Almaz by Momo

Almaz by Momo is consistently in one of my top 5 restaurants in Dubai. Here's a few reasons why:

Entrance to the restaurant

1) Location, location, location. It's a great place to pop by after a tough day of shopping at the Mall of Emirates. You can come in, relax, and enjoy the food and great company. 

2) The atmosphere. I love the mood of the restaurant, with its colourful Arabic-style decor, comfortable seats and always some good beats playing in the background. Their selection on music is a type of modern Arabic mixed with some clubby beats. There is no confusion here about what type of restaurant this is, the message is clear.

3) Last but certainly not least, and definitely the most important - the food! It is really absolutely delicious. There is a nice variety of dishes, from the traditional tajines, couscous etc as well as some lebanese appetisers such as fattoush, as well as general items like steak. If you come here you must order the Couscous Mechoui! It's not something you'll want to miss and the portion is great. We were a table of 4 and ordered the portion for 1 person (there is also the option to order for 2). It comes with lamb shoulder, which is divine, just melt-in-your-mouth soft and full of flavour. The couscous is a gentle and necessary accompaniment, and the veggies in their bullion provide the finishing touch of moisture and texture. This dish also comes with a small side of chickpeas with raisins and a spicy sauce - the latter is my favourite addition of flavour to an already wonderful dish.

Couscous Mechoui

Couscous Mechoui Continued

Starters- fattoush and cheese pastry

We also had ourselves some chicken tajine - the chicken was again tender and the dish was full of Moroccan flavour, with some sweetness to the sauce.

Chicken Tajine

Perhaps the only drawback may be that the service is not always at its best, though this almost nitpicking as it has only happened one or two times from the many occasions I visited. Be warned too that the restaurant is pricey - though I think it is very much worth it. It is best to visit for an occasion, and an indoor sheesha area will also serve any smokers wanting to also try out the food.

House of Curry

Indian food rotates in my top 3 of cuisines with Mexican and Japanese. The food is almost always full of flavour and tradition, you enjoy it immensely and you know what to expect. Garlic, coriander, spice, rich sauces and lentil - it can be a meal made of perfection.

House of Curry is a new place that opened up in Downtown in one of those little shacks on the boulevard. It's a charming place and easy to get to. It was empty when we visited, but I really hope that it gets popular enough soon, because this restaurant deserves it. 

I almost always order the same things whenever I go for Indian food. For the curries, I usually get some Butter Chicken for something creamy and flavourful, and Mutton Rogan Josh for the meat and something a little spicier. Both did not disappoint in this case, and the chicken was the winner of the two in this case. My only criticism of the mutton is that it contains bones, though really in all honesty I accept that all the flavour is in the bones. Still, if you like me don't really enjoy picking through bone I'd advise you to watch out for that. We did ask for the mutton to be spicy but we didn't find it to be particularly so.

The Tadka Daal, on the other hand, was a great compliment to the meal and provided the heat that was missing elsewhere. And, as always, I like to scoop everything up in my garlic naan, which did not disappoint and was just the right amount of garlic, butter and crispy. The mango lassi, too, gave a nice balance to the heat and helped extinguish the fire a little bit.

It's a nice little place and has a fair price. The service is friendly and the food is flavourful and plentiful. Obviously there are many other well-known Indian places that are far cheaper and more authentic (I'm not even going to mention Karama), but compared to its peers I think this place is great. The location helps too, and you could easily visit after some shopping and then head somewhere else to digest.

The bill:

- Mango Lassi: AED 22

- Mutton Rogan Josh: AED 60

- Butter Chicken: AED 55

- Tadka Daal: AED 35

- Garlic Naan: AED 8

- Plain White Rice: AED 25

For a total of: AED 205 for a group of 4, AED 52 each.