Classic Slavic cuisine aims to charm Dubai

UAE is home to almost 120 nationalities, so why should it be any different for just that many cuisines? Latest to hit shores is food from Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine and other Eastern European countries have all come together on one plate. Bringing its culture, tradition and palette to share, the newest fine dining restaurant, Vesna serves traditional Slavic food with finesse.

Exuding a larger-than-life interior design, the décor is eclectic with mammoth-sized royal blue sofas, and bold embellished curtains that separate the dining area from the lounge. Massive mirrors reflect the chandeliers giving the place a little royal, a little homely feel. There's never a dull moment if you stop to look around. Amidst all this grandeur I did manage to find a small table with a few flower pots and candle stands hidden away.

Siberian Beef Pelmeni

Located at the Conrad Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road, the menu is inspired by award winning international chef Angelova Irina, who brings unique elements to Eastern European Cuisine. Chef Maksim Tvorogov heads all culinary activities at Vesna, which means spring in Russian.

Right out of a Russian home

Among the food I tried was the Olivier Salad with Lobster (pictured above) which is a classic Russian salad with a European twist - a blend of baked and boiled vegetables, fresh lobster claw and sous-vide chicken, finished off with diced dill pickles and dressed in mayonnaise and balsamic.

I remember eating it at most family get-togethers where some aunt would invariably bring a bowl of Russian salad. It was refreshing to try the real Russian salad at a real Russian restaurant (...still, reminiscing).

Another dish that made me go back for another helping was the Vinegret Salad (pictured above). Vesna serves it with organic baked beetroot mixed with diced potato, carrot, bell pepper with sunflower oil. It might not sound appetizing, but it's quite commendable the way the ingredients blended. Five stars!

The Siberian Beef Pelmeni was a variant of warm dumplings filled with Australian Black Angus beef served with a cooled sour cream. I'm not sure how I feel about this dish.

The other dumpling served was Vareniki, with a filling of porcini mushroom and potato puree served garnished with fried onions. Delicious or vkusno (pronounced fkoos-na), as the Russians would say!

Thinking of it, this is probably what Vladimir Putin enjoys in the comfort of this sprawling mansion.

The dessert platter was standard with mini chocolate balls and pastries. What did catch my attention though were the bite-sized cakes; they were chewy and sweet and I would, if I could, keep gorging on at least a dozen more.

Verdict: The food tastes local; like it came straight from a native Russian kitchen.

Must try: Vinegret Salad

Cost for two: Dh300

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

American comfort food finds a niche in Dubai

On the side of a narrow street, behind the brightly-lit roads and flashy cars that surround Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa, sits a restaurant-café, Clinton Street Baking Company. In its quiet element, minimally decorated in shades of red, black and white, with the word EAT painted on the walls, the café serves up a big American menu that reflects the nation's southern comfort food - think waffles and fried chicken.

I know the thought of American food can be daunting with "heavy" and "fattening" being the words that go with it. But let me assure you, the food here tasted American, and still managed to be super light.

At first I was blown away by the Beef Short Rib (pictured above). It was tender, succulent, placed rustically on a base of buttermilk biscuit, and topped with a spicy sauce. It's the kind of food that would get a party going.

Chatting with the co-owner Dede Lahman, I learnt, "all the beef served comes from Australia and they smoke it right here in the restaurant. The salmon too is smoked here."

But, then came along the fried Chicken and Waffle Bite (pictured above). OMG! Think about being blown away twice within 30 minutes. This was the first time I was tried this combination at a restaurant. Sure, back in university I have stuffed my face with chocolate cake and friend chicken in one morsel, but to be served it, took me back to that terrace festivity in Bombay.

The sweetness of the syrup drizzled on the waffle, and the crisp, light spiced chicken works wonderfully. That much of deliciousness is ambrosial!

Kale and Quinoa Salad

I began to fall in love with the non-greasy, breakfast-food serving, all-'merican eatery. The kitchen kept the goodness rolling.

Read: Eggs Benedict for breakfast, please

From the Kale (who even eats it?) and Quinoa Salad that changed my mind; to the Beef Chorizo with Caramelised Onion, Cheese and Apple that kept me going back for more; I found my happy place.

On the dessert front, I would definitely recommend you try the Black and White cake bites (pictured above). They don't look as delish as they really are. As you must've been warned in life, I repeat, "Never judge a book by its cover". The burst of white chocolate takes over the cake, only to be superseded by the milk chocolate again. It's confusing, but the good kinda confusion.

