The Sharjah municipality has implemented a new rule that forbids public kitchens from serving individual-sized meals to customers. It is being enforced from the first week of February.
Owners of public kitchens, however, are unhappy with the decision and said they would oppose the ban as it will lead to a loss in business. They have already filed a petition to the Sharjah Executive Council and the Sharjah Consultative Council to revoke the ban.
Sharjah Municipality distributed a circular to 36 public kitchens last Sunday stating that they are no longer allowed to sell individual meals to customers, and can only provide meals in large portions.
Public kitchens offer local dishes in addition to sandwiches and snacks. They are very popular among Emirati families during Ramadan and Eid as they have the choice of bringing in their own plates.
“We make our day-to-day income by selling individual meals and our customers have the choice of either sitting inside the premises or buying a take away meal. We have no choice but to obey the rules but that does not mean we agree with it,” said Nasser, a manager of a public kitchen in Al Khan.
“If we can only cater to banquets this will eventually put us out of business.”…SOURCE
I wasn’t expecting much when we entered the Fratelli la Bufala restaurant in the Arabian Center in Mirdif, Dubai, however I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I found when we stopped in on a whim. As a general rule here in the UAE, most mall restaurants and hotel restaurants are mediocre at best. You can basically toss out any fawning
Pizza from Fratelli la Bufala
reviews of 5 star venues that you find.
Fratelli la Bufala is located in a non-foodcourt section of the mall and takes a little bit of searching to find. The decor is rather simple and typical of UAE restaurants, but in the end that is not why you come here. What you will find are numerous Italian dishes featuring water buffalo. Water buffalo essentially tastes like beef that has some of the fat removed, which is essentially what it is being much leaner than ordinary beef.
My first trip there I had the buffalo steak which was quite tasty and enjoyed sampling the other dishes ordered by my party, including dishes that incorporated buffalo mild, cheese, and cream. On my second trip, I enjoyed on of the pizzas on offer with buffalo ham and artichoke hearts. Their pizza was done exactly right and tasted fantastic.
In short, Fratelli la Bufala’s unique take on a unique ingredient earns it a place close to the top of the UAE’s Italian restaurants.
Tip for travelers: avoid your hotel’s Italian fare and make a bee-line for Fratelli la Bufala.
Café Chic With a double Michelin-starred head chef, Philippe Gavreau, at the helm this hotel eatery really cannot go wrong. Mix in top quality ingredients, smooth service and a menu that cuts deftly between the classics and some daring variations and this is a top dining choice. Relax afterwards in the cigar bar for supreme decadence.
IndiaPalace
India Palace is very popular with the local expat community. The emphasis on Rajasthani cooking is backed up by themed décor and artefacts shipped in from the region. The open kitchen is a nice touch, as are the family booths upstairs, with privacy available at no extra charge. The excellent-value menu features starters such as lentil soup and prawn bisque with fresh vegetables, while mains include chicken and vegetarian kebabs and a range of delicately spiced curries. Alcohol is not available but the lassis are excellent, especially the unusual lassi seasoned with salt.
Luciano’s
Very good Italian cooking without having to commit a Mafia-style bank job to afford it. This unpretentious restaurant, poolside at the Habtoor Hotel, does all the Italian staples like lasagne and risotto with a minimum of fuss, relying on fresh ingredients and solid cooking to do the talking. A highlight on the dessert menu is the decadent ‘Luciano’s Cake’, a real calorific treat.
Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa
Tel: (04) 399 5000.
Website: www.habtoorhotels.com
Price: $$
TheManhattanGrill
The signature restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Dubai is the Manhattan Grill. Housed in the atrium of the hotel, this stylish restaurant is a firm favourite with the local smart set. The steaks are to die for, with fresh prime beef flown in from the USA. Other offerings on the menu include local and international seafood and grilled lamb. Wine is available by the glass or the bottle, with both New and Old World tastes catered for.
Grand Hyatt Dubai, Al Qutaeyat Road
Tel: (04) 317 1234.
Website: www.dubai.grand.hyatt.com
Price: $$$
The NoodleHouse
The Noodle House is a funky and laid-back eating venue. In contrast to the stuffy business restaurants that tend to be associated with this part of Dubai, the emphasis here is on light, tasty food served up in relaxed surroundings. Patrons can forget table reservations and join the rest of the diners at the long communal tables in enjoying some delightful Asian noodle soups. Also served are spring rolls and more substantial dishes, such as sweet and sour chicken. The desserts are a bit hit and miss but, for a quick and cheerful meal, The Noodle House is hard to beat.
