I think when you review a restaurant, it is important to arrive with a positive attitude. Start the score at a 10, so to speak, and only begin detracting from this when things go wrong.
So it was with good intentions that I visited the Italian restaurant Bussola, at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, this week. After unsuccessfully trying to secure a table at the relaxed (and very busy) pizzeria upstairs (Bussola on the Beach) on Saturday night, we opted for dinner at the more formal Italian restaurant on the ground floor.
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The setting is really very pleasant. Outside on the breezy terrace the atmosphere was relaxed, with enough people dining to create a bit of a buzz. It wasn't quite busy enough to excuse the scatty service, though. The staff may have been well-meaning, but they were also very absent-minded. For example, although we noticed that surrounding tables were given bread baskets and dishes of olive oil to start their meal, we ended up having to ask for ours - receiving them only after the starters had arrived.
These starters were pretty good, though. Thin slivers of beef carpaccio were ruby red, with a rich, buttery taste; the rocket leaves were peppery and crisp and the shavings of Parmesan generous. In all, a fresh, light, enjoyable way to begin the meal. A selection of cold meats with olives and pecorino cheese wasn't up to much in the presentation stakes, but again, the quality of the meat was high. However, it did seem strange that despite being listed on the menu, the platter offered just three olives and a small shard of cheese.
Unfortunately, things then started to go downhill. My main course of stuffed chicken breast was rather dry and the meagre amount of ricotta and lemon filling provided neither moisture nor flavour. Although the rice in the white asparagus risotto that accompanied the chicken was tender, overall the dish was just too bland. But I had, at least, received what I asked for.
My companion had gone for the braised veal cheek, yet after a couple of mouthfuls we were both convinced that this wasn't what was on his plate. Yes, the wilted spinach was there, as was the rich gravy but in terms of appearance, taste and texture the meat didn't resemble veal cheek. It lacked the succulent, melting softness that this cut acquires when it has been slow cooked, and the fattiness of the meat led us to believe that this was probably a piece of beef chain - the strip of meat that runs along the fillet, and more often than not removed and served braised or in a stew. Nothing wrong with that in theory, but we firmly believe (although we may of course be wrong) that it wasn't what he ordered.
So to dessert. I chose to try both the pistachio and the praline ice cream, primarily because I was surprised that they were charging Dh22 per scoop. And while it was good, I'm not entirely sure that the price tag was justified.
The ice cream was far better than our other choice of dessert, though. The menu billed the dish as white chocolate mousse served with strawberries and raspberries, yet on the plate this translated to half a strawberry, a raspberry coulis and a mousse concoction that tasted grainy - due to either the chocolate splitting or too liberal a use of powdered gelatine, we couldn't be sure.
All that was left to do then was pay the bill and leave, feeling a touch deflated. Never a good way to end a meal.
Bussola at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. For reservations call 04 399 4141. A meal for two, not including drinks and service, costs Dh486. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by The National.
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
