The Michelin Guide revealed its debut selection of restaurants in Abu Dhabi in November, with three venues receiving a star. The Abu Dhabi guide came a few months after the UAE received its first red city guide for Dubai.
In this series, called Star-grazing, I visit the three spots that won stars in the capital, starting with Hakkasan in Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental.
The story behind Hakkasan Abu Dhabi
Located within Emirates Palace, Hakkasan Abu Dhabi has been a star attraction for residents and visitors long before the Michelin inspectors came along. Led by executive chef Lee Kok Hua, the elegant venue is a study in Cantonese cuisine and blends sophisticated cooking techniques with the freshest of ingredients.
Hua describes Hakkasan Abu Dhabi's Michelin star as an acknowledgement of the city’s thriving restaurant landscape.
“Ultimately, we are thrilled to have been awarded one Michelin star,” he tells The National. “Michelin coming to Abu Dhabi has made a positive impact on the culinary scene here, and it will be exciting to see the developments in the coming years.”
What's on the Michelin-starred menu?
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi is a cavernous yet cosy space, with plenty of nooks for those looking to enjoy an intimate meal or business meeting. A scene-stealing terrace overlooks the lush hotel grounds, which has become a social destination of its own.
My dining partner and I take a seat on a U-shaped bench facing the dimly lit dining hall separated by carved wooden lattice screens made of American red oak.
We choose various dishes illustrating the restaurant’s pedigree for applying refined modern cooking techniques to traditional staples, starting with the supreme dim sum (Dh145) — a platter of different varieties of the popular dumpling.
Instead of the standard chicken, beef and veggie fillings, more nuanced ingredients and flavours are on offer. The har gow, normally a pleated dumpling stuffed with prawn comes with the buttery and almost sweet notes of Chilean sea bass instead (although a prawn option is also available).
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi takes the shumai — another traditional Chinese dumpling normally filled with chopped or minced mutton, spring onion and ginger — in a vibrant new direction with diced chicken, abalone and pearls of caviar.
It is at once impactful, playful and elegant — all attributes Hua says are essential to the restaurant’s ethos.
“The way we use the ingredients are important and with the dim sum there are many combinations that you can offer,” he says. “The dish allows a chef different options and that always helps when crafting new menus.”
Up next is the crispy duck salad (Dh175), a best-selling dish and for good reason.
The duck is perfectly cooked and the citric sharpness of the pomelo is undercut by pine nuts and shallots.
“Preparing the duck takes more than 10 hours to make it softer before we deep-fry it to make it crispy,” Hua says. “We use pomelo because it is delicious, juicy and leaves an overall refreshing taste.”
Not everything in Hakkasan is a fresh take on an old classic, though.
The stir-fry black pepper rib eye beef (Dh198) is popular precisely because of its familiarity. The sauce is rich without overpowering the succulent beef strips. A flamboyant touch arrives — we are in Hakkasan, after all — courtesy of a layer of shredded crispy prawn crackers shaped like a basket holding the dish within.
“The dish has become so popular that it is considered as an Asian food favourite,” Hua says. “But to do it in true Cantonese fashion, it is all about flavour and balance. When it comes to the sauce, it can't be too peppery because it can easily spoil the dish.”
The wok-fried tiger prawn (Dh108) is another staple of Cantonese cuisine, says Hua, and can work as a solid solo main dish or a satisfying sharing-style starter.
For dessert, we opt for the Hakka platter (Dh158), a mixture of light and decadent options including hazelnut parfait, chocolate souffle and pistachio cake.
Those looking for something lighter can order a selection of homemade sorbets or a fruit platter.
Hakkasan Abu Dhabi's Michelin star confirms what the city’s foodies already know: this is a masterful take on classic Cantonese cuisine that is as sophisticated as it is approachable — and a worthy starting point on Abu Dhabi's Michelin-starred food trail.
Open from Sunday to Friday, 6pm-11.30pm; Saturday from noon-3.30pm and 6pm-11.30pm. For reservations, call 02 690 7739
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
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Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Premier League results
Saturday
Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2
Leicester City 3 Fulham 1
Newcastle United 3 Everton 2
Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Manchester City 3 Watford 1
Sunday
Liverpool 4 Burnley 2
Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
BRIEF SCORES
England 228-7, 50 overs
N Sciver 51; J Goswami 3-23
India 219, 48.4 overs
P Raut 86, H Kaur 51; A Shrubsole 6-46
England won by nine runs
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'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
