A Global Gastronomic Tour of Dubai

 

A Global Gastronomic Tour of Dubai--Palestinian Breakfast, Filipino and Lebanese Dessert, Middle Eastern Lunch; More Dubai Expo 2020 and Barbecue Dinner at Reuben’s:

 

            Since today was the last full day we’d have in Dubai because our whirlwind tour of the UAE came to an end, we decided to make the very most of it. With my goods shipped off to India via air cargo, I could breathe easy. But we still had to make the time to go to a Covid testing center to get tested and, hopefully, receive reports on time to enable us to board our flight within 24 hours (tomorrow).

 

Palestinian Breakfast at Mama’esh:

            Once we’d showered and got ourselves sorted to face the new day, Reuben suggested he take us for a Palestinian breakfast. Now either Llew nor I had ever partaken of one and being ever eager to try out new culinary experiences, we grabbed the idea. Accordingly, Reuben drove the two of us to a place called Mama’esh which had a really beautiful setting and ambience. We could sit outside, if we wished (and the weather was wonderful and would have made it very pleasant), or we could sit inside and enjoy the rustic atmosphere created by visible wood-fire ovens, clay and exposed brick walls and lots of pictures reminiscent of the Left Bank. We decided to take a neat corner table inside and enjoy the black boards with their multiplicity of handwritten instructions and daily-changing menu. We placed ourselves entirely in Reuben’s hands and told him to go ahead and order for us. And so we ended up eating something called an Authentic Palestinian Zaa’tar Manaesh—which was a long piece of bread-dough, baked and filled on the inside with a zaa’tar mixture—it looked a bit like the Central European kachapuri. He also got us a Chickpea Fatayer which was a saucy like dip filled with really tasty whole chickpeas. You dipped bread into it and ate it—delicious. And finally he got us a fatteh, another pizza-like bread topped with tomatoes, onions, cheese, etc. We washed it all down with glasses of Indian-style kadak chai—a very milky and very sweet chai concoction. We did not leave without a number of spice mixtures peculiar to the region: zaa’tar, sumac and dukkah—these spices and toppings can be placed on grilled toast and eaten with just olive oil as a flavoring (as is often done in the Middle East). It was truly a most unusual, but very memorable breakfast.

  

Next Stop--The American Hospital for a Covid Test:

            Our next stop was uppermost on our list of priorities as we would not be able to board our flights tomorrow without clear Covid tests. Since Emirates required Llew to do one just 24 hours before boarding his flight, we pretty much had to keep the mission to the last-minute. When we arrived at the American Hospital which charged us 150 dirhams (or about $15) each, we found ourselves sitting in a very orderly fashion in a very clean and calm space and awaiting our turn. Our passport and other details were obtained, and, in a few minutes, we were directed to one of the stalls where the test was actually done through nose swabs. We requested the staff to expedite our reports as we were rather concerned they would not reach us in time. We need not have worried as both of us received our results by about 10.00 pm that evening.

 

More Global Gastronomy:

            I thought that we would make our way back home right away, but Reuben had other gastronomic plans. It so happened that I had seen a huge hoarding advertising a Filipino restaurant in Dubai and I had mentioned that I had first eaten Filipino food in Manilla, on a visit to the Philippines, a few years ago. I also mentioned that my favorite Filipino dessert is called Halo-Halo and I had described it as containing a little bit of everything: ice-cream, condensed milk, tapioca pearls, frozen coconut, mixed fruit, sweet azuki beans, etc. Well, Reuben was kind enough to find a Filipino restaurant and, as a surprise to me, he drove us to the very place where Halo-Halo was advertised on bright posters at the entrance. And so we ended up immersing ourselves in the delights of this most unusual East Asian dessert that is basically unheard of in any other part of the world except the Philippines. Needless to say, we enjoyed it although the shaved ice that is supposed to be a big part of this dessert, was in too large chunks. But overall, it was very good indeed.

            And then, again, just when I thought that the culinary tour was done, Reuben took us to another part of the city—in fact, to the old apartment building in which he had once lived and in which I had once stayed with his brother Rolen and his wife, Jolene. This building had a kunafa shop on the ground floor that supposedly sold very good kunafa. And so we ended up getting a big serving of it as a take-out order! It really had been a culinary tour of Dubai and we were so lucky to have Reuben as a guide to help us accomplish this.      

 

Back Home to Pack and Get Ready for Early Morning Departure:

            Reuben then drove us home and we spent the next couple of hours getting our bags packed, ready and organized for our early-morning departure. Llew was taking a few of my things back home to the States with him. I was still juggling my weight issues until the very last minute.

