"Bread basket?" volunteers Samantha, thrusting a pannier in what she presumes is my direction.
I wave a hand in the air, eventually land on something smooth and round, and plop it down in front of me. No point in asking whether it is the rosemary or olive and cheese variety, nor where the butter dish is - my attempts at stabbing a knife where I think it might be located are at best fruitless, at worst in danger of causing myself or someone else an injury.
Restaurant reviewsOur guide to the UAE's restaurants
From fine dining to 'cheap as chips,' here is our extensive archive of restaurant reviews
Reviews
This is Dine in the Dark, a new venture in Dubai that gets diners to eat in pitch darkness. The idea is that eating becomes a much more sensory experience as you touch, smell and savour your food rather than relying on sight.
By any standards, it's a novel way to enjoy a night out at a restaurant, although the concept is not a new one. Staff at Nineteen in The Address Montgomerie, Emirates Hills, got the idea from similar ventures in Europe and the US.
Is there any substance in the theory that a loss of vision heightens your other senses? The popular perception is that the blind have a highly developed sense of hearing.
Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada recently tested both blind and sighted subjects and found those who were born blind scored highest on pitch perception.
In one test, subjects blocked one ear and were asked to identify where sounds were coming from in a room that had been fitted with hidden speakers. Half of the blind people were accurate in detecting the source.
But what about taste? Pepsi famously came up with the blind taste test challenge in 1975 to see whether customers preferred it to Coca-Cola. They did - until they saw the labels.
The notion behind eating in pitch blackness is that the lack of visual stimulation not only enhances your palate and makes you appreciate the true flavours of the food, but also affects how you interact socially and emotionally.
At Dans le Noir in London, Opaque in the US and Unsicht-Bar in Germany, diners are served by blind waiters. The restaurants waste no time in smugly pointing out the role reversal where "blind people actually become your eyes" - not so much the blind leading the blind as the blind leading the hungry.
Dans le Noir even holds themed evenings, although when I ask whether its in-house cookery lesson is conducted in the dark, the reservations manager snorts in derision and scoffs: "No - that would be ridiculous."
Hiring a professional belly dancer to entertain guests, however, is apparently perfectly acceptable - and no doubt worth it for the unwittingly entertaining footage of guests who, under cover of darkness, throw off all social restraints as they jerk spasmodically to the music, arms flailing wildly. One even tries twirling the belly dancer around.
Back in Dubai, where appearance is all-important, the practicalities of avoiding any embarrassing spillages seem to have bypassed most of the 36 guests. All are dressed to the nines in the most glamorous evening wear - either brave or foolhardy, considering there is a good chance they will shortly be wearing their meal.
Giant-size napkins help, although bibs might have been more useful. We are given a brief run-through on where our cutlery and glasses are placed while the lights are still on.
Staff are bracing themselves for breakages; indeed, Geoffrey Atonya, who has given himself the rather grandiose title of "water captain", has already smashed a couple of glasses in a practice run. For unlike some darkened restaurants where the waiters are given night-vision goggles, the staff at Nineteen will also be fumbling their way around in the dark as they serve the seated diners. Health and safety executives would have a field day in this place.
Vast windows that usually offer a picturesque view of the golf course have been blacked out for the purpose of tonight's escapades; a heavy black curtain has been draped at the entrance to ensure no light trickles through. For extra measure, we are given eyemasks for a complete blackout experience.
Having little faith in my own ability to detect flavours, I have brought along Samantha Wood, a food blogger, as my backup. We are seated with a family of four and the lights go out.
There is a moment of silence as everyone adjusts to the dark and a few nervous giggles. And then the strangest thing happens. A cacophony of noise erupts as everyone attempts to talk at once.
Without being able to see who else is speaking and no concept of the distance between themselves and other diners, people are talking over each other and any volume gauge goes out of the window. Civilised, muted conversation is impossible; it is more of a case of shouting at each other. Bang goes the theory of improved hearing, then.
The first mystery course is ferried out and after a grope for cutlery (there is no point in adhering to the formality of working your way in from the outside), we dig in.
The initial attempts to get anything on a fork prove futile; I simply taste cold, hard metal. On the third try, I get a mouthful of what seems like mashed potato. Samantha insists there is asparagus in there somewhere, so I persevere, but simply get more mashed potato - until an explosion of revoltingly strong fish roe in my mouth.
There is a quiver of apprehension from the family at our table. Mrs B, who declares she has an adventurous palate, wanted to give Dine in the Dark a go as she thought it would be "unique".
Mr B is rather more cautious: he dislikes anything raw. "Everything has to be cremated," he says apologetically.
But there is no room for picky diners here where it is impossible to see what you are eating and he gamely ploughs on.
Course two is brought out and again, all I taste is mashed potato. I start to wonder if this is a bad joke to see if we can spot that we are being fed four identical dishes. Wait, there are globules of a strong-tasting cheese - Gorgonzola? Roquefort? - which lead me to conclude it is risotto. That, and the fact the waiter accidentally asks how I like my risotto.
Mrs B is rather less impressed and by course three - a sort of deep-fried fish stick on more mashed potato - announces: "I don't like any of it."
It turns out she is not just talking about the food. She hates Dubai. She dislikes brunches. She can't abide the people.
It seems the dark does impinge on social interactions - by removing any inhibitions or normal social etiquette. Not only are we invisible, it seems they have forgotten we are here.
As she rants, I feel Samantha gripping my knee under the table in a silent code. At least, I hope it's Samantha.
In the gloom - we quickly abandon the eyemasks and start to make out vague shadows as our eyes adjust - we can see Mr B hunching over his plate. He, at least, says he has enjoyed his meal, which has surprised him as a fussy eater.
By the time dessert is served, Samantha has given up and whips out her mobile phone to use the light as a torch. She has barely touched a thing and wails: "I'm still hungry."
I'm guessing there is ice cream involved but all I can taste is cold mashed potato. My palate seems to disprove the theory that our sense of taste is enhanced when sight is removed. If anything, not being able to see is more confounding.
Samantha agrees: "For me, food is about colour and presentation as well as taste, texture and smell. If you take the first two out of the equation, the eating experience is restricted and a little odd."
As soon as the meal is over, the entire restaurant empties out into the lit bar, grateful to shed some light on what we have just consumed. We learn the Dh495 meal consisted of white asparagus panna cotta with oysters, stuffed chicken breast and cuttle fish fries on celeriac purée and deconstructed banoffee pie with popcorn ice cream.
And therein lies the problem: it is food which is just too clever for its own good, when what you want are simple, tactile, textured dishes that stimulate your olfactory receptors as well as your taste buds.
As a social experiment however, it is fascinating - although Mr and Mrs B might not be in a hurry to return.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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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
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
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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
MO
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
'Lost in Space'
Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen
Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins
Rating: 4/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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