There is a lovely atmosphere at Fanr, the restaurant located in the Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island. The room itself is bright, modern and stylish and thanks to the vast windows and high ceilings, it has a nice, airy feel. The general vibe seems to be one of serenity and the attentive staff only add to this feeling; we were well looked after during our visit, but never felt stifled.
The menu is long and incorporates a number of different cuisines, which in my experience is rarely a good thing. There are salads and sandwiches on offer, an entire page dedicated to pasta and main course dishes span the globe, with fish and chips, Moroccan-inspired lamb tagine, Greek-style lamb cutlets and veal schnitzel all on offer.
We began by sharing a "cold platter", which, bar a few pickles salty enough to be deemed inedible, was rather nice. Not spectacular by any means, but there is good mezze and bad mezze and this was definitely the former. The hummus was thick and creamy; pomegranate-strewn babaganoush was rich and musky with a pleasant sour tang; zesty tabbouleh was heavy on the parsley, rather than the bulgar wheat, which is just as it should be; the fatoush was fresh and perky and the accompanying flatbreads were warm and soft.
To follow this, I chose the spinach and feta quiche, which was served with a sorry looking side salad - just a few lettuce leaves, all limp and brown around the edges - and a sweet, spiced tomato chutney. The shortcrust pastry looked homemade, but I think it had been reheated in a microwave as opposed to a piping hot oven, meaning that it was soggy, particularly on the base. The spinach and feta filling was better; the creamy richness of the cheese was tempered nicely by the vaguely bitter, wilted green leaves and it was properly seasoned.
My friend's grilled salmon was presented rather messily. A large piece of salmon fillet was perched on a mound of garlicky roasted baby potatoes (which he liked very much ), with thin ribbons of carrot and courgette dressed in vinaigrette on the side, a couple of spoonfuls of thick lemon butter sauce and a few sprigs of basil. There wasn't anything wrong with the dish, I'm just not convinced that the different elements worked well together. Lemon butter sauce speaks of classic French cooking, which seemed at odds with the Mediterranean-style preparation of the vegetables; rather than complementing each other, the different flavours competed for attention.
We finished the meal by sharing a slice of moist carrot cake and mused over the fact that despite the variety of food on offer here, it is all rather generic. There is nothing new or interesting on the menu, just a regurgitation of popular dishes, designed to satisfy exhibition-goers, rather than lure in food lovers from Abu Dhabi or Dubai. If you happen to be nearby and hungry, then Fanr is a great solution, particularly given the reasonable prices. I just can't imagine that people will flock to Saadiyat Island with the sole intention of dining there.
A meal for two at Fanr, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, costs Dh187, not including service. For reservations, call 02 657 5888. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and reviews are conducted incognito.
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 smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
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