            When we were done, Reuben suggested he take us out for another tasty treat—chicken shwarma from a food truck that was parked very close to his home. As we had not yet eaten Chicken Shwarma on our trip, we decided that we could not leave the Middle East without giving it a try. And so he drove us to the food truck where we ordered our shwarmas on pita bread. They came with tsaskiki, the cucumber-yoghurt salad that is a usual accompaniment for this dish. They were very filling indeed and we really did enjoy our lunch. With all the eating we did on that last day (and the days before), you can just imagine how much weight we put on! Still, we were not willing to give up on the rare treats of tasting regional and local delicacies that we would not get in other parts of the world.  

            Back home, we took a little bit of a rest and a lie-down before awaking to spend the evening at a venue to which we were keen to return—the Dubai Expo 2020:

 

Returning to the Dubai Expo 2020:

            So you would think that we had received our fill of the Dubai Expo 2020 on the first leg of our travels having spent 11 hours of a single day there. Why then would we wish to return? Well, mainly because we had not seen the India and the UAE Pavilions and we were keen to see them.

            While we had gone to the Expo venue by metro, the first time, this time Reuben drove us there in his car. It took just about 20 minutes and in no time, we got through Security and were inside. The place was a bit more crowded than it had been when we were there the first time. 

            Without wasting too much time, we went straight to the India Pavilion as we knew its location well—yes, we did take the shuttle bus once we were in the venue and after we had parked Reuben’s car. 

            The India Pavilion had really nothing to write home about. In fact, the only bit that I found really interesting and very well done was the floor that projected 20 seconds each of the varied classical and folk dances of India on massive I-Max screens that surrounded us fully. Everything else was boring as the information conveyed relied solely on posters, text written on walls, etc. There was no audio-visual interest to engage us. The ground floor was devoted to India’s space program with references to Aryabhata and other devices that have been launched into space for data collection as well as satellite facility. The emphasis was very much on India as a scientific power reaching out to join the big boys. I wish they had taken the trouble to present us with more documentaries, films, etc. 

            With not much time left, we went to the UAE Pavilion but again, were very disappointed to discover that it was closed to the public—so on two occasions when we attempted to get in, we were turned away! I could not believe that the host country would turn away visitors by scheduling its events in its Pavilion so poorly. 

            Our next and final stop was at the Al-Wasl Center to see the lights display on the dome that all the media folks had been raving about. Once again, we had a bout of bad luck as the place had just been taken over for a religious meeting that featured a long sermon in Arabic. We were told that it would go on for at least an hour during which time the lights show was suspended.

            Of course, there was nothing then to do but to return to the car park and to our car and to get back home.

 

Wonderful Barbecue Dinner at Reuben’s:

            Reuben had intended to barbecue for us on his grill out on his deck. But, grilling foods in that way would take far too long and since time was of the essence and we still hoped to get a bit of a nap before we awoke at 2.00 am to take our flight, he decided to grill in his indoor oven instead. And while we sat with our last round of drinks (wine, G&Ts and the like), he was busy at the grill. In course of time, the food was ready and we had a chance to taste his brilliantly-marinated meats—sheekh kebabs, chicken boti kebabs, etc. There were salads and hand bread to go with the meats. Everything was plentiful and delicious and it made for a memorable last meal with Reuben and Tabita. We simply could not believe that our stay in the Middle east had come to an end. The days had galloped past so quickly and we had packed them so full of activity that we simply did not realize their passing. 

            When all of this eating activity was over, we made our way upstairs to bed and set our alarms to awake at 2.00 am. to get to the airport at 3.00 am as my flight to India was departing at 6.00 am. We said our goodbyes and thank-yous to Tabita before she turned in for the night as we did not want to disturb her in the middle of the night. 

            And with that our wonderfully interesting travels in a developing part of the world came to an end. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have grown into tourist meccas and it is little wonder that people from all over the world are flocking there now to avail of their pleasures. Llew kept saying how different the place was from anything he remembered. He looked with awe upon the development and, as the skyline changes daily, we have little doubt that the next time we get there, everything will have changed again.

            Until tomorrow, kuda hafiz…

  

 

Exploring the Excellent Dubai Expo 2020:

Monday, November 29, 2021:

Exploring the Excellent Dubai Expo 2020:

 

            Although the Dubai Expo was inaugurated and is being held in 2021, it was meant to begin in 2020.  All posters, publicity material, etc. had already been printed—and they carried last year’s date! Covid delayed the event by a year and now that it has finally opened, it is being held with a great deal of fanfare—but the 2020 date remains!

