PHOODIE’S CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH DUBAI; PART ONE 0

Take your shoes off.

Sit down.

Close your eyes.

Relax.

Imagine a place where the sun is shining, the people are smiling and all of your culinary dreams can come true…..

WAKE UP.

It’s real!

The place is DUBAI, it ACTUALLY exists and you CAN and SHOULD go there!

Not only is Dubai the perfect place to travel to for a vacation, it’s even AWESOME as a ‘stop off’ on your way to Europe or anywhere else! Stop over trips here are perfect because due to the wide range of places to visit, activities to do and (my favourite!) THINGS TO EAT, you will feel so refreshed for your journey onwards!

Last week I was fortunate enough to travel to Dubai with 3 other food and travel writers / bloggers. We were invited to experience an array of the many culinary delights that this wonderful city has to offer. The great thing was that our visit coincided with the Dubai Food Festival, so we really did leave no stone unturned when it came to sampling all of the city’s delicious treats!

I know lots and lots of you follow me on Instagram and Facebook and so you’ve seen some snippets of my amazing trip, but allow me to share with you below, ALL of the juicy details plus a stack of new ‘not seen before’ snaps that will have you drooling left and right over your keyboard!

DAY ONE

After getting off my Emirates flight (which went very smoothly, with amazing on board service) we were greeted at the airport and taken to our first hotel, the recently opened Renaissance Downtown Hotel.

THE RENAISSANCE DOWNTOWN HOTEL

“The spectacular new Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai is theatrical, unexpected and sets the stage for discovering Dubai’s newest neighborhood,” said Brian Povinelli, Senior Vice President & Global Brand Leader, Renaissance Hotels. “With its bold, artful design, vibrant global dining scene and engaging experiences around every corner, the hotel embraces a spirit that inspires guests to discover something wonderfully new every time they travel.”

The Renaissance is located in the Business Bay district, and has approximately 300 guest rooms. The hotel’s design inspires a sense of spontaneous discovery at every turn: from the incredible art installation of Dubai’s cityscape that takes center-stage upon arrival, to the massive and very cute photography (of a camel up close!) in each guestroom, complemented by a Pablo Picasso’s famed camel sketch reimagined into a 3D iron rod sculpture – all are playful jests to reframe your stay.

Check in is quick and simple and we are offered (what is set to become) my FAVOURITE drink of the whole trip; lime and mint ‘Dubai Lemonade’.

See below some snaps of the hotel.

Below: The reception area and check in pods.

Below: The lobby fireplace.

Below: The BHAR dining room.

Below: Executive suite bedroom.

Below: Pool view.

Below: ‘Touch’ suite treatment area; part of the ‘Six Senses Spa.’

Below: BHAR Sunset terrace.

We unpack, shower (oh and boy is it a good shower) and get whisked away to our first food stop; the Etisalat Beach Canteen.

ETISALAT BEACH CANTEEN (PART OF THE DUBAI FOOD FESTIVAL)

Dubai Food Festival (DFF) celebrates the city’s extremely diverse food scene. Over the years, the two-week long festival has become a way for people to connect over food with its signature calendar of events and promotions.

Restaurants participate in the DFF by offering special set menus and deals. There are also cooking masterclasses, chef demonstrations and free giveaways all across the city as part of this incredible event.

The Etisalat Beach Canteen is also part of the DFF and is our first stop on our 4 day culinary adventure! In summary, the Beach Canteen is a dining and entertainment beach hot spot with loads and loads of food trucks. Everything from celebrity chefs, home-grown restaurant concepts and fantastic family-friendly activities are featured here. It’s located at Sunset Beach and is a free community festival, suitable for people of all ages. No pre-registration is required.

We are fortunate enough to try pretty much everything that appealed to us, (despite the fact that we were headed directly to dinner from here!) and let me just say it was ALL mouth-wateringly delicious! We ate some incredible baos, some delicious truffle mayo and truffle balsamic, lots of scrumptious polish food, burgers, fried chicken and waffles, tacos, doughnuts and much more! Can I point out that the highlight for me was the Churros Ice Cream Sandwich with Dulce de Leche! Oh, and the Knafeh, who could forget the Knafeh!

Here are some snaps;

above and below: ‘Knafeh’ – a delicious middle eastern dessert made from fried kataifi pastry, local hard cheese, which melts and stretches much like mozzarella, sugar syrup and a dusting of pistachios to serve.

