The US$3 million Chillout ice lounge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which opened in a mall in June, is the Middle East's first ice lounge and the world's ninth ice bar.

Everything is made of ice at Dubai bar: the walls, tables and chairs; cups, glasses and plates; the art on the wall, the sculptures depicting Dubai's skyline, the beaded curtains, the 7-foot-chandelier and the bar. It took 40,000 tons of ice to build the decor of the 2,400-square-foot restaurant.

The $17 cover charge gets you one drink and the rental of a hooded parka, woolen gloves and insulated shoes. Customers don them outside, then spend a few minutes in the Buffer Zone, a room set at 41 degrees to adjust before entering the restaurant.

The new hangout that has been transformed by a mania for the biggest, first or most outlandish is expected to raise questions about already high energy consumption in this desert land.