It's a good spot to catch up with friends for coffee, or quick light meal. The staff is a smiling lot, and know their dishes well.

Verdict: Not all American food is fast food

Must-try: Chicken and Waffle Bite

Cost for two: Dh200

At @clintonstdubai trying out s beautiful spread of chorizo, crab cakes, short ribs et more. Waiting on the sweet stuff now #clintonstdubai #dubai #mydubai #review #goodfood

A photo posted by Kymberlee Müller (@kymbeerlee) on Oct 4, 2015 at 9:34am PDT

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

A taste from the table of Indian Royals

Dark wooden furniture, warmly lit interiors, with accents of brass and gold, Gazebo at Deira City Centre whisks you away from the maddening crowd and bright stores that surround it. It makes you feel as close to Indian royalty as you can.

The summer in the UAE can wear you out, and the moment I entered this haven of goodness, I could suddenly feel relaxed. To soothe my parched self I asked for the coconut water with mint leaves and honey. A new twist to the original drink, I thought it would have tasted best if served chilled. Anyway, getting my hands on real coconut water made me happy enough. And for once I didn't associate a coconut drink with the beach and my toes in the sand. It's as elite as coconut water can get.

Then came the Mango Lassi. This was a make it or break it order I'd placed; because Mango Lassi can either be really good, or can go horribly wrong. To my delight, it was spot on. One moment it tasted like a mouthful of mango, and the next it was a creamy sip of lassi. There wasn't an in between, and I wasn't complaining.

(L-R) Mango Lassi; coconut water with mint leaves and honey

So far, my experience at Gazebo was going well. The stillness of the restaurant was only disturbed by the occasional sound of utensils in the distance, by the aroma of spices in the food being served to other customers, and by the waiters' constant politeness. 

For appetizers, I was pretty confused by the vast menu. But the staff was really kind, they not only suggested dishes, but also gave me the time to decide. I knew I wanted the food of kings, and my mind kept echoing "Shahi" (translates to Royal in Hindi). This place just makes you want to taste royalty. So I ordered for Gosht Zafrani Seekh which was minced mutton in spices, flavoured with saffron, skewered and chargrilled. It was spiced perfectly for my palate. It blew my mind - spiced, flavoured, textured. It had every element to make every bite impeccable.                    

Next on was the Kalimirch Kebabs. The chicken was cooked beautifully - think tender, marinated in curd with a right sprinkle of kalimirch (black pepper corns).

(L-R) Gosht Zafrani Seekh, Kalimirch Kebabs

While I waited for the appetizers to arrive, I gorged on some crispy papad and dips of mint + curd chutney, along with some lightly spiced curd. The dips complemented the fiery red Gosht Zafrani Seekh and ever-succulent buttery Kalimirch Kebabs to a T. 

What makes the biryani so good?

I was starting to get quite full up with the rich platter of starters. So I moved onto main course, and asked for the most raved about dish at Gazebo - the Boti Hyderabadi Briyani. To give you an overview it is boneless chunks of mutton marinated in a special Hyderabadi masala, cooked in spices, rice, fried onions and boiled egg. When it arrived to my table, it looked real delicious and tasted just as heavenly. 

Biryani being served

Boti Hyderabadi Briyani

There was this one ingredient I can't quite understand, but it just enhanced all the flavours in that biryani pot. I could taste it, but couldn't pin it. It was a little like ginger, and then star anise, and a little cumin somewhere in between. I asked the waiters, and even the manager and his reply was, "It's the chef's secret." I wanted to pry on this secret ingredient, but am still to find out.

Firni

I ended the meal with a good helping of firni, which is a sweetened rice dessert. It's rich, it's heavy and the one they serve at Gazebo sure melts in your mouth.

I'd been there for two hours and still wasn't ready to leave. There was something that made me want to stay. I wasn't dreading the heat outside, or the work that followed, it had to be the experience that I never wanted to end. Well for the afternoon, at least. 

Verdict: Portions suffice two

Must try: Gosht Zafrani Seekh and Boti Hyderabadi Briyani

Cost for 2: Dh200

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

Lazy brunches of nachos, steaks, and pies

Photos by Kymberlee Fernandes ©

Whoever came up with the concept of brunches is a genius. If you're like me - late for breakfast, but always hungry before lunchtime - you'll get my drift. One thing I must make clear is that if you've got a brunch scheduled for the day, try not to make any plans for at least 4 hours after it.

I had other commitments lined up after my brunch, and trust me, I had never felt this sluggish in a long long time.

