Tinu Menachery: Food blogger dubai

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I was recently invited to the Go Vegan food tasting menu at Hilton Jumeirah. The menu has been curated by Kamilla and Chef Davide. Am I vegan? No! but do I love some good food? Yes, absolutely.

I walked into a beautiful dim lit restaurant buzzing with a quiet excitement. I was ushered to my table within minutes of entering the restaurant, and I loved how courteous and well informed the staff was.

I started off with some freshly baked bread and dips, and of course some red wine. I went with Nero D’Avola which was suggested by Asia (I hope I got his name right). It was light and perfect for the evening.

I was served tacos on a bed of rocket leaves. I bit into the crispy taco to find some yummy avocado, hints of lime and caramelized onion. It was delectable. Loved it.

My plate was cleared for the first course of Mushroom and truffle dumplings. The mushroom was filled with a bronoise of mushroom and vegetables and was served on miso broth. I was there was more broth, but I know not many like it. I enjoyed It and the evidence was a clean plate.

For the main course I had eggplant Moussaka. I loved the texture of vegan cheese and meat combined with eggplant lasagna and tomato and basil puree. It was a little difficult to cut into, but it was so worth every morsel. It tasted amazing (must try).

To finish off, I was served the Vegan temptation – which was chocolate fudge topped with raspberry wafer and berry sorbet. The fudge was gooey and paired well with the sorbet. I didn’t like the waffle wafer much, but the addition of fresh berries and chocolate sauce was the perfect finish to this vegan affair.

The staff were extremely attentive and were well versed with the menu which was a plus. They ensured every guest was comfortable and taken care off. I was served by Haider, and I had brief yet memorable conversation with Anusa and Asia.

The Vegan 3 course meal in on for 2 weeks and is priced at AED 170 each. In my opinion, you must try it.

BiCE Ristorante

Location: Lobby Level, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Dubai

Cost: AED 350 for two

Reserve your table at: 043182520

I was invited to BiCE Ristorante and all views and images are © Urbanmodish, unless stated otherwise.

Located on the 24th floor of the Dusit Thani hotel, 24th St Dubai, is what happens when street side flair meets 5 star sophistication. In true Dubai fashion, 24^TH St. makes its mark as the first and only Asian eatery offering these six distinctive cuisines in a street-style setting, amplified with a bustling atmosphere, contemporary eclectic décor and stunning views of Sheikh Zayed Road, DIFC and Burj Khalifa. Guests can make their journey through a myriad of bold flavors and spices, served from the six dynamic kitchens

The ambiance is vibrant and colorful, reminiscent of urban hawker stands in Asia. Cooks will prepare the food in open-plan stations. But instead of going to each stand, you can wait at the comfort of your table.

Open for lunch and dinner, we visited this Trade Centre Area gem for a cosy and casual weekend lunch. To start we sampled a variety of dishes and cuisines: from Kim’s Korean we tried Nakji Bok-kum (AED 49) and Japchae (AED 49); from Momo San we tried the Tempura Prawn signature roll (AED 59), Salmon Avo Maki roll (AED 52) and Kimchi; From Chatakana we ordered Tandoori Jhinga (AED 105). We wound up our food with Rasamalai and Japanese Cheesecake.

Nakji Bok-kum had stir fried baby octopus with carrots and mushroom. It’s a popular sweet and spicy Korean dish and was mild on my Indian Palate, but delish nevertheless. The combination of Octopus and Mushroom was delightful. It was also my first time trying Korean Cuisine, so I was really excited to try it out.

We then had the Japchae, which was essentially glass noodles tossed in with beef, mushroom and vegetables and served with boiled egg. This is a dish I went back in again for a second helping.

I have a weakness for sushi and I loved the sushi at 24^th – both the prawn tempura and salmon roll were amazing and soothing to the palate.

From the Indian menu, we ordered the Tandoor Jhinga, which is jumbo prawns marinated in Indian spices and grilled to perfection. It was served with lemon and a side of finely sliced onion, carrot and coriander leaves. The Prawns were coated generously in masala and grilled to perfection. I enjoyed the taste and flavors thoroughly.

We rounded up our afternoon with some Red Wine and desserts.

