Almass

Hummm, working one's way up the ladder!!! 1 star, then 2 stars and later 3 stars. Now where did I read that? And in which gastronomic bible? It does not make a difference as to where you begin. It is all a matter of enjoying the culinary voyage et all levels. Let us be frank here. How many of the members know the difference between a Roc de Cambes and a Certan-de-May and do you really need to know the difference to qualify you to eat at a 3 star establishment? It is all about experience et joie de vivre. The food served at most restaurants is an eclectic display of the Chef prouesse and hence there is no taste memory to judge whether a particular dish is correctly cooked or not. Had we been talking about the eternally rehearsed Canetton a l'Orange, then you would need to appeal to previous well established memory to judge this dish. But with the new restaurants, all what you can say is whether the dish is well presented and taste nice! That's about it. So go ahead and book at a 3 star after all you are the customer and not the pupil.

Some clarifications and in fact makes visual recognition easier: 1- Sambousek: Deep fried in oil (originally in Samneh) (usually minced meat and pine kernels) (closed moon crescent pies). 2- Fatayer: Baked in oven (usually Spinach) (closed triangular pies). 3- Rakayek: Fried in oil (usually cheese) (closed cylindrical pies). 4- Sfiha: Baked brushed with Samneh/butter (usually meat) (open squarish pies) 5- Manakeesh/Lahm bel Ajin: Baked (open circular pies). Of course, different resturants or Chefs might decide to have Fatayer shapes with meat or Spinach or cheese and so on for Sambousek/Burek...etc But a purist definition is given above.

Toast nicely the bread and spread Skippy peanut butter medium to thick spread. Dress with mature cheddar cheese stripes and decorate with lashings of French's mustard and top up with gherkins. Preferably enjoyed with Led Zeppelin played very loud in the background.

LoL@FoodMan. Really appetising stuff. My latest crave is to order Manaeech Maa Khodra and dribble all over the car carpet. LoL. My GF orders Lahm B'aajin bel jebneh but I stick to the old Manousheh. Having said that and in case FoodMan house is too far for the members. The easiest way is to mix Zaatar with EVOlive oil to paste form and spread on toast or arabic flat bread and place a mint leaf with a cut piece of tomato and enjoy. You might wish to add cottage cheese if labneh not available. If you want to be wicked, add hot powder pimentos or paprika. (slowly)

FoodMan, 1- Yes you are right about the Shawarma being essentially lamb and no chicken in sight. It is in early 80's that the chicken Shawarma appeared in Kuwait on a Palestinian request. This reminds me of the Kufta wich moved from lamb to chicken to fish and finally to prawns. So maybe one day we shall have a fish shawarma followed by prawns shawarma. 2- The Shish taouk, of course has no relation to Shawarma.

Yes, there is few restaurants with local fare but don't hang your hopes too high as it is a mix of Middle East and Indian dishes which in all honesty does not do justice to either of the cuisine. Having said that, I recommend for you to visit Madinat Jumeirah and look for Al Makan restaurant just after the entrance on your right. They offer inside/outside seating and two distinct menus, one local and one Lebanese/ME. They do not serve alcohol but a fantastic range of freshly squeezed juices. The food of both menus is very enjoyable and the setting overlooking the man made river is very eery. Alternatively, try the Kan Zaman or Al Bandar restaurants for local cuisine. Simply ask any taxi to take you there. Enjoy.

Hello I am new here and although I have been lurking for some time, I finally dipped in the posting pool. Very interesting thread of 16 pages and took a while to absorb it all. May I summarize as follows: 1- Menu construction based on niche position of Molecular Gastronomy principle. 2- Michelin 3 star. 3- Outstanding prose of one dinner experience. 4- Like v Dislike opinions. 5- Heston personality. 6- Oops, and now, reservations complications. Welcome to the world of spin. FD and similar establishments are part of the "Entertainment" experience. They are not gastronomic temples and Michelin lost the way many few years ago. Well done Heston, he is able to bring large queues to his restaurant and entertain the minds with his gastronomic adaptation. Did I eat at FD, yes. Will I go again, No. Maybe this will raise some eyebrows should I dare and compare Heston with Nobu. Nobu did offer a positive contribution to food lovers. Put aside for a second the setting, the service and the frills. But Nobu bridged the culinary European and Japanese corridor with dishes that stamped a memory on the palate. He did enrich our palate palette. To name but only a very small example is the addition of lemon juice to the ubiquitous Soya sauce (Yellow Tail dressing). This is one small example where Nobu did influence food lovers to adopt his teachings. Of course, most of you already know his signature dishes so no need for me to elaborate. Where is Heston in all that? Sheer entertainment and no deferred gastronomic heritage. My 2ct.