…Isolated incidents of ‘bling’ reoccur throughout the space, most notably in the bar area, where a sense of self confident, old-school glamour presides. One whole wall is adorned in black leather; marble coats the bar’s surface and upstands; red, crocodile leather bar stools and lounge seats inject a vibrant splash of colour; and wooden flooring reinforces the comfortable, all-encompassing nature of the space. “One of my joys is designing bars,” Mackenzie admitted. “This is where the glitz and glamour come in, but in a small area. It is moody, cosy and secluded, like a dining room in Paris.”
The restaurant’s location in a shariah-compliant hotel dictated that the bar would act only as a holding area, rather than a fully-fledged attraction in its own right. This presented a design challenge that Outcast was able to overcome by creating an intimate pocket nestled inconspicuously into one corner.
“We created a space that was not immediately visible to people dining in the restaurant or even walking past. It is actually possible to have a meal in the restaurant and leave without even noticing the bar – which was quite a design challenge,” Penketh said.
Overtones of glamour are also inherent in the elaborate crystal chandeliers that tumble elegantly from the ceilings elsewhere in the restaurant. “Again,
we wanted to bring in a bit of glitz
and glamour, and the lighting and crystals are part of that. Everything else is pretty angular and straightforward,” commented Mackenzie… The underlying inspiration for the restaurant was a classical dining room, with strong art deco influences from the 1920s and 30s. A simple yet striking colour scheme favours beige, black and red – but while the design is subtle and understated, it is also extremely rich, Penketh pointed out.
“We were careful not to overdesign, but every inch of the space contains some level of detail. It is a very rich design but we’ve created something that is comfortable and that you are not overwhelmed by,” he elaborated. “There is an incredible amount of work in the detailing and this grows on you as you sit in the restaurant.”
Sculpted ceilings
The depth of the design is intended to reveal itself only upon closer inspection. Ceilings, for example, have been carefully sculpted, with different layers, coffered effects and elaborate inlays acting as a sophisticated differentiator of spaces. “Ceilings are an important element in restaurants at the high end of the market. You have to use them to define the space.
“We’ve also used the ceiling to create perspective and to give the impression of more space. Most people don’t look up when they go into a restaurant but part of our aim was to make sure that the longer you spend in there, the
more you notice how much is going on,”
Penketh explained.
The carefully considered nature of the design also reveals itself in the seating, which was all conceptualised from scratch and manufactured in Dubai. Different types and heights of seating create choice for diners, as well as visual contrast across the space. Along one side of the restaurant, red banquet seating melds itself into curved booths cut into the wall to create secluded, semi-enclosed cocoons…SOURCE
Round Table Pizza, an American pizza restaurant icon known for quality and innovation, has signed a long-term development agreement with United Arab Emirates partner Ghassan Wehbe.
Mr. Wehbe, who currently operates 7 Round Table Pizza restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has acquired rights to expand to 17 locations within the UAE. Additionally, Mr. Wehbe and Round Table Pizza are laying the groundwork for further development in other Gulf Coast countries based on their success.
“We are excited to extend Round Table Pizza to a broader global audience,” says Round Table President Rob McCourt. “Our founding principles of providing families with a comfortable place to dine and serving premium pizzas are universally appealing”…SOURCE
A colleague who recently dined at California Pizza Kitchen confided in me that she found it to be ‘the best pizza in Dubai’. As evidence she submitted the fact that her boyfriend (who claims Italian roots, albeit second generation) thought it was ‘the most authentic pizza outside of Italy’. I was doubtful (it is called California Pizza Kitchen, after all). Furthermore, CPK is an American chain that launched in 1985 on the heels of a California pizza revolution forged by the likes of American celebrity chefs Alice Waters and then Wolfgang Puck.
