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MONICA’S WEEKEND new guest appearance on Dubai Eye with ideas for eating out, family outings and cool events in Dubai

Monica Kapila joins Mark Lloyd as a guest on DUBAI EYE 103.8 at 1.45pm every Friday and repeated on the Night Shift show with Mark Lloyd at 9.15pm.

MONCA’S WEEKEND RADIO SHOW DUBAI EYE103.8FM

Plan a better weekend or week ahead with your family, friends and visitors!

Welcome to my new show each FRIDAY 1.45pm with Mark Lloyd on Dubai Eye 103.8 FM.

Here are this week’s ideas for a place to EAT OUT, an interesting OUTING and an EVENT you could experience this weekend.

We’ll upload the podcast of this broadcast when Dubai Eye upload it to their channel.

Don’t miss an episode – SUBSCRIBE

PODCAST from 11th February below listen from minute 1

OUTING

FLOWER FARM NEAR WADI ASIMAH
A LITTLE BITE AT FOLIA VEGAN RESTAURANT FOUR SEASONSJUMEIRAH

Call Mr Mohammed on 055 992 3601 for details of the flower farm. Open every day all day entry AED 15 in Fujeirah, wadi Asimah. Tell him you heard from Monica at DoinDubai.

EVENT

Check out our reel experience at FOLIA at the Four Seasons here on our instagram

MONICAS-WEEKEND-EMIRATES-LIT-FEST-2022
VISIT THE EMIRATES LIST FEST THIS WEEKEND

We suggest doing the short story workshop with Sara Hamdan and or the talk by David Rundell on the future of Saudi Arabia.

EATING IN – Recipe Gallery

Air Fried Pakodas DoinDubai Monica Kapila Spices box
RECIPES GALLERY
Monica’s Weekend – Posts

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DUBAI FINE DINING RESTAURANTS – My shortlist based on real experiences

I’m always being asked which restaurants I’d choose for a special meal out so here is my pick of some of Dubai’s fine dining restaurants. Real pictures based on meals that we’ve experienced and paid for ourselves (unless stated)

Note the points about outside dining and location. Remember many of these high end places have good value Business Lunches that cost a fraction of what you’d pay for an evening meal so that’s worth remembering.

These restaurants are in no particular order. These pictures were all taken in 2021, please remember sometimes consistency of quality is an issue in Dubai.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila Roka Business Bay
ROKA DUBAI – Business Bay

Roka Dubai

Located in Business Bay Roka Dubai has a large outside terrace and is in the ME hotel. We’ve visited for lunch and dinner and would definitely recommend the excellent value Business Lunch. Good choice for vegetarians too, generous portions at this Dubai Fine Dining Restaurant.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila Sushi Samba Palm Jumeirah Nakheel Mall
SUSHI SAMBA – Palm Jumeirah

Sushi Samba

Opened in November 2021, the first Sushi Samba in the UAE, we loved our dinner here. Located at the top of the St Regis hotel in the Palm Jumeirah adjacent to the Nakheel Mall. Only open for dinner so far, it has a vibrant, chic ambience with incredible views of the Palm. Plse note we were invited for this meal but I would definitely go again with my own money.

LOWE – Koa Canvas Al Barari

Lowe Dubai

A bit of an out the way location, this excellent restaurant is definitley worth a visit. We’ve visited twice for lunch and once for breakfast. High quality food prepared by accomplished chefs from New Zealand. Great outside seating. Lowe Dubai is located just beyond Al Barari.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila Maineland Brasserie Business Bay
MAINELAND BRASSERIE – Business Bay

Maineland Brasserie

A smart high end brasserie with chandeliers inside located in Business Bay. It also has an outside terrace for cooler months. We loved our snails and lobster rolls here. They also have branches in the Marina at the Hilton Double Tree and in Studio One hotel near Arabian Ranches.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila The Bay Mandarin Oriental Hotel Jumeirah 1
THE BAY – Mandarin Oriental

The Bay Mandarin Oriental

I’ve had lunch, breakfast and dinner a few times at this restaurant but this particular lunch (lobster salad and the mezze selection) was by far my favorite meal and I wold definitely recommend it. I had this meal with a friend who is a regular guest at the hotel so honestly I’m not sure if this is how they normally serve this dish, but show them it and say this is how you’d like your lunch! The Bay is best experienced sitting outside. There is a beautiful, large al fresco dining area overlooking a very cool pool. The Mandarin Oriental is located in Jumeirah 1.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila Akira bak W Hotel Palm Jumeirah
AKIRA BACK – W Hotel Palm Jumeirah

Akira Back

We visited this restaurant for dinner to celebrate a friends’ 50th birthday. We really liked all our food and there is excellent choice for vegetarians too. There is also a large outdoor terrace with great views of the Palm, BUT I found this restaurant quite dark. Their cocktails were good. Akira Back is located at the W hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, so it’s a bit of a trek from anywhere except the Palm Jumeriah itself.

Dubai Fine Dining Top Picks DoinDubai Monica Kapila NETSU Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah 1
NETSU – Mandarin Oriental hotel Jumeirah 1

Netsu – Mandarin Oriental Hotel

SItuated on the ground floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Jumeirah 1, Netsu is billed as a steak house. But there is plenty to eat for those like me (who don’t eat beef) and vegetarians. The setting is lovely especially on their terrace in the cooler months. It’s on the ground floor of the hotel. Cocktails are also good. Service could be a little better, if you order carefully, it’s good value. We’ve been 2 or 3 times for dinner.

