Dubai? Do buy
Dubai? Do buy
Wine lovers might hesitate to visit Dubai, with stringent laws restricting the consumption of alcohol. But Emma Odendaal discovers a city infused with culinary diversity, where the choice of wine available is nothing short of spectacular.
It's in the middle of the United Arab Emirates, with Iran and Iraq practically on its doorstep. Deserted construction sites, empty apartments and luxury vehicles abandoned in parking lots serve as constant reminders of the recession.
So with wars raging next door and economic woes taking their toll, why would anyone want to visit Dubai? What started as a small fishing village in the middle of an arid desert has expanded in just over 40 years into a colossal, ostentatious and over-the-top city of man-made islands, futuristic skyscrapers and seven-star hotels filled with tourists lost in a blur of eating, drinking, shopping and frenetic card swiping.
"Do-Buy" is not everyone's cup of tea, but to live out the fantasy of a VIP existence is the reason many South Africans make the eight-hour flight - and for anyone vaguely interested in food and wine, the experience of an eclectic and worldly mix of cuisine and vinous endeavours without having to drive further than 35km along the (natural) coastline is worthwhile.
Up to 85% of Dubai's population is made up of expats, mostly from Southeast Asia but also from France, Australia and, of course, South Africa.
To call it a melting pot of cultures is an understatement - and one of the best ways to experience it is through your tastebuds.
From Gordon Ramsay's Verre to Gary Rhodes' Mezzanine, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to finedining options that fuse Middle-Eastern cuisine with westernised tastes. Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, you'll also find many street-side curry houses where meals are inexpensive and authentic.
Although Dubai is a Muslim state, alcohol flows freely within the confines of hotels (by law, any restaurant serving alcohol must also be located in a hotel or mall). Top-quality wine is sourced from all over the globe, including Australia, Chile, Spain, France, Lebanon and, of course, South Africa.
You'll pay a hefty premium to drink it, however, since taxes on alcohol are astronomical. We spotted a bottle of Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc selling for 200 dirhams (about R400) at a beach-side bar.
Over the course of just three days, we sampled food from Iran, Lebanon, Greece, Pakistan and Morocco - not to mention France, Italy and Spain - leading me to agree with New York Times writer Seth Sherwood that "Dubai may offer the grandest and most concentrated smorgasbord on the planet".
Where else in the world could you sip on New Zealand's 2005 Wither Hills Chardonnay, eat authentic dim sum, finish off with Italian gelato, and then watch kids in ski jackets launch themselves down a snow-covered indoor ski slope?
In a city continually pushing the boundaries, it almost makes sense to find a 935-seater restaurant with a view of a snowcovered slope. Sezzam, located in The Mall of the Emirates, is the epitome of Dubai as a larger-than-life experience of gluttonous excess. Three open-air kitchens - Flame, Steam and Bake - form the "centrepieces" of the restaurant, meaning that it is as much about eating as it is about entertainment.
Those after Asian-style cooking will head to the Steam kitchen, where the menu ranges from dim sum and sashimi to eggfried noodles and steamed calamari, but those looking for roast lamb, duck ragu, fresh pasta or even a cheese fondue will have their appetite equally satisfied.
It's not difficult to appreciate the challenge posed to chef Winfried Helmetag of catering for nearly 1 000 diners, from local families to tourists and foodies. Especially when, in addition to the extensive spread from his three kitchens and a dessert buffet, he light-heartedly claims that he will cater to diners' particular needs as they walk in the door. (It's hard to imagine there could be anything wanting in the way of catering, but if a chef who's juggling 935 diners and 100 staff is prepared to go to these lengths, he must be very dedicated to his work.)
Sezzam is garish, metallic and brash - and that is what much of "new Dubai" is about. Some less extreme options include Vu's Bar and Restaurant, on the 50th floor of the famous Emirates Towers. This is a must-do, if not for the views then for the Italian-French inspired menu that features cream of sunchoke (artichoke) soup with caramelised garlic and black truffle espuma and seared duck breast in a nori and phyllo pastry roulade served with a roasted potato stiff with foie gras and duck jus.
A spiral staircase leads to the 51st-floor bar, which serves 200 different cocktails to the city's elite who come in droves to see and be seen.
Throw in an extensive and award-winning winelist that includes several offerings from the likes of Château Margaux at around R22 000 a piece, and your bank manager will be your new best friend when you get back home (www.jumeirah.com).
