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Regular-article-logo Saturday, 12 July 2025

Dollops of Dubai

With the world on a plate, t2oS goes on a binge trip in the desert city

Sibendu Das Published 25.03.18, 12:00 AM

The world’s biggest multicuisine restaurant. That’s the first impression of Dubai on a goggle-eyed foodie from Calcutta. A city that has grown up literally on nothing more than sand and sea, a city where even the grass is imported. It is nothing short of incredible that when it comes to food, you can name it and you actually get it. 

As my cab approached The Rove Downtown Dubai, the driver pointed to the sidewalk and said, “Sir, you don’t have to worry about what to eat. There are as many restaurants here as there are cuisines you can think of. Welcome to Dubai and have a happy stay!” 

Happy I was indeed, stuffing myself for four days at Dubai Food Festival 2018, a celebration of the plurality of palates and plates (there are over 200 nationalities living in Dubai). It is the biggest food festival in the Middle East, bringing together a diverse range of food stops from the city’s sip-and-bite map — from gourmet and avant-garde restaurants to small haunts and little-known gems. With a bunch of fellow food writers, I zipped from the posh Palm Jumeirah and the JBR beachside to the quaint alleys in the Al Bastakiya neighbourhood of old Dubai, and at every bend of the road there were too many things to tuck into.

There’s the Emirati food with its platter of sweet and syrupy luqaimat, soft and fragrant chebab pancakes, nice and thick haleem-like harees and the khameer rotis. If you push the boundary a bit, you will navigate through Levantine and Arabic flavours. 

With so much going on, it’s convenient to find all of it in one place, which comes in the form of the Global Village, an amusement-cum-entertainment park that showcases 75 cultures living together in Dubai. The 23 restaurants and cafes and 120 food kiosks here serve up the globe on a platter. 

Open till April 7 (there’s still time if you’re planning a Middle East vacay), the Global Village makes you realise why Dubai is poised as the gastronomic destination that everyone in the F&B industry is excited about. 

GLOBAL VILLAGE 

Fresh and crunchy, Tabbouleh is one of the most popular Levantine salads made with finely-chopped tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion and bulgur, which is a kind of cereal made from durum wheat. It’s drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.
Lentils, pasta, noodles and rice are tossed with a smattering of Middle Eastern spices, topped with a spicy tomato sauce and fried onions. The national dish of Egypt, Koshari is an odd mix of things and the one item that we feel needs to be on Calcutta’s munch menu ASAP. 
I am not a hummus fan and in Dubai I figured why I wasn’t. A traditional Arabic platter must have hummus and moutabal, both kinds of spreads to be mopped up with pita bread. The hummus is made of mashed chickpea and tahini (a sesame dip), while the moutabal is a paste of roasted aubergine and tahini. A few pomegranate seeds and a sprig of mint add freshness and crunch. The real deal that we miss in Calcutta.

ETISALAT BEACH CANTEEN 

I have had tacos at almost every place that serves it in Calcutta but none has ever come close to the Crispy Tuna Taco served up by a food truck called Maiz at the Etisalat Beach Canteen. It was the fresh crunch of the deep-fried tuna, sliced greens, coriander and onions, the creaminess of the sauce and a dash of lemon that did the trick for this Mexican snack. 

 

Strolling on the Etisalat Beach Canteen by the Kite beach, we came across a food truck selling Kumpir, a popular Turkish street food. The cook baked a huge half-sliced potato, stuffed it with lots of cheese, butter, olives and corn, and baked it once more. The result was a soulful Sunday afternoon snack.
Well, we found phuchka too, with a potato and chickpea stuffing and a lemon and mint syrup, at the Etisalat Beach Canteen.

TUM TUM ASIA

A vegetarian Indian restaurant was one of the 10 Hidden Gems of this edition of Dubai Food Festival. Tum Tum Asia in the Oud Metha area serves Japanese sushi, Bangkok baos, Vietnamese Banh Trang, Korean kimchi, Cantonese stew, Singaporean laksa... the all-veg Oriental fare is truly a discovery. Our meat-loving gang was pleased as punch. 

JBR WALK

Spotting some unknown dishes on the menu hung outside Almaz by Momo, we walked in and were not disappointed. The pretty restaurant serves Morrocan and Lebanese cuisine. The Merguez, or grilled lamb sausages, is a dish from the Berber community from the Maghreb region of North Africa. The sausages are a little chewy and hot, and you can’t but eat just one.
Even if liver is not your thing, we recommend trying the chicken liver pan-fried with pomegranate sauce and chickpea spread at Almaz by Momo. 
As the evening breeze from the Persian Gulf blows in, walk into one of the many Arabic restaurants dotting The Walk at the Jumeirah Beach, and sip some Moroccan tea from beautifully etched glasses. #Exotic

SWEET EATS

Spanish churros at Etisalat Beach Canteen 
 A raspberry tart from French patisserie Laduree at Dubai Mall made the Bong sweet tooth mighty happy. 
A visit to The Cheesecake Factory (there are five outlets in Dubai) is a must if you start drooling at the mention of it.

MIAMI VIBES AT CITY WALK

Who wants a burger in Dubai, you’d wonder. Well, it seems everyone. From the Etisalat Beach Canteen to Miami Vibes at City Walk, the variety of burgers in Dubai boggled the mind. We found a favourite — the Doughnut Burger (above) at Miami Vibes, an assortment of food stalls. 

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