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RED PEPPER DIP Easy, healthy and versatile

Bored with your usual SNACKS? Then try this delicious red pepper dip using simple ingredients, EASY to make, HEALTHY and versatile too. Did I say tasty as well? It’s really versatile as the concentrated red pepper paste you end up making  is a super base for pasta sauce and great to serve on the side of any kind of fried fish or cold meats and try spreading it onto sandwiches or tortillas before you fill them! Great idea for meal prep too.

Easy Red Pepper Dip

Great in front of the tv snack with some crackers, crisps or tortilla chips, spicy tapioca chips (as shown above) and much better than anything processed straight from a jar! See how we’ve added labneh to make it into a perfect dressing for salad or as a lighter dip.

This recipe would be so easy to make in a THERMOMIX if you have one, but a simple processor will also work fine.

  • Cook peppers until charred not burnt
  • Add ingredients to blender
  • Add Capers and blend until paste like
  • Mixed to a paste season to taste
  • Store in Fridge up to 3 days
  • Add one tablespoon of Lagneh
  • Serve with a green leaf

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 medium red peppers
  • 1 tablespoon of good olive oil
  • Salt/Pepper/chilli oil
  • Dessertspoon of capers drained
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Little brown sugar
  • Anchovy paste or 2 fresh anchovies if you LIKE that fishy, salty taste
  • Some labneh to lighten if you like or use a little creme fraiche

HOW TO MAKE

  • Halve and deseed  3 fresh red peppers (so 6 pieces), place open side up on a baking sheet
  • Make a simple marinade with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 crushed garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of brown sugar and salt and pepper
  • Drizzle generously over the peppers and then roast the marinaded peppers slowly at 180c until they have really shrunk and charring but not burnt
  • When cool put peppers in a blender goblet or thermomix jar along with
  • 1 dessertspoon of capers
  • 3 anchovies (tinned are fine and I use the rule of 1 anchovy per pepper / anchovy paste)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper
  • Half a deseeded red chili or a teaspoon of chilli oil
  • Whiz up the mixture until it resembles a thick puree
  • Put into an airtight container; it can be kept for up to three days
  • To serve add a tablespoon of fresh labneh to lighten the mixture up; this also makes it go further

In praise of Labneh

I only started using Labneh in Dubai (not sure you can get it in London?) I use it as I would Creme Fraiche or light fromage frais. It’s great for savoury recipes not so good for sweet things although you could add sugar. BUT it’s so much more reasonably priced compared to the ready-made equivalents ! Dhs 39 a kilo so I buy a medium tub for about Dhs 10 and keep in the fridge. Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard and season instead of your usual jar of mayonnaise and and see if you like the results. It’s certainly lighter and less processed.

Have concentrated as it is or lighten with labneh/crème fraiche

Make your own chlli oil using some grapeseed oil and fresh chopped red chillis. Store in the fridge and use sparingly for a zingy kick

Try this dip on a bagel cut like this!

Make life a little easier by checking this page for recipes with ingredients that can be delivered to you TODAY if you live in Dubai.

Shop The Recipes

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ANDES DUBAI new South American food at One Central

Andes Dubai

Andes Dubai is a new (opened August 2018) restaurant serving South American cuisine. The chefs are from Mexico but there’s not a breakfast burrito in site!  Based in a very new urban Dubai location, is it worth a try?

Interior of Andes Dubai restaurant DoinDubai

Where is Andes Dubai

Andes Dubai is located on the ground floor of One Central in the World Trade Centre area of Dubai. It’s a brand new building that’s part of a new complex so where you thought there was no road.. go boldly on! Here’s a Google Map telling you exactly where it’s located.

The food at Andes Dubai

We tried a late breakfast here and enjoyed our experience. Expect normal “breakfast” type ingredients like poached eggs, avocado and sourdough toast but don’t expect them to be put together in a standard breakfast fashion.

They make a fresh tomato based sauce that’s poured over your poached eggs for instance. That’s in their Andes Pain de Mie option.

My healthy half boiled eggs with spinach and avocado were torched on top. The sourdough toast is freshly baked on the premises, they have a full time baker, and it’s griddled so has a good, smoky flavor. I would have preferred my eggs a bit softer in the middle and warmer too.

Eggs Brulee on the menu at Andes Dubai DoinDubai

Some may not appreciate the amount of melted compté cheese over soft scrambled eggs so perhaps ask for this on the side?

alot of compte cheese sauce on top of scrambled eggs

There are a variety of fresh juices and both the green apple and beetroot juices tasted good. Remember to ask for less or no ice if you don’t like your juice diluted.

Beetroot juice Andes Dubai but no beetroot in it

But maybe more importantly note that the beetroot juice doesn’t contain beetroot!

To be fair the menu doesn’t mention beetroot in the ingredients but still… The idea is the combination of ingredients are supposed to evoke a beetroot taste? You decide and let me know.

Prices at Andes Dubai

Prices overall are reasonable. Fresh juices made to order cost AED 23 to 25 and cappuccinos are AED 17. Main breakfast dishes are roughly AED 50. Breakfast is served till around 11.30 am.

They also have a business lunch deal and a set tasting menu for dinner. But dinner is only available on a Friday evening at the moment.

Points to note

  • There is no alcohol licence as yet and dinner is served only once a week on a Friday and bookings are essential. It’s done as a set number of courses but any dietary requirements are accommodated if you let them know beforehand.
  • One Central is not the easiest building to find at the moment but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeking out. There is free valet parking at the moment. As the complex is new, it’s still a little quiet, but it won’t be for long.
  • Restaurant Website 

 

Thank you Monica.

It’s so helpful for the blog if you share this post using the buttons below and of course do tell the restaurant you came on my recommendation if you go. Thanks again.

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