Travelogue

Essential Guide

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Cuisine

 Dubai truly caters to your every mood when it comes to eating. You only have to make a choice as to kind of food and ambience that you want and its there for you to enjoy. The hotels compete with one another to offer you the best of international and traditional cuisine and the beverage outlets are equally good. There are small cafes, elaborate theme restaurants, nightclubs and pubs. In short there is place for everyone to hang around late in the night.

Of special mention are informal joints outside hotels in Deira, Bur Dubai, Satwa and Jumeirah. You can also refresh yourself with a glass of fresh juice or a tasty mango shake at one of the many juice shops in the city.  The restaurants outside hotels and clubs are in no way lacking quality service; they however do not serve alcohol. One can dine to the heart’s content in air-conditioned comfort. You will find restaurants specializing in cuisine from the European countries Italy, France, Spain, German and the best of the Orient with excellent varieties in Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Filipino and Korean cuisine. There are American and Mexican restaurants too, which means that the international traveller is completely at home in Dubai.

Dubai is also home to all the major chain restaurants of the world. These include TGI Friday’s, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Café and Henry J Bean’s, with Fashion Café being the latest on the way to the bandwagon. The fast-food culture that has taken the world by storm has not missed Dubai. McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Round Table Pizza, Pizza Corner, Harry Ramsden’s, Burger King, Shakey’s, Wimpy, Dunkin’ Donuts and Hardee’s have all secured a place in the city and in people’s hearts making their stay at Dubai a gastronomic delight!

Coming to Dubai and not tasting the traditional delights would be a sin to the taste buds! The fare includes special dishes native to the Gulf and other Middle Eastern cuisine from Iran, Morocco and Lebanon. Here are a few tips on the dishes that are worth trying.

Arabian delights

·  Hoummus: a dip made from chick-peas and sesame seeds.

·  Tabbouleh: chopped parsley, mint and crushed wheat.

·  Ghuzi: a whole roast lamb on a bed of rice mixed with nuts.

·  Wara enab: vine leaves stuffed with rice.

·  Koussa mahshi: stuffed courgettes.

Local dishes

·         Matchbous: spiced lamb with rice.

·         Hareis: a rich delicacy of slow-cooked wheat and tender lamb.

·         Shawarma: a snack which is grilled shavings of lamb or chicken, mixed with salad and rolled inside a pocket of Arabic bread which is available at any small shop in the city.

·          Seafood served with specially seasoned rice. Naturally, dates are a feature

         of any Arabian meal. The menu is especially large when it comes to seafood as the catch from the Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean includes so many varieties of fresh catch like lobster, cigale, crab, hammour, shrimp, tuna, kingfish, pomfret and red snapper.

For those who have a sweet tooth

·  Umm Ali (literally ‘Mother of Ali’): a type of bread pudding.

·  Esh asaraya (meaning ‘bread of the harem’): a sweet kind of cheesecake with a cream topping.