Check out these restaurants where spices play a key role
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En Fuego is a South American social dining experience located at Atlantis, The Palm, where food and live performances come together in a space where Instagrammable moments are at every corner. The ‘Avocado Altar’ section on the menu caught our eye before anything else; ‘Rock Your Guac Out’ was a creamy delight. If fresh ceviche is your thing, then a must-try is the scallop ceviche – with a creamy coconut milk sauce enveloping the scallops, the tanginess of green mango and lime will tickle your tastebuds. While all the mains were satiating, the tres leches was a pièce de résistance for the finale – we could order it again and again. And with its Vida Del Carnaval brunch having recently launched, there’s plenty to go back for.
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Located in Dubai Design District, Mohalla launched its new menu this year – with each dish as fl avourful as the next. The lamb chops grilled in the tandoor are tender and juicy, while the crispy calamari with hot peppers had us going back for more. Traditions are respected while new techniques come into play. For example, the chef created a pesto thecha for the butter shrimp, which is a twist on the original thecha (a spicy Maharashtrian condiment). A shout-out to the coastal Andhra-style Rayalaseema prawn curry, with the juiciest prawns we have ever tried. What we loved? After eating our way through at least 10 dishes, we didn’t feel bloated in any way. A win, in our eyes!
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Jun’s is a chef-led concept by Chinese- Canadian Kelvin Cheung, whose career has spanned the US and India. His menu draws on this varied background – presenting a creative confluence of cuisines. We recommend the Weekend Rituals brunch on the terrace – it’s how all lazy Sunday afternoons should be. There’s a good choice of signature and exclusive dishes, as well as a killer R&B playlist to match. Start with a dish that aims to recreate one of Kelvin’s favourite childhood snacks – bagels, salmon and cream cheese – without the salmon! Instead, the chef presents a delicious mix of charred rainbow heirloom carrots with smoked labneh, candied nuts and soy honey butter. For a sublime sweet-spice combo – the red hot chicken karaage and gluten-free, Hong-Kong style bubble waffles doused in maple syrup are a must. But then, so is the prawn balchao. End with the chocolate-chip pancakes – they’re also gluten-free and marvellous.
GOING VIRAL
Tik Tok saw the explosion of a round, flaky custard-filled croissant with its introduction by New York’s Lafayette. Since then, we’ve seen similar circular pastries make their way to the UAE.
1 Cupagahwa: This café launched the ‘New York Supreme’ in 2022, which looks every inch the Instagram- and Tik Tokfriendly dessert it can be. Tuck in at any of the UAE branches and definitely drizzle your choice of sauce over it.
2 Bageri Form: Grab a za’atar croissant bun from this Scandi bakery, located in Dubai Design District, and thank us later. With a smidge of honey drizzled over the top, this sweet and savoury flaky pastry is very moreish.
3 Kayu: Karim Bourgi’s concept, Kayu, is a pastry lover’s delight. In particular, its brioche feuilletée à la ganache is essentially thousands and thousands of layers of flakiness that’s earth-shatteringly good.
