Talking Fork

The arrival of the world famous Asia De Cuba from the capital to Dubai has been met with the usual fan fare and expectation. Looking beyond the hype we delve head first into this fusion concept to see what all the fuss is about.

First things first, this is cool looking venue that’s best described as downstairs dining, upstairs dancing.

The split level layout hosts the main dining area downstairs which is capped at each end with enormous wall to ceiling waterfall murals that are both impressive and domineering. Central to this space is the bar and kitchen which becomes a focal point of activity as well as visually, with its wonderful stepped, curvilinear wall that cascades up towards the ceiling in a series of aqua colored shades. It’s elegant and refined.

Offsetting these elements are a series of columns that are wrapped with with a collage of period artworks cleverly mixing Japanese and Cuban references.

This adds a welcome punch of color that contrasts well with what is essentially a monotone, dimly lit room. So dim that most instagrammers will struggle to get a decent pic of this impressive venue.

Photo issues aside, the raison d'etre for paying a visit as always is the food. In this case the alluring promise of some sensational Cuban Asian fusion. Clearly this is a concept with a lot of appeal and has worked well for Asia De Cuba around the world.

Excited at the prospect and in typical fashion we probably over ordered but it all sounded so good! Things started off with the Crispy Octopus Al Ajillo (AED 70), Snapper Cevice (AED 48), and the Chicharrones (AED 50). While for the mains, we opted for the Short Rib Vaca Frita (AED 155), and finally the piece de resistance the El Lechon (AED 185).

Presentation wise, each dish looked quite nice but perhaps not a nice as the promo shots.

So on to the eating. For a concept that is ostensibly about Latino and Asian flavors the dishes we had seemed to veer heavily towards South East Asian fare. Be that as it may, the Cevice with it’s kale, tabbouleh, lychee and garlic chips was a pleasure for the senses, while the crispy octopus was okay but not actually crispy, which was kind of weird. There was a nice little punch of heat from the Thai chili which combined well with the red onion, coriander, and plantain (which was obviously the Cuban part). It was good but not great.

Ok, so moving on to the Chicharrones - which sounded good on paper but fell short on execution. They looked flat and were actually quite oily like they took an extended bath in the deep fryer. Thankfully the sesame BBQ helped to cut though that a little.

With a fairly average round of starters under our belt (with the exception of the amazing cevice) we waited in anticipation for the mains, especially the 48 Hour, slow cooked Adobo Braised Beef.

Who doesn’t love Asian BBQ when combined with Chimichurri?

So did it impress? Kind of.

The Chimichurri was excellent and full of punchy flavors just like it should be. The beef though, while quite delicate and succulent but truth be told wasn’t as melt in the mouth as one would expect with this type of preparation. Still it was very nice and thoroughly enjoyable. This was probably the best dish of the evening. That’s because despite it’s top billing and hefty price tag the El Lechon was a bit of let down. The aroma was there and it tasted pretty good but alas the meat was unfortunately quite tough to eat to due being overly dry. The side of sticky coconut rice and the black beans were good though. So too the sauces, which upon reflection seemed to be a bit of a theme. Great, zesty dipping sauces with slightly miss-fired temps on the proteins which on this occasion was a bit of shame.

There’s no doubt that Asia De Cuba has all the ingredients for success. It has hoards of loyal fans so they must be doing something right. Maybe it was a case of having had too high an expectation of this exciting concept, what ever the case the overall experience fell a little flat.

What’s your take?

Have you been to Asia De Cuba, how did it go?