A French-Vietnamese Affair

As a confirmed foodie who isn’t averse to trying every manner of delicacy, right from frog’s legs and snails to anything at all really, I thought I had seen and tasted it all.

That, is, till Vôi’s innovative French-Vietnamese cuisine took my taste-buds by storm. Whoever thought that Scottish salmon could be flavoured with coriander and the traditional Vietnamese Rau Mui sauce with as much delicate taste fervour? Not us. For that matter, whoever knew that French scallops would get that much more irresistible with lemongrass and Asian mushrooms as accompaniments? We hardly remember tasting the original method of cooking French scallops at all.

The best thing to do at Vôi, I recommend, is going there with hardly a preconceived notion as to what to expect; don’t even try – the food is simply so out of any aforementioned geographical element, that you will not be able to formulate a fraction of its flavour in your mind.

Just walk in, as we did, ready for a food rollercoaster and seat yourself in the stunning, pristine white environs of this elegant restaurant. Weather permitting (it was when we went there) sit outside. The lush foliage and gentle murmurings of music make the perfect backdrop indeed. We chose the Vôi Grand Menu and the Vôi Experience, two of the set menus on offer. Perfectly portioned and composed with elegant variety and decadence, our table must have been provided quite the medley of sounds for our incredible servers – we gasped at every platter and downed it with vehemence reminiscent of people starved for days.

Our favourite concoctions, other than what I have already mentioned before, were: The Pot Au Phò, a delicious beef cheek, rice noodle and bone marrow soup that had us smacking our lips for more; the Vôi Crepe, a seamless envelope stuffed with chicken, prawns, chanterelles and bean sprouts; the French Duck “Cannette”, a duck breast flavoured with an accompaniment of foie gras, Brussels sprouts and tamarind sauce and lastly, the Valrhona Variation, a mind-blowing triad of dessert heaven, alternately cool, rich and creamy with a cocoa sorbet, jivara-orange cremeux and a chocolate fondant. After finishing our meal with a hearty and warm jasmine green tea, we knew what food  in heaven must feel like.

Vôi is, in every sense of the word, a must-try for it provides the ultimate food adventure in the city.

Info:
Where: Zabeel Saray, The Palm Jumeirah
Opening Hours: 7pm to 12am, Open daily
Dress code: Smart Elegant
Contact: 04 453 0444