Basically, California-style pizza is unique, just as New York and Sicilian pizza are. It’s thin, it’s usually single portion and it’s known for its unusual toppings. In other words, California pizzas really are nothing like Italian pizzas. Still, after gentle urging from a few different and self-proclaimed pizza aficionados,
I decided that I’d give the place a lunchtime visit…
this concoction could only have come from the American west coast. It wasn’t bad. My companion had opted for the thinner ‘Neapolitan’ crust, which was flaky and crisp. Sliced red onions and some deliciously hammy flavoured gouda combined nicely (the result was a bite that tasted like canned smoke), but the syrupy barbecue sauce made for one saccharin savoury…
The result was, yes, very nice pizzas, but not in the simple, rustic way you picture in Italy, where the only toppings you need are some excellent mozzarella and a ripe tomato. Still, for an American pizza chain in the basement of The Dubai Mall, it hit the spot…MORE
Competition in the UAE tea market is intensifying as a number of new companies and brands enter the fray.
The newcomers are challenging the dominance of Lipton brand and are following in the footsteps of successful newcomer Alokozay.
Alokozay set out to break Lipton’s near-monopoly by launching special offers and promotions.
“The tea market in the UAE has been dominated by Lipton for several decades and the brand accounts for 80 per cent of local sales,” said an industry source.
“After Alokozay entered the market at least eight new companies and brands, including Good Morning Tea, Golden Tea, Neltea, High Tea, East Tea, Lovely Tea, Tasty Tea and Golden Leaf, have started to offer packets at highly discounted rates.
Most of these companies are selling tea at less than the rate charged by the established manufacturers such as Lipton and Tata Tea.”
Packets of Good Morning Tea, which was launched by MCG General Trading, part of the Carim Group, are available at up to Dh2.5 less than the corresponding Lipton brands and other market players are following the same strategy.
Several trading firms and business groups have diversified into tea as they believe the food industry is immune to the effects of the economic downturn.
As part of their initial offers the new brands are offering consumers gold coins, mobile phones, dhow dinner trips, mugs, T-shirts, air tickets and other gifts.
A source from one of the new companies said: “The annual demand for tea in the UAE is estimated to be above 55,000 tonnes and the market is controlled mainly by Lipton. Our target is to get a market share of at least one per cent within a year. Most of the new players are keen to get a minor market share.
“We are targeting a Dh12 million turnover within two years,” the source said…SOURCE
DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it would move to bring down the cost of basic food items charged by retailers because they were no longer appropriate following a slump in world commodity prices.
The second-largest Arab economy last year signed a series of agreements with supermarket chains to fix the cost of basic food items such as sugar, cooking oil, rice and flour at 2007 levels in an effort to curb inflation at a 20-year peak.
But many of those prices now exceed the global average by 25 percent after oil prices collapsed almost $100 a barrel from a peak last July, said Hashim Saeed Al-Neaimi, the manager of consumer protection at the UAE’s Ministry of Economy.
“We need to match the overall downturn in global food prices,” Neaimi told Reuters.
The ministry planned to sign new deals with retailers to reduce fixed selling prices for foods, which would also cut into retailers’ profit margins, he said.
“Since food prices have gone down globally it is only fair to bring them down here too and this will take effect in about one to two weeks’ time,” Neaimi said…SOURCE
Through the shisha smoke I discerned a massive fruit platter. Around it sat the remains of some unctuous hummus, tasty sausages in lemon juice and other Levantine delicacies. Bloated on the banquette, I felt like a corrupt sultan holding sway over my decadent empire.
At the moment, the seat of that empire was Al Qasr, a lively Lebanese restaurant at the Dubai Marine Beach Resort and Spa (Jumeirah Beach Road; 971-4-346-1111; www.dxbmarine.com) with a set-price dinner (220 or 250 dirhams, or about $58 or $66 at 3.8 dirhams to the dollar) featuring near-endless food.
The moment was a fitting finale to my odyssey across the culinary landscape of Dubai, the free-wheeling city-state that has become a byword for glorious excess. Though the international economic crisis has raged like a sandstorm through Dubai’s office towers, financial markets and construction sites, a January visit found the sprawling restaurant scene remarkably intact…SOURCE
STYLE was in shorter supply at Shabestan in the Radisson SAS Hotel (Dubai Diera Creek; 971-4-222-7171; www.deiracreek.dubai.radissonsas.com). In this upscale Persian restaurant, a soundtrack of ’80s synth-pop was rivaled in cheesiness only by the gaudy ’70s-style carpeting.
Still, the unappetizing décor wasn’t dissuading lunchers — South African businessmen, a well-heeled Arabic-speaking family — from savoring baghalah polo-ba-mahichech (leg of lamb cooked with broad beans and spices; 109 dirhams) and meat kebabs marinated in various yogurts.
