Team What's On pick their favourite things in the UAE right now

These are our favourite things in the UAE right now…

Getting back to business with lunch at… Roka

The new Dubai season is here, and that means events, launches, and plenty of meetings for me. This week, rather than over a zoom call or a quick coffee, I took my Q4 planning to business lunch at Roka, a long standing Japanese restaurant at ME Dubai. Sleek and sophisticated interiors serve as a smart backdrop to a duo of business lunch menus (priced from Dhs125), which invite you to share an array of starters, then pick an a la carte main from options like sea bream, roast baby chicken, and beef fillet. There’s also the easy choice to add a dessert from the a la carte menu for Dhs29. – Alice Holtham-Pargin, Group Editor

@rokadubaiofficial

Hiding red eye skin behind… Huda Beauty’s Easy Blur Foundation

I returned from a summer break on a very early morning flight on Tuesday, and was at my desk on little sleep at 9am. So, to hide puffy skin and tired eyes, I turned to the new Huda Beauty Easy Blur foundation, the latest drop in the Huda Beauty make-up line that largely fills my make up bag. Easy to apply, blendable, and available in an all skin tone-complimenting array of shades, it conceals all manner of sins, giving a soft-focus finish. Top it up with the baking and setting powder for the ultimate filtered finish. Get it now for Dhs186. – Alice Holtham-Pargin, Group Editor

@hudabeauty

Ciao-ing down on classy Italian carbs at… Isabella Cucina Italiana

I can just feel when a new Italian restaurant opens in Dubai, like I’m picking up on some disturbance in the doppio zero farina. My fingers curl together in that well-known southern European hand gesture, and begin to twitch. It’s like spidey-sense, but instead of alerting danger, it presages the arrival of fresh and delicious, heartwarming carbs. That’s how I found out about Isabella. It’s a brand new trattoria-style restaurant, from the same team as Hunter & Barrel. And she might be casual, but there’s real glamour and authenticity in her ways. The 72-hour proofed, fire-charred pizza is full of crunch and flavour, and doesn’t blindly follow the Neapolitan doctrine. I strongly advise you also get the spinach and ricotta ravioli, and the ossobuco. Review coming soon. – Miles Buckeridge, Deputy Editor – Dubai

@isabellas.ae

Getting ready to definitely not cry again at… Inside Out 2

Just to be clear… I absolutely did not cry the first time I watched it. Any testimony or video evidence you may have seen to the contrary is pure fiction, or the work of deep fake AI software. Inside Out 2 was released at the cinema in June of this year, and was just as nuanced, thought-provoking, inspiring and loved by audiences, as the first installment. It follows the trials and convoluted social tribulations of the now 13-year-old Riley. The awakening of her adolescent murmurs mean that a few new emotions have joined her internal ensemble cast, including Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. It’s also genuinely hilarious, heartfelt and nourishing for the soul. And I restate, I absolutely, definitely did not cry my eyes out, with loud snotty sobs at the climax of the movie. In a truly wonderful piece of entertainment news, this box office blockbuster will be available to stream in the UAE on the Disney+ platform, from September 25. The even better news is that if you don’t already have the service on your smart devices, you can take advantage of the biggest ever Disney+ offer. Sign up and you’ll be able to access the app for just Dhs14.99 per month for three months. After that, if you stay on, it’s Dhs42.99. – Miles Buckeridge, Deputy Editor – Dubai

disneyplus.com

Ingesting an unhealthy amount of salt water at… Surf Abu Dhabi

That’s on me, because I am a terrible surfer – so first things first, shout out to their super instructor Matt who had the patience to deal with my drama. But jokes aside, the facility is beautiful. Surf Abu Dhabi is finally ready to open its doors on Hudayriyat and it’s gotten beach goers, sport lovers and thrill seekers excited. They’ll be opening to the public soon, so make sure to give the facility a try. Don’t let the folks in the movies have all the fun. – Dinesh Ramanathan, Deputy Editor, What’s On Abu Dhabi

@surfabudhabi

Learning more about wellness… with Charme d’Orient

This fragrant range of self-care and wellness products includes scrubs, liquid soaps and more, and I was introduced to it by the wellness gurus at Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi’s Namm Spa. They help you relax and rejuvenate, and leave you looking, feeling and smelling great. That said, have you checked out the spa’s new Hammam Room? You can catch a glimpse here in our video. Have a nice weekend. – Dinesh Ramanathan, Deputy Editor, What’s On Abu Dhabi

@dusitthaniabudhabi, @charmedorient_middleeast

Always feeling like I’m home at… Bodega by House of Yanos

This isn’t even an, “If you know, you know” kind of situation. It just always feels like a homecoming. Bodega is indescribable – they say it’s not a real place and until you’ve experienced it for yourself, you really won’t fully understand what that means. Everybody is friendly, and everybody just wants to have a good time. I can feel it quickly becoming my new Friday night tradition, that is until SKY2.0 reopens next week, and I’ll have to juggle my time between my two chosen families. But it’s okay there’s enough love and good vibes to go around.  – Shelby Gee, Junior Reporter  

@bodegabyhoy

Finally discovering (for myself) the unmatched vibes at… Soul Kitchen

I know, how can I call myself a nightlife girlie, when I’ve never – up until recently – been to Soul Kitchen? The festive restaurant had Abri perform this week, coincidentally while I was there, and he is also one of my favourite live performers in the city. So that upped my experience. But the food was incredible, the vibes were just fun and cool without actually trying too hard to be. It’s just a really nice spot – order the ceviche tabouleh, the vegetable Masti, and the churros. You can send a thank you card to me later. I can’t wait to go back already. – Shelby Gee, Junior Reporter  

@soulkitchendxb

Reaching new levels of stressful with… Speak No Evil

Anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows I’m a sucker for a good horror or thriller flick. The scarier the ghoul, the better. It’s not that I don’t get scared. I do, but I derive some kind of sick pleasure from that adrenaline-fuelled feeling, and paired with an equally terrified companion, it’s the best kind of night in. When I was told that Team What’s On would be hosting the regional premiere of James McAvoy’s Speak No Evil, which looked absolutely nail biting from the trailer, and McAvoy with a delicious spark of insanity in his eyes that told me this was going to be epic, I was immediately down. The gang bundled up and away we went to the movies. Not only was this movie the most stressful one I’ve seen in a very long time, it had equal parts descent into madness, equal parts false promise of normalcy and equal parts rage at bad decisions that every lead from every thriller seems to be making. Go watch it. – Manaal Fatimah, Junior Reporter 

Catch it now at @voxcinemas

Stomping around in my big boy shoes with the…Birkenstock Clogs

You may look at these and say what are those, and you’d be fair to, but these shoes have carried me unscathed and unharmed through the monsoons of India, in open air bazaars over potholed roads, puddles, uphills and downhills. My recent trip back home filled me with so much reverence for my home city – a place so oblivious to the frills and fancies of the life I live here, so authentically simple and unaware of my awe for it. It’s frozen in time and I respect that it pays no heed to my judgement, good or bad. I didn’t want to leave and when I did, I left a version of myself that will never see the light of day here and I will at some point reclaim when I go back again. These shoes were my best companion every day I spent there and they are every day I’m out and about here. Oh, and soppy tangent aside, they’re also just really comfortable and durable. Best money I ever spent. – Manaal Fatimah, Junior Reporter 

@birkenstockme