Nikkei dishes have come into their own in the UAE. While Coya and Nobu have been serving it for years, there are a multitude of restaurants where you can sample the cuisine – that now extends well beyond ceviche and soy sauce – from Amelia, Clay, Kayto and Tapasake in Dubai to SushiSamba, which recently opened an outpost in Abu Dhabi.
The Apparel Group’s first licensed restaurant, Ren is the latest eatery that fuses Peruvian and Japanese dishes with flair. Located along Sheikh Zayed Road, the two-level restaurant not only has a dining space on the ground floor but, in an unexpectedly fun twist, also offers a karaoke room on the first floor.
Where to sit and what to expect
Were I able to gather enough would-be crooners, the karaoke room would be my first choice to plonk in. Priced at Dh1,500 for a party of 15 – fully redeemable on food and drink – it’s a cool and cosy spot, with mood lighting, comfy couches and an eclectic playlist to sing along to.
On the quiet Tuesday evening that my dining partner and I visit, though, we opt for booth seating in the main dining room.
These are ideal for date night, and are covered on three sides with wooden slats topped with frosted glass panels for maximum privacy. The 46-seater restaurant itself channels an intimate vibe thanks to the lashings of mahogany and dark wood. A 20-seat terrace – with a massive water installation – is also on site, but was closed due to construction on the evening we went.
An open kitchen, sprawling bar and private dining room reachable via a grand central staircase make up the rest of the space, which is punctuated with foot-tapping but not ear-splitting lounge music.
The menu
When it comes to most Asian cuisines, I tend to favour appetisers over mains, for both taste and variety. In addition to our choices of Wagyu korokke (Dh44), truffle-mushroom gyoza (Dh59) and tacos (Dh39 for three), our server, Jasmine, recommends the miso eggplant fries (Dh49) – which turns out to be the best option among this course.
With a crunchy skin and tender filling, the “fries” are at once chunky, creamy and utterly moreish, and pair well with the zesty miso-yuzu mayo. While table etiquette dictates we use cutlery to split the finger-length pieces into manageable bites, I admittedly use my fingers to secure the last piece and crunch into as speedily as I would a packet of crisps or cinema popcorn.
The other standout dish among the appetiser is also one suited to vegetarians – the trio of tacos. The freshly fried shell and veggies aside, it’s the mayo-lime dressing that makes this citrusy parcel a table hit. The sauce also accompanies the octopus and spicy chicken iterations of this dish.
The beef croquettes and gyoza leave something to be desired, though. While the cassava filling renders the former deliciously creamy, the meat is scant to the point of intangibility and the dunking sauce is overly salty (although a squeeze of chilli-topped lime will rectify this). The gyoza, too, are nothing to write home about.
Fortunately, the mains more than make up for each starter’s shortcomings.
“Shred and mix,” advises Jasmine upon placing the seafood bomba hotplate in front of me. It takes me a few minutes to integrate the fish, prawns and squid with the black Spanish bomba rice – and even fewer still to inhale the dish while it’s still piping hot.
By the time I look up, my partner is nearly done with his yakisoba rice noodles. I manage a bite and am pleased that, despite the subtle-bordering-on-dry look of the dish, it requires no additional sauce or seasoning. This is down to the noodles being coated in a spice-sauce blend, explains Jasmine, and complemented by the crunch of farm fresh veggies.
To order or not to order
Crunchy squid-ink-infused rice and sweet-smelling and generously portioned seafood aside, the bomba dish is elevated by the addition of coriander sauce. It may be a contentious ingredient for some but, for me, it’s proof that the herb can take a dish from palatable to superlative.
I’d refrain from ordering the gyoza on my next visit, though. When I read truffle, I expect to taste truffle and this iteration – while perfectly edible – had not even a whiff of the stuff.
Save or splurge
A three-course meal at Ren can cost between Dh112 and Dh357. On the high end of the price spectrum lie tuna tataki with miso leche de tigre (Dh124); grilled blue fin tuna in huancaina sauce (Dh189); and the tres leches milk cake (Dh44) for dessert.
The three most reasonable dishes across starter, main and dessert are edamame with Maldon salt and olive oil (Dh24); egg fried rice with mixed veggies (Dh49) and a number of desserts – from cherry blossom ice cream to coconut sorbet with caramelised pineapple – for Dh39 a pop.
A chat with the chef
Costa Rican chef Luis Eduardo Mora Vargas has worked at restaurants such as Barra Lima, Brazil’s Imakay and Pure Breeze Farm in Costa Rica, over his 10-year career. The menu at Ren is a testament to his passion for seafood, fresh ingredients and balanced flavours.
Here are Mora’s top recommendations. For vegans and vegetarians, the chef suggests nama yasai, or crisp seasonal vegetables with Peruvian aji Amarillo sauce; and the miso eggplant fries respectively. Seafood lovers, he says, “must try can get the sea bass ceviche cured in tangy lacto-fermented tiger’s milk with a fiery hit of rocoto chilli and the satisfying crunch of cancha corn”, while meat lovers will enjoy beef cheeks with Japanese curry served atop silky mashed potatoes.
“Tres leches is my dessert of choice, as it’s a heartfelt homage to my mother, and reimagined here with a subtle sweetness that lets the flavours of cinnamon and vanilla shine. With its blend of three milks, it’s a comforting treat that feels like home,” says the chef.
Contact details
Ren is open from noon to midnight, and is located on the ground and first levels of Grand Plaza Movenpick Media City hotel. For reservations, call 050 670 4922.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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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
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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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
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
Kibsons%20Cares
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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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
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
