Food And Drink in Dubai

Food in Dubai is first of all a question of origin: more than two thirds of the people living here arrived from South Asia, and the city tastes accordingly. That is why a culinary tour heads for Deira and Al Karama instead of the malls — Pakistani grill houses, Keralan fish curry, Iranian bakeries where sangak flatbread is baked on a bed of hot pebbles. Three to four hours on foot, a handful of stops, and the walk usually ends at the spice souk with nobody still hungry.

Emirati cooking itself takes more effort to track down. Machboos with lamb, harees, luqaimat soaked in date syrup — for those go to Al Fahidi, where the cultural centre runs shared breakfasts with a host explaining each dish and taking questions. Desert camps serve a grill buffet in the evening, and dinner cruises on the Creek and in the Marina wrap two hours of slow sailing around the meal.

Practical notes. During Ramadan many kitchens stop serving in daylight hours, while the iftar buffet becomes the meal of the year and books out early. Alcohol is poured in hotels and licensed restaurants and is simply absent from ordinary cafés, so an evening built around drinks works differently here than in Europe. Almost every tour offers vegetarian and halal versions; flag allergies and your tolerance for chilli when you book, because the kitchens in Karama cook for their regulars rather than for visitors.