For people visiting Dubai looking for something a little different on the foodie scene, I strongly recommend a visit to Club Vista Mare on the Palm. It’s one of Dubai’s latest developments and now plays host to some really cool restaurants and bars which overlook the sea, and you can pop down to the beach for a stroll. It’s the kind of place in Dubai you would find without an alcohol license, but this one (hurrah!) does.
One of those restaurants is Aji where Jack and I went for dinner last night. It’s Nikkei cuisine which is the popular food trend of Japanese-Peruvian fusion, and it’s right up my alley!
It was actually a tad windy last night so we set up shop indoors, which is a quirky and authentic mix of colourful benches, tables and stools that reflect the cuisine really well.
I couldn’t possibly go to a Peruvian and not try one of their signature sours creations. I had the ‘Pisco Punch’ which was a lovely fruity and fresh take on the classic Pisco sours.
We started with ‘light bites’ of the Shake and Maguru tacos, king crab and ebi tempura.
The tuna tacos slightly pipped the salmon with a hint of truffle and sesame running throughout – a perfect start to the meal.
The king crab, whilst pretty on the eye, could have had a little less batter or more meat for my liking, but the ebi tempura were a lovely surprise! When they first arrived I thought it a rather odd thing to blacken the outsides but as the light shone, I realised they were a deep purple from the purple corn flour used to deep fry. The yuzu ponzu sauce served with them was spot on – a great dish!
The highlight of all the starters was this STUNNING ‘Truffled Robalo’ which is seabass ceviche. I would have happily had these all night – best starter dish on the menu!
“Shake Truffle” and “Truffled Wagyu Tataki”… you can see a theme appearing!
Safe to say even if you don’t love truffle like I do, you’ll still thoroughly enjoy these dishes – I have the anti-truffle husband to vouch for that! Both beautifully presented and melt-in-the-mouth good.
For mains – the chef’s recommendation of sizzling “ebi teppam” and our pick of 24 hour ribs. The prawns were SENSATIONAL so I know for future to trust the chef all the same! Lovely, soft but still crunchy, onions underneath a bed of perfectly spiced kind prawns.
The ribs were enjoyable to say the least, but being a real foodie, I could’ve done with a little more ‘oomph’!
Overall a well-rounded feast of Nikkei cuisine with a few real dishes of genius! We came for an early dinner mid-week so the atmosphere wasn’t as electric as I suspect it is on the weekends. Definitely a great spot to enjoy a few unique and classic cocktails at their bar and move into some sharing-style bites.
You can check out Aji’s website here or call 00971 (0)4 552 0244 to make a booking.
Happy feasting fellow foodies!
Carly xx
