The Last Supper

Hello friends,

Because I am leaving Dubai to go back to Pakistan soon, I treated out three of my friends to Noodle House at Madinat Jumeirah. Noodle House is one of my favorite places to have dinner. It's a blend between a casual- fine dining experience. They are famous for their noodles-- in my opinion, their roasted duck is the best dish there-- and their food is consistently delicious.

When we got there, we had to wait for about 40 minutes to get a table for four. That's how popular it is. We all took this opportunity to share with each other with what's been happening in our lives. I always enjoy spending time with these friends because with them, I can be who I really am. I can shed my inhibitions and just be who I am.

40 minutes later, we get our table and we were really hungry by this time. We ordered our drinks- my passion sensation was truly awesome, and the others ordered four season Asian, a concoction of various fruits. To help my friends know what to order, I had the waitress show us a sample of the different kind of noodles available: shanghai, Singaporean, egg and one more I can't recall now. They were certainly amazed to see that there could be so many different variety of noodles. Gaelle and I went for the Roasted Duck, and as a side order took steamed rice and Thai Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Sam ordered Shanghai Beef Noodles, and Nisin ordered Singapore Noodles with Chicken. While waiting for our food, we took a lot of pictures with each other.

When the food finally arrived, we just dove in and truly satisfied ourselves. It was as always delicious and truly an amazing meal. So full were we, we didn't have any space left for desserts. It certainly was a sad moment for me to know that I will be leaving this awesome group of friends behind as I move to a new phase of my life, but I know these friends will always be in my heart. Before we left, I told each of them that I have a special gift to give to them, and that it's an extremely personal gift, who I give to people who I can trust wholeheartedly. I took out their gift bags, which had a pack of Hershey's chocolates, and a copy of the book I had written. It was a delight to see their expression as they were in awe of holding the book. They were so over-whelmed; emotions over came them and they didn't know what to say. Nisin wanted to start reading my book already at the table. Gaelle had to tell the guys to close the book and come back to earth.

( Nisin, Me, Sam, Gaelle)

Moments like this draw us closer, and takes the level of our friendship to a whole new level. I love these friends, and they mean the world to me. Gaelle, Nisin and Sam, you guys are so the best, and I am honored and privileged to have you as my friends.

Mansur