Dubai's foodies will have heard of chef Reif Othman, who sharpened his knife in Zuma Dubai, Play Restaurant and Billionaire Mansion. He is now at the helm of Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, a casual-dining concept in Jumeirah.
Having opened just two weeks before we head down to review, the pocket-sized eatery at Dar Wasl mall has already created quite the buzz – when we arrive, there is a queue of expectant diners – as you'd expect when you're set to get Zuma-quality food for wallet-friendly prices.
What to expect and where to sit
The first thing that strikes is just how compact the restaurant is. With an open kitchen at its heart, it has clean lines and minimalist decor, with a wooden colour palate. There is an Astro Boy manga painting on one wall, providing a pop of colour.
The 39-seat restaurant doesn't take reservations (apart from on Monday nights), so there is certainly an element of sitting where you're sat. However, a few spots stand out. The majority of tables have a view of the open kitchen, including a low-bar seating, but we're delighted to be seated by the pass, so we can see almost every dish that leaves the kitchen to be enjoyed by guests – essential if you're the kind of diner who picks what you're eating based on food-envy. Trying to avoid cliches as much as possible, the restaurant really does have the feel of tiny Japanese yakitori-yas. If you stop yourself looking out onto Al Wasl Road for the hour or so you're there, you could just about trick yourself into feeling like you're in Tokyo.
The menu
As the eatery's name implies, the focus here is on kushiyaki – Japanese grilled meat and poultry, held together on a kushi (skewer). Aside from the chicken and beef skewers, there are also clay pots, ramens, gunkan sushi, gyoza and raw dishes to be had. A Star Dishes section reads like chef Othman's greatest hits, with wings, angel hair pasta, steamed bun burgers and Wagyu "sandos".
My dining partner and I begin with the kimchi and melon, and daikon and yuzu pickles. The daikon radish has a cleansing citrus kick, thanks to the yuzu, but it's the kimchi and melon that stands out. Honestly, it's not something I would have ordered, but it came recommended by the chef. The kimchi transforms the texture of the melon, making it feel almost jelly-like, with a savoury taste.
Raw salmon with shiso soy and crispy rice, and a kale salad followed. The salmon melted on our tongue, while the kale stood out as a meal highlight – prepared three ways: as a tempura, blanched and raw, and served with fried avocado in a black sesame dressing. Somehow, a health food I usually dismiss as dull, overrated and chewy, had been transformed into a dish that was as dramatic as it was delicious. We then devoured the beef gyoza under strict instruction from chef Othman to "eat it in one". The flavoursome dumplings came with a kick of wasabi, complemented by sweet soy and spring onion oil. From the Star Dishes, we had the chilled angel hair pasta. A dish that will appeal to truffle-lovers, the chilled pasta dish is, packed full of mushrooms with a light truffle flavouring. Much like the gyoza, I could have eaten this delicious nest of noodles in one, but an attempt at manners stopped me from trying.
It was around here that we took a break to digest our food thus far, aware that we had only made our way down one column of the menu. Adopting a marathon, not a race, mindset, we diligently made room for the rock shrimp kushi katsu, followed by California and spicy salmon gunkan. "Not your typical maki roll," chef Othman says as he places the dishes on out table. "We're thinking outside the box."
Then came the kushi: Angus beef with truffle mayo, chicken wings with shichimi and breast in citrus dressing.
If you eat meat, the beef skewer is a succulent must-order. The wings were cooked to perfection, proving that the simplest of dishes can be standout favourites when done properly. Our journey concluded with the Angus beef rice clay pot. Medium rare beef, with garlic soy and shisho leaf, in a pot of rice – it's certainly a dish to share, but as cooler nights start to roll in, it will leave you feeling warm and well fed. Try your very best to leave room for dessert. We shared the molten cake with peanut butter praline and salted cashews, which was every bit as delicious as a hot, gooey Snickers, and the Instagrammable taiyaki mouth fish waffle with ice cream.
The fish-shaped waffle caught our attention as it was directed to other tables throughout our meal, and the delicious soft-serve ice cream, with mochi chopped throughoutdidn't let us down.
A chat with the chef
Chef Othman moved to Dubai from Singapore in 2007 to work at Burj Al Arab, followed by Zuma and Play among others. Of his latest venture, he says: "This concept was born out of the series of street-food collaborations I did with homegrown gems across Dubai. As everyone knows well, Dubai's restaurant scene is saturated, so I wanted to create a small low-risk unlicensed concept to test the market demand in the build up to 2020. I really didn't expect to have people queuing right from our pre-opening phase at the end of August." The chef says his favourite dishes on the menu are the chilled angel hair pasta with duxel mushroom and pickled kombu; steamed bun burger with an Angus beef patty, Wagyu tartare with veal jam and pickled daikon; and the chicken meatball and onsen egg kushiyaki skewers.
The restaurant's twist on Singaporean chicken rice is another popular order.
There are three reasons that make Reif Japanese Kushiyaki stand out, he adds. "Firstly, it is owner-operated. Not only am I the owner, I am the chef, and I also look after the commercial operations and front-of-house. Secondly, I am the first to bring Japanese street food to Dubai, in particular the kushiyaki skewers – with my own twist. And thirdly, whilst the food is of high quality, the price point is affordable – based on three dishes each, it would be Dh150 per person."
Down the line, The Experience by Reif Othman will launch, which entails a set menu and chef's table experience that has you about as close to the kitchen as you can get without throwing on an apron and manning the grill. Bento-style breakfasts will also launch soon.
Value for money and contact information
The eatery maintains that it offers affordable high-quality Japanese food, and with dishes starting from Dh30 for the vegetable selection, and Dh35 for the chicken kushi, that is certainly true. The beef kushi costs Dh62 for two skewers. The chilled angel hair pasta costs Dh45, while heartier mains are for Dh59 for the 18-hour ginger chicken ramen and Dh62 for the Reif chicken rice. On the more expensive end of the scale are the sanchoku Wagyu sando at Dh145 and the kagoshima ramen with Wagyu dashi, braised leeks and thinly sliced kagoshima Wagyu at Dh185. Reif Japanese Kushiyaki is open from noon until 11pm from Saturday to Wednesday, and from noon until midnight on Thursday and Friday. It takes walk-ins only, except from 6.30pm on Monday, when you can reserve a table. Tables can be booked by calling 04 345 0761; more information is available from reifkushiyaki.com.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
