Birthday dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Linda is a big hotel nerd, some of it comes with her job, but she truly is a big fan of cool hotels - and an even bigger foodie. We both keep lists of places we want to explore, and try to go discover new places when we hang out. She always invites me for lunch for my birthday, but this year she went one step further, and invited me for dinner in Dubai! Lucky lucky me!

As Linda said, the best gifts to give are the ones you get to participate in yourself! Not every gift need to be something permanent - to create a memory together to cherish for evermore, is also a fantastic gift!
She took me to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a restaurant that offers a contemporary spin on historic British cuisine dating back to the 1300s.

This restaurant has one star in the Michelin guide, so the expectations were high!

The setting was very elegant, with large tables, leather detailing and dim lighting. You could look straight into the open laboratory-style kitchen, and in the middle of it all - the statement mechanical pineapple clock which opened every half an hour, 'The Dinner Escapement'.

The menu here is a facsimile of the original Knightsbridge outpost in London. British dishes from across the centuries invigorated with prime ingredients and accompanied with storytelling for each course.

We started with some truffle, and their famous signature classic 'Meat Fruit', from the 13th century. A chicken liver parfait cleverly disguised as a mandarin, where you could eat the whole "fruit"!

For main course we chose two different things that we shared, as we wanted to taste as many things as possible. Venison with Pickled Cherries and Roast Halibut with Parsley Green Sauce and Braised Chicory. We also ordered Buttered Bay Carrots and the famous Triple Cooked Chips - best chips I've had in the UAE!

We had not one, not two, nor three - but four (small!) desserts!

Of course we had to order in their famous Tipsy Cake from 1858. A spit-roast pineapple served with a buttery brioche bun soaked in vanilla. Mmm! Pineapples, historically, were unbelievably expensive and seen as the ultimate luxury, a single fruit was worth thousands of pounds.

Linda also insisted we should try their ice cream, as it came to be made at our table in their Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Trolley, from 1901. I chose the meringue and raspberry topping, but the winner seemed to be the popping candy that Linda got.

As a little birdie had informed them about our celebration, I also got a chocolate fondant that we shared:

Finally they also brought us some complementary mini tarts, which unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of.
All in all a magical evening! What an absolute top culinary experience! Part feast, part history lesson! Thank you Linda!!