Taste of Abu Dhabi features restaurant pop-ups, workshops and live entertainment. Photo: Taste of Abu Dhabi
Taste of Abu Dhabi features restaurant pop-ups, workshops and live entertainment. Photo: Taste of Abu Dhabi
Taste of Abu Dhabi features restaurant pop-ups, workshops and live entertainment. Photo: Taste of Abu Dhabi
Taste of Abu Dhabi features restaurant pop-ups, workshops and live entertainment. Photo: Taste of Abu Dhabi

Things to do this week, from Taste of Abu Dhabi to Dubai Design Week


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The month of November continues with a varied list of things to do around the UAE, from returning festivals to one-off cultural events.

There are early celebrations of the Indian festival Diwali, while art and design enthusiasts can check out Dubai Design Week, which is returning for a sustainability-focused event this year.

The National rounds up seven things to do around the Emirates, from November 6 to 12.

Monday

Aamara is celebrating Diwali with an affordable 10-course tasting menu. Photo: Aamara
Aamara is celebrating Diwali with an affordable 10-course tasting menu. Photo: Aamara

Celebrate Diwali a little earlier at Aamara, an Indian restaurant under the Passion F&B group that is behind the Michelin-starred Tresind Studio and Avatara.

Starting Monday, the restaurant is celebrating the festival of lights with a 10-course tasting menu for a relative steal, at Dh185 per person. On offer is a gastronomic journey inspired by the Silk Route, with dishes such as rustic onion focaccia with zaatar pesto hummus, butterfly prawns with mohmara chutney and candied walnuts, and lamb seekh with steamed bao and coleslaw. Desserts include cream-cheese ice cream and roasted kataifi.

Until November 16; noon-11.30pm; Dh185; Voco Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai; 052 573 5723

Tuesday

Dubai Design Week returns this year with the noble cause of shedding light on the topics of climate change and sustainability, in line with the coming Cop28 in Dubai.

There are workshops, exhibitions and quirky art installations spread across Dubai Design District until Sunday. For example, on Thursday there is a tufting workshop (Dh145 per person) for those who want to learn more about the textile craft.

Meanwhile, an art installation called Blessings of Iridescence features discarded mother-of-pearl oysters repurposed into architectural pieces, as an ode to Bahrain's pearl industry. Other workshops involve the use of natural dye, stone carving and dried-flower pairing.

While many of the activations are free, some workshops have participation fees.

Until Sunday; Dubai Design District; dubaidesignweek.ae

Wednesday

Learn how to make restaurant-style firecracker chicken at home. Photo: Wagamama
Learn how to make restaurant-style firecracker chicken at home. Photo: Wagamama

In the capital, Wagamama outlets in Khalifa City, Reem Mall and Abu Dhabi Mall are hosting cooking classes every Wednesday.

Participants will be able to learn how the restaurant prepares its signature firecracker chicken and receive insights into the original recipe that, according to Wagamama, is a staple favourite across its branches globally. Three different types of chilli are used in the dish, in addition to onions, peppers and ginger, to complete the explosive flavour.

The cooking class fee is inclusive of a main course and mocktail.

Every Wednesday throughout November; 7pm-8pm; Dh99 per person; various locations across Abu Dhabi; 02 557 2647

Thursday

Palazzo Versace Dubai is celebrating the 14th annual Italian Cuisine World Summit with three nights of kitchen takeovers at its flagship restaurant Vanitas, by Michelin-lauded chefs Fumiko Sakai, Marco Bottega and Francesco Stara.

On Thursday, chef Sakai of Italy's Vespasia restaurant is preparing a four-course set menu. Dishes include wild salmon tartar, marinated bluefin tuna and Roman-style braised veal tail ragu risotto. A Cantuccini parfait with milk foam and mandarin sauce rounds off the meal.

Wednesday to Friday; 6pm-11pm; Palazzo Versace, Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai; palazzoversace.ae

Friday

Flamenco is a musical style inspired by the traditions of southern Spain. Photo: Authentic Flamenco
Flamenco is a musical style inspired by the traditions of southern Spain. Photo: Authentic Flamenco

The Royal Opera of Madrid is bringing its Authentic Flamenco tour to Zabeel Theatre in Dubai on Friday and Saturday.

Flamenco is a popular Spanish art form, often described as passionate and deeply expressionist. Guests can expect live singers, instrumentalists and dancers in colourful costume performing to Spanish folk tunes. The Dubai show features Paula Rodriguez, who runs her own dance company in Spain.

Friday and Saturday; 6.30pm and 9pm on Friday, 6pm and 8.30pm on Saturday; from Dh225; Zabeel Theatre, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Dubai; authenticflamencoshow.com

Saturday

Irish singer and former lead singer of Boyzone, Ronan Keating is belting out his biggest hits at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on Saturday.

The pop star has sold more than 25 million records and is known for his charismatic stage presence. Fans can expect to sing along to nostalgic tracks such as When You Say Nothing At All, Life Is A Rollercoaster and If Tomorrow Never Comes.

Saturday; doors open 7pm; from Dh198; Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Al Garhoud; dubai.platinumlist.net

Sunday

Head to Gateway Park South in Abu Dhabi to attend the last day of Taste of Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The food festival is convening 15 of the capital's top restaurants, including La Carnita, Dai Pai Dong, Otoro BB Social Dining and Namak, in one place. Each will serve a curated menu of three to five dishes, including one that is exclusive to the festival. For instance, Japanese restaurant Otoro is serving a Wagyu shabu slider for Dh42.

Restaurant pop-ups aside, the festival has offers food-related activities such as the Kibsons cooking challenge, plus live entertainment via DJs and bands including modern rock band The International Playboys.

Friday to Sunday; 3pm-midnight on Friday, 1pm-midnight on Saturday and 1pm-10pm on Sunday; from Dh75; Gateway Park South, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi; abu-dhabi.platinumlist.net

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)

Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)

Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)

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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches 
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off

HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT

Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')

25%20Days%20to%20Aden
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Michael%20Knights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2026%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

Updated: November 06, 2023, 3:58 AM`