Then there's Nineteen, voted Dubai's best new restaurant in 2007 by TimeOut, which presents fusion cuisine in a chic, intimate setting. The restaurant's outdoor terrace overlooking The Montgomerie golf course is the perfect setting for a hot evening - and there's certainly no shortage of those in Dubai! The service is knowledgeable and the menu is extensive -Thai green curry, fresh prawns and sushi feature regularly (www.themontgomerie.com/dining/ ninteen/nineteen.jsp).
Another must is Na3Na3, one of seven restaurants in The Address Hotel at Dubai Mall. Pronounced na-na, which is the Arabic word for mint (with the "3" representing an Arabic letter that has no equivalent in the Roman alphabet), Na3Na3 tantalises diners with traditional Middle-Eastern cuisine.
Popular among the UAE elite, it looks out onto a 21-metre landscaped "water wall". Although not cheap (a meal will set you back roughly 165 dirhams or R330 per person, excluding drinks), Na3Na3 is one of the few upmarket restaurants in Dubai that serves Arabic cuisine without too much western influence (www.theaddress.com).
But for a Dubai experience with no western influence whatsoever - and a welcome reprieve from the skyscrapers, vast malls and boundless materialism - there is nothing like a sunset dinner in a traditional Bedouin camp in the desert.
Through the shisha smoke, a belly dancer twirls and wiggles her hips as we sit on Persian rugs sipping chilled Australian Chardonnay, eating falafels, kibbeh and pita breads smeared with humus, ending off with decadent umm ali. This is Dubai.
WHERE TO BUY WINE
When buying wine in Dubai, you can't do any better than at Le Clos, an überexclusive wine and luxury spirits boutique located in Terminal 3 Departures at Dubai Airport.
It doesn't just sell current releases but also many of the world's most sought-after wines, including some legendary Château Petrus 1947, Château Cheval Blanc 1961 and Château Gruaud-Larose 1945 (priced at 90 000 dirhams or R180 000!).
The store stocks wines from all over the globe, including Lebanon and Chile, and most are reasonably priced (a Steenberg Merlot 2006, for instance, retails for about 100 dirhams, the equivalent of R200). www.leclos.net
WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
• Disappointingly, shopping in Dubai has become more expensive than shopping in South Africa since the tourism boom a few years ago.
In fact, those who have shopped in Oxford Street or on the Champs- Elysées may find the shops dull and all too familiar - Woolworths, for instance, has franchises in Dubai, as does H&M.
Nevertheless, the malls are fascinating for their sheer opulence and size, with themed shopping areas, indoor aquariums and snow-covered ski slopes.
The largest mall in the world, Dubai Mall, is a must, if only to watch sheikhs and their wives shopping for Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos.
• Be sure to explore the old town, particularly the spice souk, one of a few untouristy places left in Dubai.
• Take a cruise along Dubai Creek in a dhow for a fascinating comparison of the old and new city. Many of the city's major sites can be seen from the Creek, including some beautiful historical mosques as well as the modern skyscrapers.
• Watch the fountain show in the marina beneath the Burj Dubai (at 828m the world's tallest man-made structure), which opened to the public in January and was renamed BurjKhalifa.
WHAT TO EAT IN DUBAI
Traditional Emirati food has a strong Iranian and Lebanese influence, while "Gulf Cuisine" dominates many of Dubai's off-the-beaten-track restaurants.
It's not easy for a tourist to sample authentic, traditional Arabic delicacies within the hotels and malls, since much of the food has been tempered to suit western palates. A few restaurants, however, pride themselves on their Arabic buffets (Na3Na3, for example).
Don't miss...
• Zaalouk or "eggplant caviar", a flavourful dip with an eggplant and tomato base;
• Arabic cheese, essentially goat's cheese rolled into balls and coated with spices and/or herbs;
• Hammour fish, a firm white fish, often served in a creamy lemon sauce;
• Pistachio-honey-almond pastries;
• Crusty mint bread and pitas smeared with humus;
• Moutabal, also known as babaghanoush, a spread of similar consistency to humus made from brinjals, tahnini, garlic and lemon juice;
• Shanklish cheese balls made from either cow's or sheep's milk, rolled in zaatar (a mixture of herbs, sesame seeds and salt), then dried and aged for pungency;
• Kibbeh, a Levantine dish of lamb crushed in a pestle and mortar, rolled into a cylindrical shape with herbs and powerful spices and cooked on an open fire;
• Umm ali (also known as omali), a rich, baked dessert made from stale pastry, cream, butter and nuts.