Let's go back to my Friday brunch at The Black Lion restaurant, at the H Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road. I was pretty kicked about eating a good meal (to me, a good meal consists of a refreshing beverage, a hearty main course and something sweet to finish that up).

What's cookin', good lookin'?

Platter of appetizers 

So, I started with a good helping of appetizers including - Cobb salad (Cajun chicken, avocado, tomato, boiled egg, and blue cheese); Hot and Sour Chicken Wings; Homemade Nachos; and Shrimp Cocktail.

From that platter, I fell for the homemade Nachos, and the Chicken Wings. Sprinkled with a spicy tinge and served with cheddar cheese, guacamole and tomato salsa, all I was missing was a good movie to watch while I munched on those nachos. We've all eaten nachos at least once, and if you haven't yet, I'd say start with the ones they serve at The Black Lion.

I'm on the hunt for the best eggs benedict in Dubai, and it was a no brainer that I asked for the Braised Beef Short Rib Benedict. Now I've eaten this preparation several times, but these guys sure know how to poach eggs. That kind of precision is mastery! The beef was cooked well, and took no effort to chew.

Braised Beef Short Rib Benedict 

Rump Steak and Frites

Then came the Rump Steak and Frites, medium-rare. Cooked in garlic butter, I've never thought of that combination before. I'm a fan of calamari in butter garlic sauce, and I can gorge on it through eternity. But the steak in its raw-cooked state, blushed a glorious pink and now I'm second guessing my fandom for calamari in butter garlic sauce.

Super-Sized Sundae

To complete my meal, I was served a Super-Sized Sundae, of chocolate cake, nuts and strawberry ice cream; and a deep-filled Apple Pie. Now that kind of a meal calls for a good snooze, hence I stress, do not make plans after a hearty brunch as such.

Verdict: Potions are large

Must try: Homemade nachos and Rump Steak and Frites

Price: AED 250, with unlimited soft drinks

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

Eid in the life of a daily wage labourer

Abdul Majid and Sabir Hussain hoping to procure one meal for the day.
Photos by Kymberlee Fernandes

On one of the most celebrated days in the United Arab Emirates, I walked the streets around the industrial area in Al Quoz. On Eid you’d expect a few good sentiments and if nothing else, a warm smile. But everywhere I looked, there were men, sitting out in the heat, doused in gloom and uninterested in this big festival.

But Eid is all about being happy, so why were these people unhappy? For starters, many of them were still trying to score their first meal for the day. It was already noon and they hadn’t found any work at all. Their day starts at 6am. And food isn’t their only problem. They don’t have a house to live in. One of the daily wage labourers, Abdul Majid from Pakistan said, “Eid? We don’t have a house; we sleep on tatters of cloth.”

To which his accomplice and neighbour from Pakistan, Sabir Hussain added, “We can’t afford to do anything at all. We sit here through the day hoping someone will come around to give us some work.”

Alone during Eid in Dubai. Sajid, a daily wage worker.Abdul Majid was quick to tell me that Eid always has to be celebrated with family, but he was all alone in the UAE and found no reason to do so. He continued saying, “I have not spoken with my family back in Pakistan today. They have frequent power cuts and cannot charge their phones. Inshallah, I will speak with them tonight.”

Sajid

“We have no money to call. I have five children and a wife, and it will be great if I manage to speak with them tonight”, said Sabir Hussain.

We had already been in a conversation long enough, but only once or twice did the topic of the day, Eid, come up. They had bigger issues than to decide how to spend their day leisurely. While the rest of Dubai’s residents and tourists were being enticed by retailers to go shopping and splurge, these men carried on like Eid was no big deal at all.

On the other hand, some workers could afford a meal and take the day off to spend it with their friends. Another labourer around, Sajid said, “Eid to me is a phone call to my family. There’s nothing more than that. I am working today.

It’s the same for every man here. No one can meet the expense of celebrating here.”

They work every day of the year. When I told Abdul Majid that I was working and hadn’t eaten too, at once he sprung “Madam, should I buy you something to eat?” I was left speechless.

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

First day as a Khaleej Times employee

I started working at Khaleej Times in September of 2014. Here's what my first day there was like...

Surprised? Unnerved? Excited? What should I have been on my first day as a web journalist for 

Khaleej Times? I am in the league of the big cats now, that’s all that ran through my mind. One step awry could mean deportation, or a promotion.

It feels good to be back in a newspaper office. Soul-satisfying. Different people, even more diverse thoughts and opinions; this is where I should’ve been all along. And finally I am.