Rasmalai is juicy cottage cheese dumplings served in milk cream garnished with pistachio slivers. It was absolutely delicious. We also tried the Japanese cheese cake w=served with berries. It was perfect and not overly sweet, combined with the fresh berries and a gorgeous calming view of Sheikh Zayed road.

Drinks wise 24th St is fully licensed and offers a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

The ambience gives you the best of street food that you would so desire away from the hustle and bustle, in comfort and style. The seats are evenly spaced out, giving it’s diners the needed privacy to enjoy their meal.

The staff is very attentive and are well informed about the different cuisines. We skipped on trying Italian, Chinese and Arabic cuisine, but I’m confident that they would have amazing food to sample as well.

24^th street is an extravagant celebration of street-food from 6 countries that have – from the beginning of time – stood as a fine synonym for the best street side fare. That coupled with a beautiful view and exemplary service makes this a must visit place.

24th St.

Location: 24th Floor, Dusit Thani Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area, Dubai

Cost: AED 295 for two

Reserve your table at: 043154515

I was invited to 24th St.and all views and images are © Urbanmodish, unless stated otherwise.

Tanuki is the newest addition to Dubai Mall’s gastronomical delights. It’s situated on the lower level offering Japanese cuisine, close to the water fountain. It makes for an ideal place with a beautiful view while dining especially at night, where you can watch the fountain and the Burj Khalifa – its one view that never gets old.

With both outdoor and indoor seating, Tanuki offers an amazing dining experience. We chose to sit inside as it was more private and cozy inside. The interiors were done in earthy hues of browns and greens with a pop of colors using the furniture and wall décor, with an open kitchen.

A friendly fun robot welcomes you inside the restaurant – you can place your order with the interactive robot. I also loved the Japanese live wall art which was a constant throughout the dinner with anime and et al. The place was truly a mini modern Japan.

The Menu is simple, which makes the ordering process easier. Images of how the food looks like aids selection.

We started off with Avocado Mint and Kiwi Celery. Of the two I loved the Kiwi celery. Both were fresh, however I loved the taste of Kiwi Celery more, and would definitely say it’s a must try (P:S – I love KIWI).

We were then served a delicious bowl of chili garlic edamame, and it’s so addictive – I just couldn’t stop eating them. When the miso soup was served, it looked really tiny for a one person portion – but it was equally filling and sumptuous.

For the next course, we ordered for maki’s – Philadelphia maki, mango ebi, Tanuki Kogase and Philadelphia unagi.

The Philadelphia maki had salmon, cucumber, avocado, green onion, soft cheese and sesame seeds . This was a huge bite but delish at that.

It was my first at tasting Unagi and what better way than a Philadelphia Unagi. It was a beautiful explosion of smoked eel, cream cheese, cucumber with unagi and Caesar sauce. One word – Yum.

Mango ebi was another delish dish which had Shrimp tempura, cucumber, mango and tobiko. The flavors were very nice and it is definitely a must try.

The star of what we ordered was undoubtedly the Tanuki Kogase. It’s served warm, and literally melts in your mouth. The lightly seared salmon and eel mixed with cream cheese are definitely a delight to one’s palate. It’s definitely one of their signature dishes and it’s a loss, if you don’t try this at Tanuki. It was so sumptuous we ordered a second helping.

We tried the chicken and mushroom XLB’s. I liked the mushroom more than the chicken bao. However, the maki’s were definitely the star in our tasting session.

We completed our dinner with Kuro Eru and Manila Roll. Being a chocolate lover, my choice may be a little biased towards the Kuro Eru. It’s sweet kiwi maki with fruits like pineapple, strawberries, banana, almond and cream cheese. It was novel for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The service is quick, our cutlery was changed post every meal. The staff was extremely warm and friendly and were making sure all their patrons are comfortable.

I would definitely recommend Tanuki, if you love Japanese food. And if you don’t, Tanuki would be the right place to start with.

Tanuki

Location: Near The Waterfall, Lower Ground Level, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai

Cost: AED 200 for two

Reserve your table at: 045808228

I was invited to Tanuki and all views and images are © Urbanmodish, unless stated otherwise.

Pepper mill is Dubai Mall’s first Indian restaurant. Located on the second floor,

Pepper mill presents a delicious array of colonial-inspired Indian cuisine in a spacious and elegant setting.

