I don’t often eat in shopping malls; in fact, I try to avoid it. After hearing plenty of positive chatter about Taqado Mexican Kitchen and witnessing its enthusiastic marketing campaign – which involved giving away free burritos – I decided to give it a whirl last week.
Set among myriad fast-food options in Mall of the Emirates, Taqado stands out. The branding is bold and modern with white walls, a distressed wood counter front, brightly coloured lettering, glass bottles dangling from the ceiling and baskets with fresh tomatoes and peppers on display. In terms of design, it’s very Jamie Oliver-esque.
The ordering system is smart and simple. The menu has been split into three “steps” (four if you count the side orders and you certainly should, given the excellent guacamole), and the food is put together as you watch. First, select your meal (essentially the vehicle for the fillings, which is step two); there are burritos and fajitas, tacos, a burrito box (low carb, minus the flour tortilla), chilli con carne, a salad (which you can top with meat, cheese etc) and a classic Mexican chicken soup.
For the fillings, you’re given a choice of shredded chargrilled chicken, flank steak, pulled beef or guacamole. And this is where Taqado Mexican Kitchen sets itself apart: the meat for the barbacoa is grass-fed beef from New Zealand and the chicken is free-range – claims that not many fast-food operations can make. It also serves organic, locally roasted RAW coffee.
Finally, when it comes to toppings, there are two types of rice – lime and cilantro or a Spanish version flavoured with chilli and cumin, slow-cooked black beans or white pinto beans and three salsas with varying degrees of heat. You can finish all that with either sour cream or grated Monterey Jack cheese.
I tried the fajita – a flour tortilla, different to the burrito only in that it comes with sautéed onions and peppers, rather than beans – filled it with pulled beef (marinated overnight and cooked for eight hours) and added lime rice, medium spicy salsa verde and sour cream. Although nice, it was a huge portion; too big, in truth. I say that because the slightly overdone rice added so much bulk to the wrap that the taste and texture of the beef was lost a little and the tortilla quickly became soggy. Nevertheless, it was certainly tasty, with the onions and tomatoes adding a pleasant smokiness.
It was the little pot of guacamole (Dh4) that I’d ordered on the side along with a bag of tortilla chips that really impressed me, through. The dip was chunky, creamy and zingy with lime and had clearly been made very recently.
My friend ordered the tacos which, it must be said, looked like a light snack in comparison to my fajita. They could have done with either being filled with more meat or perhaps a spoonful of beans or rice, as with the burrito and fajitas. The shells were crisp, though, and the chicken strips had picked up plenty of flavour from the chargrill; a sprinkling of hot salsa, made from cherry tomatoes and chipotle, had a proper kick to it and looked and tasted freshly prepared.
We ended on a sugary high, with a portion of churros, which were fried to order. They arrived hot, crisp and dusted with cinnamon and sugar on the outside, light and fluffy in the centre. A pot of liquid chocolate accompanied them for which we were very happy indeed.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is still a fast-food restaurant: there are no plates or cutlery and you’re likely to finish eating in under 15 minutes. But you get the impression that real thought has gone into this venture and the unique design, use of fresh ingredients and knowledgeable staff mean that for me, at least, it is a cut above many other food-court dining spots.
• A meal for two at Taqado Mexican Kitchen, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, costs Dh91. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and all reviews are conducted incognito
eshardlow@thenational.ae
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
The%20specs
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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
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
More about Middle East geopolitics