Below: fried chicken bao with kimchi slaw.

Below: Traditional Polish open-faced sandwich (‘Zapiekanka’) with smoked chicken, mushrooms and béchamel.

Below: The VERY Famous ‘Hottest Tortilla Chip in the world’ was available to purchase for around $25!

Below: Churros ice cream sandwich with dulce de leche.

Below: Fried chicken pieces in a waffle cone with a delicious chilli mayo.

fOLLY BY NICK AND SCOTT

So, because that wasn’t enough food for one dinner (JOKE!!!!) we then jumped in our car and drove to our second dinner located in nearby Souk Madinat Jumeirah, ‘folly by Nick and Scott.’ As part of the Dubai Food Festival, the restaurant was offering a delicious and exclusive 4 course dinner menu and so that’s what we had!

Owners of ‘folly’, Nick Alvis and Scott Price worked for Gordon Ramsay for fifteen years in London, Paris and Dubai, before venturing out to launch their own restaurant in 2011. Their business partner, Viktorija Paplauskiene, was the one who greeted us upon arrival and she is both in charge of Front of House and is also the restaurant’s Sommelier. It was definitely not hard to see why these guys had won a string of awards and accolades over the past two years. All of our food was delicious (the second course an absolute highlight!) and the service was also attentive and efficient.

Our first course was interesting, but divided opinions, with the use of MARMITE! as a key ingredient! For the second and third courses, the Fried Bread with Sage and the Lamb Saddle respectively, were favourites. Dessert hit the spot with the soft and fluffy Chocolate, Hazelnut and Malt dish. Here are some snaps;

Below: Pink grapefruit with chilli and soda (non-alcoholic).

Below: Fried bread, sage, onion and spelt.

Below: Lamb saddle, whipped pine nuts and salsa.

Below: Chocolate, hazelnut, malt.

DAY TWO

After a delicious night’s sleep we are picked up and promised that GREAT COFFEE will meet us on the other end of our journey. Despite the great sleep, I for one, am still feeling a little tired so I am hoping what has been promised, delivers! Let’s see….

TOM & SERG

Walking in to Tom & Serg makes me feel very happy. There’s something inherently ‘Aussie’ about it; the interior, the vibe, the ambience, I dunno, there just is…. So it makes GOOD SENSE when we find out that the ‘Tom’ part of ‘Tom & Serg’ is actually an Australian himself! (The ‘Serg’ part is Spanish!)

Their website states that their aim is: “to make great, specialty coffee and nutritious, gourmet food accessible to all of us in a place that’s honest,  casual and, above all, easy to be in.”

And let’s just say they NAILED it when we visited! The coffee was some of the best I’ve ever had (their ‘Head of Coffee’ came to our table to explain all about the different options we could order and trust me, he knew his stuff!) and the food was incredibly tasty, there was a large variety of choices and flavours to suit everyone and the portions looked beautiful and were generous too. This place is a MUST for anyone passing through Dubai!

Below: Cold brew with sugar syrup and milk.

Below: Lobster and avocado salad with chilli mayo (A special for ‘Avocado Week’.)

Below: Masala poached eggs; green garlic oats, tandoori roasted cauliflower, chilli cashew, red onion and coriander raita.

Below: Green apple bircher; crushed raspberry, apple puree, toffee crabapple and lime leaf sugar.

Below: Warm banana bread with smoked butter and roasted hazelnuts.

Below: Green Shakshouka; charred green pepper veloute, kale, pickled Lebanese chilli.

Below: Cold brew with sugar syrup and milk added.

BULGARI HOTEL

Our next stop after breakfast is, of course, lunch! And today something very special has been planned for us. We are heading to the recently opened, extremely glamorous and totally luxurious, Bulgari Resort Dubai for lunch and a tour of the facilities and rooms.

The Bulgari Resort & Residences Dubai is situated in Jumeira Bay, an island carved into the shape of a seahorse and adjoined by a bridge to central Dubai coastline. With it’s unique and breath taking design it is a true ‘urban oasis’, for visitors and residents alike. The resort has a Mediterranean village feel and the complex features the Hotel, six residential buildings with 173 sea facing apartments, 15 private mansions, and Bulgari’s first-ever Marina and Yacht Club. It really is incredible.

