Dubai’s “flavour queen” Kunwal Safdar is to host a pop-up supper club in the Maldives, bringing her Persian-Punjabi cuisine to Eid diners for a special beachfront feast.
The three-day residency at the palm-peppered InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort will feature innovative signature dishes like pani puri ceviche, smoky fried feta with spicy honey, and pickled prawn samosas.
After the starters are served, main courses will pay homage to the culinary traditions of the Gulf region, including lamb shank stew with ghee croutons, herbed stuffed fish on polenta, and lamb ouzi with toasted nuts. The dessert list meanwhile features tahini halwa, pistachio and dark chocolate baklava, and rose rice pudding.
The pop-up dinners from June 15-17 will be hosted at the InterContinental’s Lighthouse, which hovers at the end of a pier over Tiffany-blue island waters, and the resort’s open-air beach restaurant Cafe Umi.
London-born Chef Kunwal – who is behind artisan samosa and broth brand Moreish by K – offers exceptional dining experiences at her homegrown supper club in Dubai, which is popular with VIPs and foodies alike. She also runs Dubai’s first zero-waste kitchen and curates a line of gold honey sourced directly from UAE farmers.
The supper club was born in COVID, with Chef Kunwal aiming to “share the joy of food” from the comfort of her art-filled apartment in Dubai Marina. Guests experience bespoke menus with ingredients from local producers during a fascinating evening of culinary storytelling — whether at a private chef’s table seating up to five or a larger group experience at intimate tables set up throughout the space.
The pop-up at InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort marks a first international expansion for the supper club, and is a fitting setting among the island’s collection of beach, lagoon and overwater villas at the Raa Atoll, 35 minutes by seaplane from the capital city of Malé.
Guests are invited to escape and reconnect with nature surrounded by the hotel’s soft white sands and palm trees, with glimpses of resplendent marine life – including a unique manta ray sanctuary – from the nearby UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
