it seems I flew out at the worst possible time. That obviously bums me out (a lot), so I shall try and cheer myself up by writing a pending review for a tasting I did last week.

Although Mall of the Emirates is the closest mall to where we live, and it is also the mall we frequent the most, this was surprisingly my first visit to mOre Cafe, which has recently been relocated to the new extension of the mall. M and I went on a weekday for dinner, but as usual, the place was jam packed.

I don’t know much about the history of mOre Cafe, other than the fact that it set up shop in 2002; so I’ll cut right to the chase. We got:

Tomato soup: Wow. This is what you call a really unexpected bang for the buck. I don’t usually highlight prices because I feel marginal utility is relative and varies from person to person, but this AED 39 Du Buyer potful of soup with big chunks of mozzarella took hearty, family style, and value for money to a whole new level. There was easily enough soup in this for 6 to 8 people, or two very hungry people who want to eat nothing else. It comes with bread and honestly I think it’s a really great option for flu-ey days.

Som Tam Salad: This is where I’m disappointed. If Little mOre Cafe (where I have tried a wider array of Asian menu items) is any indication of mOre Cafe, I’d say that the Asian menu items at the mOre(s) are their weakest link. This Som Tam reaffirmed my stance. Som Tam is essentially a green papaya salad. This Som Tam was more carrots than anything else. I could not taste any fish sauce, lemon, chili, or anything indicative of a Som Tam. As pretty as this dish looked, it was a major fail.

Tiger Prawns: This. Was amazing. Again with the prices, but for just AED 95, we got an entire half kilo of perfectly cooked Tiger prawns in a rich, flavorful broth. This one caught me by surprise. The only room for improvement this dish has is that the shells could be made easier to remove, but I’d just be nit-picking.

Warm Goat Cheese rolled in Eggplant: This was nice but it had way too much goat cheese; I feel that Eggplant to Goat Cheese ratio wasn’t very well balanced.

More Beef Burger: This was surprisingly good. The beef was juicy even though I asked for well-done, and best of all, the beef was seasoned very nicely. This Burger came on a very odd-looking tiered stand, along with an array of condiments, allowing one to design their own burger to a certain extent. Honestly though, it was so decently seasoned on its own that it was delicious even without any condiments.

For dessert we tried their Apple & Blueberry Crumble with some  Funky Monkey ice-cream, which was a homemade knock-off of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. I could tell that it was made using real bananas; so rejoice, healthy people! We also had some Matcha ice-cream which I liked very much. The Apple & Blueberry Crumble was delicious. The crust and topping was nice and buttery, the sweet & tart filling was boldly seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, and the serving was colossal!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful most of the food was, and quite reasonably priced too. This cafe is full of surprises, and mORe!

I’m back in the UAE as I wrap this up. And now I’m flying out again so I’ll be off the grid for about a week. Catch me later!