Classical Persian cooking is celebrated for its blend of meats with fruits like peaches, cherries and limes, so I ordered fesenjan-ba-morgh — chicken with pomegranate sauce (95 dirhams) — and polished off the earthy warm flatbread while waiting.
When the cauldron arrived, the thick and chunky purple mixture had a consistency more like warm cement than stew. But it tasted exquisite. The meat was succulent, as if cooked for hours, and the pomegranate sauce was a hearty mix of sweet and sour. Some long-grained basmati rice — with the highly crunchy exterior that Iranians prize — provided the base.
Most surprising, though, was the final course, which proved that the distance between East and West can be measured by a strand of noodle…SOURCE
After one such cab ride, I found freezing temperatures and deeply packed snow as night fell on the Mall of the Emirates — at least at the Middle East’s only indoor ski slope. But the vibe inside Almaz by Momo (which is within the Harvey Nichols store in the mall; 971-4-409-8877; www.altayer.com/companies/food/almazbymomo), a sexy Moroccan restaurant, was pure North African warmth: bulbous tangerinelike lanterns, plush pistachio-colored chairs, funky Algerian rai music.
Few Dubai restaurants boast such an impressive pedigree. The restaurant was the brainchild of Mourad Mazouz, the man behind the London hot spots Momo and Sketch. (Foreigners aren’t allowed to own businesses in Dubai, but Mr. Mazouz, an Algerian — the “Momo” in the name — was hired to create the concept and management of the restaurant.) And with style radiating from every corner, the question naturally arose: Could the kitchen match the design?
The red olives, marinated in tomato paste and olive oil, were immediately devoured by my friend Yasmin, a Syrian-born art dealer who grew up in Dubai. I took that as a ringing endorsement. Our appetizers, though, proved hit and miss. The salad called mechouia (20 dirhams) here was a chunky dip made from soft-grilled tomatoes and peppers, flat-lined on the tongue. Better was the zalouk (22 dirhams), a similar dip with an eggplant base, which was far more flavorful and mouth-filling.
The best gauge of a Moroccan restaurant is its tagines, the complex stews that often balance everything-and-the-kitchen-sink ingredients, from meats to fruits to sauces. We chose a simple version — kefta with egg (65 dirhams) — that hit the mark exactly. The kefta were lightly spiced and complemented perfectly by the soft blanket of egg and tangy tomato sauce.
But our couscous Almaz (75 dirhams) was a letdown. The accompanying red merguez sausage, intended to be spicy and juicy, was dry and leathery. The grilled lamb chunks suggested marinated rubber. Thankfully, the mint tea (25 dirhams) and pistachio-honey-almond pastries (10 dirhams) that rounded out our meal would have pleased in Marrakesh.
Over all, our dinner felt like a slalom back and forth between good dishes and mediocre ones. Still, if you can swerve around the pitfalls, you can have a satisfying — and stylish — run…SOURCE
Smoking in cafes and restaurants has been on its way out for a while, as much thanks to social pressure as legislation. But despite moves to stub out cigarettes in restaurants, we’re not quite there yet – as we found out at Mezzaluna, the posh Italian restaurant at Emirates Palace.
There was a system in place that successfully separated the Marlboro chuggers from the oxygen breathers. It worked smoothly, so that one group could avoid the nicotine, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide of cigarette smoke and the other bunch could avoid the complaints of non-smokers. But while the smokers were given the ambient main dining room area in which to freely indulge their habit, those angling for a tar-free tagliatelle (including us on this occasion) were filtered out into the wings of the restaurant. And that was a bit of a drag.
OK, so there were the watercolour wall murals and grandiose arches to admire, not to mention the giant flat-screen televisions showing hackneyed Venetian scenes, and the massive disco balls dangling overhead. But with precious little atmosphere to soak up, we couldn’t help feeling like we’d been penalised for failing to punctuate each course with a Capstan full-strength. However, we’d come primarily for a meal, and not the milieu, so we took a deep breath and chose from the menu.