            But to begin at the beginning of the day…we awoke in our friend Shayab’s home, showered, got dressed for a day out (comfortable walking shoes, of course) and enjoyed breakfast prepared by the maid, Seema: scrambled eggs with buttered toast, preserves and coffee. Once again, it was our friend Naazli who dropped us to the Metro station. We thought we knew the drill by this stage, but after getting our tickets (we deliberately paid double and got the Gold Star cars to avoid the heavy rush of the standard tickets cars), made an error. About ten minutes into our journey, not having Metro maps with us, I realized that we were travelling in the opposite direction and needed to change tracks. We did so, alighting at the next station and moving to the right platform. We lost about twenty minutes, but with all that, we make it to the Expo venue by 11.00 am. I need to state that the Expo is very easily reached by public transport and that the UAE government has especially created a Metro station to link the site with its public transportation network. This will, no doubt, make it very easy for people who do not have their own conveyance.

 

Arrival at the Expo Venue:

            Security was very tight at the Expo venue. We were required to show our tickets (we have Senior Season Passes for free—a huge perk of growing up!), our PCRT Test results (we showed the one we took before leaving the US) and our vaccination certificates. After that hurdle was cleared, we were put through electronic security as at an airport—all our bags were scanned and we went through a body scan as well. They were taking no chance with security.

            The Expo is superbly organized. But, I suppose, that is understandable, since each country gets about 10 years to plan and set it up. I understand that the next one (after five years will be in Osaka, Japan and the one after it, in ten years’ time, will be in Saudi Arabia). At any rate, the visitor is immediately struck by the brilliant architecture of the venue as you enter through a really huge square arch. From then on, it is nothing but a feast for the eyes as one goes from one pavilion to the next.

            So here is a bit of background on the “Dubai Expo” as it is being called. 192 countries have joined in to create a showcase of their efforts to make the planet more environmentally-friendly. Hence, depending on where their interests lie, they are then grouped under one of three headings: Opportunity, Sustainability or Mobility. The venue is vast and covers hundreds of acres. To speed up the transportation of people from one section of the Expo to the other, there are free shuttle buses that operate on a 10-minute cycle throughout the day. Naturally, Llew and I picked up a map at the entrance and decided to take the shuttle bus to the first pavilion we wished to see: Singapore. This was in the Sustainability section and that was where we alighted.

            I ought to say that while at home, last night, I had googled the Dubai Expo and keyed in “Ten Best Pavilions for Adults to Visit at Dubai Expo”. This took me to two sites where two different individuals gave their recommendations for the best pavilions. From among them, we saw the following:

Singapore: The entire pavilion is constructed around three upside-down cones, each of which represents a tropical rain forest. You stride upon a circular walkway that winds slowly to the top.  Along the way, you pass by thousands, yes thousands, of potted plants that are embedded into the structural cones—you do not see the pots—you only see the plants. This is what gives the ambience of walking in a garden. There was one small section devoted to orchids and as they are my favorite flower, I really did love that bit. Once we had scaled the entire hill to the top, we took the elevator to get down. Singapore’s pavilion was a good way to begin our exploration.

            We then browsed briefly through Slovenia, Sweden, Brasil and Azerbaijan, but there is not much to note about them.

            We then took the shuttle bus again and moved towards the Opportunity section. Here we started our exploration in 

            Luxembourg: This was a wonderfully visual pavilion.  It had a massive I-max screen that beamed all sorts of information and pictures about the country. We learned that although a tiny principality, it supplied all the glass and steel for the construction of the Burj-al-Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, in Dubai. Fancy that! Next, we visited

            Great Britain: This was a very interesting architectural building that seems to jut out like a pipe. Inside, it was a feat of technology entirely conceived by the country’s best-known scientist Sir Stephen Hawking. Visitors were encouraged to type out any word of their choice on a small I-pad. This word was then instantly crafted into a short poem of a few lines which also appeared on the screen.  Meanwhile, the word of choice appeared high up on a large screen that looked a bit like a game board. I chose the word ‘Imagine’ and Llew chose the word ‘Believe’. We were happy to see our word choices reflected back at us. From there, we moved on to

            Monaco: Like Luxembourg, Monaco is a tiny principality and its visuals, projected on another gigantic screen in many tiny sections, like a Cubist painting, were a representation of everything for which the country stands: luxury, entertainment, casinos, fine design…but it was also a chance to see what its monarch, currently Prince Albert, is up to in terms of making financial contributions towards sustaining our planet. Very classy. Just like the country. And on to

