Manao has lived up to its name, which is Thai for lime or lemon, and added zest to Dubai’s dining scene since opening in December in Wasl Vita, Jumeirah 1.
It is the brainchild of Mohamad Orfali, founder of Orfali Bros, recently ranked as Mena's best restaurant, and head chef Abhiraj Khatwani. Manao bills itself as a restaurant that reimagines Thai cuisine by blending the best flavours from the south-east Asian country with food concepts already loved in Dubai.
As one of the world's food capitals, Dubai’s gastronomy scene is competitive, and opening a Thai restaurant in the emirate is far from novel. Do not be fooled into thinking there is anything generic about Manao, though.
Where to sit and what to expect
Manao can be found nestled in Wasl Vita Mall. Far from ostentatious, it is quite easy to miss with its minimalist exterior. But the simple brown entrance door conveys a modern yet homely feel.
Once inside, that homely atmosphere continues, which is unusual for a restaurant in a mall. Opening at 7pm, it is clearly an evening venue – and this is reflected in the decor. The lighting is dimmed, there is a central bar area and the kitchen is open-plan so you can see the chefs in action. Small, intimate tables line the restaurant, making Manao a good venue for a catch-up with a close friend or partner, and there are also bigger, more sociable tables in the centre for larger groups.
The restaurant is sophisticatedly minimalist, yet also welcoming. On our visit, Orfali is walking the room to mingle with diners and make sure their experience is good.
It is against this backdrop that my dining partner and I take our seats at a table tucked in a corner, which gives us a wonderful view of the restaurant, bar area and kitchen.
The menu
Manao only offers a 11-course tasting menu (Dh450 per person) with no a la carte option, which does make it a rigid concept. For less adventurous diners, or those in a hurry, Manao is not the restaurant for you.
Nor is it the restaurant for those with food allergies. This is addressed early on by our server, and there are alternative options but, inevitably, if you were to take this route, you would not get the full experience designed by the chef. My advice is similar for vegans and vegetarians. Manao is a restaurant that does exactly what it says on the tin. Any step away from this dilutes the concept and defeats the point of going.
My dining partner and I face no such problems, though, and we happily try all 11 courses – which are loosely meant to map Thailand, by dish, from north to south as the evening progresses. We also opt for the accompanying kombucha drinks pairing (Dh100).
First up comes miang – charred cabbage with sour relish and cashew nuts – which, like most of the dishes served at Manao, we eat with our hands. This is an immediately striking dish, with the texture of the cashew working nicely with the cabbage, but the sour relish is the real star, leaving a tangy, spicy aftertaste.
Next is a Gillardeau oyster served with orange chilli nam jim and fried shallots. This has the classic sophistication you would expect from an oyster dish, particularly in the UAE, but the chilli gives it a bit of oomph and a Thai feel, while fried shallots add crunch.
Lobster khanom krok – grilled lobster tail with fermented rice custard and coriander flowers – is the third course. It looks as beautiful as it tastes, with the accompanying rice and coriander adding just enough flavour while not overpowering the magnificence of the lobster.
These dishes are separated by mangosteen chamomile kombucha, which acts as a palate-cleanser to ensure you savour every flavour.
Pomelo salad with crispy fried Sakura ebi and young ginger is served next, bridging the divide between the lobster and the meat course to come.
The fifth course is a sticky rice roti with coconut-smoked short ribs and kaffir lime relish, which is presented as rice-based tacos. My dining partner and I delight in devouring them, but be warned if you are wearing white clothes, as this can be a messy course.
Next up is khanom jeen – fermented rice noodles with aromatic cashew nut sauce and Alaskan king crab – which is served after a roasted black rice and rose tepache drink to cleanse the palate. This, our server tells us, is the most authentically Thai dish on the menu and originates from a recipe found in a local newspaper. Its simplicity does it for me, as the nut sauce is delicate, meaning we can truly enjoy the crab.
Duck mochi – rice dumplings with smoked duck and hot-and-sour broth – follows, and we are told to eat one bite of dumpling, followed by a serving of broth separately, to maximise flavour but also to avoid overpowering the palate.
We then try strawberry kombucha with makwen spice juice to prepare for the final two savoury dishes of the evening. The first of these is gai yang – slow-grilled chicken served with turmeric, soy and tamarind dipping sauce. This is exactly as it sounds: beautifully cooked chicken on a skewer, which we dip into the traditional Thai sauce for added flavour. It is spicy, fun and delicious.
The final savoury dish is a traditional rice-trader staple in southern Thailand; a sour curry of beef served with trader’s rice, tamarind leaves, smoked chillies and long pepper.
Before we hit the desserts, we are given jackfruit kvass that takes away the spiciness of the previous two dishes and prepares us for the sweet flavours to come.
Sticky rice skewers served with palm sugar and coconut ice cream are the 10th course of the evening. The idea is to dip the skewers into the ice cream but perhaps they are not for everyone. This is an incredibly sweet dish with lashings of sugar.
The final dish is Thai banoffee – banana ice cream with palm sugar caramel and cashew nuts – which you are supposed to eat with your hands in two bites. It’s delicious, not overly heavy or sweet, and a wonderfully unusual (and tasty) end to the evening.
A roasted barley and coffee tepache serves as a sweeter version of the traditional digestif served after a meal.
To order or not to order
While there is no a la carte menu at Manao, the standout dish for my dining partner and I was the rice roti. It combined all three factors – sticky fermented rice, coconut-smoked short ribs and kaffir lime – to create an exceptional taste. It is clearly inspired by Thai cuisine but is also brilliantly curated for the UAE market.
The other sticky rice dish, or rather dessert, was the most disappointing offering, but those with a sweeter tooth than me may well enjoy it.
Chat with the chef
Head chef Abhiraj Khatwani was in the heat of the action on our visit, so I sat down with owner Mohamed Orfali instead.
He emphasised that the menu is inspired by all things Thai, but is also intended to settle into its new home in the UAE, combining influences and flavours accordingly. “Aside from the map, coconut and rice are the keys to this menu,” he says. “Every dish, or nearly every dish, is steeped with these two core ingredients, which are two of our favourites.”
Orfali also says a core concept at Manao is its no-wastage structure. The tasting menu means dishes can be curated for a specific number of diners and there is no risk of ingredients being in stock for dishes that are not ordered.
Contact information
Manao, in Wasl Vita, Jumeirah 1, Dubai, is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 7pm to 11pm. For reservations, call 04 272 2389.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
