Translating as ‘Passion’ from Hindi, Junoon has been making waves on the contemporary dining scene in New York City since 2010, earning a Michelin star for four consecutive years. Given its extreme popularity, the restaurant decided to expand internationally and the Shangri La Hotel in Dubai was the natural first choice for founder and seasoned restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj, who opened the new restaurant last weekend.

Junoon’s menu is centred around five traditional Indian cooking methods including ‘Tandoor’ clay oven dishes and ‘Tawa’ cast iron cooking, given a twist with the use of modern flavour concoctions. While the focus is on authentic Indian fare, the Dubai menu deviates somewhat from its New York counterpart, by going one step further to innovate its current offerings with special Middle Eastern touches.  To achieve this, Rajesh worked closely with celebrated chef, Vikas Khanna and an expert team of chefs, including executive Chef Steven Hubbell, to create several locally inspired plates on the menu which use the aromatics and flavours native to the region. Such dishes that reflect this are the mutton rose biryani, which combines mutton kofta with saffron, mint and rose, and desserts that combine the best of East and West, like the ‘Chocolate Date’ – milk chocolate parfait, date cake, hibiscus puree, chilli glass and braised dates. Pass the tissues please, we can’t contain the drool!

INFO: Open for lunch, 12noon-3pm, Sun-Thu, 12noon-3.30pm Fri-Sat, and dinner, 6.30pm-12midnight Sat-Wed, 6.30pm-12.30am Thu-Fri, Shangri La Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, 04 405 2716,www.junoonrestaurants.com

In: News Asked By: askbahrain [475 ]