CHEF’S SPECIAL

THE BEST DISHES CURRENTLY ON MENUS AT RESTAURANTS ACROSS DUBAI – AS CHOSEN BY CHEFS THEMSELVES

YASUYUKI TAKEMOTO

HEAD CHEF, NIRI RESTAURANT & BAR (ABU DHABI)

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

Lamb chops spiced with shiso pesto

Tell us about the dish:

Tender lamb cutlets are marinated in a special fermented chilli and honey paste, cooked on the Robata grill, and served with a shiso pesto and our house-made pickles.

What makes it a standout dish?

It’s a well-rounded dish because it manages to hit all the various taste profiles. The umami and heat from the fermented chilli complement the sweetness of the honey in the marinade. The shiso pesto, which is made primarily from the Japanese shiso leaf, lends a bright herbal flavour, whilst the Amazuzuke pickles give a nice acidity that cuts through the fattiness of the lamb. This dish is a personal favourite, I always order it whenever I dine at NIRI with friends and family.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

The lamb chops are sourced from Australia, while the shiso leaves are sourced directly from Japan.

FAISAL NASER

CHEF & RESTAURATEUR, LENTO (DUBAI & ABU DHABI)

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

That’s a tough one. From the burger menu, I’m going to go with The Korean. But it really does depend on my mood and maybe even what music I’m listening to. I’m a huge hip-hop fan – if you can’t tell from all the vinyl records displayed on the restaurant wall – it’s one of the reasons I put a DJ booth in the new Dubai location.

Tell us about the dish:

The Korean is a fried chicken burger with lots of Asian flair! After the chicken is brined, it’s coated in a thick batter, speckled with Japanese togarashi, before hitting the fryer to create a crisp, golden crust. The fried chicken is given a thick slathering of spicy sweet Gochujang sauce, topped off with Kimchi coleslaw, and a generous dollop of siracha mayo, cushioned between a soft, fluffy sourdough Hokkaido milk bun.

From the marinade to the sauces and slaw, down to the buns – it’s all made in-house. At LENTO 90% of all ingredients are made from scratch, some dishes may sound simple but there’s a lot of preparation going into each dish.

What makes it a standout dish?

The Korean is loaded with complex flavours, from both what's in it and what’s on. The Gochujang sauce alongside the kimchi slaw makes for a unique profile. There’s a bit of umami, a bit of sweet, loads of texture, and a bit of zing. The bun completes the dish, pillowy soft and lightly sweetened – to me, it’s the ultimate burger bun.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

We try to be as sustainable as possible. Vegetables are mainly sourced from local suppliers and our chicken is sourced from Al Ajban Poultry Farm – the only natural free-range chicken producer in the UAE.

RUKOMEDA PAVEL

EXECUTIVE CHEF, NOT ONLY FISH

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

My favourite dish is the Pastrami Rotti

Tell us about the dish.

Rotti’s are well known on a global scale, with theories of it originating in Persia, Middle-East/Asia as well as East Africa. We have taken this everyday dish and put our signature Asian twist on it, which will surely make it one of the many interesting and exciting dishes on the menu.

What makes it a standout dish?

It all starts with preparation. Each dish takes us a total of twelve days to make. We start by placing the pastrami in a brine for 10 days, after which we dry it, rub it with a secret blend of spices and then sous vide it for 48 hours, to ensure it’s perfectly cooked while maintaining all that flavour and tenderness. We put the pastrami, along with ginger aioli, unagi sauce and pickled onions on one of our in-house, homemade rottis. The result is unlike anything you will find in Dubai.

Where do you source the ingredients from?

We pride ourselves on using only the freshest and best quality ingredients. As such, we have meticulously searched the market for the best ingredients around the world.