Equity Mag Jan_18 Book Folder

GASTRONOMY
Family friendly
2
SATURDAY BBQ BRUNCH
AMALFI, PALAZZO VERSACE
A relaxed Saturday by the pool with grills to sate hunger
pangs is our idea of a perfect weekend, and exactly what the
doctor ordered. Well, maybe not, but if he/she thought like
us, in terms of wellbeing and happiness, it would be up there
on the list. Palazzo Versace’s chilled out Saturday brunch
takes place at the café by the pool. You can choose to plonk
yourself on a cabana and soak up the rays, or head straight for
an alfresco lunch – it’s completely up to you. We chose the
former, sipped a few cocktails and made use of the expansive
pool that rivals most hotels in the city. As the afternoon went
by, we headed to a table to feast on the selection of fresh
salads placed before us, including a Greek salad with feta and
refreshing watermelon with baby squid. Cravings for hot
substantial food followed, and we opted for succulent flamegrilled
lamb chops and tender chicken with a side of corn
from the buffet. I love a great pizza, and will never turn down
one. The wood-fired pizzas here are crisp with a thin crust,
and gooey cheese that perfectly blends in with the tomato
sauce. We also chose to tuck into fresh juicy lobster and
prawns, instead of the Wagyu beef burgers that looked
incredibly tempting. Naturally, we saved space for dessert –
sweet popcorn ice cream and hot churros with chocolate
and dulce de leche dips. The DJs tunes had us captivated by
this point, making us look forward to an afternoon laze
around session at the pool cabana, with electro and salsa
beats in the background.
3
MISS TESS
TAJ DUBAI, DUBAI MALL STREET
Located on the third floor of the Taj Hotel, we recently
visited the eponymous restaurant. There’s a psychedelic
pop of colour in the décor of this Asian street-food themed
restaurant. A few diners make their way to the al fresco
section with a commanding view of the Burj Khalifa outside.
We prefer to sit inside, not far away from a full-sized tuk tuk
(an autorickshaw) placed in the centre of the room and not
far from the DJ and a few video game machines further on.
The pan-Asian menu covers Thai, Korean, Chinese,
Japanese and Vietnamese food. We get started with the
Miss Tess selection platter. There are generous portions
of fish cake, prawn tempura, and chicken spring rolls. We
asked the team to replace fried tofu with calamari instead
and they were only too happy to oblige. There’s Sriracha
kept on your table, just in case you need to fire up any of
the entrées. Just as we begin to go through our Tom Kha
Khai soup with galangal evenly balancing the coconut and
the crowd-favourite chicken wonton soup, Miss Tess
herself comes up to chat with us regarding her new
concept. Midway through our conversation, two of her
team members break out into a well-rehearsed streetfight
style routine that reoccurs every half hour.
When it comes to mains, we’d highly recommend the
bibimbap from South Korea. It arrives at our table in a hot
stone bowl filled with rice, beef, kimchi and julienne strips
of assorted vegetables all of which is capped by a sunny
side up egg that invites you to create a mess as you
furiously work at mixing all the components together
before tucking in. If you’ve got space for dessert, the
matcha green tea mousse must be on your radar. Then go
and try your hand at Super Mario video games.
Nocturnal hotspot
Need to know: Saturdays from 12-5pm.
Dhs295 per person inclusive of food and pool access.
Contact +9714 556 8888
Need to know:
The restaurant is open for dinner.
Contact +971 4 275 9056
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EQUITY