Restaurant Review
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AQABA MEDITERRANEAN. MIDDLE EASTERN
Named after a city in
Jordan, Aqaba sits in an office building in Lower Parel. Having eaten
its Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern food a few times, I went back with two
well-travelled foodies who not only love Mediterranean food but know
baba from its ghanoush. While the charming and stylish designer
extraordinaire Kiran Uttam Ghosh was in Mumbai to show her fabulous new
collection, Jag Dhanoa, who has an oil business in Dubai was here to
tend to his hotel in Alibag. Both love Mediterranean food and I was
equally riveted by their global experiences in that cuisine as about
Kiran Uttam Ghosh's collection of global silhouettes juxtaposed with
local handcrafted textiles.
“I would come all the way from Dubai for the The Garlic Sauce,“ says Dhanoa. Kiran enjoyed the food as did a golfing champ and gourmet who prefers to fly under the radar and didn't want to be mentioned.Our review follows.
DÉCOR
Ask for directions to this office building and once in it, make sure you whizz up the correct lift. Polished wood tables and plush furnishings in shades of sea-blue and green, dot
FOOD
Choose from their all-day menu with salads, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, mezze and mains for dinner which include dishes from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, and a smattering of dishes from Italy, Spain and Northern Africa.
Select your own mezze platter and your own kebab platter with a choice of Chicken Gyro, Lamb Gyro, Rawas Kebab, Moroccan Prawns, Lamb Seekh Kebab, Batata Harra, Lebanese Spicy Potatoes topped with cheese and grilled. While it was the garlic cream sauce that came up tops, the Lamb Kibbeh and Shish Taouk were well made too. Okay-ish, flavoursome tagine, well-made moussaka. Vegetarians can go for Labneh, Dolmas and Spanakopita. End with the creamy Rose Petal Ice Cream.
MINUS POINTS
Price points are certainly on the higher side and some of the dishes disappoint.The Samak Meshwi (fish) was a tad off and smelly, while the Shawarma overcooked and pizza soggy. Oversweet, sticky Baklava.
MY POINT
An interesting and ambitious menu in a pleasing light-filled environment. The arguments about authenticity can go on forever, however, Aqaba's food offers comforting flavours. With so much of competition from other standalone restaurants, it could do with toning down its prices. It is an ideal and stylish venue for parties, events and even boardroom meetings.
GLITTERINGLY NEW IN NYC I write from my beloved New York. Or should I say Newest York?
It obviously takes its name very seriously as it keeps popping up with the new, newer and newest by the minute. I've been dining at many a new surprise but this one, with its shimmering chandeliers and superluxuriousness, dazzles. Not even a few weeks old, Baccarat redefines French luxury as it opens its first flagship hotel here. We walk under sparkling ceilings, past priceless art and Baccarat crystal collections into the Grand Salon. Daintiest of Eclairs, freshest of Scallops delight as I lunch with the brilliant maestro Ashfer Biju who has taken time off from his very busy schedule of high-profile banqueting at the legendary Pierre to lunch with me and the dynamic and charming Rebecca Rand. I get to know about many more new eateries as I am on a blind date with a bunch of New Yorker food bloggers. I raise a toast (with a classic Baccarat Harcourt crystal glass of course) to my Newest York! P.S. Should you want any NYC info, please email rashmiudaysingh2015@gmail.com, Instagram, Twitter @rashmiudaysingh
“I would come all the way from Dubai for the The Garlic Sauce,“ says Dhanoa. Kiran enjoyed the food as did a golfing champ and gourmet who prefers to fly under the radar and didn't want to be mentioned.Our review follows.
DÉCOR
Ask for directions to this office building and once in it, make sure you whizz up the correct lift. Polished wood tables and plush furnishings in shades of sea-blue and green, dot
FOOD
Choose from their all-day menu with salads, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, mezze and mains for dinner which include dishes from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, and a smattering of dishes from Italy, Spain and Northern Africa.
Select your own mezze platter and your own kebab platter with a choice of Chicken Gyro, Lamb Gyro, Rawas Kebab, Moroccan Prawns, Lamb Seekh Kebab, Batata Harra, Lebanese Spicy Potatoes topped with cheese and grilled. While it was the garlic cream sauce that came up tops, the Lamb Kibbeh and Shish Taouk were well made too. Okay-ish, flavoursome tagine, well-made moussaka. Vegetarians can go for Labneh, Dolmas and Spanakopita. End with the creamy Rose Petal Ice Cream.
MINUS POINTS
Price points are certainly on the higher side and some of the dishes disappoint.The Samak Meshwi (fish) was a tad off and smelly, while the Shawarma overcooked and pizza soggy. Oversweet, sticky Baklava.
MY POINT
An interesting and ambitious menu in a pleasing light-filled environment. The arguments about authenticity can go on forever, however, Aqaba's food offers comforting flavours. With so much of competition from other standalone restaurants, it could do with toning down its prices. It is an ideal and stylish venue for parties, events and even boardroom meetings.
GLITTERINGLY NEW IN NYC I write from my beloved New York. Or should I say Newest York?
It obviously takes its name very seriously as it keeps popping up with the new, newer and newest by the minute. I've been dining at many a new surprise but this one, with its shimmering chandeliers and superluxuriousness, dazzles. Not even a few weeks old, Baccarat redefines French luxury as it opens its first flagship hotel here. We walk under sparkling ceilings, past priceless art and Baccarat crystal collections into the Grand Salon. Daintiest of Eclairs, freshest of Scallops delight as I lunch with the brilliant maestro Ashfer Biju who has taken time off from his very busy schedule of high-profile banqueting at the legendary Pierre to lunch with me and the dynamic and charming Rebecca Rand. I get to know about many more new eateries as I am on a blind date with a bunch of New Yorker food bloggers. I raise a toast (with a classic Baccarat Harcourt crystal glass of course) to my Newest York! P.S. Should you want any NYC info, please email rashmiudaysingh2015@gmail.com, Instagram, Twitter @rashmiudaysingh
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