Asia Asia, 7:30pm: “This could be mistaken for a Miss Universe pageant with all these beautiful ladies from around the world…. But no, it’s just a lovely night out with all my beautiful friends in Dubai”. My friend, Melissa, posts this message, along with photos from the evening on Facebook the day after. There certainly are a lot of friends. “I think there are 20 coming” she says in the taxi on the way to Asia Asia at Pier 7, our venue for the evening. “I’m not sure how it got so big” she quips. But I do. Melissa is the lynchpin for this 20 strong gathering, the social butterfly, or perhaps the Miss Universe that all us hopefuls are drawn to. There is something special about her that’s for sure and this turnout on a Tuesday night proves it.
She is organised. The reservations have been made and the booking revised to ensure everyone is seated and welcomed. We are on track to be there early as she worries that friends will arrive and need introductions – not everyone knows people already. She is the perfect host and tonight she performs flawlessly.
We arrive early enough and are the first ones there. Melissa orders bottles of water and edamame for the table. We order ourselves a drink and it’s not long before the first of the group arrives.
There are a group of school mums and I get to meet some new friends properly – the mums that you pass in the school corridors and smile at, knowing you would be friends if you had time to stop and chat one morning. But you’re off to do groceries and arrange the birthday present for this afternoon’s party and you know she is in a rush to get to work.
Most of the rest of the group either work with Melissa’s husband or their husbands do. Who says your husband’s work friends can’t be your friends too. These ladies seem to have made this an art form. They arrive and introduce themselves, then delve into familiar conversation.
The night lights up. Nearly everyone is here now and we order food and more drinks. My lychee cocktail comes with little rose petals floating in it, very pretty. The food here is good too – shrimp tempura in a peanut chili sauce, 12 spice calamari with chili and kaffir lime aioli and a selection of melt in the mouth fresh maki. The beef teriyaki looks fantastic and someone has succulent looking grilled lamb chops (served with long beans, garlic chips & gyozakura miso) that I resist reaching over and trying for myself.
I get chatting to Kim who sits to my right. She has spent 3 years in Dubai and was in Brisbane for 7 years before that. Her husband also works at Bechtel and I’m a bit surprised our paths haven’t crossed before now. She is animated as she talks about her grandchild and I make inquiries as to where she is from in New Zealand – the very distinctive Kiwi accent gives her away. As we get to know each other I declare “we might be related!”. We are not, in fact, related but we do discover that our grandparents were the best of friends. My auntie spent years nursing her grandmother in her elderly years and Kim remembers babysitting my Kiwi cousins when they were only little. I wouldn’t have been entirely surprised to have met her in Brisbane but to be sitting randomly together at dinner in Dubai is very surreal.
On my left is Manal, one of those very ladies that I often share a school corridor smile with but we never seem to make each other’s acquaintance. Tonight we have ample time to get to know each other and the conversation flows freely.
I move around the table a little and meet Dolly, another Aussie mum. Dolly has Indian roots and we talk about the International Day coming up at the school. There will be a Parade of Nations and we exchange phone numbers to make sure we’re connected.
I also meet Andrea from Bolivia and Anum a Pakistani American. I catch up with Jeanina and Dina who I met at the last ladies night at China Grill and another close friend, Dima, who is seated on the other side of Manal, is keeping everyone in stitches. Usually she’s so quiet and serious but tonight she has a twinkle in her eye and she is shining. Give her half a chance and she’ll be tearing up the dance floor reminiscent of our night at Al Hadheerha.
Everyone has their story but the night is getting on, dinner is finished and some of the ladies begin to make a move before the conversation leads me to them. The rest of us head to the bar and continue the night. The view isn’t as good from here but the bar is very cool and it’s busy, even for a ladies’ night. We order drinks and continue our conversations. This is a bar, not a night club, so although there is music, it is still possible to hear each other. It’s also a funky space, bird cages hanging from the ceiling, the interior design is stylish and interesting and there are little nooks for sitting and booths with late night diners still grazing on their shared platters.
Later on I meet Tracey and Fiona. It’s refreshing to hear some Aussie accents and I feel right at home, we order another drink and keep going. One by one, however, the contenders depart – Bolivia, Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Korea, Pakistan, India, USA, Jordan, Palestine, Romania, New Zealand and Australia. The bar is still going strong but we all have to get up tomorrow morning for one reason or another. School, work, kids, Tracey is lucky enough to be heading back to Oz for a two week holiday. Still, she has a very long flight ahead of her.
Yet once again it is the willingness of these women to come out, meet new people and show their spirit for life, particularly on a school night, that makes them all so captivating. We all have different stories, different looks and different cultures that have brought us here tonight. Each of the stories that unfolds during the course of the evening makes me once again appreciate what a fascinating place Dubai is to live in and how lucky I am to be witnessing a procession of not just beautiful ladies, but strong, interesting and intelligent women brought together from all over the world. Miss Universe indeed!
Good To Know
Asia Asia at Pier 7 in the Dubai Marina hosts Go Geisha! ladies night every Tuesday night. There are three free drinks for ladies which includes select cocktails and house wines from 6pm – 1am. If you’re planning on going for dinner it’s a good idea to book a table as this popular restaurant fills up quickly. The view from the balcony seating is spectacular.
Would I Return?
Yes, both to Asia Asia and to another ladies night. Melissa, you’ve really started something now which begs the question: when is the next one?
Thank you to the ladies who contributed to the photos included in this post.
What a fabulous recount of a lovely night. Location was great and the view from our table was amazing. Hard to do it justice with just a photo.
But overall, it was definately the company that made the night. You described them perfectly. We certainly had a group of beauty queens!