Our lunch took place in the famed ‘Il Ristorante by (renowned Michelin starred Italian chef,) Niko Romito’. It was superb in every way, a real treat! Just in the same way that architecturally, no detail is missed or left unconsidered in this resort, each course of our lunch paid such attention to the fine detail and this is what made our experience world-class. The design of the hotel is extraordinary and much of it is inspired by classic patterns and textures of original Bulgari jewellery pieces.

Have a look below at some photos of the facilities and also of the amazing food we ate for lunch!

Below: The lobby.

Below: The private beach.

Below: Il Ristorante by Niko Romito.

Below: Incredible bread selection with individual olive oil dipping dishes.

Below: Basil pesto pasta with shaved hazelnuts or in other words, the best pasta I have ever eaten.

Below: Monkfish with a delicate Cacciatore sauce.

Below: The best Tiramisu I have ever eaten, the coffee layer was OUTSTANDING!

Below: Lemon Tea after the meal.

Below: The deck outside the restaurant overlooking the marina.

Below: One of the spa areas.

Below: The beautifully pool tiled with intricate metallic mosaics.

Below: Il Cioccolato, the chocolate boutique, offers artisanal haute couture chocolates, known as the ‘chocolate gem’ creations of the Roman jeweller. There are 11 different flavours to choose from, including the Gorgonzola and Orange Peel’ one pictured two photos below.

BLEU BLANC @ THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL

We roll back to the hotel for some down time as we know we must gather all of our strength to conquer tonight’s ‘double dinner extravaganza’ which comprises firstly of drinks and dinner at The Renaissance Hotel’s ‘Bleu Blanc’, and secondly, of a trip to one (of the 4) ‘Last Exit Food Truck Parks’, but I’ll get to that later…

After a lie down we are ready to get going! Dinner tonight will be in one of the restaurants attached to our hotel, we are told. This makes getting there very easy! Bleu Blanc by David Myers, is described as serving “Refined French Farmhouse Flair in the heart of Dubai.” And to be honest, that’s pretty spot on.

The focal point of the restaurant and its menu is the wood-fired grill, which represents the fire that often is reminiscent of the heart of a French farmhouse – a source of warmth that brings loved ones together. The restaurant has a relaxed feel despite the stunning interior and the gorgeously dressed patrons that are dining there.

We eat a variety of different foods, which are all superbly delicious, and we enjoy great conversation while reflecting on events of the past 24 hours. Can I just throw in here that the Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese was potentially the highlight of the trip for me, food wise… actually, there were so many highlights but it was DEFINITELY one of them!

Check out the snaps below to see what we ate!

Below: Inside Bleu Blanc

Below: Sturia caviar flatbread with creme fraiche and herbs.

Below: Maine lobster rolls with charcoal bread and saffron aioli.

Below: Tomato salad with marinated chèvre.

Below: Charred king prawns with chilli and herb oil.

Below: Truffle mac ‘n’ cheese; black truffles, comté and cheddar.

Below: Dark chocolate and cherry cream triffle.

After dinner was done, we had 2 minutes to go back to our rooms, grab a scarf or wrap and get back down again to the lobby to be taken off on another extremely unique adventure. We were headed for ‘The Last Exit food truck park’ at Al Khawaneej!

THE LAST EXIT FOOD TRUCKS

Last Exit is a first of its kind themed food truck concept offering a selection of fresh (generally made to order) and yummy gourmet street food in a fun and super relaxed atmosphere. There are four different ‘Last Exit Food Truck’ locations, each one can be found at a different exit out of Dubai along the highway. Each location has its own unique theme and there is also entertainment for all ages to explore and discover.

The closest one to our hotel was the park at Al Khawaneej (Last Exit D89) and considering it was already 10.30pm we thought it was a wise idea to drive to this one! The park seems to pop up in all it’s fairy light glory, out of NOWHERE, all of a sudden on the highway! I have never seen anything like it! There are loads of people both walking from truck to truck and also driving on the carefully arranged “roads” in between the trucks but it doesn’t feel at all crowded or unsafe. On the contrary it feels very well organised and has a buzzing atmosphere!

What could we possibly do (or eat!!) next? You’ll have to wait and see!

DUBAI POST CONTINUES WITH PART 2 – STAY TUNED!

Feel free to email me or message me on Social Media with ANY questions you have about Dubai in general and / or the trip that I did. PHOODIE travelled to Dubai with great thanks to DTCM and Visit Dubai.