India Palace

Rating: Excellent
Meal: Lunch for 3
Price: 292 AED
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Salty and saffron lassi, paneer tikka, lamb curry, chicken curry, lamb biryani, bread basket
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

We decided to head off on our own via taxi to the Mangrove Hotel which sits next to a large mangrove national park to do some research into tour options.  Afterwards we headed to a nearby mall called Mushrif to do some shopping for various items.  We walked the mall and scoped out all the restaurants, and when lunch arrived decided to try the grand looking India Palace, a local chain with around 13 branches.

It was beautiful inside, with lots of wood paneling and very high quality dishes.  The menu was quite extensive and the bread section alone had us swooning.  We were told the meal would take 15 to 20 minutes to prepare, and it was a while before everything arrived (all at once).  My son and I ordered different lassis, for me a salty lassi, and for him a saffron sweet.  We couldn't possibly decide on which bread, so we ordered a basket which came with naan, roti, and chapati.  All of them were made of whole wheat and were absolutely delicious.  Even my son conceded their superiority.  I got a plate of paneer tikka (white cheese roasted in the tandoor) for all of us, and of course I got a lamb curry dish.  My wife got a chicken curry in a creamy sauce, while my son went for the lamb biryani.  My dish was a bit salty, but still so flavorful, and the chicken dish was probably the best, heavy on the cardamom.  My son's biryani was also excellent, with that super complex spice mix that wafts up from the rice.

All of us were in heaven and agreed it was the best Indian we'd had in a very long time.

Bread basket

Paneer tikka

Chicken curry

Lamb curry

Lamb biryani (with a bread seal)

First Clique Marina Square

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 345 AED
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: 2 shishas, tea, soup, fries, mixed grill
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Yes

Last night my dad and I tried to go to the newly opened First Clique which is just 5 minutes walk from where they live in Al Reem island, but it was having it's grand opening and wasn't actually ready for business having delayed opening by one hour.  So we hopped in the car and drove 10 minutes to the Marina Square mall where there is another First Clique branch.

Lentil soup

The main purpose of the visit was to smoke shisha, which we did, but eventually we got hungry and ordered some food.  It was all very delicious of course.  It was, however, quite expensive, so that drops it down to an Ok sadly.

Mixed grill

Al Mrzab

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 5
Price: 312 AED
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Hummous, mutabbel, kuwaiti style lamb, mixed grill, vegetables, arabic coffee
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

We are visiting my dad in Abu Dhabi at the moment and today we went to one of their favorite local restaurants called Al Mrzab.  Aside from the usual Gulf arabic food they also serve Emerati and Kuwaiti specialties.

Saffron drink

They brought us pre-drinks which were saffron flavored shots.  It was interesting, but a bit sweet.  We ordered hummous and mutabbel, which came with as much bread as we wanted.  The bread was delicious, freshly baked, flat bread.  We ordered a lamb dish kuwaiti style, which we were told was baked and then set on rice, instead of cooked with the rice like the Emerati style.  We also ordered a mixed grill of several types of kebab.

Dates

It was all very delicious of course, and while I would rate this Excellent in Japan, here in the Gulf it was a very high Very Good.  I was also pretty impressed with the price, costing about $80 for the 5 of us.

Hommous, muttabbel, veg and bread

Kuwaiti style lamb

Mixed grill

Arabic coffee to finish

Kalin

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner for 2
Price:  2960
Payment: Cash only
Dishes:  Cold sake, ramen and fried rice set, beef and asparagus, shumai
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Yes

My son and I took the bus down to the area near Horinouchi station last night.  I lured him with promises of a Chinese restaurant.  Sure enough, Kalin's sign proclaims it's origins for all the world to see.

Beef with asparagus

It's a pretty typical Japanese Chinese restaurant.  The usual stuff on the menu.  My son ordered from the lunch menu and got a ramen and fried rice set.  The ramen was typical Chinese style, and there were a ton of noodles.  The fried rice was nothing special.  I ordered the beef and asparagus stir fry which was quite tasty, and an order of shumai, which wasn't that great.

Ramen

Overall pretty typical for it's genre, but nothing special.

