It is not often that the food dished up at a restaurant leaves you so intrigued you would like to duck into the kitchen to find out what the chefs are doing back there.
That is exactly how I felt when dining at Carnival by Tresind in DIFC – a contemporary Indian restaurant deserving of its spot among Dubai’s elite venues.
The restaurant is a sister outlet to Tresind, a notable Indian restaurant in the Nassima Royal Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road.
It is filled with copper-coloured trees lit from beneath, casting shadows on the black ceiling above. The black-and-white chevron floor contrasts with the orange, turquoise, yellow and brown chairs that add pops of colour throughout the venue.
The space is chic and vibrant with a modern, urban feel – there is nothing traditional about this place.
When we are seated for dinner, a waiter welcomes us by blowing bubbles across the table. It is a fun gesture, if a bit stiffly presented.
The menu has intriguing dishes with quirky names such as Game of Corns, Goose Buns, Thai Tanic and Utterly Butterly.
It is impossible to pick just one – so we don’t. We opt for the chef’s 15-course degustation menu, one vegetarian (Dh350) and one with meat (Dh375).
Over the next hour, a flurry of 30 dishes bombards our table, leaving our taste buds intrigued, confused and eager for more. While each dish is buzz-worthy, there are several standouts.
The Dal Phulka – a yellow-lentil cappuccino with truffle, topped with cumin sprinkles and served with a phulka biscuit – is refreshingly innovative. The contrast of savoury and sweet provides a burst of flavour that I want more of.
We also love the Game of Corns, a soft sweetcorn-curd and coconut cutlet with goji berry chutney and kewpie mayonnaise (a creamy Japanese mayo made with rice vinegar). Again, the flavours complement and contrast beautifully.
One of our favourite dishes of the night is the vada pav service. Vada pav was originally a staple food among mill workers in the streets of Mumbai and is now a popular street snack for the masses.
In a nod to its origins, Carnival’s version is served by a chef dressed in a hard hat, with the ingredients packed in a toolbox. He makes the snacks for us on the spot, with potatoes, nuts, spices and coriander stuffed into a soft pav roll. It is a fun spectacle but, like everything else here, the food is seriously good.
Nearly every dish – from the textures and the use of spices to the contrasting flavours that surprise and delight – is flawlessly executed and I wonder aloud why more people are not talking about this place.
The degustation menu is extensive and over the top – just what you would expect in a place like this.
These chefs clearly care – a lot – about what they are doing and that passion trickles down to the servers, and is obvious with the presentation of every plate. The waiters are not only knowledgeable about these dishes, they are also dripping with pride as they explain them, in a similar way a mum might talk about her child.
At the end of our meal, our waiter clears our table and a chef drapes a clean, white plastic sheet across our table. He then proceeds to decorate it with sauces, syrups, chocolate and sweets.
He then sets a big, hollow white-chocolate globe in the centre of the sweet mess, fills it with liquid nitrogen (instantly freezing it), picks it up and smashes it on our table. We devour the pieces.
It is the perfect ending to our night. Carnival by Tresind is the kind of restaurant that keeps guests buzzing about their meal long after the last bite. Put it at the top of your bucket list.
• Our meal for two at Carnival by Tresind, Burj Damman Tower, DIFC, Dubai, cost Dh903. To book, call 04 421 8665. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito.
sjohnson@thenational.ae
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
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The view from The National
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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)
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099