Gerbou. Or should I say welcome.
As an Emirati, I cannot count the number of times I've heard the Arabic word that epitomises warm hospitality and gracious reception. Even at home, when lunch or dinner was served, my father or my uncle would beckon us to the table with a “gerbou”.
It's a fitting name, then, for a restaurant that seeks to shine a light on Emirati and Arab cuisines – one that will open at the historic Nad Al Sheba Centre Building in Dubai in April. Until then, chefs Ionel Catau and Sahar Al Awadhi, as well as the team at Atelier Hospitality (of 11 Woodfire fame) are hosting supper clubs every weekend to give discerning diners a taste of what's to come.
Here, The National takes a seat for a sample.
The story behind Gerbou
Gerbou aims to infuse international and regional dishes with an Emirati touch. The kitchen is led by chef Catau, who says he fell in love with Emirati cuisine during a previous visit to the UAE and returned to apply his own touch to it. Pastry chef Al Awadhi, meanwhile, adds a twist to traditional desserts.
The supper club unfolds every Saturday and Sunday in a private villa in Meydan, with an intimate party of 10 making their way through an eight-course dinner.
Gerbou is a collaboration between Atelier and Tashkeel, with the latter bringing its Emirati-designed furniture and art to the villa, and eventually the restaurant – lending an atmosphere that reminds me of the homes I've lived in and those of my Emirati family and friends.
“This supper club serves as an intimate preview of our vision, where we celebrate the rich mosaic of Arabic culture and the diverse flavours and textures of the UAE,” says Catau, who reveals his top four dishes.
Cabbage mille-feuille
“The dish was inspired both by the bounty of produce now grown here in the UAE, as well as my desire to elevate this humblest of all ingredients,” says Catau
“The cabbage first gets treated in a dill brine, then we slow-poach it with aromats to enhance its flavour Then the cabbage is caramelised in a pan and layered like a mille-feuille, with feta cheese added in between the layers.”
Taste test: I am taken aback by how un-cabbage-like this dish looks, but that is no bad thing – and the taste does not disappoint, either. The cabbage and feta come together well, swimming in a pool of surprisingly moreish cabbage juice. Made from the vegetable's trimmings that would have otherwise gone to waste, the juice enhances the freshness of the dish.
Lamb badanjan
“This is our own interpretation of imam bayildi [the Ottoman staple with aubergine stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes]. Here we use local aubergine, salted then cooked in a slow confit in extra virgin olive oil,” says Catau
“The local lamb is made into a ragu with dates and bzar spice, and the tomato harvested from a garden right outside the window to enliven the dish.”
Taste test: I might be a little biased when I say this dish is both delicious and refreshing, given aubergine is my favourite vegetable. And the combination of meat and yoghurt makes it even more tasty.
Chicken machboos
“We source our chicken locally, which is roasted and tempered in manually ground spices, also sourced from the Dubai spice souq,” says Catau. “These are left to infuse and create a base for the rice to cook in and soak up all those beautiful flavours.
“We also developed a recipe for our own achar after many trials, in which local tomatoes sourced from Pure Harvest Smart Farms are juiced, and we believe it complements the dish perfectly.”
Taste test: Move over aubergine, this is my favourite dish. It is, in a word, fresh – from the tender chicken to the local spices and home-made achar. It might not look, or even necessarily taste like the traditional machboos I grew up eating, but it is a welcome innovation to a beloved dish.
Sago with asario seeds
“The Gerbou sago custard is a reinterpretation of an Emirati drink called habbat hamra, where we serve a baked tapioca pearl custard and creamy biscuit finished with a warm creme anglaise laced with asario or garden cress seeds, which gives it its unique flavour,” explains pastry chef Al Awadhi.
Taste test: I've tried sago before as well as asario seeds, but never together. Here, the chef instructs us to make a hole in the middle and pour the asario seeds in, making for a creamy, rich and delightful dessert – a must-have at the end of any meal at Gerbou the restaurant or the supper club.
Gerbou supper club runs on Saturdays and Sundays; Meydan, Dubai. Bookings can be made via 050 287 8882
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
