Molecular Gastronomy! Try to remember this term because this has become the next big thing all around the world. It is no longer about serving food that tastes good, it is also not about food looking pleasing to your eyes, it is about Science and Magic.

So what is molecular gastronomy? Let me make it plain and simple. When a restaurant or cafe Sciences the hell out of a dish, it is called molecular gastronomy. The point is to create something close to magic and make the diners wonder what just happened.

In Dubai, there are a few restaurants using the concept but Farzi is the only cafe based concept who can boast about the achievement. Hence, when my friend Sarah Nossy (Her review here) asked me if I would be interested in Farzi, I said “Hell yeah mate!”

I had been to Farzi before (thanks to FoodeMagDxb) but was pretty tired when I visited and wanted to ensure that I framed the right picture before I put down a review. We were lucky to find more company there and were joined with Jen (Dubai Food Diaries) and Rob.

Before I start on what we tried, I would like to mention that Farzi is located at City Walk 2 and its main focus is on Indian cuisine but with a twist. There are some International dishes on offer too.

Our meal started with a cold lassi transformed into a labneh spheres with a bit of berry compote at the centre. A very interesting thing to start your meal with.

From thereon we were served plenty of dishes. Everything was served back-to-back and that’s one of the things that needs some work. The tables are not too big and pushing dishes back-to-back on the table makes it a bit difficult to work your way around the food. What it also does is that it does not allow you to enjoy one dish at a time. That’s an important thing for me.

Back to the food! Tempura Dynamite Prawns first. The Prawns are delicious and the magic of dynamite sauce does not fail to impress. The interesting bit is the foam on top which has been created through molecular gastronomy and the addition of caviar.

Dal Chawal Aranchini, Farzi’s take on the traditional Dal Chawal. For those who are not aware, Dal Chawal is something which pretty much every Indian craves once in a while. Let’s just call it comfort food. Farzi here has taken a leap to challenge the tradition and do things differently. For me it works to an extent. They have managed to maintain a good balance in flavours. However, I am not giving my bowl of rice and Dal away yet.

Maple and Kokum glazed lamb chops with micro popcorn. The use of micro popcorn might or might not be the best thing. While half of us at the table liked the concept, half of us might like the lamb chops to be clean, cause who wants popcorn in their meat dude?

Aloo (Potato) seared wagyu beef. I have previously had Beef and Aloo together as a part of beef curry. Now, the taste that I had out of it was purely curry based (you know the amount of spices used in a curry) and having a semi-dry dish was something I wasn’t expecting.

Another Farzi surprise; they threw up a semi-dry combination of Beef and Aloo on the table. They have used some sauce in the dish hence I call it semi-dry. The addition of walnuts is a good move indeed.

Next on was our appointment with the Devil, I mean we have Devilled Quail Eggs. Have I told you how much I love Eggs (Regular readers go like – “Not this again”).

The dish is served in a wine bottle (Tonight we’re eating from the bottle) and has golden fried Quail Eggs, Indian spiced Chicken Mince and Za’atar infused Labneh spheres. Quite complex when you think about all the flavours being put together.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the prettiest of them all? Deconstructed Shepherd’s pie! Yes, this dish looks the prettiest. Served in a crescent shaped plate, the dish consists of spiced seared beef chunks, mashed potatoes and beetroot chips. One of my favourite dishes.

The two sliders – The wagyu beef slider. The beef itself was very tender and tasted good but the bun was a deal breaker for me. It did let the entire experience of the slider down. The other slider was the Butter Chicken Shawarma slider. This slider comes in small trucks and had a softer bun. The slider was therefore the preferred one.

We had a few more dishes and some interesting drinks too. I will let you explore these when you visit Farzi yourself.

Moving on to the desserts, we tried about 4 of these – Jalebi, Rasmalai Tres Leches, Risotto Phirni Oxide and Chocolate Fondant.

My pick from the 4 would be the Jalebi which has been converted into caviar form.

The other dessert I liked a lot was the Chocolate fondant which had a filling of raspberry and chocolate. I love chocolate and hence liked the dessert too.

I tried the Rasmalai Tres Leches on both my visits. I liked it the first time but it didn’t impress me the second time around however the dessert looks pretty.

The Risotto Phirni oxide didn’t tickle my taste buds.

That was it. The desserts marked the end to our meal at Farzi. For me the experience was good with some dishes standing out while some being average. What impressed me though was the use of different flavours together and the guts to present some traditional dishes in a nontraditional way.

You may want to explore the Farzi world for yourself and see what you think about it. Make sure to check out this cool typewriter. I have been told that they present the Check/Bill in this. That’s Farzi for you.

Disclosure:

I was invited to try the food at Farzi Cafe, therefore I have not provided any ratings for the restaurant/cafe. All opinions expressed are solely based on my experience and are not influenced by the restaurant/cafe or its management in any way.

Details:

Restaurant: Farzi Cafe

Location: City Walk 2, Al Safa

Contact No.: +971 4 4535297