WAKA

Is this another winning restaurant for The Oberoi, Dubai?

Dubai’s latest Latin American offering, located in The Oberoi, Dubai, (home to the brilliant Matto restaurant and award-winning Ananta) serves up flavours of the region with a side of street party. It’s a vibrant space, divided into a lounge area and dining room. Bold artworks adorn the walls and exposed brickwork create a cool vibe. The result is a visual feast – and that’s before you’ve even seen what’s on your plate. The uninitiated may need some help decoding chef Roberto Segura’s (formally, The Act’s head chef) creative menu, described as a “fusion of Latin American flavours combined with Japanese seasonings, using French techniques”.

Try the Waka Caliente (Dhs68), a signature dish of snapper, scallops and prawns, cooked over hot stones in a small pot at your table. The earthy red aji panca broth was bursting with tangy flavour, and we enjoyed the novel presentation of the dish. The Conchas y Coral (Dhs60), a colourful plate of raw Japanese scallops was almost too beautiful to eat – but that concern quickly dissolved as the paperthin morsels danced across our tastebuds, with rocoto and leche de tigre providing some delicate zing. There was nothing delicate about the spare ribs (Dhs120), which can be found on the ‘Chifa’ section of the menu – Peruvian ingredients mixed with Cantonese elements. Deliciously juicy, slathered in a sweet hoisin-style sauce and paired with a tangle of kimchi, we could have gone for a second round. What came next was almost the death of us. The chocolate bomb (Dhs95) was one of the most impressive dessert experiences we’ve had. A chocolate sphere the size of a newborn was presented to us, then smashed open like a piñata to reveal a mess of sorbet, berries, meringue and brownie bits.

In a city saturated with Peruvian venues, to stand out, you have to bring something quite special to the table. Waka did just that, and we say it’s a welcome addition.

The Oberoi, Dubai, Sat to Wed 6pm to midnight, Thur and Fri 6pm to 1am. Tel: (04) 4441455. Metro: Business Bay. waka.ae