Khadak is no hidden gem. Since opening in November, the Indian restaurant has already earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, awarded for “good quality, good value cooking” – an accolade it picked up only six months after opening.
I visit on a Friday afternoon in the summer, usually a quiet time in the UAE, but not here. Word is out: Khadak is the place for atmosphere, striking decor and excellent food.
The concept comes from Naved Nasir, former chef director of UK chain Dishoom – an institution famed for its food and infamously long queues. At Khadak, he brings the same energy with one Dubai-friendly twist – reservations are welcome, so no waiting in 40ºC sunshine on Al Wasl Road.
The restaurant is named after a road in Mumbai’s street food district Bhendi Bazaar, and the menu is inspired by the fare served in the area. Inside, the look is as considered as the cooking – rattan furniture, asymmetrical art, antique electronics, colourful tiles and velvet upholstery. It feels like the chic living room of a friend who knows how to entertain.
Sharing is the way to go. We start with morel cheese kulcha with truffle butter, karari kale chaat and tangra prawns, joined by murgh malai Sichuan and patthar ka gosht from the grill. I have since read that the keema pao on the menu is inspired by the famed Radio Cafe in Mumbai, so that will be on my list the next time I go back.
The kulcha is indulgent, gooey, creamy and irresistible. The chaat bursts with colour and crunch, crisp kale against pomegranate, chutney and yoghurt. The standout is the tangra prawns: tangy, ginger-garlic perfection.
The grilled dishes impress too. The murgh malai Sichuan brings smoky, succulent chicken marinated in warm, gentle spices. Patthar ka gosht, a “Hyderabadi heirloom”, arrives under a smoke-filled glass dome for tableside theatre. The tender goat slices, paired with saffron rotis, are worth the drama.
It is at this stage that I realise the grilled dishes are not the main course. Too full to consider two or three more sharing dishes, we order the Khadak daal to share – slow-cooked black lentils, creamy and buttery with a tomato base, comfort in a clay bowl. I take the leftovers home, happily.
Dessert is impossible to skip. After chai, we try the Malabar coffee milk cake, a lighter cousin of tiramisu, spongy and subtly rich. Then Nasir himself insists on the mango milk cake, which acts as a bright summery addition to our table, all in honour of mango season. Layered with cream and fresh Alphonso, it was launched in May and was meant to rotate off the menu, but fan demand may keep it permanent.
Less than a year in, Khadak already feels like a Dubai dining institution. With food, detail and atmosphere to match its Michelin recognition, it’s a place I’ll keep returning to. The number of people I have told about the meal since is testament to that.
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
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2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
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.
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