Indego by Vineet (Dubai)

10th April 2013

After organising a trip to Dubai for a work conference, i looked at a variety of different restaurants for the first night when i arrived and had spare time on my own. After some research i found a restaurant that intrigued me, Indego by Vineet, opened in Dubai by the only Indian man (Vineet Bhatia) to acquire 2 Michellin stars. I was intrigued about how much better Indian food could be than regular local Indian curries.

Located in a fancy hotel (Grosvenor House) in the Dubai Marina area, i walked to the reception area and was greeted by a host dressed in traditional Indian attire. The reception was beautifully furnished with a small fountain filled with Indian flowers which opened up to a spacious dining room with tables set far apart and with traditional and elegant furnishing. I was led to a table with fine dining linens and cutlery before being offered a hot hand towel to refresh and the extensive drinks and food menus.

As i was on holiday i decided to go full out with the 5 course tasting menu. I was also offered 3 types of spice level, mild, medium and hot. I went for medium but was also provided a side of hot sauce for added spice. As a rule the food didn't shy away from a hit of spice or flavour.

Before the first course they provided some roasted papadams with 3 types of dips. Crisp tasty papadams with amazingly flavoursome dips, Beetroot raita, Mango Chutney and Mint & Coriander chutney. The dips, especially the Mint & Coriander which had a little bit of kick, were truly amazing.

The first course was a Crab and Lentil soup with a crab fritter on the side. Served piping hot with a very decent spicy hit filled with chunks of crab meat and the crab fritter was crisp and full of flavour. A great starter.

The second course was a two part dish served side by side on a slate tile and is one of the signature dishes of this restaurant and of Vineet Bhatia in general. The first part was a gigantic (possibly on steroids) prawn flavoured with lemon and tandoori spices and the second being a Home smoked tandoori salmon. Both were steeped in a grainy mustard and honey marinade. Both were perfectly cooked and balanced of flavour with the prawn being so juicy and fresh and the Salmon fall apart delicate. Well worthy of being a signature dish and my favourite dish of the dinner. Ridiculously good.

We then moved onto the first of the main courses and a very classic Indian dish interpreted into a magical dish. A classic tandoori chicken breast, cooked sous vide until it was amazingly soft and moist and then simmered in a rich and buttery tomato sauce. It was served on top of a saffron pulao that was perfectly cooked. Better quality ingredients, cooking and flavour than you usual corner Indian restaurant could ever make a Butter chicken.

The second main course was a pot roasted ginger lamb chop served with corn and morel korma laced with truffle oil. The first thing i noticed was the beautiful aroma of truffle oil that wafted from the dish. The next was the amazing cooking of the meat and it just fell from the bone. The korma was a little small but was excellent and the lamb had a nice ginger flavour and the meat was so good.

Before desert i was offered a palate cleanser of an orange and rose petal sorbet that was topped off with champagne. An excellent contrast to the heat of previous dishes that refreshed and took away the spice and was a tasty and delicious dish on its own.

The final dish was desert and was broken into 3 parts. A mini chocolate samosa which was crisp and filled with a rich dark chocolate. The samosa was sitting on a bed of white chocolate soil which was perfect. The second part was a steamed yoghurt topped with a red currant jelly. The final part was my favourite, an amazing combo of pistachio and mint ice cream, subtle but full of flavour and the combo of pistachio and mint was a surprising winner.

A mix of old school service dining room and service and new innovative cooking techniques and ideas that has ruined all other Indian restaurants for me. Amazing mix of flavour, heat and technical cooking. Combined with exemplary service and very decent value (less than $180 for the tasting menu at a Michellin star restaurant compares with the top restaurants in Australia).