With a modern approach to traditional Emirati food, Milas takes the centre stage with mouthwatering recipes leaving both you and your palate awe struck. Located in Dubai Mall, the restaurant decor is dressed regally in black and are adorned with pretty chandeliers. When interpreted, the word Milas refers to a majlis, a meeting place for guests to be welcomed with acts of generosity and homeliness, a vital role that emanates from the Emirati hospitality.
As we scanned through the extensive menu, showcased in a stylish wooden case that holds an iPad, we settled for the dill kashmiri, a mightier version of a raj kachori, a chaat item, famed in India. The delectable starter consists of dill bread filled with a generous portion of potato, green moong sprouts and chickpeas (a local must have) , slathered with creamy yoghurt sauce and tangy mint and tamarind chutney to complement its flavor. The result is a meld of flavors which will tickle your tongue with a twist of tangy and sweet and not to forget the crunch that goes along. Following suit was the moutabal mouhamra, a heart warming eggplant dish that mainly contains eggplant pureed whisked with yoghurt, dressed with walnuts. What moves me about this local staple is the simplicity factor and how well it complements the arabic bread with its smoky flavor, perfect as a dip to start off your meal with. Since there were so many salads to choose from, we went with one that is simple being the sem sem, a light and refreshing salad consisting of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes amongst others tossed with a sweet pomegranate dressing.
For the main course, spoilt for choice, we chose the mbar robyan, a potpourri of ingredients including fresh shrimp, rice and home made sauce served with fried nuts and crispy onions. This easily comes under one of my favorites from the meal as it brings me a step closer to home, reminiscent of our coastal cuisine. The shrimps had a nice tinge of flavor to it, cooked in a fragrant tomato based gravy enjoyable with a portion of rice. The pine nuts and fried onions work their magic on this dish giving it crispiness along with a hint of aroma. Biryani always has a special place in my heart wherever it might be, so the prawn biryani was a must order. From childhood i have always loved my biryani more on the drier side, and thats just how i received it. Prawns are marinated and tossed around in a series of fragrant herbs and spices added with yoghurt, cooked and as a final step, dum with basmati rice. The prawns induce a warm flavor to the rice making it all in all a winner in my eyes. Making its way through next was the hunter’s lamb leg, braised lamb on dum cooked in an myriad of spices drizzled with a hearty onion and tomato gravy. The lamb was so tender, it pretty much fell off the bone with the meat just melting in my mouth. Though the color of the dish would come off as spicy, the dish had the perfect amount of flavor to it. Who said you need the fragrance of rosemary to give your abode a tinge of freshness, at Milas you can have this renowned herb in your own dish. i am talking about the rosemary lamb chops, which were succulent to the very last bite, aromatic in all its warmth and downright delicious. Next on our plate was the chicken lalmaas, though i have only tried mutton lalmaas, this was a new version for me to get my palate in, the flavour of the chicken were on very similar grounds as butter chicken but nonetheless finger licking. The boneless chicken pieces are cooked and simmered in a hearty onion tomato gravy and to give it some depth, yoghurt has been added to it to soften the blow of red chillies, and to give it a whole lot of creaminess.
After indulging in a whirlwind of dishes, we satiated our sweet tooth with some show stopping desserts, the karak flavored ice-cream, adorned with specks of gold, placed in a pot fuming out dry ice. The dessert had me at my happy place, being both creamy and decadent with the karak flavor not being too overpowering. The suit milk which is chocolate coated bar consisting of vanilla ice cream took me back to childhood days as i took a bite, reminding me of one of my favorite ice cream bars, Mars though if i had to choose one, it would be the karak ice cream, After all , who does not love a show stopper?
Location:
Milas,
G Floor, Dubai Mall, Near Ice Rink, The Village، Downtown Dubai – Dubai
Tel: 04 388 2313
Website: http://www.milas.cc/
