I must admit that stepping into Osteria Funkcoolio, the latest brainchild of chef Akmal Anuar of 3Fils and 11 Woodfire fame, evokes some feeling of apprehension.
After dining out in other restaurants that describe themselves as “fusion”, in this case Italian and Japanese or itameshi cuisine, I know the danger is that they often get lost in the ambition. Flavours clash, textures fight and you are left wondering what you just ate.
Then I had chef Anuar's arancini nigiri, and I was sold.
Where to sit and what to expect
The restaurant is tucked amid the quaint low-rise buildings of Port De La Mer, an upscale Dubai waterfront development inspired by the Mediterranean. You enter through a revolving door, as a host greets you from his wooden podium.
A vintage Italian postcard is how I'd describe the interiors – the exposed ceiling is velvet green, frosted wall mirrors blend well with the floral wallpaper, while random portraits deck the walls, while tables are covered with white cloth. Decorative chandeliers hang overhead, but the lights are dimmed low.
The restaurant opened last month. During my dinner, the intimate space, which seats 34, is filled to the brim. Indistinct chatter from other diners creates a comfortable chorus, and the clack of the tableware melds with songs from the 1980s.
For small groups, the regular table set-up works perfectly fine, while bigger groups can opt for the booths for more convenience. The intimacy of the place makes it ideal for a romantic dinner. Families can come for a relaxed dine-out, but maybe not those with small children.
The menu
Singaporean chef Anuar's past experiences certainly means expectations are high. Foodies regard him as an experimental chef, and although itameshi is not new, he says the UAE has yet to realise the cuisine's full potential.
As the first dish arrives at the table, I'm immediately introduced to the interesting contrast of the fusion. It could not be more Italian-Japanese than combining arancini (Italian rice balls) and nigiri (bite-sized rice pressed with raw fish).
There's nothing groundbreaking in the flavours, but the play on texture is most exciting. The deep-fried arancini are paired simplistically with sea bream and toro on top, with the fish providing a punch.
Next is burrata with plum tomatoes drizzled with pomegranate sauce. The fresh plate cleanses my palate from the arancini nigiri, while the simplicity of the dish makes the ingredients pop. Anuar also seems to have perfected the sourcing of premium ingredients to ensure the high quality of his food.
Then come the mains plate by plate. The Italian cuisine experience is taken up a notch with pici pasta flavoured with crab, pine nuts and chilli from Calabria, a region in southern Italy. The hand-rolled thick pasta, used predominantly in Tuscany, is a perfect base for the umami punch of the crab and chilli. It tastes like an Italian nonna prepared it from her rustic kitchen.
As I was being transported to Italy, the pizza came, unexpectedly pulling me back to Asia given Anuar's choice of toppings: spicy duck and sriracha. The subtle heat of the sriracha tantalises the taste buds with every bite. The star of the dish, though, is the bread itself – baked and blistered to achieve the perfect char.
The next plate is grilled octopus served on a bed of fried and breaded courgette strings and an aioli dip. The meat melts in the mouth, while the salty courgette is nothing short of addictive.
Standout dish
I generally don't care much about dessert. But then our server, who's been terrific throughout the meal, brings round a generous mound of home-made pistachio ice cream, freshly churned. The pistachio is from Italy, he says, adding the dessert is not yet on the menu.
It is an absolute delight being the first Osteria Funkcoolio guest to try the sweet, nutty goodness. There's not a single hint of it being icy or grainy, which can be a problem with ice creams made from scratch. Although it's essentially just pistachio, it's not one-dimensional in flavour, even elevated by shards of nuts.
Although the mains hit mark, the ice cream is the highlight of my meal.
Price point and contact information
The antipasti range from Dh70 to Dh150, while mains are in the Dh60 to Dh100 bracket.
Osteria Funkcoolio, at Port De La Mer, is open 5pm-midnight from Tuesday to Friday, and noon-midnight on Saturday and Sunday. For reservations, call 050 284 7173.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
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.
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Name: The Concept
Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 7
Sector: Aviation and space industry
Funding: $250,000
Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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SPECS
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
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'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