Fried rice

Shumai

Tsuta

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch
Price: 1800 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Shoyu wanton chashu ramen
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Instructions

Well I had a treat last Saturday.  Some friends of ours were having a baby shower and the other husband and I decided to try a Michelin star rated ramen joint near where they live.  This is the first Michelin starred restaurant I've ever eaten at I believe

English menu

Getting in is the most unusual part, otherwise they operate just like any other ramen spot.  If you want a guaranteed spot (11 to 3pm), you have to show up right when they open with the same number of people that you want to eat with and buy "tickets" (plastic laminated cards) for a 1000 yen deposit each.  Then you come back around the time you are told and get in the long line.  Eventually someone will come out and collect you and the tickets (giving you back your deposit), bringing you inside to buy your actual meal ticket from the vending machine.  There is an English explanatory menu as well.  After buying your meal tickets, you hand those over and are escorted back in line.  I was a bit worried now as there was nothing to identify us beyond the person's memory of us.  They come back out again and escort you back in just as your ramen is ready to serve.  It's rather elaborate, but probably developed to handle the crowds of people that started clogging the place when they got famous.

Detailed ingredients

Anyway, on to the ramen itself.  We both chose their "signature dish", a shoyu (soy sauce) based broth, made with several different special soy sauces, including some truffle oil in there as well.  I was a bit worried about it as truffle oil can be overwhelming and cloying if not used properly, but it was really just a hint in there and not inappropriate.  The broth was quite delicious and not heavy like a tonkotsu broth.  It was layered and complex, so for a connoisseur that would elevate it beyond the typical ramen for sure.  The noodles were specially made and were thin, but a bit softer than usual, falling apart a bit in the mouth.  Definitely lacking in the chewiness I prefer in noodles, but I do expect a bit from soba.  They actually call the noodles "soba" but I'm sure they aren't buckwheat.  Soba can be used in different context to mean different things.  The charshu (roasted pork) was very delicious, using fatty portions but cut very thinly, and with an aromatic roasted taste.  Lastly the wantons were quite tasty, with lots of noodly skin hanging off of them.

Michelin star shoyu ramen!

Overall, my friend and I both thought it was very good ramen, but honestly not the best we've had.  It didn't really blow us away, which is what I would expect from a Michelin starred spot.  That being said, if you are a ramen expert, it probably does provide some uniquely complex, though subtle flavors that might be a refreshing change from some of the overpowering richness of other styles.  There are also at least 4 other ramen dishes on the menu that I wouldn't mind returning and trying, so maybe I'll update this review in the future if I have something truly mind blowing.

Motsushou

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner
Price: 2700 yen
Payment: Cash only (pretty sure)
Dishes: Awamori, raw beef liver, pork offal soup, 6 piece offal set
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Yes (pretty sure)

Last night I finally made it to a local joint I've passed by many a time.  I was actually trying to review a new spot that recently opened up, but it was closed so I searched around and remember Motsushou.  Typically when you see "motsu" in the title or description of a restaurant you are looking at a place specializing in offal.  This place was no exception, and is very similar to another place just around the corner.  Actually there are 3 motsu type spots on this block, one of which is yakiniku style.

Pork offal soup

At first it looked like they didn't have an English menu, but then one appeared, along with a waitress who spoke perfect English.  So, pretty easy if you can't decipher the menu, and honestly deciphering specialized Japanese kanji for weirdly specific intestinal items is difficult even if you've been here a while.

Raw beef liver

I ordered the two main specialties, raw beef liver and pork intestine soup, along with the 6 piece set of offal on sticks, and an awamori (drink).  The raw beef liver came with a hot stone to sear the outsides of the liver and it stayed surprisingly hot throughout the meal, still searing when I was done.  The liver tasted delicious of course.  The pork offal soup was ok, but a bit bland, and most of the offal was very chewy, not my favorite.  The sticks varied between chewy and delicious (especially the chicken hearts).  I would just order lots of chicken hearts next time probably, they are only 150 yen a pop.

Various sticks

Overall, pretty good stuff and I wouldn't mind going back.

More sticks

Ushio

Rating: OK
Meal:  Dinner for 2
Price:  6150
Payment: Cash only
Dishes:  Cold sake, hot sake (accidentally ordered), kimchi pork, 4 piece deep fried chicken/pork/squid on a stick, maguro, roasted chicken thigh, tomato salad
English Menu: No (drinks only)
Smoking: Yes

Last night my wife and I grabbed dinner out, attempting to review a new place that recently opened.  However it was closed so we walked around the block and found another new place that had recently opened, an Izakaya called Ushio.  It seems very new, with staff still in training.

Mandatory appetizer

The only translated menu was the drink menu, but despite this the guy taking our order managed to misunderstand me and bring us both a cold sake glass and a large hot sake urn.  So we had a lot more to drink than we intended, but didn't feel like making a scene.

Too much sake

The food was just ok overall, and the vibe wasn't that great, so I'm giving it a low Ok.

Maguro

Tomato salad

Deep fried sticks of goodness

Kimchi pork

Roasted chicken