Bigger is better

Yesterday I watched my 7 year old son recover from sinus surgery. It was traumatic - the crying, the fainting, the nausea, and Lion had a terrible time of it too. Less said the better, but at least I can recommend a good ENT now that my two snot-monsters have been through procedures. Dr Shuker is a professional with lovely bedside manner for children, and also for mothers who are big cry-babies.

So instead of taking you step-by-step through my mini hell, I'd like to tell you about my day out at the Dubai mall. Mostly because I took some great photos that I would like to show off.

First, let me tell you that the whole concept of "mall" in Dubai is completely different to that of Australia, where it simply constitutes a bunch of shops, usually inside, and a food court where you have a 25% chance of food poisoning. In Dubai, the malls stretch for kilometers, and Dubai Mall is not only the largest in Dubai, but apparently the universe. And in the centre stands the Burj Khalifa, the
tallest tower in the universe, named after the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the UAE as a whole, and the financial savior of this fair metropolis.

The mall (like most in dubai) consists of different zones - electronics arcade, kids shops, high end fashion, even a gold souk with stupendous interior design. Then, just in case you didn't come to the shopping mall to shop, you will find an ice rink, an indoor amusement park containing all kinds of stuff (and a gnarly rollercoaster that has cost me my dignity), an aquarium with an underwater zoo and a creepy crawly section that is joined with rope bridges, a Kidzania (where kids play at being adults, and get jobs, go to college and play mid-life-crisis games like racing cars and abseiling), a waterfall, and then a promenade out front with stacks of great cafes and a view of the big
pointy thing and dancing fountains (which of course are choreographed, and shoot up higher than any others in the world).

This day we just stuck with the aquarium and the promenade (with a short sojourn into the fashion zone for mummy, which was accompanied by so much whining that the dress for the wedding was the first one that didn't look horrible, and so I now possess a
frock that resembles Joseph's technicolor dream-coat).

We refueled at  Social House. The decor is warm and welcoming, but don't be fooled by the wooden wine-box perimeter. Upon closer inspection you will find they are branded not with Bordeaux labels, but various other non-alcoholic things that I promptly forgot.

The menu is enormous, with everything from sushi to pizza, and the kids menu surprisingly held some healthy options (which of course were ignored by my leprechauns). Service was friendly and fastish, but did include a couple of translatory mistakes - something we are all used to here. Food was great - the kids macaroni and cheese was declared the best in the world - no the universe, and the sashimi was beautifully fresh. No wine of course....

Then we were surprised by a fountain display, which usually only happens at night. Coooooool. Made up for the lack of Chardonnay with my sushi.