The Spice Emporium - The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi, Dubai Marina

The Spice Emporium restaurant at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina in Jumeirah, Dubai offer exotic Asian fusion (mostly Thai) grub in an atmosphere which takes you straight to Thailand. On entering, you are instantly met by friendly faces, paper lanterns, open kitchens and far east trinkets (both large and small). The cooking stations reminds me vaguely of Bennihana with the roaring woks, dancing grills, Teppan, tandoor, and steaming baskets , open air and on full display for the customers to watch their food being prepared from a far. The attractive low-slung tables in chocolate brown and the soft latino music pumping around the room adds to the Asian experience.

On my last outing, eight of us dinned together around a large spacious table inside, however on previous visits, I have ate outside in the pretty, dimmed lit terrace which mirrors the same kind of vibe. The staff are friendly and there to help with a good knowledge on most dishes. They also make sure the bowl of prawn crackers (served with a sweet chilli dip) in the middle of the table is constantly topped up (I think I managed to consumer a bowl to myself !) To start, we opted for a variety of small dishes to share amongst us (tasty chicken spring rolls and piping hot Thai prawn cakes).For mains, there was a selection of curries, sea bass, chicken based stir fries and beef. I chose the Stir fried beef with ginger, mushroom, chili and spring onion which was a slight disappointment.. it was missing that certain je ne ce quoi and wasn’t as tasty as I had preempted. My neighbor went for a better option of stir fried chicken with cashew nuts which was divine – tender chicken with the crunch from the cashews and a perfectly sweet and spicy sauce – excellence! I also tried the sea bass, cooked just right, melting in my mouth, perfectly marinated with thai herbs. On previous occasions I have tried the chicken green curry (one of my favourite dishes from my Thailand travelling days) and it was delightful, and if I was to visit again, this would be my dish of choice – the flavor combination was perfect.

I would highly recommend this as a mid week treat. The food is not overly expensive and the service is quick. They also offer a ‘ladies night’ promotion on a Tuesday where they take 50% off your food bill making it very possible to spend under 100aed (if you are not drinking). And finally, to add to the experience of delicate textures, heady flavors and aromas, exotic food and helpful staff, roughly every 30minutes you will be treated to a local Thai dance which is performed in the middle of the restaurant! Score (if you like that kind of thing!)