Would I return to Pan-Asian steakhouse Matagi?
“Cold sea. Cold earth winds. Fire sea. Fire earth. Hot bowl earthenware pots. Master meat cuts. Sprouts greens. Happy happy joy joy.” All these terms are bizarre menu headers. Going by the selection of dishes, cold and fire do not always signify cold and hot dishes respectively – and sea and earth don’t translate to seafood and veggies. Why can’t restaurants simply stick to starters, main courses and desserts? Why over-complicate the dining out experience? When I ask our (rather efficient) waitress to explain these descriptors, she confuses me even more. The answer to these questions: a sales technique to trick us into ordering more dishes. Doesn’t work on me though. In fact, reverse psychology kicks in and I limit my order.
We’re having dinner on a Friday evening in a highly subdued Pan-Asian steakhouse, Matagi, in the not-so-very-subdued (read kitsch) Emerald Palace Kempinski on Palm Jumeirah’s west crescent. Matagi translates to a Japanese winter hunter, reflected in the meat-heavy menu, but don’t expect to tuck into deer or bear. By the time we leave around 9.30pm, we count 15 diners in a 110-cover restaurant. On a weekend.
Matagi is three months into opening at the time of dining, and still has no wine list. Mr S is forced to drink a disappointing Malbec by the glass that our waitress suggests. It’s either that or cocktails. I stick to a white tea.
The dishes under ‘master meat cuts’ are prohibitively expensive STARTING at AED240 for braised Black Onyx short ribs and rising to AED890 for a 1.5kg Black Onyx tomahawk, so I decide to order a selection of plates from the other menu sections, of which the choice is mammoth.
First up is fried tuna sushi – essentially deep-fried rice, which is not as crisp as it should be – topped with spicy tuna tartare and tobiko roe. Other Pan-Asian restaurants in Dubai execute this dish much more proficiently. With just three sushi rolls though (instead of four), sharing between two is difficult. That’s another Dubai pet peeve of mine. A disappointing start, but the dishes that follow are excellent. Gyozas (hurrah to four dumplings) with a delicate translucent silky ‘skin’ are stuffed with a decadent mix of caramelised foie gras and Wagyu beef. A ‘kabayaki’ soy glaze adds some sweetness, however, the chilli oil is a little over-generous.
Give me a decent serving of Korean fried chicken any day and Matagi’s does not disappoint with its large portion size and tenderness. The ‘gochuchang’ red chilli fermented paste makes for sweet, spicy and tangy notes, whilst pickled cucumbers and shallots add tartness. Barbequed lamb spare ribs glazed with a sticky Cantonese hoisin sauce are finger lickin’ delicious and laden with umami flavour. A side of what could be boring fine green beans is elevated with a rich shiro miso sauce spiked with some tart yuzu and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.
In contrast to the 39 savoury dishes, three sole desserts grace the menu. The most appealing is something called a mikan (aka mandarin) cheesecake. I have visions of gorgeous fluffy feather light Japanese cheesecake that was once hard to find in Dubai, but is now more readily available. Instead, we are served a deconstructed cheesecake of mandarin mousse and mascarpone cream on a bed of lime crumble topped with caramelised peanuts and peanut brittle. Flavours are bold and balanced, but the presentation is messy, with no evidence of pastry technique. And I just crave a traditional Japanese cheesecake even more.
Our waitress is well versed on every dish I question her on, as well as the concept and ownership (the same team is behind Hotel Cartagena and Weslodge). Service is almost a little too swift for a relaxed Friday dinner given we’re in and out in less than 90 minutes.
The sultry oriental Balinese-style décor with pops of bright orange and the wallpapering of the number ‘88’ signifying good fortune in Chinese culture, is warm and inviting – but given we’re the only guests in our section of the dining room, atmosphere is lacking.
If you are to order from the master meat cuts section, expect a bill of easily AED400 per person (without booze) and upwards. Ours is much more reasonable at AED250 per person because we stick to plates from the more affordable sections of the menu. Matagi would do well to revisit its pricing and menu engineering with a more compact selection; otherwise those dishes send the wrong message and simply won’t sell.
The quality of food overall is decent, as is the service, but when combined with a kitsch hotel location, lacklustre ambiance and a high price point, I am not encouraged to return. Therefore, the only fair FooDiva knife rating for Matagi is an average 3 out of 5.
Where’s your favourite easy-to-order menu?
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
‘Mandarin moose’ is now my favourite typo of all time!
More seriously, I can’t understand how this type of restaurant can survive unless it’s being _heavily_ subsidised behind the scenes. There are other restaurants in Dubai that do this sort of thing better, and that are much easier for the majority of residents (and tourists) to get to. Presumably it’s designed to allow the Kempinski to advertise the presence of a prestige restaurant; because how many people are going to make the trek out to the western frond of the Palm to eat overpriced (albeit decent enough) food in lacklustre surroundings when there isn’t even a functioning wine list? Yes, the Zabeel Saray Rib Room is also miles out on the western frond; but it’s also a seriously good restaurant that’s worth the trip (or was, anyway; it’s been a while). It doesn’t sound as if that’s the case here.