This October, Pai Thai at Jumeirah Al Qasr invites guests to an exceptional weekend of Thai gastronomy. On 16 and 17 October, the award-winning dining destination welcomes Blue Elephant founder, Master Chef Nooror Somany Steppe to Dubai, where she joins Head Chef Amara Mahayothee for a limited series of four-hands dinners and an intimate culinary masterclass.

Across two evenings, the chefs will present three- and five-course menus combining dishes from Pai Thai and Blue Elephant. Among the highlights are “Naam Dokmai” green mango lobster salad, prepared with mango from Master Chef Nooror Somany Steppe’s native province; organic green chicken curry with Thai sweet basil and kaffir lime leaves; and ribeye with Blue Elephant Black Diamond garlic, GI pepper and a hint of truffle.

The dinner menu draws upon recipes with personal and historical significance. The jumbo river prawn tom yum replicates the traditional version served during the period of King Rama V in the late nineteenth century. Uniting Emirati dates with Thai mung bean and jasmine essence, the date cake dessert is inspired by a recipe from Master Chef Nooror Somany Steppe’s late mother. These stories bring the collaboration’s wider narrative of heritage and tradition to the table while connecting Thai culinary techniques with its Dubai setting.

On Saturday 17 October, the chefs take guests beyond the dining room with a hands-on masterclass exploring four Thai favourites: Yam Som O, Chor Muang, Gaeng Phed Goong and Khao Niew Ma Muang. Participants will discover the techniques and cultural stories behind each recipe before enjoying a seated three-course lunch at Pai Thai.

Event details:

Four-Hands Thai Dinner

Dates: 16 and 17 October 2026
Time: 18:00 onwards
Price: AED 395 per person for the three-course set menu; AED 695 per person for the five-course set menu. Beverages are available à la carte.

Four-Hands Thai Masterclass

Date: 17 October 2026
Time: 11:00 to 14:30
Price: AED 695 per person, including a three-course lunch and soft beverages; AED 895 per person, including a three-course lunch with wine pairing

Beyond the collaboration, Pai Thai continues to bring the flavours of Thailand to the enchanting setting of Jumeirah Al Qasr, inviting guests to savour a refined expression of Thai cuisine over dinner daily from 18:00 to 22:30, or during Kin Samrap Lunch, served Friday to Sunday from 12:30 to 14:30 and extending to a daily lunch offering from November.

By Samuel Hosker, Founder, North End Design

The design of Gymkhana Dubai began with a question we have been exploring with the team behind the restaurant for several years – how do you continue to evolve a successful and recognisable design identity without simply replicating what has come before?

Our relationship with Gymkhana now spans seven years, beginning with the redesign of the London restaurant in 2019 and continuing as the brand has expanded internationally. With each location, we have looked at how we can retain the character and identity that makes Gymkhana distinctive, while introducing new layers of detail and creating something that feels relevant to its setting. For Dubai, the ambition was to create the most complete expression of Gymkhana to date.

A journey through India

The starting point for the design was the architecture and interiors of Northern Indian residential properties, alongside the richness of Indian fashion and bridal couture. The intricate detailing and opulence of designers such as Sabyasachi, as well as the theatricality of traditional Indian wedding celebrations, informed our approach to pattern, texture, ornament and colour.

Travel has always been an important part of my design process. Visits to Chandigarh and Pondicherry helped shape a broader and more contemporary interpretation of India, moving away from the more familiar visual language associated with the British Raj.

Chandigarh was particularly influential. Its modernist architecture offered a very different perspective on Indian design and informed elements of the furniture and proportions within the restaurant. Elsewhere, references to Rajasthani architecture, the Red Fort in Old Delhi and buildings encountered in Kolkata have been translated into timber arches, decorative rosettes and floral stained-glass detailing.

These Indian influences sit alongside references from Europe. Northern Italian design, particularly the architecture and interiors of Venice, inspired elements including Murano-style lighting and marble detailing, while Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Vicens in Barcelona influenced the expressive pattern, geometry and ornament of the dining room ceiling.

Furniture adds another layer through references to Edwardian campaign furniture manufactured in India, using materials such as cane, rosewood and teak to bring together British-Indian heritage and Indian craftsmanship.

The artwork continues the narrative, combining bespoke oil paintings of native Indian animals and equestrian events with 55 contemporary Indian artworks reinterpreting traditional playing cards – all subtle references to the sporting clubs of India from which Gymkhana takes its name.

Designing a restaurant that works

While the visual experience is important, successful hospitality design has to work operationally.

The Dubai site was previously another restaurant, and its existing layout presented several challenges. We remodelled the space to maximise covers while creating dining rooms that still feel intimate and purposeful, alongside two separate staircases to improve front- and back-of-house circulation.

We work closely with Gymkhana’s operations and kitchen teams because seemingly small design decisions can have a significant impact on the guest experience. A dish coming from the tandoor, for example, should reach the guest within a minute of leaving the pass. Understanding that journey influences how we plan circulation, service routes and the relationship between the kitchen and dining spaces.

That operational understanding has developed considerably through our long-term relationship with the client.

Seven years of evolution

For us, one of the most rewarding aspects of Gymkhana has been demonstrating what can happen when the relationship between client and designer continues long after a project opens.

