Pinay nursing grad quits career, opens successful seafood resto in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Nursing graduates from the Philippines go to Dubai to work, with plans to move to Europe, the US, Canada or Australia.

Not Nikki Ann L. Nuñeza, who instead opened a successful seafood restaurant with her husband.

Nuñeza left the Philippines for work in Dubai soon after graduation.

“Wala nang panggastos,” said Nuñeza, who hails from Bohol in central Philippines, when asked why she did not pursue a board exam. (We don’t anymore have the financial resources.)

“Kaya agad-agad right after graduation ay nag-abroad na ako,” she said. (That’s why I went abroad for work right after graduation).

Nuñeza, who obtained her degree in nursing from University of Bohol, said she was just 20 when she arrived in Dubai in 2011 and got work as an accounts executive for a mobile phone company.

Her husband, Roden Michael Nuñeza, a graduate of marine transportation from University of Visayas, was pursuing a degree in engineering but had to quit after his father, a government official, died.

Roden ended up being a stockman and inventory controller at an international women’s clothing brand in Dubai Mall. He then got another job, this time as administrative coordinator at a big Dubai-based company. Roden has 10 siblings and his mother struggled to get them all through school.

Roden also arrived in Dubai in 2011. The two met, fell in love, got married in the city and decided to save money for their dream restaurant: The Catch Seafoods and Grill Restaurant which recently celebrated its second anniversary in full capacity.

“Ever since my husband and I got married, we had always aspired to have our own restaurant. Driven by his passion to cook and our love for food, a dining venue had always been one that we have pictured of having when the right time comes,” said Nikki Ann.

And so began the arduous task of finding a location, doing the required paperwork, conceptualizing the restaurant itself, studying the market, analyzing footfall, hiring the staff and chefs, and finalizing the menu based on customer preferences.

The Catch Seafoods and Grill Restaurant has become a go-to place for Filipino expats, popular for its offers like “Maui & Moana” a seafood boodle bestseller with its Cajun and “eggilicious” sauce and a generous mix of shrimps, squids, mussels, crabs, and corn with unlimited rice and brewed iced tea good for two persons.

There are also a variety of dishes and grilled favorites.

“Despite being Filipino-owned, our offerings are inspired by different cuisines like French and American but mostly, Asian,” Nikki Ann said.

The spread is not really pricey – all things considered.

“For only less than AED 90 (P1,330), one can get their fill because we offer a variety of affordable ala carte dishes, and our pride, the ‘Maui & Moana’ is only AED 89 (P1,310),” said Nikki Ann.

The restaurant is located at the Centurion Tower, a dining destination of rows upon rows of Filipino restaurants located across from City Centre Deira.

The Catch Seafoods and Grill Restaurant, which has 15 employees, has a mezzanine that can accommodate 50 people and a ground floor that can sit up to 70 more.

There are approximately over 20,000 Filipino nurses working in the UAE government and private sector, including homecare companies, according to the Filipino Nurses’ Association in the Emirates (FNAE).

Many nursing graduates from the Philippines found office administrative and related jobs in the UAE. —KG, GMA Integrated News