By: Neeta Lal
We are in a dhow cruise ship gliding along Dubai Creek on the Persian Gulf waters. The aroma wafting from the ship’s dinner tables — laid out under a glittering vault of stars — is heady. There are shish kebabs, kibbeh, tabbouleh, fattoush, plump breads, empanadas and pilaf with separate tables for drinks and desserts.
Here was microcosmic Dubai laid out before us, a nation whose dietary habits have been shaped by waves of immigrants over the decades. Lebanese, English, South Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians and many other nationalities all find strong expression in this melting pot. Ergo, the Emirati menu is culinary eclecticism at its best.
Trade with India and Iran finds inflections in several curries called salona, as well as various types of biryanis called machboos. Stepping outside the hummus-falafel-kebab triumvirate, you can savour Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Levant food. It’s like stepping into an Arabic Willy Wonka’s factory that delights as well as dazzles.
Away from the malls and modern skyscrapers or eateries helmed by Michelinanointed chefs, there are local immersive experiences to be had. At a souk in Deira, we sink our teeth into baklava, sold by dishdasha-robed men. Then there’s Arabic coffee spiked with cardamom and saffron-inflected pistachio cookies crafted from soapwort cream and dried blueberries. Oh, and not to be missed is that rich pistachio-studded caloric bomb — the Arabic nougat!
Infused Flavours
“The original diet of the Emiratis was sourced from the desert — camel’s milk, dates, and fresh ocean produce. As a trading port, the city was introduced to rice and spices from the East. Delicious preparations of classical Continental cuisine were later introduced by the English and Europeans immigrants,” Amina Bi, a cafe owner on Al Diyafah Road tells us, putting things in perspective. Eschewing the shiny, new developments of the Dubai Marina, we plunge into the city’s Byzantine backstreets. At Al Diyafah, we discover delicacies from Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan amid electrifying street theatre. At a Pakistani curry house, we soaked up a crimson lamb curry with table-top sized naans.
Yemeni food is also a local favourite. We devoured fragrant platters of lamb, chickpea falafels stuffed with chilli paste and onions, hummus drizzled with tatbeela sauce. Sure, the communal plate we ate off was an urban oddity in an age bedevilled by dispassionate on-the-go meals. But as we sat sharing our plate with three other strangers, we discovered the joys of communitarian dining. The exquisitely cooked long-grained rice, redolent with the flavour of melting meat, and studded with crispy caramelised onions imparted a hint of sweetness to all that umami. Delicious!
Curry houses are a popular and economical dining option in Dubai. They are located in the innards of the city’s older parts and proffer hearty fare unblemished by ‘modernity’. At one such traditional outfit, we enjoyed a brazen chicken gravy dish with roomali rotis. Dessert was an ambrosial kulfi-falooda infused with rose water. The bill for four? Fifty dirhams (Rs 860)!
If you’re seeking drama with your dinner, head straight to Zaroob on Sheikh Zayed Road. From the terrace of this restaurant, we watched street life unspooling itself in all its quirkiness. The doublestoried eatery — accoutred with bric-abrac from the Arab world (Syria, Jordon, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon) — flaunts live cooking stations and open kitchens offering an interesting snapshot of the Middle Eastern bazaars of yore.
All Round Trip
A desert meal is de rigueur if you’re in Dubai. For this we wheeled out of the city to the idyllic Al Hadheerah at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort for a first-hand experience of Emirati heritage, its culinary fare and pulsating stage entertainment.
But not before we experienced some adrenaline-spiking dune bashing (the price you pay for travelling with kids, I reckon). The dunes, sculpted by the wind into delicately moulded crests offer a great photo op especially if you manage to get a set of sienna-coloured camels padding across, into the frame.
If you are keen to stretch your Emirati dining experience, Abu Dhabi is a mere 90-minute drive away. After a fun day of go-karting at Ferrari World, we enjoyed sweet buns our local friends had so raved about. O’ My Buns — an American cafe chain serving coffee and these signature sweet temptations, located in Yas Mall offers a smorgasbord of these buns — vanilla, coconut, oatmeal, cranberry buns... one more tempting than the other. Further fortifying the menu are desserts. On the last day of our trip, we went in for a five-star experience to cover the entire spectrum of Dubai’s gastronomic scene. At Nine7One — the beautiful all-day dining at The Oberoi — named after the UAE country code, we enjoyed delicious offerings most of them rustled up by Indian chefs. We kicked off our dinner with Mezzeh platter — hummus, moutabel, olives, pickles and Arabic bread, lamb kebbeh, lamb sambousek and cheese rolls.
Mains comprised pasta in pesto sauce along with braised Wagyu short ribs. The melt-in-the-mouth ribs — with an able support cast of cherry tomatoes, potatoes and morels — were appropriately greeted with grunts of approval at the table.
Gluttons for punishment, we also ordered a strawberry cheese cake and minutes later, the bowl and spoons licked clean, we were convinced we’d made the right life choices.
