DUBAI: You don’t start a meal with the dessert, but at Yugen that’s what you’re probably going to do. This modern Japanese concept restaurant in Jumeirah is serving food that is not very Japanese, but does stand up to the meaning of its name: ‘deep and mysterious’.
I started my evening with the dynamic truffle fries, corn on the cob and spinach tahini. While the first two are Yugen’s best sellers, I was curious to know what spinach tahini tasted like. To think of it, tahini is usually bland, and so is spinach. In maths, two negatives make a positive and that’s probably the explanation for this dip.
Nothing corny
Corn on the cob sounds very boring but the name is inversely proportional to its taste. It’s sure to change the image of corn in your head. To go with these, I ordered the raspberry flame raba drink. The raspberries blend with ginger was topped off with a red chilli. Very tangy and strongly recommended.
For the mains, I opted for Black Spaghetti Pasta, Fusion Lover and Saudis in Dubai. If I had to rate them in order of preference, I would list them in reverse. Saudi’s in Dubai is the local kabsa rice with chicken and a yoghurt dip. One mouthful and it feels like good karma has come looking for your taste buds.
Fusion Lover is a fried sushi that has scallions, prawns with sriracha and teriyaki. You already know what this is going be like if you’re a seafood fan. For the rest, it’s a surprise.
Yugen has something called ‘Oreo Churros’. It’s actually crushed Oreos (minus the cream) infused with Nutella and marshmallows. It is served in the shape of churros on a white chocolate bowl. The white chocolate is made with the Oreo biscuit cream as its main ingredient, and the churros melt over it. The closest analogy would be eating Oreos inside out with the biscuit sandwiched between the creams. I would say this is a dream, but reality is better than that.
Details:
Meal for two: Dh150
Where: Jumeirah 1, opposite Mercato Mall
Timing: Noon–midnight
Contact: 04-385 4577
Ratings:
Ambience: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Overall: 4
