Few cities in the world have changed as much in 10 years as Abu Dhabi. And Zuma, which opened on Al Maryah Island in 2014, has witnessed it all.
Those in the know may have noticed this outpost has slipped off Mena’s 50 Best Restaurants list (although Zuma Dubai remains), but judging by the packed tables and lively atmosphere, you would never guess this was anything other than one of Abu Dhabi’s finest venues.
Ask any foodie in the capital and they will tell you Zuma is a firm favourite for special occasions. However, there’s no need to wait for a birthday or holiday to celebrate here, as is evident even on the bustling weekday I visited – a true feat in this city of plentiful options.
From Monday until June 15, Zuma Abu Dhabi is offering an extensive tasting menu to celebrate all it has served up in the past decade while introducing a sprinkle of fresh flavours. Coming up to the Japanese venue’s 10-year anniversary, The National drops in to test the limited-time menu.
Where to sit and what to expect
In true izakaya style, despite being Michelin-listed, the venue is not fine dining as you might expect. Rather, it is a relaxed affair, with families with small children enjoying dinner alongside diners from around the world, dressed up or dressed down.
Written using the three kanji symbols for stay, drink and place, the izakaya embodies the unflappable coolness of Zuma, where you can tuck in to tailored gourmet food or an informal drink at the bar and enjoy eclectic music throughout the night – from Afrobeats to melodic house.
With views over the water or up-close-and-personal at the sushi counter, seating options can be chosen depending on the vibe you’re after. My dining partner and I decide to look out on the bay, slightly out of the hustle and bustle of the bar area, where we can hear each other and savour each bite.
The menu
Moving away from some of the Zuma staples, the anniversary tasting menu features 14 courses with a mix of old and new offerings. Brimming with meat and seafood dishes, the menu can also be adapted to cater for any dietary requirement, allergy or intolerance upon request.
Curated by Polish head chef Jacek Bzdzikot, the meal starts with a humble offering of steaming edamame with rock salt, and moves on through a rich crab soup, spicy miso and soybeans; seared tuna, chilli daikon and ponzu sauce; yellowtail with green chilli relish, ponzu and pickled garlic; and Wagyu tatki with ponzu.
One of the standout courses is the sushi and maki platter, comprising a selection of 10 bite-sized portions in a truly Instagrammable set-up, including usual suspects salmon and scallops, as well as a cameo by the rarer sea urchin. A highlight is the wasabi, which comes in the form of a chunk of raw root – two years in the making – hand-grated at the table using a small wooden board coated in quietly impressive shark skin.
Just when you think you could not possibly eat another bite, out come a 250g black Angus rib-eye and Japanese sweetcorn with shiso butter.
The Angus hybrid is braised with garlic butter and served with sansho pepper sauce and home-made pickles, while the corn on the cob comes as a welcome addition to a meat-heavy meal, with citrus notes in the butter that create the king of all diary accompaniments.
The 14th and final course, after a much-needed 10-minute pause in proceedings, is a towering dessert platter on ice. Mainly consisting of fresh fruit, the finale is a refreshing conclusion to our culinary journey. Featuring the signature chocolate pudding, the tower of treats also includes the debut of a four-layered spicy pineapple pot of goodness, perfectly balancing sweet, sour, tangy and fresh flavours.
Price point
The 10th anniversary set menu is available until June 15 and priced at Dh595, while dishes introduced for the occasion can be ordered a la carte as well.
Zuma is open daily from noon-3.30pm, then 7pm-midnight. The 14-course tasting menu is available for lunch and dinner, and is for a minimum of two guests. Reservations can be made by calling 02 401 5900.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
Five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
RESULTS
6.30pm: Meydan Sprint Group 2 US$175,000 1,000m
Winner: Ertijaal, Jim Crowley (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap $60,000 1,400m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Handicap $160,000 1,400m
Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group 3 $200,000 2,000m
Winner: Folkswood, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile Group 2 $250,000 1,600m
Winner: Janoobi, Jim Crowley, Mike de Kock
9.25pm: Handicap $125,000 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
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If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
