Dubai food week

Ok, no, it's not really food week, but it has felt that way just lately. I had started January with big plans of doing a detox, and going off the booze for a month, but that has all fizzled away like snow in the desert, in July. What with friends visiting, and the pending, and much anticipated, third instalment of the Dubai Ladies Wine Club Come Wine and Dine with Me it has seemed a little bit pointless really to start anything in earnest.

So, instead, I have some lovely pics of food to torment you with (*evil laugh*).

[lovely teeny-weeny cakes]

[and chocolate truffles]

First off I had lunch with a colleague at an Ozzie café-slash-patisserie in the Dubai Mall, called Brunetti. As you can see from the picture they tantalise you with a range of small cakes and home-made chocolate truffles, plus home-made ice-cream, birthday cakes, and delicious sandwiches and salads. I had a prawn salad followed by a (mini) lime meringue and chocolate cannoli. How do you say "yummy" in Australian?

[prawn salad]

Then no visit to Dubai is complete without dinner on the creek, so I made sure to also drag this set of friends down to Bateaux Dubai (my favourite). We had a lovely evening. The meal began with a tomato-y soup, I then had the fennel risotto with scallops (heaven) followed by duck, and a chocolate fondant for pud. I think by the end of that they had jettisoned most of the furniture just to keep the boat from capsizing.

[fennel risotto]

[duck for mains]

[choccie fondant]

Finally on friday we went for high tea at the Burj Al Arab. At the Sky Bar. On the 27th Floor. With champers. Stunning view, service and nibbles. As always (says she who has only been twice).

[tea goodies]

[scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserve]

To make matters worse Jamie Oliver's first restaurant in Dubai, Jamie's Italian, opens on the 26th of this month at Festival City. And the highest restaurant in the world is now also open. On the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa!

Diners keen to get a booking at the 442m-high At.mosphere in Burj Khalifa will have to spend a minimum of AED450 ($122) a head.

[At.mosphere - way up there]

Both places are on my list of course.

Now where did I put my running shoes? Eeek