A taste of the Orient

December 2011

The famous Hakkasan brand reaches Dubai with a bang

Hakkasan's signature cage-like style


In London, you walk through an understated door with the letters HK etched in gold. In Miami, the restaurant sits modestly inside the famous Fontainebleau hotel. Abu Dhabi introduced the concept to the UAE with elegance and quiet sophistication. In Dubai and in true Dubai style, Hakkasan screamed, ‘I’m here’, as it opened its doors in November.

The unassuming trademark, the HK sign that adorns every Hakkasan door, has been replaced with a huge series of gold HKs sign outside the restaurant’s entrance on Emirates Towers Boulevard- the most exclusive approach to what has recently become one of Dubai’s top dining destinations. A fire-lit path leads to the reception area through a spacious terraced garden – a rarity in this urban corner of Dubai.

The main entrance is grand and impressive, but you can also enter through Emirates Towers Mall, through an understated entrance reached via a royal blue carpet leading from the portion of the mall that is home to other top brands including Cartier and Harry Winston’s.

Inside, the immaculately presented staff greet you and escort you to the long, electric blue bar that sprawls along the length of the far wall, for a pre-dinner drink.

I visited the flagship Hakkasan restaurant in London a few years ago. Food critics and patrons around the world attest to its greatness, and the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in its first year of opening. Hakkasan London has remained my number one restaurant ever since, so I waited with baited breathe for Hakkasan Dubai to open.

My sense of anticipation was increased further by the extravagant cocktails dreamed up by the team of expert mixologists behind the bar. I arrived 30 minutes before my table was booked so I parked myself on one of the high stools at the bar. Immediately, the bar manager - a very charming Scotsman called Angus McGregor gave us his full attention.

My partner opted for his signature drink, a Gibson (martini and gin) and I asked for a recommendation. Angus, it seems, has an encyclopaedia-like knowledge of every drink known to man, and he immediately recounted a short history of the Gibson. This was to be the trend for the entire night; whatever drink we ordered, Angus would give us a brief account of where the drink was from and how to make it before leaving us to enjoy.

When our table was ready, we moved into the dining area – a maze of rich dark wooden screens known as ‘the cage’.

Our waiter talked us through the menu – a mixture of Hakkasan signature dishes and new creations dreamed up for the Middle East outposts of the Chinese brand – and then offered his recommendations.

For starters we chose the duck salad and jasmine tea soaked ribs, followed by Singapore vermicelli noodles, stir-fry lobster and pipa duck with hoi sin sauce for the main course – choices that spanned a whole array of flavours and tones, which I expected would prove a challenge for any sommelier. But our French wine expert, took it in his stride and recommended two or three different wines with confidence. We settled on a 2008 Australian Shiraz – Fonty’s Pool.

The starters came and the jasmine tea-soaked ribs were juicy and tender with a sauce that was so delicious I immediately wanted to steal the recipe from one of the 60 chefs who work in the restaurant’s bustling kitchen. The wine paired beautifully with both starters.

After a rest between courses, our waiter brought out the mains, serving us a little of each as they arrived. The lobster was cooked to perfection and the duck was delicious.

The food certainly lived up to expectations but the service went far beyond. The staff were all passionate and knowledgeable about the products on offer – whether it was Angus tempting us with delicious cocktails, Olivier educating us about which wines complement different flavours, or the waiter recommending different culinary delights from the menu.

The Hakkasan brand has certainly not been lost in translation. Its stylish, elegant décor with mouth-watering dishes is definitely going to be among the most popular restaurants in the region – especially if the staff keep up the high standards set on this first visit.

THE IMPORTANT BIT

What: Hakkasan, Emirates Towers, Dubai
Contact: www.hakkasan.com