There are two types of Japanese food fans in Abu Dhabi: those who have already been to chef Reif Othman’s Reif Kushiyaki in Dubai and those who have it on their go-to list. The good news is that Othman is in Abu Dhabi until July 10, bringing some of his famous offerings to Tori No Su at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers in collaboration with Emirati chef Faisal Alharmoodi, founder of Letsbrioche, as part of the Food Forward series.
The menu features a mix of seafood, chicken, beef and vegetarian options, with prices starting at Dh55. As part of this collaboration, Alharmoodi brings his brioche and desserts to the table, while the other specialities are from Othman’s Dubai restaurant. This is also a chance to see the chefs in action – with Othman grilling in the open kitchen and Alharmoodi interacting with guests.
Get the sando, avoid the shrimp
To start, we order the chicken katsu sando (Dh75) and the recommended crispy USA rock shrimps with spicy mayonnaise (Dh95). The sando comes in Alharmoodi’s crispy, flaky and buttery brioche bread and features a chunk of fried chicken with a creamy yuzu mayo, coleslaw and a sweet yuzu kosho sauce.
Full disclosure: this sandwich is quite a mouthful and there really is no elegant way to eat it. Fortunately, it's so good that after that first bite, you’re going to want to devour it, etiquette be damned. The brioche bread is the stuff of carb dreams and Alharmoodi tells us it will be available at a food concept store he is opening soon in Khalifa City.
Unfortunately, we did not feel the same way about our second appetiser; the shrimps did not do their spicy mayo garnish much justice.
For beverages, we opted for the Tori No Su delight (strawberry, passion fruit and mango juice), and the zinggren frost (green tea, fresh lemon juice, ginger and honey), both refreshing and light mocktails that did not overpower the food.
Wagyu and rice and all things nice
For mains, we opted for the grilled Wagyu A7 fillet with truffle mayonnaise and yuzu koshu soy (Dh325) and the highly recommended rice mushroom pot and seaweed butter (Dh175). The Wagyu was cooked perfectly medium rare and was drizzled with a herb butter so delicious it was good enough on its own, without the sauces. Having said that, the steak paired well with the punchy truffle mayo, not so much the yuzu kosho soy.
The mushroom rice pot was the highlight of the meal. You’d think in a menu that features a number of seafood and meaty options a vegetarian dish would not hold its own, but this mix of crunchy chestnut and portobello mushrooms, deep-fried tofu and seaweed butter was incredibly flavourful and comforting, thanks to its rich umami flavour.
The Letsbrioche honey cake and the Letsbrioche praline and chocolate cake, (Dh60 each), were our picks for dessert. Alharmoodi says he added the raspberry to his honey cake to cut through the sweetness, and while it does make for an interesting combination, my partner and I preferred the praline and chocolate cake. Featuring layers of biscuits, sponge cake and chocolate, it was light and had just the right amount of sweetness.
The limited-time menu is available until Saturday; table bookings for Tori No Su are available here.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teaching in coronavirus times
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Everton 2 (Tosun 9', Doucoure 93')
Rotherham United 1 (Olosunde 56')
Man of the Match Olosunde (Rotherham)
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
Jawan
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Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
