Setting foot into Social Distrikt on The Pointe is a truly sensory experience. You first come upon a podcast booth, from where the venue will host its live radio station. This is followed by a vinyl record station by Raw Music Store belting out old-school tunes even as all the classic covers beckon you to have a browse. A few steps within lie railings of clothes, hats and eclectic accessories, courtesy of FLTRD’s pop-up shop, and finally, there’s an outdoor seating area with views of the world’s largest fountain dancing to some merry tunes.
And that’s only level one of the 20,000-square-foot, dog-friendly space.
A flight of stairs leads you up to the main food hall, where 10 vendors serve up their culinary wares from open-kitchen-style counters in an industrially hip space, again with a huge terrace. You could almost miss the VR gaming corner set up by Robocom, but once you know it’s there …
While this is all very well, restaurant-hopping lies at the heart of a food hall, which enables diners to sample a variety of cuisines under one roof. We sample the offerings from the various Social Distrikt restaurants to give you our recommendation of our top eight.
Truffle tagliatelle at Luca
This al dente pasta is a truffle lover's dream – cooked as it is with light truffle cream, truffle sauce and truffle oil – yet without being overpowering. Shiristi Singh, head chef of the Italian restaurant, says the dish "encapsulates all the simple yet delicious flavours of Italy".
Chicken katsu at Japang
Japanese comfort food chicken katsu has become something of a go-to for discerning diners, and the panko-breaded iteration at Japang comes with soy-marinated chicken, fluffy brioche bread and senior head chef Muhannad Albkeirat's special "katsu ketchup" recipe. "We work with one of the best bakeries to make our bread, which elevates the texture of the dish," says Albkeirat.
Falafel platter at Zaroob
The perfect combination of crispy exterior and soft, fluffy interior, the falafel at this Middle Eastern restaurant is infused with an in-house spice blend and paired with hummus and tahini.
Kick My Boss sliders at Rock House Sliders
This one's not for the faint of heart. If you enjoy a kick now and again, though, the jalapenos smothered in spicy buffalo sauce will get your taste buds tingling, even as you enjoy the tender, juicy Angus beef patty that makes this slider at once compact yet wholesome.
Truffle Snuffle pizza at Pinsanity
A thin-crust dough topped with shaved black summer truffle and fresh buffalo mozzarella is baked until the bubbling cheese spreads unevenly over the base. Pure bliss for lovers of cheesy truffle.
Shakshuka at Circle Cafe
The Maghrebi dish comes with eggs cooked in a tomato sauce made from olive oil, peppers and onion spiced with cumin, paprika and a hint of cayenne pepper. Circle Cafe serves it with fresh sourdough bread.
Chicken souvlaki at Go! Greek
If chewy chicken is the bane of your culinary existence, get the souvlaki at this this Greek restaurant. The meat is marinated overnight, says head chef Nishant Ambavane, then grilled just sufficiently so it does not harden or char. It's served alongside tzatziki, fresh veggies and Greek pitta bread.
Salmon set at Ichiban
The 19-piece set offers salmon in maki, nigiri and sashimi form – and is one of the freshest iterations of the fish we've eaten at a street-style sushi-ya.
Scroll through the gallery below to get a look-feel of the ambience at Social Distrikt.
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The five pillars of Islam
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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