The ambiance is classy and has a royal charm. From the wall decor to the seating arrangement everything is a treat to the eye. Green tiled walls and wooden shelves decked with vintage telephone, table fan, still camera, miniature pepper-mill adds to the colonial regal charm.

The cuisine is equally colonial-inspired and present an array of inventive recipes and alluring flavors influenced by the bygone colonial era. This era has given rise to one of the most interesting cuisines we know – the Anglo-Indian gastronomy – which is nothing but a robust amalgamation of eastern spices and herbs into western cooking techniques.

We started off with a bowl of fresh & crispy Makhana that paved way for an elaborate culinary fare that was to follow.

For our drinks we had Coconut curry leaf Mojito and Orange ginger Mojito. I was pretty intrigued with how curry leaf would taste as a drink, and I must add I was in for a treat and was blown away with how the mojito tasted. It was very tempting and I went I for a second. In comparison to the coconut curry leaf mojito, the Orange ginger didn’t stand out much.

We also tried the Peppermill Shikanji and Lychee anardana. Peppermill Shikhanji is the perfect drink to ensure that you are ready to have a massive feast. Lychee anardana is an amazing drink to feast your eyes, especially the way it’s served. I love theatrics, so this was something I enjoyed looking at but not sipping on.

For our entrees we started off with Edamame and potato Dosa served with delectable tomato chutney. The dish is pretty innovative and fun. I loved the amalgamation of Bengali and south Indian cuisine. I love Edamame beans and eating it with Dosa blew my mind. It was a wonderful combination and the chutney was palatable. You must definitely try this out

Chicken Sev puri is a must have at Pepper Mill. It’s a burst of flavors and tastes amazing. I love how traditional chaat was given a makeover with the inclusion of chicken and sour cream. The fluffy cloud melts in your mouth with the savory flavor of chicken and crunchy puri making it a definite must have. Loved it.

The Chicken Lollipop at Pepper Mill isn’t your average chicken lollipop. You bite into a crispy tempura batter, but not into chicken but juicy sauce (drooling away) and then succulent chicken. The entire combination set my taste buds tingling. This is a must try.

We moved on to try the Grilled tangra prawns. You will see a bit of Chinese influences with soy sauce. Although I love sea food, this dish didn’t really make me go in for a second bite. However, my friend devoured it almost instantly.

The Lamd seekh kebab was a sight to behold. It was soft and succulent with the right amount of spices and was good.

The Chicken and pomelo salad is a treasure hunt. I loved the presentation. It was a mountain of greens and the surprise is when you dig in to find chicken and roasted plum and pomello. The salad has all of the elemenst of perfect crunch, juicy chicken, and the surprise elements of pomello and roasted plum. It is just perfect, fresh and tasted amazing.

For our mains we had Prawn Rangoon curry in combination with paniyarams and butter chicken with roomali roti.

Prawn Rangoon curry was beauty served in a bowl. The curry soaked prawns in coconut cream, was just perfectly spicy. I loved the consistency and aroma of the gravy and the prawns maintained its distinctive crunchiness without being overly soggy. We tried them with paniyaarams. Paniyaaram is a south Indian rice cake. The brown rice cakes were garnished with coriander coconut chutney and peppered with tomaoto powder or podi (as is called in south india).

On Ruchi’s recommendation, I tried the paniyaarams with the Prawns Rangoon curry. The result was an explosion of tastes. The creamy gravy along with the soft paniyaarams was an amazing combination and I’m glad I tried them both.

My friend tried the Butter chicken with Roomali roti. I feel Butter chicken ismt something that can ever go wrong, and at Pepper mill I didn’t have an ounce of doubt it would either. It was just perfectly thick and creamy with succulent pieces of chicken.

We also tried their Kalakhatta Chuski, which is the best way to cool off from the heat. It’s a classic slush that’d made from Indian Blackberry (commonly known as Jamun). Black salt and lime juice is added to enhance the flavor.

Chef Ashish Tiwari stopped by to hear our feedback about the individual dishes.Special thanks to Ruchi and Anurag– who ensured that we had an amazing time, and assisted us with our selection of food. I loved their service.

Peppermill also boasts a fabulous outdoor terrace to enjoy the lip-smacking fare with gorgeous views of the dancing fountain and buzzing Souq Al Bahar waterfront (but let’s hold on to that for the winters).