Let’s set the Tableya for some perfect fusion

Molecular gastronomy never gets old. It is ever so interesting, ever so exciting, and there is so much to it than meets the eye. To find out these intricate details and experience street styled molecular gastronomy in all its glory, we hopped over to Bay Square to the newly launched Tableya.

Tableya marries Middle Eastern and Indian flavors using street food favorites from both regions. Then it gives it a touch of global fusion, breaking many a stereotype that commonly associates with theatrical experiences with fine dining. All this thanks to their extremely affordable menu, which will make you want to go there literally every other day.

Read on for details, videos and photos of everything we tried at Tableya!

Tableya is built with a mix of beliefs and experiences which perfectly syncs with the concept of cosmopolitan Dubai. This restaurant is located at quite a secret spot in Bay Square, and offers a separate dining area which caters to sheesha lovers. They also have al fresco seating, which means they are all geared up for the cooler months.

 

Chef Radi has kept the menu compact, but unique in every way. He says it’s a dynamic one, and you’ll never know what to expect the next time you’re around. This, among the many other things, makes Tableya a winner, not just in terms of food, but the experience it offers!

Zaatar Twists

A very lovely welcome was brought to us on this little iron cycle. Keeping in line with the standard bread basket, the Tableya one takes a delightful twist (pun intended). These zaatar twists, essentially twist pastry flavored with zaatar spices, came with a lovely accompaniment of Burhani cream dip.

The garlic flavoured cheese blended in perfectly with the puff pastry while the Middle Eastern melange of cheese and zaatar added a touch of perfection to the fusion.

Kataifi Pastry

Creamy or crunchy? Spicy or sweet? This amuse bouche at Tableya will definitely get you thinking. Aptly named Kataifi Pastry, and fondly called “30 second chaat”, this one little piece encapsulates the very essence of the restaurant.

Falling in line with their challenging yet innovative motto of creating dishes out of local and easily available ingredients, it takes kataifi pastry out of its dessert stereotype and places it over a yogurt chaat mousse. The yogurt mousse, created using molecular methods combines all the chaat flavors that include tamarind, mint, chilli, ginger, garlic and more.

https://youtu.be/yCsrxDFGJxY

This inside out Dahi Puri, as Chef Radi calls it, is a burst of multiple flavors that take your taste buds on a delightful ride and is served as a compliment to all the diners.

And the 30 second thing, well you just have to make sure you eat this within 30 seconds to enjoy the flavors to the fullest.

Pani Puri Shots

Go on, take a shot!

From Phucchkas to Gol Gappas, and the wider known Pani Puri, this is the one single chaat item that has popularized Indian street food all over the globe.

Tableya believes that you won’t know what flavors will gel with what, until you don’t give it a try. And this is exactly why they add their own unique twist by serving these Pani Puri shots with an exciting surprise.

In addition to the classic sweet tamarind and spicy mint water, Tableya adds pomegranate juice, pineapple juice and salty labneh to the mix. They also ask you to go slightly beyond the usual “add the water to the puri” style and instead ask you to eat the puri first and then have a shot!

https://youtu.be/5aATLr1enlw

My favorites were the sweet tamarind and labneh. Tell me what’s your favorite from these!

Hanging Wada Pops

Everyone who is from or has ever been to Mumbai, knows one word for sure – Wada Pav. Thankfully, Tableya couldn’t resist the urge to do it differently.

These Hanging Wada Pops are quite self-explanatory, except you get the entire wada pav experience in one compact bite. This dish uses the original Mumbai styled pav bread and combines it with the classic boiled potato filling. Easy to confuse with a bread pakoda, the filling and the style of frying is what makes these Wada pops different. The potatoes are not enhanced with multiple spices, but rather stay true to their Mumbaiya style, and the bread is fried with the crust on!

Like everything else on their menu, these too, are designed to offer convenience to the diner. And that’s why these one-bite wada pav pops are served on a toothpick, which means you can eat them without worrying about your hands getting soiled, or spilling anything out of the sandwich.

Don’t miss the crusty bits with sev, onions and cucumber laid on the plate, next to a lovely swatch of spicy green chutney. And that fried green chilli hanging on a clip (the first thing I bit into after taking this pic)!

Babha Ghanoush Cornetto

Is it just me, or have you too noticed the similarity between baba ganoush and baingain ka bharta (eggplant salad in yogurt). Quite a lot, no?

This is exactly what the Warm Babha Ghanoush Cornetto at Tableya is all about. Mixing basic Indian with classic Arabic flavors, this dish repackages the salad as an appetizer using utmost creativity and presentation techniques.

Tableya’s version of baba ganoush comes with bread that has been sliced into thin strips and rolled up in a cone. Moreover, adding that very Arabic touch is tahini cream dotted with sumac churan foam on top.

See how lovely the cornetto looks in this miniature Desi truck lined with ice cream candy sticks and filled up with turmeric, cinnamon sticks and whole red chillies. Perfect taste and presentation on point!

Tempura Tabak Maaz

Ever sat in a choo choo train? I don’t know if I have, but I definitely remember playing with tons of these while I was still a kid. Back then, I never knew that something I brought out of my cupboards on Fridays would someday end up serving me these delicious lamb chops.

https://youtu.be/rXopb342X9o

The Tempura Tabak Maaz at Tableya brings about a wonderfully fresh and rich taste encompassing all the Kashmiri flavors where this dish originates from. Customarily shallow fried and slow cooked, this version of the iconic mountain favorite is tempura fried, which gives it a crispy finish that’s just perfectly crunchy on the outside and fall-off-the-bone tender within. The tempura technique not only gives this dish a touch of Japanese fusion, but also keeps the juices intact, hence the melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The lamb chops are served with the classic mooli akhrot (radish – walnut) chutney which initially brings across a slightly strong flavor, owing to the radish, and ends on a creamy nutty note.

