Food explorers, adventurers and bloggers spend months, sometimes years in search of that over-used (and for the most times, abused) term – hidden gem, a restaurant or eatery which is outstanding yet still unknown, undiscovered. I have had more than my fair share of luck these past few weeks, discovering more culinary treasures in this … Continue reading Xun Wei Chinese Restaurant – Naif
Pulled is a trendy little, homegrown burger joint on Jumeirah Road. It specialises in burgers, sliders and wings yet, for some unfathomable reason, insists on calling its burgers sandwiches. I guess, when you’re owned by Shamsa Al Habtoor you can call a burger anything you very well please. The marketing blurb says that, in addition … Continue reading Pulled – Umm Suqeim
Kabab Al Fareej is a recently opened authentic South Iranian ‘Khodemooni’ Kabab House in Jumeirah 1. Part of the famous Al Fareej restaurant group, it follows their tradition of being located within the grounds of a mosque. Like the original in Qusais, which dates back to 1987, this new branch only has an outdoor seating … Continue reading Kabab Al Fareej – Jumeirah 1
Al Bait Baghdadi is a newly opened Iraqi restaurant on Jumeirah Road. Located in the same building which once housed Emirgan Sütiş, its interior is very much a carry-over of the Turkish restaurant it replaces. And that’s a good thing because the owner of the Emirgan Sütiş franchise spared no expense when decking out the … Continue reading Al Bait Baghdadi – Umm Suqeim
At some stage Imperial Garden must have been a real hidden gem of an authentic Chinese restaurant. Complete with a stereotypical red and gold Chinese emblem at the entrance, round lazy Susan tables and a fish and lobster aquarium on the inside, it certainly looks and feels the part. Of course, there are private dining … Continue reading Imperial Garden – Al Hudaiba and Around
Al Beiruti calls itself a Lebanese Restau-Café. What it is in actual fact is a Parisian styled boutique bistro, restaurant, café and shisha lounge – no surprises which section is the more popular; thankfully the smoking area is partitioned. A lovely, shaded veranda runs the length of the restaurant and is the place to book … Continue reading Al Beiruti – Al Safa
Khoory is back! And they’ve got Feri Classic’s chef in their kitchen – which means Dubai’s best Kabab Koobideh is back too. Located around the back of the Al Mamzar Beach Park Restaurant Strip on Al Khaleej Road, next door to not one but two Iranian kabab specialist, Kabab Khodemooni and Kabab Achome, the new … Continue reading Khoory Special Kabab – Al Mamzar
Sadaf is one of Dubai’s oldest Iranian restaurants. It is also one of Dubai’s least authentic. And that’s because the food it serves has been tweaked to appeal to a more local pallet. This flagship branch on the mezzanine floor of the Rigga Al Butteen Plaza in Deira is where the original (and beloved) @absharrestaurant … Continue reading Sadaf – Al Rigga
Kun Lun is a newly opened authentic Chinese restaurant in the China Cluster of International City, Dubai’s unofficial China Town. It joins the likes of Home World and Sun Tour Seafood in offering an altogether more upmarket proposition to the value for money eateries which make up the bulk of the Chinese restaurants in that … Continue reading Kun Lun – China Cluster, International City
Seekh Kabab is a very localised Southern Iranian restaurant in Al Khawaneej 2. Located beside the Al Imam Al Shafie Mosque on Al Amardi Street, its interior is a corridor of red curtained dining cubicles each good for up to six diners – very Khodmooni and local at the same time. Who else could have … Continue reading Seekh Kabab Restaurant – Al Khawaneej 2
