Notes to Self:Froth and bother

Dubai is great for showing off the fancy life you lead when your family and friends come to visit but sometimes I find the attention to detail and the superswift service a bit annoying.

Fine dining can be a little annoying. There, I said it. It's something I am lucky enough to be able to do a fair bit of and most of the time it's wonderful.

I love it when my courses are broken up with various palate-cleansing delights, such as sorbet and melon soup. I get excited when there's an array of nutty breads and a big slab of French butter to go with it and I cannot quite convey in words how much I love having my chair pushed in as I sit down and being escorted to the toilet. But fine dining can have a dark side. Sometimes the staff just doesn't know when to leave you and your date to it. Usually, when I opt for a meal at the pricier end of the scale, it is because I want an evening with that important someone. What ruins a special meal for me is when every time I take a sip of water, a waiter comes rushing across the restaurant to top up that one centilitre I just drank. Once — and I swear this is no exaggeration — a waitress took my knife and fork and proceeded to cut up my mozzarella, basil and tomato salad as I sat looking helpless and embarrassed. When did this become appropriate?

The most uppity I have ever had to get in a restaurant was when I went to an experimental place in a five-star hotel. I ordered the only vegetarian main course on the menu, a cheese-tomato concoction and waited for the result. After 20 minutes, a platter came up with what appeared to be one cherry tomato, one sun-dried tomato in oil and a filo pastry parcel the size of a dirham coin filled with feta. It would have been considered small for a starter but for a Dh90 main, I was aghast. Without even so much as trying it, I sent it back.

When chatting about this with a friend, she insisted I mention foam. It's something even I have noticed. It seems including a froth of something unidentifiable on the top of your foie gras (similar in consistency to cappuccino froth) is now standard in a posh restaurant.

I quite like a bit of pomp and I have even been known to enjoy foams — so they can stay. My main grievance with fine dining by far is with the überservice some restaurants are intent on providing.

I love Dubai's reputation for seven-star service but let's try and find the balance between attentive and just plain annoying.