I should honestly stop classifying myself as ‘not a lamb person’, because as long as restaurants like Tableya exist, I will keep experimenting with new flavors, no matter my reservations against them.

Butter Chicken Fatayer

This one definitely hit the bull’s eye! Well, not just literally, but in terms of taste and presentation too. The Butter Chicken Fatayer is that milestone in Tableya’s culinary journey where Egypt meets Punjab.

This house favorite takes the hassle of eating a butter chicken gravy with a regular naan bread out of your way, and converts it into a pocket sandwich instead.

So freshly baked is this one, when you break it open, you can see the smoke escape from the crannies of the fatayer styled bread. Served with a trio chutney, this one should be eaten as quickly as it arrives!

Thepla Quesadillas

Kem chho Mexico? Estoy bien Gujarat!

Confused much? Don’t be, because Tableya has managed to get Mexico and Gujarat together on one plate with these Thepla Quesadillas!

Let me give you a little insight into the conception of this dish. It all started with a tortilla. This versatile Mexican staple can be fried into nachos. Wrapped into a buritto. Grilled into a Quesadilla. Rolled into an enchilada. And layered into a fajita. The challenge was finding something in Indian cuisine that could match it and what better than our very own Gujarati thepla to fill in those shoes.

This thepla designed as a quesadilla comes with a layer of cheesy matar nu shaq sandwiched inbetween. The khakhra crisps on top act just like the Mexican nachos.
The trio of green chutney, beetroot mayo and tomato chutney give this dish a vibrant look that replicates that of Vibrant Gujarat!

Marina Beach Fried Fish

There was a time in my life where fried fish used to put me off with its sheer smell. Well, some of those still do, but the Marina Beach Fried Fish ain’t one of them!

This is quite logically the Indian version of fish and chips. And how else would you expect this dish to be served in Indian style? Extremely tender, and served piping hot, the fish melts in your mouth like cotton. Not that I have eaten actual cotton, but you get the connotation, don’t you?

The otherwise potato chips are replaced by plantain chips, commonly known as banana chips! The tartar sauce, which is a must with fish and chips, retains its creamy texture but gets a desi twist with curry leaves.

The name – Marina – sticks well to its roots of Marina beach in South India where this recipe originates from,. Plus, it also connects to us Dubaians with the whole Dubai Marina fame!

Dabbawala 2017

Dabbawala is here! Paying an ode to the hard-working and never tiring dabbawalas of Mumbai, the Dabbawala 2017 combines this iconic concept that the city is known for, with one of the staples of Mumbai, albeit with a surprising twist.

As Chef Radi opens up this dabba to unveil the onion garnish, buttered bread and Bhaji in the three tiers of this quintessential Mumbaikar’s lunch box, he asks us to take a piece of bread, dip it in the bhaji and figure out what’s so different.

https://youtu.be/Bs6NdW23h-c

We can’t tell. Because honestly, the creamy texture, the color, and yes, the Amul Butter, are all in place. He then revealed the secret, which makes this bhaji so light and healthy (ignoring the Amul butter here). It is a potato-free bhaji, which means lesser starch, and lesser guilt. Tableya’s version of pav bhaji uses butternut squash to give it a similar dense texture as your regular bhaji, but skips the spuds. The little pav breads are baked in-house to maintain the freshness, shape and fluff. Plus they are flavoured with kaffir lime for a tangy twist.

I would order this again, and again, hands down, as long as it is on the menu! Make sure you order it too. The next time you’re there, you never know what the Dabbawala might bring to your table.

Lamb Shank Shuwa

Here’s the most delicious, most tender lamb I would have eaten in a long long time. Well, such well-cooked lamb is quite a rarity, and especially with my level of choosiness, it’s almost non-existent. But it exists. At Tableya.

The Lamb Shank Shuwa is inspired from the Omani dish with the same name. It comes with a wonderful piece of lamb coated with aromatic spices. These spices thoroughly cook the meat to the bone allowing the juices to seep through and spread their goodness all around. Accompanying the lamb is a mixed berries pilaf. The fragrant basmati rice is topped with raisins, fried onions and a drizzle of smoked desi ghee. You will love the rich flavor.

Citrus Garden

Although stuffed with all that molecular goodness, we were compelled to try the Citrus Garden for desserts. This uniquely named dessert is more like an anti-dessert, but definitely a piece of art. It aims at breaking the stereotype of Indian desserts having to be too sugary. This one in fact uses citrus juice concentrate as sweeteners for some of the most classic Indian desserts.

Featuring a mandarin flavored gulab jamun, passion fruit enriched rasgulla and mango smothered ras malai, the dessert really makes a plausible entrance. There’s more that adds to this garden’s beauty! There are candied orange discs, kaffir lime meringue that play their role as stones and shrub imitating mixed berries. Then there’s the soft lemon sponge and crispy pistachio tangerine moss adding to all that fantasy.

Such a pretty sight, isn’t it? Would you order this dessert?

Tableya

Location: BB10, Podium Floor, Access From Visitors Life D, Bay Square, Business Bay, Dubai
Contact: 04 4489044