7 amazing things to do in Abu Dhabi this weekend: Sep 9 to 11

Never settle for anything less than amazing…

It’s nearly Friday again, then Saturday, Sunday, what? We’re back once again with the renegade master. By ‘renegade’ we of course mean ‘weekend”, and by ‘master’ you should infer ‘schedule’

Thursday, September 9

New at the cinema this week

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the Shang-Chi: The Legend of the 10 Rings, comic book adaption, is that it will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie to feature an Asian lead, Simu Liu as the titular character Shang-Chi. The story will likely draw from Marvel’s Secret Wars comic book saga, where Master of Kung Fu: Shang-Chi faces off against the Mandarin and his Ten Rings organisation. In the comics, the name Ten Rings actually comes from a set of alien-manufactured finger bling, and we all know how devastating extra-terrestrial jewellery can be in the MCU. Alos at the pictures, is horror movie, Malignant — the story of a woman pursued by a mesterious evil presence, frankly it looks terrifying from the trailer but some of you lot seem to enjoy that so crack on.

Tickets: Book now

The spice is right

Novotel Abu Dhabi Al Bustan restaurant, Pepper has just launched a very spicy, low-on-pricey new deal for a South Asian theme night — Taste of India. Taking place every Thursday between 6.30pm and 10.30pm, there is a huge menu of aromatic Indian salads, hot starters, naan and tika marinades fresh from the venue’s tandoor oven, kebabs, soups, jalfrazis, biryanis, curries, stews and a selection of prime grilled cuts. And you can have it all for just Dhs139 on a soft package or Dhs229 for house beverages. That’s a full four-hour Indian evening brunch, with house drinks for Dhs229. Let that sink in.

You couldn’t like me when I’m hangry

There’s a new culinary Everest to climb at Cooper’s and it’s a bit of a sausage fest. This month’s food challenge is named after the incredible Hulk, presumably because whether or not you finish it, you’ll be looking a bit green around the gills. The challenge if you choose to accept it, is to eat 10 hot dogs, with buns in 10 minutes. Win, and the meal, along with enduring glory, is yours for free, fail and you’ll have to pay your Dhs195 tab. Life hack: This actually works a pretty sweet little squad sharing platter for the sesh.

Park Rotana, Park Rotana Complex Road, near Khalifa Park, open midday to 2am. Tel: (02) 657 3317, @parkrotana

Friday, September 10

Musical theatre, but make it Frozen

Skate off for the Find Your Hero Disney On Ice show begins this Thursday at Etihad Arena with weekend dates from September 2 to September 11, 2021. Along with the House of Mouse OG unit, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy you can expect a strong cast including characters from Disney’s modern era too, including stars from the Frozen and Moana films. We’ve been told to expect a skate-sung soundtrack (which you’ll no doubt be humming for months after the show) of catchy classics such as Moana’s How Far I’ll Go; Arendelle siren sisters, Anna and Elsa will be there, along with their be-carrot-nosed jester, Olaf — ready to drop sing-along-bangers Let it Go and In Summer. Sebastian and Ariel have got ‘80s pop montage bars; Rapunzel and Flynn are all about that floating light life #nofilter #takemeback; and of course, the brightest Belle of the ball, the girl that puts the Beauty in Beauty and the Beast, from the story that represents possibly the sweetest tale about Stockholm Syndrome ever told — will be belting out choruses such as Tale as Old as Time and Be Our Guest.

Etihad Arena, Yas Island,  tickets are available in batches of two, four and six. With the Bronze category prices starting at around Dhs300 for a family of four. Book now on (600) 511 115, or via the etihadarena.ae and platinumlist.net websites.

Welcome to the carni-val

The menu for the VaKaVa Friday ‘Trip’ brunch is switched up every couple of weeks to keep things fresh, but you can expect starters such as house guacamole, salmon tiradito, wild mushroom flat bread, lamb anticucho and crispy prawns. Mains are likely to involve choice cuts, such as that churrasco classic, Picanah steak served with potato and chimichurri; you’ll also find aromatic seafood servings — classic Chilean seabass served along with sides, a chipotle salad or potato tostone, and a selection of South American sweets to finish. Trip is navigated across a leisurely 2pm to 7pm timing, charged at Dhs295 for a soft package and Dhs495 for the house option.

Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, W Corniche Road, open Tue to Sat (restaurant 7pm – 11pm, Lounge 6pm – 1am), table bookings available on sevn.ly, Tel: (02) 811 5666

Saturday, September 11

For shuck’s sake

You can now get your Dibba oysters from elfabshop.com, the premium online meat and seafood shop. A box of 10 blingy bivalves is available for the shuckingly decent price of Dhs105 and they deliver free of fee, across the UAE.

Sand salutations

You can commune amongst the dunes (weather permitting) on the desert terrace of Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort which is so dedicated to the practice of the yogic arts, it has its own inhouse internationally-certified yoga and meditation expert, Ratheesh Valiyaparambil. You don’t have to check in to bliss out, their sunrise and sunset classes are open to the public but you will have to get up early if you want to strike a pose in the sunrise yoga session, it starts at 7am each morning (and the resort is a 50-minute drive from Downtown Abu Dhabi). Sunset classes start at around 6pm, and there are also special prenatal yoga courses available.

Al Mirayr – Abu Dhabi, Dhs190 group sessions, private Dhs350, booking is advised. Tel: (02) 886 2088, @anantaraqasralsarab

Images: Provided/Getty