Juns, Dubai - Chef Kelvin's tasting menu is a culinary delight.

And just like that, it is 2025!!!! Happy new year Garmanvsfood family! Wishing each and every one of you a fantastic year ahead, filled with joy, all things bright and beautiful. This year’s food adventure(s) begins with me celebrating my birthday at Juns, sampling chef Kelvin’s tasting menu for lunch and it was

Chef Kelvin and his team turned up and showed all the way OUT! As I write this, I have a smile on my face because it was that good! Let’s start with chef’s introduction which was a selection of three dishes – pani puri, coconut and kinilaw! First let us talk about the pairing which was cava (with ice cubes). you know the meal about to be bougie when cava comes out ha! Pani puri was a ball wafer stuffed with lobster, Macanese sauce, tamarind (jalapenos + chilli oil) which was a poured into the wafer,

It was crispy, savoury with a kick of spice and cold! Yep! Chef Kelvin definitely knows how to make an entrance. The coconut and kinilaw was paired with New Zealand sauvignon. The coconut was sea bream, coconut fresh, coconut vinegar, coconut aminos, kimchi seeds,

t’was all coconut which you had to mix up first before taking a bite and my goodness the umami was on 1000! Kinilaw which is the Filipino equivalent to ceviche was fish, amaebi, tomato water, dashi and calamansi.

There was a hint of bitterness from the jelly but that did not detract from this course, if anything, my palate was enhanced. I also liked that the wine profile changed from being green apple heavy, light to much more fuller taste after. If this was the intro, let’s just say I could not wait for the rest of this menu. The snacks were 3 miniature size snacks representing breakfast, lunch and dinner

like do you see this? One time for the crockery👏🏽, these snacks represented periods in chef Kelvins life and his oriental culture. Breakfast was an ode to the brekkie his Filipino room mates would have at college, which was a Kabayang breakfast.

It was rice, sunny side up quail egg and chicken skin. My taste buds at first bite 😊 and when the magic that happens to your olfactory senses 😮. You are hit with the saltiness of the chicken skin which blends perfectly with the quail egg and the rice! Top tier 👌! Lunch was salmon on bagel representing the packed lunch Chef Kelvin’s mom used to make for him.

The fishbone was made from sea weed it gave the 3’s – sweet. salty and smokey, delish! Dinner was an ode to Hong Kong dinners of black bean sauce

and it gave just that, clams in black bean sauce, yummy, expertly paired with chardonnay. Fish tikki chaat. This course is a play on chaat which is a kind of street food found in India. 12 day aged hammour, shisho, chutney & whey.

It was a pour over, lisstteeen.. this menu stays giving umami on 100000 a HUNDRED thousand. The coloured plate reminded me of the holi dish at Gaggan. Corn 2.0 was not what I was expecting, I mean the whole menu so far has been wonderful, but this corn 2.0? Norwegian Scallop, parmesan garum (the cheese is made in house), 6 month fermented corn miso (so you know the umami remains standing on business) with a nice kick courtesy of chef’s xo sauce. This course was plated in a shell

similar to Chef Maria’s scallops at 59 republic and tasted gorgeous! Potsticker was wagyu beef, amani prawn, hot & sour broth. Essentially, it was a dumpling in a broth. The instruction was to eat the dumpling (which was ever so delicate but flavour packed) and the broth 😘

Congee was next, a kind of soupy rice dish that felt like a warm hug,

perfect! Pairing these two courses with pinot noir? Delightful! Do you see the China people? 😎Like I said, the crockery here is 🔥. Beef and broccoli rice noodles was next. When you are given a selection of steak knives for your beef steak? I don’t need to say anymore right? hmm hmmm,

and, yes, the steak was perfectly cooked as was the rice noodles which are hand made in the kitchen, like I said, SAY LESS right 😉? Coconut water was the palate cleanser – sorbet, coconut jelly, chrysanthemum tea. The tea was poured over the sorbet and it was so refreshing

Again, the crockery? It gave ‘coconut theme’, look at the beautiful coconut bowl. Details people, it is always the DETAILS! The next course I assumed would be literal, it was the cheese course, I was expecting, well, cheese. Like a selection of cheeses, chutney and maybe come crackers? let’s just say, I prefer Chef’s version. It was cheese pastry, cheese wafer topped with 36 month aged parmesan and truffle

one word .. PERFECT! Whilst still savouring the cheese as well as considering skipping pudding .. I know sacrilegious 😱, the team here surprised me with an ube cake

and I think my heart just burst from the joy of it! Pudding was even more amazing – house fermented buckwheat miso roasted rice, 70% dark chocolate mousse, olive oil ice cream, olive oil powder. This dish came out looking like something out of Charlotte’s chocolate web / honeycomb thingy magig

it was SCRUMPTIOUS! Bringing this feast to a close, petit fors were home made gummies (blueberry, strawberry & citrus flavours) donut, salted caramel & chocolate accompanied with chai latte!