My scallops with porcini mushrooms arrived in a glass so tall that it would have been polite of the waiters to issue me a stepladder. The expertly seared seafood was supremely soft and full of intense, dare I say it, smoky flavour. Across the table, my dining partner’s prime beef carpaccio was as slight as cigarette papers, and adequately accompanied by a scattering of truffle shavings and a crisp celery heart salad with tomatoes and lettuce. It was nice while it lasted, but even the short wait in between courses served to remind us of the lack of atmosphere… I had been suitably impressed by the food at Mezzaluna, but while my friend enjoyed the luxuriant handcrafted strawberry ice cream, I couldn’t help being distracted by the excited chatter and clatter in the main dining area. I strained my neck to catch a glimpse, but whatever was going on over there remained shrouded in mystery, not to mention an ethereal veil of misty blue smoke…SOURCE
One thing I have consitently ranted about concerning Dubai’s food scene is the absolute lack of anything approaching a good dessert. With a few minor exceptions, Dubai is a vast dessert wasteland largely populated by pseudo British/European fare that falls flat at best. For my wife’s recent birthday, we gave Sugar Daddy’s a try. For the most part, we found their cupcakes much above the average you get here in the UAE, with the red velvet cupcake being our favorite. Having said that, the rave reviews from the Dubai press over this place are over-blown. It could simply not compete in a U.S. market where there are quality dessert outlets.
Should we discuss price? 12AED for a cupcake is quite a premium. The highest quality cupcake in the states would cost your a maximum of around two US dollars (appx. 7.5AED). At the end of the day, your are left wondering: ‘is the price worth it?’
To sum up, I am glad that Dubai is finally getting better desserts. However, true quality still eludes the Emirates when it comes to sweets.
Following is an excerpt from the most recent review of Sugar Daddy’s in The National:
Sugar Daddy’s Bakery was conceived and created by a Jordanian man living in New York City. He had the idea after sampling the cupcakes at Magnolia’s, the famous Manhattan bakery. Now, the cupcake craze has spread to Dubai. James Brennan asked the Dubai franchise owner Dana Jallad about her favourite cupcakes.
Sugar Daddy’s was born and bred here in the Middle East – what’s the history?
Fadi Jaber, aka Mr Sugar Daddy himself, decided to leave the corporate world behind and went to culinary school in New York. After going to Magnolia’s bakery and others like it in the States, he thought, “That’s it, that’s what I’m going to do”. So he went back to Jordan and created a local concept that offered all the American classics – cupcakes in all shapes, colours and flavours, layered cakes, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, brownies. It’s a full-range bakery.
What can we expect from the Suggar Daddy’s experience?
It’s both eat-in and take away. You’ll be overwhelmed by the colours and the delicious, decadent things around you. The design is a little bit retro 1950s, but in a very modern way. It takes you somewhere else, actually. And you immediately think, with all these cases of cakes and pies everywhere, you’re back in New York somewhere, in one of those typical bakeries.
Did you experience any difficulties setting up your franchise in the middle of the economic crisis?
We did open during that time, around the end of November, but so many people had such high expectations of us – they were waiting for the product for so long – that when our cupcakes finally arrived in Dubai they were going crazy for it…SOURCE
…While many high-end traditional Chinese restaurants have been quietly plying their trade for some years now, a recent trend in chic, inventive and exciting Chinese food in designer surroundings has been putting the spring back into the humble spring roll. London’s Hakkasan was the first Chinese restaurant ever to be awarded a Michelin star, not least for its lavish Christian Liaigre-designed interior and its inspired brand of contemporary Chinese food.
It was the brainchild of the Hong Kong-born restaurateur Alan Yau, who was also the driving force behind the Wagamama chain of Japanese noodle bars launched in the 1990s. Yau’s philosophy has spawned many imitators in London and around the world since Hakkasan opened in 2001, and he added the highly acclaimed dim sum restaurant Yauatcha to his portfolio – much to the approval of critics, restaurant-goers and celebrities alike – before selling both brands to the Tasameem arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for around $60 million (Dh220m) in 2008.
Soon the Hakkasan concept will be arriving at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace hotel, but that doesn’t mean discerning diners have to wait before sampling upmarket Chinese food in the UAE. Abu Dhabi’s Shang Palace at the Shangri-La and Dubai’s Noble House at Raffles represent two sides of a distinctly extravagant coin: one traditional and one thoroughly modern. And what better time to inhale this breath of fresh air in an ancient cuisine than during a festival of renewal, optimism and hope: Chinese new year?
