I’m currently in Abu Dhabi, taking full advantage of the great weather and large calendar of events during this popular time of the year. We spent a wonderful evening dining in Hakkasan, one of my favourite restaurants.

We started off in the gorgeous blue cocktail bar ordering ‘The Hakka‘ martini – Ketal One vodka, kome to mizu sake, lychee juice, lime, coconut and passion fruit. A-mazing.

It’s in the decadent (and there’s no denying), over-the-top Emirates Palace. I wrote a brunch post from the palace last year.

Friends and family all joined for a delicious Cantonese feast followed by an evening at the ballet next door. If you haven’t already seen Giselle by the Moscow City Ballet, it’s worth getting a ticket!

We started with salted edamame beans and let the rest of the dishes all seamlessly arrive on to the table.

Unfortunately they didn’t have my favourite Miso Cod dish, however they did have Charcoal grilled silver cod with Champagne and Chinese honey which was just as incredible.

The Sha cha seafood toban came in a very unique ‘basket’ and was deliciously crunchy and light.

Paired wonderfully with the Crisply duck salad (a new favourite) and Stir-fry black pepper prime rib-eye beef. The beef was so tender and immediately hushed the table to silence as we all savoured every bite.

We ordered the Edamame egg fried rice as a side dish which I also recommend, although next time I’d love to try the olive seafood fried rice. (I have a thing/obsession with fried rice. After living off amazing street food in Thailand for several years, there is no going back!).

Every dish here is incredibly flavoursome, and you can really tell the excellent quality of each ingredient. It’s hard to not completely over order as everything on the menu sounds so amazing! But it’s ok, because another great thing about dining in Hakkasan is that you don’t feel completely stuffed and bloated after your meal, even though you’ve tried a lot of different dishes.

We quickly rushed off across the hall, down many lavish, sparkly corridors and through to the theatre. We made it just in time for the ballet.

This is probably the most opulent and comfortable theatre I have ever been to. It’s really nothing like going to the West End in London or Broadway in New York.

Even though the seats are like sitting on soft, velvety cushions, it does lack the old charm and character of a well established theatre.

If you can believe it, our stomachs were still hungry for dessert. So we were very happy to see this huge table of treats, cake and more cocktails. 

The performances really made an impression during the second half, where the dancers outfits were even more beautiful.

It was a wonderful evening dining in Hakkasan with family and friends. We might even be back for New Years, where I’m sure they’ll put on an impressive display of food, fireworks and shows.

Have any of you ever spent New Years in Abu Dhabi or Dubai? I’d love to know your suggestions :).