As open-air food festival Taste of Dubai gears up to make its return next month after a two-year hiatus, The National asked participating chefs what they'll be offering.
The event, taking place from February 3 to 5, will also include a range of masterclasses hosted by celebrity chefs, a music and entertainment line-up and a new Taste of Hilton farm-to-table pop-up.
The main event, however, is dishes served from some of the UAE's most popular restaurants at discounted prices.
The 15 restaurants taking part are: 11 Woodfire, Akira Back, Brasserie Boulud, Bushra by Buddha-Bar, Carnival by Tresind, Fi'lia, Goldfish, Indya by Vineet, Lowe, Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, Rhodes W1, Shang Palace, Sucre, The Nine and Torno Subito.
Here's some of what diners can expect.
Scroll through the gallery above for more dishes on offer at the event.
Wagyu truffle slider
11 Woodfire, one of 11 Michelin-starred restaurants in Dubai, will dish out its Wagyu truffle slider, with mushroom duxelles and aged gouda cheese, for Dh40 a pop. It's usually Dh85 for a full burger at the restaurant.
Chef Akmal Anuar also got a mention in the Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand category for Otoro in Abu Dhabi.
Marble tuna bun
Fellow Michelin-lauded Singaporean chef Reif Othman, who helms Reif Japanese Kushiyaki, will serve an artistic-looking marble tuna bun for Dh40 that's not on the menu at his Dar Al Wasl venue. The steamed bun will also be filled with date maguro tartare and shiso tempura.
Reif Japanese Kushiyaki was honoured by the Michelin Guide Dubai in the Bib Gourmand category.
Butter chicken
Celebrity chef Vineet Bhatia will dish out his signature butter chicken, the price of which is yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be less than half of its Dh90 price tag at Bhatia's Dubai restaurant Indya by Vineet.
Burgundy snails
For a taste of French cuisine's most coveted dish, stop over at the Brasserie Boulud stall for Burgundy snails laid in a bed of milk bread with roasted garlic and parsley butter for Dh30. They're priced at Dh85 on the Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk restaurant's menu.
Lamb chops
Elsewhere, Carnival by Tresind will serve a portion of lamb chops for Dh40, which is on the non-vegetarian starters section of its menu for Dh120.
The meat is served with restaurant-style accompaniments of vegetable chokha, green pepper sauce and pickled plums.
Tiramisu
When it comes to desserts, Fi'lia is offering the Italian restaurant's version of tiramisu for Dh20. The light mascarpone cream and Savoiardi espresso syrup creation is normally priced at Dh50.
A Middle Eastern tiramisu is also be had at the Bushra by Buddha-Bar counter for Dh25. The Turkish coffee, cardamom and sweet orange blossom concoction is normally priced at Dh65.
Eton mess
Another stall offering a sweet treat is British gastro restaurant The Nine. Its Eton mess, with white chocolate, meringue and strawberries, is available at Taste of Dubai for Dh25 (down from Dh49 on the menu at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk).
Taste of Dubai is at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre from 3pm to midnight on February 3; noon to midnight on February 4; and noon to 10pm on February 5. Tickets start from Dh75, and more information is at tasteofdubaifestival.com
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Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”