At.mosphere
As you might expect, it’s quite a lavish affair on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa on New Year’s Eve. Starting at 6pm. Guests will be served eight courses, featuring white truffles and David Blackmore wagyu fillet, while enjoying the best vantage point to see the city’s fireworks. Prices start at Dh3,000 per person inclusive of dinner, one bottle of premium champagne and cellared pairings until 1am. Prices are based on table locations.
Call 04 888 3444 or email reservations@atmosphereburjkhalifa.com
Rivington Grill
If you’re looking for an early dinner, take advantage of the discounted first sitting at the Rivington Grill Souk Al Bahar (6pm to 8.30pm, terrace or restaurant) for Dh550. The price includes a welcome drink and a selection of dishes from the three-course à la carte menu, with New Year’s Eve blackboard specials. For the second sitting (9pm-2am), it’s Dh1,000 for a terrace table, while guests inside the restaurant pay Dh550. An all-in-one dinner/party deal (Dh1,400, 8pm-2am) is available at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah branch.
Call 04 423 0903 (Souk Al Bahar); 04 366 6464 (Souk Madinat Jumeirah)
The Ivy
Starting with a canapé reception at 8pm, guests can enjoy a four-course menu of Ivy classics and selected free-flowing house beverages, with an additional champagne toast under the stars on the terrace at midnight to watch the Burj Khalifa fireworks. There will also be live jazz in The Ivy lounge from 12-2am. Tickets for the evening are all-inclusive and cost Dh1,250. Dress code is black tie.
Call 04 319 8767
Pearls & Caviar
Lobster, caviar and foie gras feature on the five-course meal at the Shangri-La’s most glamorous eaterie. Champagne will be served on arrival at 7pm and then at 11pm, guests can enjoy the pre-countdown party upstairs in P & C’s impressive waterfront bar, from where you can watch the hotel’s beach firework display at midnight. The price for the whole evening is Dh1,050pp.
Call 02 509 8777
Hakkasan
The chef Lee Kok Hua has prepared a special New Year's Eve set five-course set menu for diners at his Abu Dhabi restaurant, featuring typically sumptuous dishes including chargrilled wagyu rib-eye, wok fried Canadian lobster, seasonal dim sum plus a selection of Asian-inspired signature and non-alcoholic cocktails. Prices are Dh588 without alcohol
and Dh888 with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.
Call 02 690 7999
Monte Carlo beach club
For a beach party vibe, the open-air Sea Lounge, where Kiko Navarro (Pacha Ibiza and Pacha Mallorca) will be the guest DJ. There are three tiers of packages available, starting at Dh599 for an unlimited selection of house beverages. The charge for walk-in guests is Dh350, inclusive of two drinks, and the evening starts at 9pm. Over at Le Deck, the restaurant will be offering seven courses plus a welcome drink at Bubbles bar from 8pm onwards for Dh799.
Call 02 656 3500
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
