SIMPLY BETTER SOUTH INDIAN FOOD...on the terrace of Marina Mallย
So South Indian food isn't just about Idlis, Dosas, Sambhar and vadas! It's a whole regional cuisine that spans the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka!
For one month 3 chefs have created a special Simply South menu that I recommend you go and sample at the newly refurbished Zafran restaurant at Marina Mall. We've spoken about Zafran before, and it's very good quality North Indian food we've had there. We had dinner there on Sunday night and can highly recommend all the dishes we had from their Simply South menu....
The alleppey king prawns in a mango and coconut gravy were a favourite all round, but the chicken biriyani and both the lamb dishes were also really good.
I also liked the Gonguru Royallu prawns we had to start with. Not a menu for vegetarians, and the only higher priced item was the king prawn dish, but they were giant prawns, so 6 of us shared that dish.ย (AED 159) The other dishes around the AED 60 mark, so try the Simply South Menu till around 20th of April and taste some authentic regional cuisine from Down South..ย
FAR OUT FUSION AT FUNKIE TOWN....now in Business Bayย
A new branch of an existing restaurant just opened in Bay Avenue in Business Bay. Named after the craziness of Mumbai.. Roshni, the owner, manager called her restaurant Funkie Town and it specializes in Parsi food. The Parsis are a community that came to India from Iran and brought their food with them.
Try the akuri paneer version of scrambled eggs for breakfast (AED 32) along with some kheema made with minced lamb and spinach (AED 34) Wash down with a couple of glasses of masala tea or coffee - AED 10 (ask for no sugar) and you've got yourself a very Funky breakfast that will keep you full for ages!
Ask for the really tasty Lagan nu Achar... which is a pickle or chutney made with carrots, dates, raisins and spices to go with your breakfast dishes.. I thought it was a specially made version of the Gujerati chundoo, or spicy mango chutney, made with dates etc as a fusion dish for the region, but no. This is the original!
By the way.. if you want to cool down in the heat then eat a falooda - big debate about whether the seeds that are part of this dish are chia seeds and the Indians knew about them all along? Turns out they are actually not chia seeds but Takmaria seeds or sajda.. seeds...! Go and do some research...you superfoodie Ticketers!
And do tell all the restaurants you go to you're there because you heard about them on Food News with Monica on The Ticket!
SOCIETY CAFE AND LOUNGE just opposite La Mer
A cool, large, very white space that has some of the prettiest desserts and some fine dining tasting prawn linguini that I'd love to try again!
We're eating at a new place called Society that's on Jumeirah Beach road just opposite the entrance to La Mer, next to the Lime Tree Cafe.. So I guess it's a real cafe society kind of place.
But the quality of the food here is excellent and far from a cafe.. more like a proper restaurant with a great variety of choice for food options.
So you can eat halloumi fries with pomegranate molasses.. that' s quite a heavy dish but fun and young or opt for the prawns linguine. The pasta is made in house and the sauce is properly made, tomato properly reduced and seasoned with fresh, plump prawns, chilli and creme fraiche. These noodles are inpired by ramen noodles and have some nice substance to them..
We also recommend the eggs with strong, melty cheddar cheese in katchapuri bread.. salty and very breakfasty with a large coffee. Try the almond cake for dessert if you have room! I think that was gluten free, but I was going to eat it anyway!ย
King prawn Linguini, chili tomato sauce, garlic gremolata actually! It cost AED 69 and is good for 2 to share
The Katchapuri egg dish is AED 48ย
There are so many things I could eat off this menu...I really want to go back and wish I lived nearer.. one of those local little gems, not cheap as chips but the chips at AED 15 are cheap!ย
CUTE FOOD AT KISH MISH Modern Afghan food now at Dar Wasl Mallย
We didn't try the standard kebabs you'd normally associate with an Afghani restaurant, we opted for some leek pancakes, crispy little turned over pancakes and emerald rice.ย
That's rice cooked with spinach that went well with their hot aubergine and tomato dish.. called aubergine.. or we would call it bartha!
The setting is really delightful.. with a open shelved wall filled with hurricane lights that peek straight into the Emirati coffee Company on the other side. Dar Wasl Mall foodie branded this area the One Third space is well worth checking out.
I also liked the fact that the you could enter the restaurants from a door in the street beside the mall, as well as the front, so it felt very "normal"!ย
If you want to get a sweet tooth fix, then try the home made vanilla milky ice cream dessert laced with rose water and topped with pisctachio, enough for 2 people or even 3! Kish Mish means raisin in Hindi and in Pashtu too!ย
Leek pancakes called Bolani and cost AED 30
The noodles, bean and lentil soup called Aashย AED 40ย
Emerald Rice (large portion) AED 55 so good for 2
Ice Cream AED 35 would feed 2 at least!ย
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