Living in the interior area of Oman, we look forward to our monthly trip to Muscat, the capital of Oman for our periodical dose of the metropolitan life. It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours drive from our place to the city. We all, even the kids, have gotten so used with long drives here in Oman. We love discovering and exploring new things in Muscat.
Last December, we had our usual Christmas staycation at our favorite serviced apartment, Somerset Panorama and went back to Muscat again on the eve of New Year to meet up with a high school schoolmate from Saudi Arabia. It resulted in a few nice new discoveries in Muscat. Here are five of them:
- 3rd Street Donuts
My boys are all donut monster. They love love love donuts. Too bad there is no Dunkin Donuts in Oman (which is their favourite donuts of all times) or Krispy Kreme. We are still on a search for the best donuts in town. We often buy in Tim Hortons or the donuts at a cute cafe shop in our town. I have two friends recommending me to check out the 3rd Street Donut.
3rd Street Donut is a donut shop that originated from a local bakery in Los Angeles famous 3rd street. In Muscat, it is located at Dawat, Al Adbab Street. The donut shop/cafe is so lovely! It is very cozy with very cool instagrammable interior aesthetics. The place is not big enough to accommodate a large crowd though, just perfect for a nice get-together with a few friends or a time alone for a donut & coffee. The donuts are perfection, a bit on the pricey side though. It was highly praised and approved by my donut monster kids. They already told me that we should come back again soon. I love their coffee too. I got the Spanish Latte. I want to try their Cold Brew next time. They also have a little kiosk in City Center Seeb. But I still prefer visiting the donut shop/cafe.
2. Twin Turkish Cuisine
On Christmas Day, my family planned to have brunch (or more like a lunch, really) at Twin Turkish Cuisine found in Shatti, Qurum area. We had a chance meet up at a mall with a friend and invited her to join us for lunch. The restaurant has a wonderful ambience, eating alfresco by the beach. It was packed when we arrived we have to wait an hour to be seated because there were a lot of reservations that day. We ordered the traditional Turkish dishes like grilled meat (we got lambchops), mezze, their cheese honey pie (kid’s favorite) and chicken tikka. I am hoping to try their golden coffee next time. Yes, coffee made of gold…
A little stroll from Shatti, Qurum, we checked out the new mall, Water Front. It is a nice mall overlooking Qurum beach. It is fairly new, so not much shops were open. Most of the establishments are coffeeshops which are great from meet-ups and there was a Christmas bazaar happening in the ground floor.
We love visiting Al Mouj often. There are lots of restaurants to choose from there. One of which is the Shakespeare and Co.
Shakespeare and Co. is not really a new discovery for me. A day after I arrived in Oman, I met up with my high school schoolmate in Saudi Arabia who is also working here in Oman. She took me to Al Mouj and we have a wonderful dinner at Shakespeare and Co.
So last December, I had a dinner plans with another friend of mine and took her to Shakespeare and Co. We extremely enjoyed our dinner there. She loved the Rib Eye Steak so much and I couldn’t get enough go there bread & butter they serve while we wait for our orders. So for New Year Eve, I took my family there too for our dinner before 2021. My hubby love the steak too.
5. Qurum Natural Park
My friend who is working in Muscat took us to the largest park in Oman that has opened in 1993. It is huge area for picnics, concert (Sarah Geronimo had a concert here before) and walkathons. It even has a small amusement park and a wonderful (free) playgrounds that the kids love love love….
If you are living in Muscat, please share your favourite places to go to, your favourite restaurants and other recreational places you can suggest that are best for a family of young kids like us to explore and try out….