Over the course of seven years, we have been able to challenge, refine and evolve the design together. Crucially, our involvement doesn’t stop at handover. We remain close to the operations team after opening, learning how spaces perform in practice, what works and what can be improved before applying those lessons to future projects.

That continuity has allowed North End Design to operate almost as an in-house design consultancy – an extension of the client team with a deep understanding of the brand, its operations and its ambitions.

For me, that is ultimately what a successful hospitality design relationship should look like. It isn’t simply about delivering a beautiful restaurant and moving on. It’s about understanding a client’s business, growing alongside them and continually finding ways to make the next project better than the last.

Gymkhana Dubai is the culmination of that process so far – but, importantly, it is also another step in an ongoing relationship.

Siyam World has never been one for quiet celebrations, and its fifth birthday is no exception. True to its promise of “A World Beyond Your Wildest”, the Lifestyle Collection resort under the Sun Siyam umbrella, is marking the milestone with a packed programme of sport, entertainment and island celebrations. England rugby star Danny Care kicks things off with a three-day children’s rugby camp, followed by football sessions with Gary Cahill and Millie Bright, a kids’ carnival, an island-wide Amazing Race, a 3K Fun Run and cinema experiences out on the lagoon. The celebrations reach their heart on 28 October, when Siyam World officially turns five with a full day dedicated to the Maldives, before CULT CLASSICS brings the Birthday Bash to a suitably wild finale on Halloween night.

23–25 October: Danny Care Rugby Camp

The Birthday Bash gets moving on 23 October, when England rugby star Danny Care takes to the field for a three-day children’s rugby camp. Some will arrive knowing the game inside out. Others may be picking up a rugby ball for the first time. Both are welcome. Across three days, young guests will get the chance to train with Care, learn new skills and put them into practice on the field. The focus is on learning, playing and enjoying the experience, although we expect things to become fairly competitive once the games begin.

26–30 October: Football with Gary Cahill and Millie Bright

From 26 October, the rugby ball makes way for football as Gary Cahill and Millie Bright take over the pitch for five days of coaching sessions, matches and challenges.

This is not a quick wave from the sidelines followed by a group photograph. Young guests will train with them, learn from them and play some actual football. They will probably also return home with a very detailed account of every pass, tackle and goal.

Away from the pitches

There is plenty happening beyond the sporting action. The kids’ carnival brings games, music and colourful chaos, while the Amazing Race sends families and friends across the island in search of clues and challenges. Teamwork helps. So does having at least one person who can follow directions.

Guests and team members can also join the 3K Fun Run around the island. Run it, jog it or walk the whole thing while insisting that was always the plan. Nobody is chasing a record here.

Cinema, but make it Siyam World

Movie night is leaving dry land. Cinema by Moonlight takes guests out onto the water to watch a film aboard a boat cruising through the lagoon. Stars overhead, sea breeze, no cinema walls and hopefully nobody asking you to move because they cannot see the screen.

Guests can also choose our version of a drive-in cinema. Instead of arriving by car, they take a JetCar into the lagoon and park on the water in front of the screen. It is not the most conventional way to watch a film. That is rather the point.

On 28 October, the Maldives is the main event

Siyam World officially turns five on 28 October, and the entire day belongs to the Maldives. Maldivian food, music, traditions and creativity take over the island, leading into a major birthday stage production that evening. Guests won’t simply watch from a distance. They’ll be invited to join the celebration and meet more of the people behind Siyam World. The sporting names bring plenty of attention to the week, but the Maldives is not the backdrop to this birthday. It is the heart of it.

“We had a lot of ideas for the fifth birthday. Probably too many, if I’m honest,” says Sara Siyam, Director of Marketing at Sun Siyam. “But the 28th was always clear. It had to be about the Maldives and our team. They have given Siyam World its energy and personality over the last five years, and we want our guests to celebrate that with us.”

And then we ruin the lovely mood

On 31 October, Cult horror’s most infamous faces are checking into Siyam World this Halloween and they’re definitely not here for the all-inclusive.  For 2026, Siyam World is rewinding to the golden age of horror with CULT CLASSICS an epic, immersive Halloween experience inspired by the characters that kept an entire generation awake at night. Freddy Krueger. Pennywise. Leatherface. Jason. They’re all invited. Whether the guests will be quite as pleased to see them is another story.

The night begins with an interactive horror walkthrough through themed sets, live performances and a series of encounters that become increasingly difficult to laugh off. Guests move through the story themselves, eventually reaching the main stage, assuming everyone makes it that far. A theatrical production follows, combining live performance, music and dark humour before the night finishes with a Halloween party.

We have learned that our guests don’t want to watch Halloween safely from a table. They want to walk into it. Some hide behind their children. Others send their children ahead first. We try not to judge.

“Halloween at Siyam World was never going to be a few pumpkins and someone dressed as a ghost. Every year, we create an entire experience that guests can step into, and CULT CLASSICS takes that to another level. It’s nostalgic, theatrical, ridiculously fun and genuinely scary. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re running from Leatherface. Pretty standard night at Siyam World, really.” Says Sara Siyam, Director of Marketing, Sun Siyam.

Across nine days, the fifth Birthday Bash moves from rugby and football to carnival games, an island race, a 3K run, films on the lagoon, a full Maldivian celebration and one final night of original nightmares. It is a lot for one birthday. Fortunately, more is more around here.