DUBAI You may have heard of camel-based products entering the UAE gastronomic circuit of late and if you thought of checking them out, there’s no better place than The Majlis to stop by. It’s a chic Arabic-inspired outlet at The Dubai Mall that offers premium camel meat or milk delights.
But it’s neither a restaurant nor a café. Rather, it’s a lobby lounge that seats about 70 people and offers things like “Camelchino” and other camel-based delights.
Quite literally it offers the finest Arabian delicacies with a modern twist, interpreted to conform to modern Dubai. The twist I’m talking about comes in the form of a T-tray, a three-layer serving set with elegant light smart foods, mini savouries, afternoon teas, early evening cocktail canapés served all day on silver tiered stands.
Set before me was an eight-piece nibbler – just clean your hand with a wet napkin – and voila, it’s time to taste Arabia.
THE T-TRAY
Back to my T-tray: The sweets are placed on top, savouries in the middle and starch at the bottom. I worked my way up from the base, where an eye-catching concoction included rectangular sandwiches in three flavours – brown bread (roasted vegetable), saffron (camel mortadella sandwich) and beetroot bread (chicken mayonnaise).
Prepared daily in The Majlis’ own kitchen, these speciality sandwiches are handy, hearty and tasty.
My personal favourite was the saffron-coloured one (The Majlis bakes its own bread using camel milk as a basic ingredient).
I wouldn’t have guessed the mortadella was camel meat, a slice of smooth-textured lean meat that’s made into a sausage. It is classy surprise, I thought, and a delight with every bite.
After the sandwiches, my attack plan moved to the middle plate, starting with salad made of chickpeas and tabbouleh in a verme (small glass). I never thought chickpeas could be as remarkably tasty as my salad did.
There were other options (like Greek or lentil salad), which I skipped. The middle layer came with a selection of savoury muffins – zatar, sun-dried tomato or camel cheese muffins. I chose the latter, which I thought was perfect.
To top it all off, I grabbed the strawberry tart and pistachio-coated éclair (an oblong pastry) – both stuffed with camel milk pastry cream. These were simple joys to the palate.
For just Dh35 (the T-tray starts from Dh32 to Dh42), it’s a reasonable treat that gives you an eight-piece finger-food tray that is a cross between a cocktail and dinner. “It’s really a three-in-one dish,” said Rody Fok Shan, general manager of The Majlis. “The idea is to have a little bit of everything.”
The quiche, a tart-based pastry (made of camel milk, of course) infused with herbs (Dh15), is worth trying, too. This one stood out for its aromatic appeal.
I washed it all down with a “camelchino”, The Majlis’ interpretation of the Italian cappuccino, which I found a bit salty (perhaps from the natural camel milk), but which was lovely. It’s something a coffee person would find worth exploring.
The Majlis is probably the only speciality outlet of its kind in the world. For where else in the world can you find camel milk ice cream (in vanilla and chocolate flavours)? It has created a unique never-tried-before bakery specialities – such as the signature camel milk chocolate cake, assorted muffins, Danish items and bread.
It may not become the Timmy’s of Arabian coffee culture, but The Majlis has done an excellent job in raising awareness about the exceptional virtues of camel milk, where tourists can walk in to sample whatever they fancy.
DETAILS:
Cost: Dh50 to Dh60
Location: The Dubai Mall (Souq section, near Galeries Lafayette)
Call: 056-287 1522
We recommend: The T- tray twist, camel milk quiche, Camelchino
