Tanuki
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.
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.
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.
