our first visitor, and eid

I am beginning to think that I should rename this blog to “Dubai dining” or “Desert foodies” or some such thing, it seems I am always telling you about the wonderful meals we eat here. I am not sure why food seems to be the main focus right now, and I do apologise if you are finding it duller than dishwater, but its really the most exciting part of the weekends for me at the moment. Maybe its because of Ramadan and the persistent summer heat which has left us somewhat limited in our activity choices, as a picnic in the park, nor a visit to the beach, is quite on the cards just yet. It may be partly due to those reasons but then I think Stu and I are unashamedly food lovers and the quality of the food we have been exposed to so far really IS worth sharing. I do promise to find some other things to write about too!

This weekend we ticked three things off our DUDO list (DUbai DO list)! I just made that up aren’t I clever? Anyway, the three winners, in no particular order, are 1) we hosted our first foreign visitor, 2) we visited the restaurant of a celebrity chef and 3) we went on a dinner cruise on the creek. And no I can’t tell you what is left on the list, not because I don’t want to but because its a vague and fluid thing that exists only in my mind right now. I do promise to let you know when another box is checked.

Stu spent a very long day in Qatar last week Thursday, he left the house at around 4.30 AM (thank goodness the cab showed up as I was the backup plan) and got home at about 6.30 PM, so instead of making him cook dinner I suggested that we go out. We had been keen to try Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Verre, which means a (drinking) glass in French, since we had heard about it, so on the off chance I called them Thursday afternoon and yes, happily, they had a free table. We arrived a few minutes late as surprise surprise the taxi let us down again, but thats a story for another time. As you would expect the service was outstanding from the first moment; the waiters, sommelier and maitre-d buzzed around the place like busy little bees. To start with we were served two tiny spring-rolls; some fresh melba toast, breadsticks and choux pastry puffs filled with cream cheese; harissa, and goats cheese with rosemary, dip. The canapés were followed by melon soup to cleanse the palate, very tasty. I had ordered salmon tartare as a starter, this was served with caviar, creme fraiche and sundried cherry tomatoes. Just after the plate was placed in front of me a clear tomato jus was added around the edge. A flavour sensation. Stu had a roast vine-tomato soup finished with pesto, it even contained white kidney beans and cheese filled tortellini. It looked amazing. For main course I had duck breast on a bed of pearl barley risotto and spinach, surrounded by roast baby onions, and topped with foie gras. Stu had a roast pork belly on a bed of puy lentils. We had a bottle of Kanonkop Pinotage (loving the selection of SA wine here, not loving the prices though). The flavours in my main dish were very intense, the duck was so rich that even though it wasn’t a huge portion I felt completely stuffed at the end. Sadly I was too full even for dessert and finished my meal with a coffee whilst Stu had a port and the cheese plate. My only criticism of the place is that the tables are too close together so I could hear the conversations of the couples either side. Its definitely a place you go for a special occasion, we almost had a heart attack when we got the bill, I have never paid that much for a meal in a restaurant, not even Villa Moura comes close.

Friday night we took it easy as we had a full weekend planned with our guest arriving on Saturday. After showing Freddie the sights of Dubai Saturday afternoon we treated him to a dinner cruise on the creek. The Bateaux is a large, glass sided, floating restaurant, and for 3 hours you do nothing but eat and drink whilst they slowly cruise up and down the creek. I didn’t drink as I was the driver (yes no taxi again) but the rest of the party had a Kanonkop Pinotage (yes the same one just 100 dirhams cheaper this time). Dinner is a 4 course affair, everyone started with a spinach soup, then I had grilled tiger prawns with roast cherry tomatoes followed by seafood “en papillote” (in a bag) and then date crumble topped with strawberries and served with home-made marscapone ice-cream. Only the second best dessert I have had since I got here. Stu had the same as me except he had cheese instead of pud.

Sunday night was another first for me, we went to the Buddha Bar for dinner which I can now take off of my “to try” list. Not having been to the original in Paris I had nothing to compare it to, so was blown away by the opulence of the decor. Sadly there is no live DJ here so they play their own cds instead. We had lucked out and were seated at the best table in the whole restaurant, a booth full of cushions, so comfy. I started with the fried calamari, delicious and very filling. I followed that with the sea bass served with asian greens, it was tasty but I should have stuck with just one course as I was overfull. So I passed on dessert, but Stu managed to finish a chocolate purse (see pic) with not too much trouble, which is unusual for him. It was a lovely evening, but let down by the fact that the buddha bar allows smoking inside, not my favourite thing when I am eating.

All this talk of food has reminded me that at the beginning of this week (Monday the 29th) the moon was spotted signalling the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid ul-Fitr. Eid is an arabic word which means festivity, and the celebrations last 3 days. Our offices are closed so I have a 5 day long weekend, which sadly I have started with a tummy bug, which is why this posting is a tad late.

Trivial fact about Dubai #4: Tourism contributes 30% to the GDP of Dubai. So come and visit and be part of the statistic!!