Restaurateur Sylvana Sari, 38, moved to the UAE 12 years ago and has rented a spacious apartment in Dubai’s fast-growing Al Jaddaf district for half of that period.
The former Emirates cabin-crew employee from Indonesia shares the two-bedroom unit with her husband, Bobby, 37, their seven-year-old daughter, Louisa, and a nanny.
Ms Sari says the well-connected area suits both the location of her husband’s job as a professional chef in Dubai’s financial district and her business, a modern Indonesian restaurant called Bobi Bowl, based in Jumeirah 1.
She showed The National around the home, which the family pays a very competitive Dh69,300 a year in rent.
Please tell us about the home
We are living in Al Jaddaf in a two-bedroom apartment with three bathrooms. We have two balconies. One of them is pretty big, although it doesn't have the best view. We have two towers, Tower A and Tower B, and I’m facing the balconies of the other building, but between them there is a small garden. It’s not accessible to the public; it’s just for viewing.
We are on the first floor. But if we go outside onto the street, we can see the Burj Khalifa.
How long have you lived here?
We were in a studio in the BurJuman area for six years.
When we moved in, the building was less than a year old. We preferred a new building and were the first tenants in this apartment.
Now we’ve lived here for six years, so some wear and tear is happening, but it’s okay because we’re the ones staying here.
They are building so many new apartments in this neighbourhood now.
Why did you choose this place?
We wanted to move to a two-bedroom apartment because we hired a live-in nanny to help take care of our daughter.
The apartment is quite spacious at 1,300 sq ft with decent bedroom and living room sizes and an open kitchen.
We chose a low floor with a big balcony as it is really nice for our daughter to be able to go out to play. When we moved here, she was still a baby, so we didn’t want a high floor because it could be dangerous.
The best thing is that this building charges no chiller fees and maintenance is also free of charge.
What made you opt for this area?
We moved to Al Jaddaf due to its proximity to the airport. I was cabin crew for Emirates, and I didn’t want to waste time commuting to and from work. My husband was working in the Downtown area at that time, so Al Jaddaf was a perfect neighbourhood.
Now I am the owner of Bobi Bowl, which I started two years ago and is located in Al Mina, Jumeirah 1. My husband works in a French-Japanese restaurant in the DIFC area, but my restaurant is inspired by his name. We’re a new business, so he needs to work somewhere else until we’ve grown bigger.
Al Jaddaf is still a perfect place for both of us to live with access to the E44, E66 and E11. Al Khail Road has new exits, and a new bridge is also being built to ease traffic.
It is only a 10-minute drive to the restaurant, sometimes seven if the road is empty. I go there every day. It is 10 minutes to Dubai Mall and 10-15 minutes to Dubai Airport.
What do you pay to rent here?
We are lucky. Since we are long-term tenants, we pay Dh69,300, which is way lower than the current local rate. In my building, I have no idea what it is, but in the surrounding Jaddaf area, two bedrooms cost about Dh100,000.
Actually, the price we pay now is even lower than when we first moved in; the first year it was Dh72,000.
During the Covid pandemic, the landlord reduced our rent twice. Afterwards, the increase was still very reasonable.
We have just renewed our contract, our sixth, in January. We are very happy tenants.
How have you made this home?
In our spacious living room, we made a play corner to store all my daughter’s toys, and the living room itself is her play area.
Because we like a minimalist style, we have furniture from IKEA, such as white shelves, which are uniform. I’m not much into art, but we have some family photos, a little bookshelf for my daughter and an area for my husband’s shoe collection.
We have a little table so I can manage and work from home, and we store some catering things that we need for the restaurant. I try to be as organised as I can with the space.
We also made a small green area on the big balcony with fake grass and some plants and flowers.
What amenities do you have?
In the building we have a gym and a rooftop swimming pool.
Recently, there have been many developments in the area, so we now have a clinic, a pharmacy, a mini-mart, a restaurant, cafes, and a Dubai Metro station nearby.
Location-wise, it is still considered as central.
Being close to my restaurant is also an advantage, so I can be more present and support the team while still maintaining a work-life balance.
What would you change about living there?
I would love to have a park, more green areas and a playground nearby so that children can have more outdoor time. Hopefully, that will come.
Also, one problem is the balcony access, which is from the bedroom. So in the living room, we just have a view of the roof of the lobby and of the other building.
Another problem is parking. We have only one space for the apartment, but we have two cars.
We used to park on the sand because it was free. Now they have made it paid parking in the area, and everyone is fighting to get a parking spot.
Are you planning to stay in that apartment?
Yes, I love living here.
We are grateful that our rent is still reasonable compared to other places.
We really would love to move to a bigger place, but considering the current rents, we’re holding back. We would rather save that extra money to reinvest in the restaurant.
Are you thinking about buying a home?
Not at the moment.
Instead of investing in property, we chose to invest in building a business because we have a bigger dream and a vision to transform Indonesian flavours into modern, approachable cuisine that can be enjoyed by people around the world.
Starting from Dubai, we want to build a brand that proudly represents Indonesia.
