Theatre is best enjoyed on a full stomach, and Downtown Dubai is a melting pot of flavours to feast upon before a show at Dubai Opera. If you are unsure where to go for a bite before a show – such as Cats, which opens on Monday – we have chosen 10 places where you can enjoy a three-course meal or grab a quick snack before curtain-up.
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Wakame
This Pan Asian restaurant has a specially crafted pre-theatre set menu for those looking for a regal night at the Opera. Timed promptly to last for an hour before you head to the theatre, this multi-course dinner includes dim sum, small plates of crispy calamari, salads, spicy salmon with cucumber, yakitori- marinated baby chicken and miso-caramel cheesecake.
• Set menu from Dh250, Level 3, Sofitel Dubai Downtown. Call 04 224 6663, www.wakame.ae
• Distance: 3.9km / 10 minutes
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Armani Ristorante
This restaurant oozes sheer opulence and will easily match your evening of formal dress-up for the Opera. The special Opera menu consists of a starter, main and dessert. Diners can choose from carpaccio, spaghetti, triglia, burrito, tiramisu and pavlova. There is also an aperitivo menu with Italian classics, including tartare and pecorino.
• Set menu from Dh250, Lobby Level, Armani Hotel Dubai. Call 04 4371693, www.armanihoteldubai.com, @armanihoteldxb
• Distance: 2.7km / 7 minutes
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Omnia by Silvena
This chic restaurant has something to satisfy even those with certain allergies and intolerances. The Emirati- inspired menu was developed by 52-year-old Bulgarian chef Silvena Rowe, who has tempted celebrities including Princess Diana, Madonna and Cher with her delicacies. It is a place for nibbles before a show or a full spread afterwards. Quick-bite favourites include gluten-free white truffle- scented tuna tartare and chilli, and shrimp popcorn with harissa sauce, with mains such as organic heritage Angus rib of beef biryani with Emirati masala and bezar scented foam, and shawarma-marinated hammer skewers.
• Meal for two from Dh200. Clarens Tower 1, Burj Boulevard, Downtown Dubai, Call 04 552 0129, www.omnia.co
• Distance: 1.3km / 4 minutes
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Jodhpur
This Indian fine-dining restaurant will set the mood for a cultured night out at the Opera. Jodhpur recreates classic Indian fare with modern flair, layering multiple textures and bringing an element of surprise with dishes such as the faux dal makhani made of split green gram, and coconut barfi tres leches for dessert.
• Meal for two from Dh500. Roda Al Murooj, Downtown Dubai. Call 04 355 9846, @jodhpurroyaldining
• Distance: 3.4km / 10 minutes
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At.mosphere, The Burj Khalifa
End your Opera date night by unwinding with some unique mixes and finger food at the At.mosphere Lounge, which is open until 2am. Innovative cocktails such as the Red Dragon, with fresh litchees, beetroot juice, grapefruit juice and raspberry purée, can be paired with one of the signature seven-course set menus as well.
• Meal for two from Dh1,000. Level 122, Downtown Dubai. Call 04 888 3828, www.atmosphereburjkhalifa.com
• Distance: 2.9km / 9 minutes
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Ting Irie, Manzil Downtown Dubai
This Jamaican restaurant sprinkles the bold and spicy flavours of scotch bonnet peppers and pimento seeds from its homeland into delicately-crafted dishes, paired with coconut-infused drinks. If you have decided to catch a show with a large group of friends, Ting Irie can lay out sharing plates of plantain chips, Jamaican patties, oxtail cocobread sandwiches and Jamaican curry goat – and to end it all, funnel cake and chunky monkey dessert.
• Sharing meal from Dh195. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Downtown Dubai. Call 04 455 1638, www.tingirie.com, @tingiriedxb
• Distance: 2.3km / 7 minutes
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The Cheesecake Factory
If you are looking for massive portions to fill you up before a musical, then this American diner has you covered. Freshly-baked pizza, mac and cheese, fried calamari, American cheeseburgers and an exhaustive list of cheesecakes is all the comfort food you could possibly need – and then some.
• Meal for two from Dh200. Ground Level, Near the aquarium, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, 04 4190223, www.thecheesecakefactory.com
• Distance: 2.7km / 9 minutes
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Clinton Street Baking Company
We’d suggest starting a little early to get a dinner fix at Clinton Street, one of the few cafes in the city that make buttermilk-drenched fried chicken. This guilty pleasure comes with honey-Tabasco sauce flavour, lemon-pepper mayo flavour or with vanilla buttermilk waffle and maple butter. Traditionalists can opt for a salmon burger, fish tacos or even pancakes and eggs from their all-day breakfast menu.
• Meal for 2 from Dh200. GF 01, Burj View Towers, Downtown Dubai. Call 04 4281331, www.clintonstreetbaking.ae
• Distance: 2.5km / 8 minutes
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Operation: Falafel
This is the perfect grab-and-go meal if you are rushing to the Opera at the last minute. It’s familiar Arabic cuisine for a mess-free dinner option. The falafel and shawarma sandwiches come in pita bread, or there are platters if you are in a larger group.
• Meal for 2 from Dh50. Opposite Vida Hotel, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Boulevard, Downtown Dubai
04 5509102, www.operationfalafel.com
• Distance: 1.1km / 3 minutes
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Thiptara
Thiptara, which means "Magic at the Water", offers Bangkok-style seafood and breathtaking views to compliment a lavish night out. Book a table for a romantic dinner with a view of the Burj Lake and a spread of fish cakes, papaya salad, coconut milk soup, stir-fried squids and mango with sweet, sticky rice.
• Meal for two from Dh400. Ground Level, The Palace Downtown Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. Call 04 428 7961, www.theaddress.com
• Distance: 1.8km / 8 minutes
aahmed@thenational.ae
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Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
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UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
New schools in Dubai
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
CREW
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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.
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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.
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
The view from The National
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
