The National's Taste Test series takes you inside the latest restaurants just before they open their doors, and ask chefs what dishes they would recommend and what makes them special, for you to then order (or, indeed, avoid).
Here we get a preview of the menu at Rare, a steakhouse in Dubai that opens this evening.
Inside Rare
In many ways, Rare is a much-awaited evolution of its sister restaurant CMP Bar & Grill, which was among the restaurants that closed down last year due to redevelopment plans at The Pointe. Rare opens on Friday at C2, the new licensed restaurant hub at City Walk.
“CMP was my first venture, and operated at The Pointe for four and a half years,” owner Sahil Anand tells The National. “So it was definitely an experience and I've brought a lot of that here.”
The steakhouse features a muted colour palette, with earthy hues of maroon and green, as well as wood elements. A prominent central bar, plus marble-top surfaces, plush velvet seating and a stylised ceiling add to a sense of glamour.
“I wanted to meld a laid-back Parisian brasserie with a New York cocktail bar,” says Anand.
The restaurant's name offers sufficient clues as to the food offering – it is a smokehouse with all manner of steak on the menu. Even though Anand's family are vegetarian, the Indian-born restaurateur is a self-confessed carnivore.
The menu, designed by chef Jesse Blake, has more than 60 items, ranging from succulent meats to eclectic sides. “When you go to a steakhouse, all you tend to get is tenderloin, rib-eye or strip loin, but here we're adding more. We'd like to do as much of the animal as we can, including tongue” says Anand.
The restaurant can seat 140 guests between its indoor and outdoor areas and, when it opens on Friday evening, Anand and Blake recommend trying the following dishes.
Wagyu tartare with potato hash
“The tartare is seasoned simply with pickled radishes, diced shallots and a touch of horseradish. At the centre, we serve it with a wasabi creme fraiche and top it with a slow-cooked egg yolk,” says Blake, who was one of the chefs who opened Michelin-lauded Lowe. “We serve with it a side of potato hash fingers dusted with smoked sea salt.”
Taste test: I expected a bit more heat in the tartare given how pungent wasabi can be, but it's subtle and provides a fresh boost to the raw meat. The yolk adds textural variety to it, making the dish thicker. I'm not a big fan of the added creaminess, but the flavours are a hit. Something I would add is a hint of citrus to balance it out. The hash fingers are divine, though, with an interesting smoky flavour due to the sea salt that I would happily buy bottles of.
Charred octopus skewers with pickle
“We slow-cook the octopus to the point they are tender, but not overly so. We don't want it to melt in the mouth per se, as people should still feel like they are eating octopus,” explains Blake. “The meat is also glazed in a fermented chilli and garlic dressing, served with a fresh salad of pickled fennel, golden gooseberries and a little bit of aioli.”
Taste test: Octopus meat can be tricky to cook, but Rare does it with aplomb. The spicing is beautiful and subtle, and tenderness Blake refers to renders the dish soft but with a chewiness – all of which allow the meat to shine. The salad really brings the dish together, with the sweet gooseberries acting as a palate cleanser to remove the vague taste of the sea octopus meat inevitably has.
Strip loin with wasabi cream
“This is South African Wagyu, which is a relatively new product here, while the wasabi adds a Japanese influence to the flavour profile,” says Blake. “We make our own yakitori tare, brushed on the steak before finishing it with a beef glaze to accentuate the flavours. It's got some wasabi tobiko for pops of that wasabi freshness, and for crunch and texture we add tempura batter crispies.”
Taste Test: Wasabi makes for an interesting ingredient to cut through the richness of the meat, which is cooked to a perfect medium rare. Blake allows the meat to shine through with an easy hand when it comes to the marinade. Charred broccolini and snow peas (ordered separately on the side) are a fitting complement to the steak.
Oyster blade with pebre salsa
“The oyster blade comes with a simple salsa made with local cucumbers and tomatoes, plus a touch of jalapeno, green onion, and red and yellow chillies. There's also lime juice and coriander to make it more refreshing, because oyster blade can be a little fatty at times,” explains Blake.
Taste Test: The fattiness makes this an interesting cut for a steak because it's all the more rich, flavourful and juicy even on a medium rare cook. The meat sits on top of the bed of salsa, which lacks the acidity I was expecting to cut through the richness of the oyster blade. Although the simple flavours were spot on, it was a tad sweeter than expected given the drizzle of honey.
Whipped burnt cheesecake with maple-grilled peaches
“This is our take on a peach pie cheesecake flavour combination. There is whipped burnt cheesecake for the caramel flavour, but also that cheesiness. The maple-grilled peaches are poached and finished on the grill,” explains Blake. “We also add yuzu pearls for pops of freshness and a salted almond crumb.”
Taste Test: There is a lot going on in this dessert both visually and taste-wise, which can be tricky to appreciate after a rather heavy steak meal. But once I dig in, I enjoy the flavour combination with its delicate sweet-and-savoury dance. The yuzu pearls are a great addition, providing a prominent citrus taste to balance the sugary cheesecake and caramelised peaches. My only grouse is that the fruit was not cut smaller to allow every element of the dessert to fit into one bite.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Why the Tourist Club?
Originally, The Club (which many people chose to call the “British Club”) was the only place where one could use the beach with changing rooms and a shower, and get refreshments.
In the early 1970s, the Government of Abu Dhabi wanted to give more people a place to get together on the beach, with some facilities for children. The place chosen was where the annual boat race was held, which Sheikh Zayed always attended and which brought crowds of locals and expatriates to the stretch of beach to the left of Le Méridien and the Marina.
It started with a round two-storey building, erected in about two weeks by Orient Contracting for Sheikh Zayed to use at one these races. Soon many facilities were planned and built, and members were invited to join.
Why it was called “Nadi Al Siyahi” is beyond me. But it is likely that one wanted to convey the idea that this was open to all comers. Because there was no danger of encountering alcohol on the premises, unlike at The Club, it was a place in particular for the many Arab expatriate civil servants to join. Initially the fees were very low and membership was offered free to many people, too.
Eventually there was a skating rink, bowling and many other amusements.
Frauke Heard-Bey is a historian and has lived in Abu Dhabi since 1968.
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
