Dubai Restaurant is in the heart of Itaewon above the Dunkin Donuts.
Here is a waitress serving the Dubai Kebap.
Dubai Restaurant has a spacious interior with large selection of shisa hookas.
Dubai Restaurant's Hummus is the best I've had in Seoul.
Here is Dubai Restaurant's Mazza with Humma, Baba Ghanoush, and their homemade yogurt.Dubai Restaurant Review
by Dan Gray
I have a rule about ethnic restaurants: the staff should eat the food that the restaurant serves. If you see empty bowls of Ja Ja Myeon outside of your authentic "Italian" or "Thai" restaurant then it often means that the cooks don't have a taste for the food they serve. This is not the case with Dubai Restaurant in Itaewon. It was built by Arab people for Arab people.
Dubai Restaurant sits in the heart of Itaewon across from Helios on the main drag and they make food that they-and their clientele- like to eat. You will not see kimchi on the menu, they use spices like cardamon or baharat-which might seem alien to some, they don't serve alcohol, and they use all Halal meats.
The first time I went was with my friend Rami from Yemen. He recommended the hummus and the shisa at this restaurant. He is a regular that goes to Dubai Restaurant several times a week to get hummus and bread for dinner. The hummus is a light, airy paste that is lightly flavored with garlic, tahini, lemon, and olive oil. This was wonderful with the light fluffy bread (1,000 each) it was served with for dipping. I can safely say this is some of the best hummus in the city. A perfect appetizer to start with is the Mazza (W9,000) because it comes with Baba Ganoush, Hummus, and their creamy and tart homemade yogurt.
Dubai has several entree specialties that I would recommend. I'm a fan of their Kabsa Lamb (W13,000). It has tender chunks of lamb in with basmati rice, caramon, turmeric, lemon, and tomato. It's a subtle dish; so if you need a bit of spice, ask for some and they'll bring out their housemade hot pepper paste. Their Menazela (12,000) with slowly cooked eggplant and lamb in tomato sauce is excellent as well. My favorite was the Dubai Kebab (W15,000)that had seasoned minced lamb in a Arabic tomato sauce with rice. One of these days, I will have to try the Dubai Royal Mixed Grill (W80,000). It has 2 lamb steaks, 2 shish kebabs, 2 chicken escalope, 1 lamb brochette, and 1 chicken brochette.
Dubai is not the fanciest restaurant on the main drag, so if you are looking to impressive someone there are other places that fit that profile. But if you are looking for a comfortable atmosphere to have a meal and a conversation then this is the place to go.
Dubai Restaurant ** (2 stars)
02-798-9277
Itaewon Exit 3. It's above the Dunkin Don
I dare say the food scene in Seoul may have become more international than in Honolulu. That makes me both happy and sad.
ReplyDeleteonly in certain neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteDan: we should get together a crew big enough to order a Dubai Royal Mixed Grill or two.
Roboseyo wrote:
ReplyDeleteonly in certain neighborhoods.
Do you mean that Seoul's food scene is more international only in certain neighborhoods? If so, I'd say that while that's true, it's equally true of Honolulu. For that matter, it's also true of Orange County.
It's unrealistic to expect an Arabic restaurant in every one of Seoul's 500+ dong, or even for that matter, in all two dozen or so of its gu, but do I need to have it right down the block for me to enjoy it? In all the metro areas where I've lived for more than a few years — Seoul, OC, Compton, and Honolulu (and let's throw in Vegas and southeastern Minnesota for good measure) — I've never been able to have that Manhattan experience.
Well, in OC we do have Korean food down the block, complete with Korean-style Vietnamese noodles (ha!), but not the world-in-your-neighborhood that parts of New York have.
Even Los Angeles, with its greater ethnic offerings than nearby OC, primarily has its ethnically rich cuisine located in or near the corresponding ethnic enclaves. If I want Ethiopian food, I have to drive to Little Ethiopia. Even in OC, which supposedly has (had?) the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam, I generally have to drive to Little Saigon. And I would have to drive to somewhere in Anaheim or Huntington Beach to find a halal restaurant.
But — and this is where Seoul is apparently becoming different from Honolulu with which I made the comparison — Seoul at least has these restaurants to drive or take the subway to. Not so with Honolulu. I guess there must be some halal restaurants, but they are not likely to be Arab, because the Muslims that would generate the demand for such restaurants — and I'm merely speculating that they exist — are predominantly Indonesian, Malaysian, etc.
But we have sushi places on every corner, not to mention a demand for Korean food that has yielded Korean restaurant chains, so it can't be all bad. :)
By the way, I did make it there yesterday evening for dinner with a friend. We ordered the yogurt-baba ghanoush-humma platter and some flatbread, which we dipped into the platter and also the sauces for the meat dishes.
ReplyDeleteBeing fans of meat over vegetables, but also being students on budgets, we ordered chicken curry and the lamb rice dish (the exact names escape me). I have no idea if I'm eating things right, but I enjoy wrapping meat up with the bread, especially if there's a little sauce or something.
It was quite delicious. The hummus was excellent. I really liked it. But then again, I'm fairly easy to please. We enjoyed the whole meal, including the tea that came at the end.
It's definitely some place I'd like to visit again when I'm back in Seoul. Thanks for the recommendation.
Ah, I just re-read and I realized I ordered kabsa lamb. And it was really quite tender. So was the chicken. Really good.
ReplyDelete