Eat without a pause

Dubai:  Everyone loves fine dining, quality dishes made with the freshest and best ingredients, using techniques that require almost scientific precision to execute. The problem has always been the bill at the end of the meal.

So what do you do if you want to experience quality cuisine at a more wallet-friendly price? While one option may be to go without, the more palatable one would be to visit the 2011 edition of the three-day Taste of Dubai festival at Dubai Media City which kicks off this Thursday.

It's all here

"Dubai has so many fine dining establishments, and the festival brings them all together," explains Anju Chadda, Events Director of the festival.

Over 20 of Dubai's most acclaimed restaurants from P.F. Chang's to Verre by Gordon Ramsay will be offering a selection of their best dishes for under Dh30 a plate. We are talking about over 90 signature dishes from the city's finest restaurants.

The dishes on offer are sure to please any patron, from the ‘carnivores' with the Rib Room's Wagyu Beef Burgers to the fish lovers with Pisces' Pan Roasted Wild Sea Bass, from fans of the Far East with China Club's Crystal Shrimp Dumpling Har Gao to the vegetarians among us with Certos' speciality dish of Ravioloni di Caprino con Salsa ai Porcini e Mirtilli (goat cheese ravioli with blueberries and porcini mushroom to you and me).

You also have good reason to forget your diet with desserts like La Parilla's Caramelised Banana Cheese Cake with Dulce De Leche Ice Cream or a classic Eton Mess from the Rivington Grill. Heady mix? No one's said the way to the stomach is a bland challenge.

Apart from satiating one's appetite, Taste of Dubai is also offering thirst quenchers to its visitors. The Piper Unwind Lounge will see the launch of Piper, a non-alcoholic, sugar and caffeine-free drink which, its makers claim, inspires "creativity".

"The drink promotes social interaction by relaxing the mind but not the body so you still have energy. Visitors to the lounge can expect ambient surroundings and try the beverage," says Marina Diaz, spokesperson for the lounge.

Foodies' theatre

For those who want to learn as well as indulge, the Philips Chefs Theatre and Miele Cookery School will be irresistible attractions. The former will put on live demonstrations by celebrity chefs such as Jun Tanaka, Gary Rhodes and head chefs from the likes of Verre and Maya.

The Cookery School will hold live and interactive cooking sessions where visitors can cook alongside some more famous names such as Vineet Bhatia, Tim Hughes (from acclaimed London eatery, The Ivy), and chefs from the city's best restaurants, including Scott Price, from Verre by Gordon Ramsay, who won Chef of the Year award in 2010.

Bhatia told XPRESS he will be giving a live demonstration on how to make Green Herb Chicken Tikka along with Beetroot Upma - "an unusual combination of North and South [India]," while Rhodes will be demonstrating how to make his warm sesame glazed duck with orange and maple dressed salad; steamed seabass; soft spring onion potato with leeks, ginger and soy vinaigrette, and iced lemon meringue.

Among other exciting themes at the festival, the MMI Beverage Theatre is a returning feature this year and will be holding [beverage] events and tastings.

For your entertainment

While kids may not be impressed by the likes of The Wharf's Cornish Crab and Prawn Salad with Grilled Avocado and Watercress, the Play Nation Kids Zone has lined up an array of special treats for them.

This year, the play area features crowd-favourite Magic Planet, a football pitch courtesy the Soccer Academy and Cite des Enfants' creative workshops aimed at two- to-seven-year-olds.

The festival's brand new music stage is also set to play host to two tribute acts flown in from the UK - Elton John (March 3) and Robbie Williams (March 4).

Also performing will be Vibrancy (of JamBase), classical singer Bryony Goodall, contemporary DJs Daisy and Danny Cee, among others. The festival will close at midnight on February 5 - with a DJ spinning hits from the'80s till today, leading up to the closing moment.

The writer is an intern at XPRESS