The best bites from Taste of Abu Dhabi

Lemon quinoa salad from Nolu’s cafe. Stacie Johnson / The National

Today’s your last chance to get to the capital’s first Taste of Abu Dhabi festival. The three-day event kicked off Thursday night to an eager — and hungry — crowd. Celebrity chefs gave entertaining cookery presentations in the chef’s theatre and they cooked with guests in the cookery school. There were mimes, jugglers, movies, live music and more. This festival truly has something for everyone. But the star of the Taste of Abu Dhabi is — and should be — the food. Each of the 18 participating restaurants served about four different dishes, so finding the festival’s best bites was no easy task. Here are the dishes you don’t want to miss:

Lemon quinoa salad from Nolu's Cafe — Filled with quinoa, pomegranate seeds, corn, parsley, a bit of feta cheese and slices of lemon rind, this dish is zesty and refreshing. This is what eating healthy tastes like. And it's delicious.

Handmade spinach and ricotta ravioli from Villa Toscana — this is a great example of something that tastes a lot better than it looks. It's just a single green ravioli (it will be difficult to convince a kid to try this). But rest assured, it's worth the Dh30 for this dish. This little pasta pocket is packed with spinach and creamy, sweet, salty cheese. It almost didn't need the marinara sauce it came with.

TNT Shrimp from Caramel — Four big, crispy prawns coated in a delicate batter, topped with Japanese mayo that was only slightly spicy. I went back for seconds.

Croquettes from Flooka — Croquettes are small fried balls that can be stuffed with a variety of fillings. Flooka's version comes packed with prawns and gruyere cheese. They were so crispy on the outside that the smooth, soft centre came as a surprise. They were rich, creamy and moreish.

Sayadiyah from Flooka — The kingfish in this fish and rice dish is thick, flaky and mild. It's set on a mound of brown rice with slivered almonds and pine nuts. The crunchy nuts were a great contrast to the soft fish. This dish has been popular with the crowds at Taste.

Chicken tikka from Avasa — I've eaten a lot of overdone (and dried out) chicken in chicken tikka dishes. Avasa's version is done so well, it deserves a mention. The barbecue chicken — marinated in cloves, red chilli, mint and more — is tender and juicy. Word spread quickly about how good this was and people have been lining up at the festival to get a taste.

Baby cornfed chicken from Safina — This is my favourite dish at the festival. People were crowding around the stall to get their hands on Safina's Wagyu sliders. But, with a recommendation from the manager, I chose the chicken. I'm glad I did. The succulent chicken legs were served with crunchy celery, mushrooms and polenta — it's a rich, creamy combintation bursting with flavor. This dish alone is enough to get me to Safina, a restaurant I've yet to try.

If you've not yet been to the Taste festival, you still have a chance. The festival at du Arena runs today from noon to 10pm. You can buy tickets at the door for Dh80. Once you're inside, dishes range from Dh15 to Dh30. For more information, visit www.tasteabudhabi.com