Morning, noon & night

1 Housed in Dar Al Wasl mall is A Normal Day (AND), a bistro that takes a second look at breakfast and lunch classics and delivers a slightly reimagined take. The interiors are minimalistic and industrial, with the dishes stealthily following suit despite their inventiveness. For breakfast, we deliberately eschewed the ‘traditional’ types of poached eggs dishes and ordered the aubergine Florentine. This was a decision we did not regret. The aubergine is nestled under the medium-poached eggs and lends a smoky, slightly sweet flavour to the dish and is truly a delight. The AND shakshuka is one that you will want to mop up with bread, and a shout-out to the pesto toast which we had on the side. It’s overwhelmingly fresh, herby and zingy, and well worth breaking any low-carb diet for. The pièce de résistance is probably A Normal Day’s tiramisu. How different could it possibly be? Well, with the clever use of pistachio and matcha, paired with coffee and cocoa, this dessert is a must-order, whether you’re there for breakfast or lunch.

2 Dar Al Wasl is also home to doughbai where we had a refreshing meal for lunch. With a pastel-hued calming colour scheme, the restaurant also opens onto the sidewalk with seating overlooking the buzzing Al Wasl Road. Helmed by chef Wadad Zarzour and her son Ghadi Moussawi, the dishes on this menu are as fresh as you can get – the restaurant uses organic milk and dates from Sharjah, with local fish and prawns, jams from Lebanon, olive oil from Palestine, za’atar from Lebanon and Jordan, among other locally sourced ingredients. This commitment to local and fresh can be seen in whatever we try for lunch – from the freekeh salmon salad to the steak sando (absolutely melt-in-your-mouth), and the dips on offer. We fell in love with the chorizo and hot honey sourdough pizza – the sourdough is a particular point of pride for doughbai (‘dough’ in ‘Dubai’). It’s a popular flavour pairing in itself and with the sourdough made in-house, you’ll find it hard to stop eating the entire pie yourself. When it comes to drinks, we heartily recommend the mulberry lemonade, as well as the eponymously named tea.

3 Just a short way away is Wasl Vita, and it’s here that we find ourselves at MANAO for dinner. The unassuming entrance and stark interiors belie a plethora of flavours and taste profiles waiting inside. The restaurant is the brainchild of chef Abhiraj Khatwani (of Yellow Monkey fame) and his mentor Mohamad Orfali, who needs no introduction. On the evening in question, we opted for the 11-course tasting menu, which takes us on a journey across the ingredients found in Thailand. The meaning and any story behind every dish are explained, as the courses are served in exquisite plating – and often by chef Abhiraj himself, who wears no external symbols of being the leader of the well-oiled regiment. While every dish was truly memorable, our favourites were the sticky rice roti with coconut-smoked short ribs and kaffir lime relish and the duck mochi (rice dumplings with smoked duck and hot-and-sour broth) where one bite of the juicy, moreish dumpling with one crispy side was paired with a sip of the homely broth. Ambience matters, so a shout-out to the upbeat playlist that never interferes with the entire experience.