Enjoying a lunch that is responsible for reinventing the gourmet wheel and creating a brand new social phenomenon does not need much mastery. If you can muster the energy, free up your calendar for a few hours, find some friends and some spare cash, you will be joining thousands of other residents who declare it the most important engagement of the week.
In a city where the Friday brunch is an institution, it is hard to figure out what makes one different from the rest. If variety, diversity, extravagance and indulgence is the established norm, what, if any, are the exceptions?
At Olea, the Levantine restaurant at Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Dubai, there are two factors to consider. Their Souq Brunch is genuinely Arabic, and the price tag of Dh225 to Dh395 per person is about as reasonable as it can get. (The starting point includes soft drinks, while the other end of the spectrum includes bubbles and vintages).
All the dishes you have come to recognise as Arabic are included – fatayer, manakesh, kibbe, koftas - but it is the main courses that deliver some regional favourites. Try a bit of the Mansaf Lahem, Musakhan or Makloba djaj, and Samkeh Harra for true tastes of the Levant. Inside the dedicated desert room, the fresh and creamy Ashta Bil Asal is a right treat.
The brunch is spread out across the length and breadth of the large restaurant, so make sure you find some of the best bits such as the Shanklesh, which is hidden on some shelves alongside other cold mezzehs, and the Foul Nabet and Falafel which have dedicated trolleys but are rather discreetly placed.
There is plenty of live action: chefs manning different stations, an ornately dressed man serving Tamer Hindi, a lady singing soulful compositions, the handmade Arabic ice cream counter, and dedicated activity areas for children.
In marrying home-style cooking with street food concepts, and throwing in live entertainment to boot, Olea is doing much to showcase the culture and the cuisine of the Levantine countries - Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and parts of Turkey and Cyprus.
The ingredients are fresh, the chefs are specialised, some classics have clever contemporary interpretations, and there is always some soulful Arabic song playing in the background to soothe.
If you have guests from out of town, this makes for a great two-in-one introduction to brunch and Arabic cuisine. And even if you don’t, it is a refreshing perspective on Dubai’s favourite pastime.
