High end of Dubai

In times past it was considered de rigeur for Indians of a certain class to visit the great centres of gastronomy, whether it be Paris, Lyons, Rome and recently London. However, these centres have been supplanted by the buzzing regional hubs that surround us — Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Dubai. Dubai must be the high point of ersatz — ersatz meaning make believe. 

In the seventies, it was a minor trading post. Apart from a few interesting Iranian restaurants in the souk, the Shawarma and Falafal, and some very earthy Indo-Pak restaurants there was not much to boast about. However, the last 25 years have seen the city transformed itself into a major regional hub and its infrastructure is in place. It is also a convenient destination to travel. With a flight time of around 2.5 hours from India, one is transported to a different world.

With the recession in the West, there had been a significant movement of celebrity chefs and brands to Dubai making it a significant place for high quality dining, augmenting the leisure facilities, which incidentally include a ski slope. The controversial English celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsey, has opened Verre and Gary Rhodes (the chef with the peculiar haircut) has opened his own restaurant Rhodes Mezzanine. One of my favourite Italian chefs, Georgio Locatelli, has opened Rhonda Locatelli in the completely over-the-top hotel, the Atlantis, where you are greeted in the lobby by a variety of fish, including some whale sharks. You need not go to London or New York to eat at Nobu or Zuma, they are in Dubai and thriving. 

It is also pertinent that apart from these luxury brands, Dubai offers the middle range brands as well. You find Carluccios from London along with Alan Yeo’s Wagamma, the very successful English noodle restaurant. A number of these middle range restaurants are located in the many malls which Dubai boasts. You also have the famous New York deli Dean and Deluca if you fancy your pastrami on rye.

On a recent trip, I noted that despite the recession which was apparent by the unfinished building littering the landscape, the glitzy end of the market was prospering. It is as impossible to get a table in the Dubai Zuma as it is London’s Zuma, the jeunesse doree making a beeline for this most favoured nouveau Japanese restaurant, founded in London by an Indian. I tried to get a table at the Fairmont Friday brunch and it was full - the Fairmont is one of the most shamelessly opulent American brand hotel. 

I had to settle for the Thai Kitchen at the Park Hyatt, an excellent Thai restaurant which attempts something I have not seen before, a Thai mezze, in line with the Middle East style of eating and it worked rather well. 

There is an extraordinary mall, the Burj Al Bahar, replicating the Istanbul spice market, very touristy, very ersatz but charming. It overlooks an artificial lake where the highlights are the water fountains synchronised to music, both western and Arabic. There are some extraordinarily attractive restaurants on the water’s edge.

You have Thai restaurant, Mango Tree  [a brand from London], which takes in the view and the music with some delightfully innovative food. On the other side, there is a design classic, the Armani hotel, at which I had an extraordinary lunch. Though it was a buffet, it was of a very high quality: I adore scallops and I have never eaten such mega scallops both large and succulent as I have at the restaurant, Meditterano. Highly recommended.