The Noble House is an award-winning contemporary Chinese restaurant that reflects much of Yau’s original vision and inspiration. Its forward-thinking outlook and plush setting – in the capstone of the pyramid-shaped Raffles hotel in Dubai – has won numerous plaudits, especially for its creative use of luxury ingredients such as abalone, foie gras and wagyu beef. But while it clearly embraces a bright new future for Chinese food, the restaurant manager Zul Jumaat is also mindful of the traditions and symbolism inherent in Chinese culture, especially at new year.
“One example would be the number eight,” he says. “Eight is a very lucky number because of the way it sounds. In Cantonese it sounds like the word for wealth and fortune. The Chinese believe that by saying or using this number, it will help bring more money, wealth and luck.” Jumaat should know about good luck. In 2008, The Noble House swept all before it in the Time Out Dubai restaurant awards.
“We won three awards,” Jumaat says, the pride swelling in his voice. “Restaurant of the Year, Best Chinese and Best Newcomer. We are putting in lots of effort to make sure that our standards are consistent this year. We’re trying to revise our menu and the chef is bringing fresh new items so there’s a new reason to come to The Noble House. Nonetheless, we are quite confident about our service and product delivery. Hopefully the Year of the Ox will bring more success for us.”
Whatever the new year brings, there is sure to be a host of delicious and intriguing dishes on the special Chinese new year menu at The Noble House. One such recipe is yee sang (yusheng). “Yee sang is a dish that’s only served during the Chinese new year period, and traditionally on the seventh day of the new year,” says Jumaat. “But it’s also very popular the night before Chinese new year. It’s a raw tuna dish, which has a lot of significance for the Chinese people.
“There are a lot of parts to the salad – people don’t eat it just like that. All the ingredients are laid out separately. Then the ingredients are mixed together by everybody at the table, one by one. Each ingredient represents something different, for example sesame and cashew nuts symbolise good health for the coming year. When everything has been added everyone tosses the salad together, then they wish each other prosperity and health for the coming year.
“It’s very popular in Singapore, Malaysia and the southern part of China, but in the northern part of China it’s not common. There they consume dumplings (jiaozi), not done in restaurants but by the families themselves. The mother or grandmother will actually put coins in the dumplings to symbolise wealth. They are hoping that in the next year you’ll receive a lot of money. They’re real coins, so you don’t eat them, it’s just the whole act that’s symbolic.”
The raw fish of yee sang may be more popular among the Straits Chinese than it is on the mainland, but cooked fish certainly plays a big part in the new year feast. Again, the words for “fish” and “surpluses” sound very similar, and the fish is often served whole, rather than sliced into portions.
“In Chinese, just like in many cultures, people like to serve whatever they are cooking whole, so people can see the wholeness of the dish,” Jumaat says. “You don’t take parts of it, because for the Chinese every part of the animal is edible. So when you’re giving something, you don’t just give part of it, you give the whole thing, like the whole duck itself. It’s a symbolic thing.”
The Shang Palace at the Shangri-La Hotel in Abu Dhabi retains its traditional roots, yet the execution and delivery of its recipes is no less upmarket than the new generation of Chinese restaurants such as The Noble House. It will also be offering a special menu for Chinese new year, and its chef, Chan Yiu So, has been busy preparing for what he believes is still a significant family occasion…SOURCE
albeit second generation) thought it was ‘the most authentic pizza outside of Italy’. I was doubtful (it is called California Pizza Kitchen, after all). Furthermore, CPK is an American chain that launched in 1985 on the heels of a California pizza revolution forged by the likes of American celebrity chefs Alice Waters and then Wolfgang Puck.
approaching a good dessert. With a few minor exceptions, Dubai is a vast dessert wasteland largely populated by pseudo British/European fare that falls flat at best. For my wife’s recent birthday, we gave Sugar Daddy’s a try. For the most part, we found their cupcakes much above the average you get here in the UAE, with the red velvet cupcake being our favorite. Having said that, the rave reviews from the Dubai press over this place are over-blown. It could simply not compete in a U.S. market where there are quality dessert outlets.
the spring back into the humble spring roll. London’s Hakkasan was the first Chinese restaurant ever to be awarded a Michelin star, not least for its lavish Christian Liaigre-designed interior and its inspired brand of contemporary Chinese food.
sounds. In Cantonese it sounds like the word for wealth and fortune. The Chinese believe that by saying or using this number, it will help bring more money, wealth and luck.” Jumaat should know about good luck. In 2008, The Noble House swept all before it in the Time Out Dubai restaurant awards.