Through the meet and greet in the department, everyone seems willingly helpful. An information overload on the first day, by that I mean new colleagues’ names, software names, usernames and anything else that could have a name. Followed by the dos and don’ts instructed to me, to the hows and whys asked by me, I’m sure this game of ping pong will continue.

What I like most is that people here talk, unlike writing elaborate emails for the smallest of reasons. Unless necessary.

So I’ve started with what I came here to do. It is taking me a little while to learn my way around, but sure looks like I’m getting there. Handling such a big platform, in the UAE as an expat can be a little intimidating. But then I look around and almost everyone’s an expat, which leads to sigh of relief. Something on the lines of “Don’t fear, we’re all expats here!”

Looking back at my first day, I spent half of it with a new employee like me. She is the first person I know from Jammu & Kashmir. The other half nudging my colleagues and editor with possibly stupid questions, but they took heed, which has made the second day look a little less confusing.

I’m convinced that it is one of the few jobs in the world that can make every day interesting.

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com

Who said it’s hard to get a driving licence in Dubai?

Like most of expats in Dubai, I came to the city with a mind to dwell among many nationalities and cultures while also earning a good living, but only for a couple of years. It has since been two years. I enjoy using public transport, which has proved to be very efficient in helping people like me get to get to work, to social meets and practically anywhere else I want to go. All it takes is a little effort. And thanks to apps like Wojhati and Google Maps, I’ve got around fairly well.

Without ever feeling the need to get a licence, one morning I woke up deciding to get one. It would not, indeed, be a bad idea to drive myself to wherever, whenever.
My tummy churned with anxiety as I thought: “There isn’t a chance that I am going to take some more classes, and dedicate more of my time and money in this driving licence ordeal.”

I’m a lazy lump, and that means I get work done in the fastest way possible, only to have enough time to laze around again. So my priority was to get it done in the quick.

Conveniently, I found a driving school that was about 700 metres away from my workplace. They also offered to pick and drop me through my practical lessons. Oh how the ‘lazy’ in me rejoiced. The icing? They dropped me to my theory classes too!

Most of my friends and acquaintances had taken up to four months to finally receive their driving licence, and that was one of the reasons I always stowed away the idea of having to even try. But now that I walked into the situation, I faced it as it came.

It took 20 days from my theory lesson to the theory test, and that’s when I thought, this is how slow I was told it was going to be. I passed in my first attempt (It would have killed my ego, had I failed). I went on with my practical lessons on the side — three days a week. Soon I was done with 20 classes and the internal mock test that followed. Listening to my friends I would have to wait about a month to get a road test slot.

On a more general course, the timeline from opening your file at a driving school to walking out with your UAE driving licence spans across three to four months, considering your performance in your mock test. If you fail that, the driving school will want you to take two more practical classes, followed by another mock test. And none of it is FOC.

To keep pace I went the following day of my last practical lesson, and voila! I got my road test slot within a week. Then came the big day, of which I had been warned one too many times. A handful of drivers I know had failed at least once, and why would I be any different?

Depending on the availability of a road test slot, I’ve noticed, women get it much quicker than men. Possibly because of the ratio of men and women in line to get a licence. A male co-learner got a slot a month later.

So I patiently waited for my turn; reversed the test car, drove out and about, returned, and waited for the judgment. After a while, the administrator at the school notified me that I have passed.

The test involved me driving the car on the streets around the school. The RTA inspector kept instructing me where I should turn, change lanes, and then finally stop.

Here is a tip: Stick to the rules. Always. The RTA examiner during my test wasn’t wearing her seatbelt, until I asked her to. It’s safer if you ask the co-examinees in the car, to wear their seatbelts too. Safety first, remember. In the following hour, I ran from one supervisor to another, got all the signatures, and walked out with a content heart and a UAE driving licence in my hand.

Most of this I owe to my driving instructor Nowsath Ali. His presence of mind, fun and innovative ways of teaching made the experience a breeze. Of all the inept instructor stories I’ve heard, he proved them all wrong.

Changing instructors a few times became a tale I heard ever so often. Three, four, five different people teaching you the same thing in five different ways makes the course much harder.

Stick to one or two instructors, follow the rules, stay alert and ask questions.

My instructor had me driving around the same block for about six classes. I asked for a change in route, suggesting the main road. He was pleased with my progress, and did in fact change track from a 40km internal road to a 60km one.

I still wonder what it is that everyone seems to be cribbing about when it comes to getting a driving licence in Dubai!

This post first appeared on khaleejtimes.com, well, because I'm their Web Journalist