<strong>We sample Hakkasan Dubai's Ramadan Menu</strong>. We are a week and a half into Ramadan and lets’s face it, if you have been a regular on the buffet circuit that Shish Tawook or Umm Ali may have become tiresome by now. As well as the main à la carte offerings, Hakkasan Dubai is offering customers the chance to spice up their iftar palette with a three course Ramadan menu. For those not content with the rigid structure, it’s best to book as a group of four in order to taste all the items on the special menu. Cuttlefish and bean-curd roll There is plenty of variety on offer. After breaking the fast with luscious khidri dates, the first course dishes promptly arrive consisting of scallop and jackfruit dumplings, cuttlefish and bean-curd rolls, chicken and mushroom puffs and mushroom pistachio dumplings. The latter wins due to sheer ingenuity. The seasoned mushrooms and pistachio is a delightful mix, none of the flavours over took each other, the balance is perfect. The cuttlefish and bean-curd rolls are a crispy treat. For those not familiar with cuttlefish, it offers a fuller flavour than calamari and tastes more of a cross between octopus and squid. The Braised Short Ribs The main dishes is made of charcoal grilled black-cod with Chinese chives, stir fry chicken with Pandan leaf and lemon grass, braised short ribs and Mabo tofu clay-pot. If you are a fan of the eggplant clay-pot dish, a signature plate in all Hakkasan restaurants,then the Mabo tofu Clay-pot will be up you alley. The key here, as in the eggplant clay-pot, is that rich sautéing sauce. Where the eggplant clay-pot used chilly black bean, the Mabo tofu clay-pot had mushroom and Szechuan peppercorn sauce. It may not have the same kick as the former but the spices remained strong and added some much needed character to the dish. The Braised Short Ribs, according to the waiter, has been the menu’s most popular offering. It’s easy to see why, beautifully cooked, the strips effortlessly roll off the bone. The waiter suggested the dish could be part of the main à la carte menu post Ramadan; a worthy inclusion. Foodies will savour the charcoal grilled black cod. The cod’s distinct taste, similar to a light salmon, was pepped up by the Chinese chives. Desert consisted of two options, the toffee apple with Five Spice caramel and the honey roasted peach with warm almond and raspberry financier. Both dishes are full of flavour; the toffee apple had a decent kick courtesy of that caramel sauce. The honey roasted peach was decent enough yet it was overpowered by the rich raspberry financier. The best part of the whole deal? You leave the restaurant satisfied and not bloated. If you haven’t been to Hakkasan Dubai yet, this is a great introduction. For regulars, it’s an opportunity to try a bunch of new dishes - many of which will not appear after the holy month. <em>Hakkasan Dubai is located at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. Ramadan menu is Dh188 per person.</em><em> For details call 04 384 8484 and reservations@hakkasandubai.com</em>