(The writer is a New Delhi based senior journalist & photographer)
We are in a dhow cruise ship gliding along Dubai Creek on the Persian Gulf waters. The aroma wafting from the ship’s dinner tables — laid out under a glittering vault of stars — is heady. There are shish kebabs, kibbeh, tabbouleh, fattoush, plump breads, empanadas and pilaf with separate tables for drinks and desserts.
Here was microcosmic Dubai laid out before us, a nation whose dietary habits have been shaped by waves of immigrants over the decades. Lebanese, English, South Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians and many other nationalities all find strong expression in this melting pot. Ergo, the Emirati menu is culinary eclecticism at its best.
Trade with India and Iran finds inflections in several curries called salona, as well as various types of biryanis called machboos. Stepping outside the hummus-falafel-kebab triumvirate, you can savour Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Levant food. It’s like stepping into an Arabic Willy Wonka’s factory that delights as well as dazzles.
Away from the malls and modern skyscrapers or eateries helmed by Michelinanointed chefs, there are local immersive experiences to be had. At a souk in Deira, we sink our teeth into baklava, sold by dishdasha-robed men. Then there’s Arabic coffee spiked with cardamom and saffron-inflected pistachio cookies crafted from soapwort cream and dried blueberries. Oh, and not to be missed is that rich pistachio-studded caloric bomb — the Arabic nougat!
Infused Flavours
“The original diet of the Emiratis was sourced from the desert — camel’s milk, dates, and fresh ocean produce. As a trading port, the city was introduced to rice and spices from the East. Delicious preparations of classical Continental cuisine were later introduced by the English and Europeans immigrants,” Amina Bi, a cafe owner on Al Diyafah Road tells us, putting things in perspective. Eschewing the shiny, new developments of the Dubai Marina, we plunge into the city’s Byzantine backstreets. At Al Diyafah, we discover delicacies from Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan amid electrifying street theatre. At a Pakistani curry house, we soaked up a crimson lamb curry with table-top sized naans.
Yemeni food is also a local favourite. We devoured fragrant platters of lamb, chickpea falafels stuffed with chilli paste and onions, hummus drizzled with tatbeela sauce. Sure, the communal plate we ate off was an urban oddity in an age bedevilled by dispassionate on-the-go meals. But as we sat sharing our plate with three other strangers, we discovered the joys of communitarian dining. The exquisitely cooked long-grained rice, redolent with the flavour of melting meat, and studded with crispy caramelised onions imparted a hint of sweetness to all that umami. Delicious!
Curry houses are a popular and economical dining option in Dubai. They are located in the innards of the city’s older parts and proffer hearty fare unblemished by ‘modernity’. At one such traditional outfit, we enjoyed a brazen chicken gravy dish with roomali rotis. Dessert was an ambrosial kulfi-falooda infused with rose water. The bill for four? Fifty dirhams (Rs 860)!
If you’re seeking drama with your dinner, head straight to Zaroob on Sheikh Zayed Road. From the terrace of this restaurant, we watched street life unspooling itself in all its quirkiness. The doublestoried eatery — accoutred with bric-abrac from the Arab world (Syria, Jordon, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon) — flaunts live cooking stations and open kitchens offering an interesting snapshot of the Middle Eastern bazaars of yore.
All Round Trip
A desert meal is de rigueur if you’re in Dubai. For this we wheeled out of the city to the idyllic Al Hadheerah at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort for a first-hand experience of Emirati heritage, its culinary fare and pulsating stage entertainment.
But not before we experienced some adrenaline-spiking dune bashing (the price you pay for travelling with kids, I reckon). The dunes, sculpted by the wind into delicately moulded crests offer a great photo op especially if you manage to get a set of sienna-coloured camels padding across, into the frame.
If you are keen to stretch your Emirati dining experience, Abu Dhabi is a mere 90-minute drive away. After a fun day of go-karting at Ferrari World, we enjoyed sweet buns our local friends had so raved about. O’ My Buns — an American cafe chain serving coffee and these signature sweet temptations, located in Yas Mall offers a smorgasbord of these buns — vanilla, coconut, oatmeal, cranberry buns... one more tempting than the other. Further fortifying the menu are desserts. On the last day of our trip, we went in for a five-star experience to cover the entire spectrum of Dubai’s gastronomic scene. At Nine7One — the beautiful all-day dining at The Oberoi — named after the UAE country code, we enjoyed delicious offerings most of them rustled up by Indian chefs. We kicked off our dinner with Mezzeh platter — hummus, moutabel, olives, pickles and Arabic bread, lamb kebbeh, lamb sambousek and cheese rolls.
Mains comprised pasta in pesto sauce along with braised Wagyu short ribs. The melt-in-the-mouth ribs — with an able support cast of cherry tomatoes, potatoes and morels — were appropriately greeted with grunts of approval at the table.
Gluttons for punishment, we also ordered a strawberry cheese cake and minutes later, the bowl and spoons licked clean, we were convinced we’d made the right life choices.
(The writer is a New Delhi based senior journalist & photographer)
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