            Lunch! Yes, we were famished by this point and decided to look for sustenance.  There are a lot of national snacks offered by each country in the respective pavilions, but if you want something more generic, there are also little cafes sprinkled around everywhere.  We used our map to find Food Street and settled for Greek Gyros from a food truck. These were very tasteless and easily the worst meal we ate in Dubai. Certainly not recommended. I have to admit that by this time we were starting to flag, so I was delighted to find that outside the Monaco pavilion, there were steps leading to the entrance. Someone had the inspired idea of throwing dozens of bean bags on the steps that then draped themselves to offer comfort. Llew and I rushed towards them and had the great pleasure of actually going almost horizontal as we stretched our bodies out to give ourselves muscular rest. I actually took my habitual 20-minute nap and I cannot even describe how utterly refreshing it was. After gaining our second wind, we moved on towards the next pavilion.

            Switzerland: Switzerland was just wonderful. You enter a darkened space—a kind of huge hall—and start to climb gently upwards (as if you are climbing the Alpes) in the semi-darkness.  You are surrounded by fog so that you do not see well at all. As you go higher, twilight gives way to night and the moon appears in the sky. It is so atmospheric that you can almost believe you are somewhere in the foothills of the Alpes in Switzerland. Amazing experience!

Next door was Egypt where the big attraction is a reproduction of the famous gold bust of King Tut. Since we had been to Cairo and see the real thing at close quarters, we decided not to brave the line but to move on. Indeed, by this time it was after 4.00 pm and we began to notice that what seemed like a fairly empty space in the morning suddenly began to crawl with people. It is clear that visitors arrive each day after their working hours end (in Dubai, at 3.00 pm, I believe). So after 4.00, the crowds grow in size. Our next stop was 

            Saudi Arabia: This place was incredible! Not only did they have a kind of waterfall—like a gigantic shower—that played and stopped at intervals, allowing people to try to hop in and out of it without getting wet--but it reproduced the sense of a Saudi village in an oasis using mood lighting, national music and the movement of an escalator. At the end of the ride, there was a humongous globe that had kaleidoscopic projections focused on it. It was simply mind-blowing. Out next port of call was even more awesome!

            Pakistan: The Pakistani Pavilion is just stunning. It is a visual delight, being composed of upturned cones in a jazzy fluorescent color palette. When you enter, you are transported to Pakistan which is presented as a staggeringly beautiful country with incredible natural vistas enveloping the Himalayas, assorted mountain lakes, glorious wildlife, etc. This was done through the clever usage of I-max screens. In another section, you are introduced to the pluralism of its religious groups—a lot of emphasis on Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism (in addition to Islam) as it flourishes in the country today. Here too, the vast diversity of religious houses of worship sprinkled all over the country, was emphasized. Overall, it was an unforgettable visual experience.  

 

Meeting Zafar, Ridda and her Family:

            By this time, Llew’s former colleague and friend Zafar had finished with work. He was keen for me to meet his daughter Ridda who had taken my course on South Asian Studies when she was a student at the Stern School of Business at NYU in 2002! She remembered me affectionately and well and was keen to meet me again. Now married to Salman and with two little ones, she is a designer of high-end fashion handbags. She had spent one year at La Pietra in Florence, NYU’s Italy campus, and had then spent another year, after graduation in Florence, where she went into fashion design. Now based in Dubai, she designs handbags in crocodile and snake skin (responsibly sourced, she assured me), has them made in Italy and then sold in the UAE at pop-up exhibitions. I was so delighted to meet her (I did remember her once I saw her), her husband and her two children that I felt it was a high point of my stay in the UAE. Imagine meeting a student after 20 years who remembers you and makes the effort to seek you out to say Thanks! It is immensely gratifying. We took some pictures together, exchanged news about other batchmates I recall from her year and then exchanged contact information. Truly, our sit-down in the restaurant called Dawaat in the Pakistani Pavilion where we enjoyed Kadak Chai and Punjabi samosas was so meaningful to me that I was barely focused on anything other than catching up with Ridda.

            Then, it was time to say goodbye as she left to find suitable dinner for her little ones while Llew and I sought out the Norway Pavilion as Ridda told us that there was a massive waterfall built inside it that we simply had to see.

            Norway: Ridda was mistaken—there was no waterfall in the Norway Pavilion They were actually one in the DP World Pavilion, not far away. We sat through a thoroughly boring documentary film about Norway’s oil drilling efforts and wind turbine efforts in the North Sea (which we could not even leave even if we were bored stiff) and then told that was it. Utterly disappointing! Since Ridda had raved about the waterfall, we entered the DP World Pavilion next.

            DP World: Again, yes, there was a waterfall that plays every fifteen minutes, but it was very similar to the one we had seen in the Saudi Arabia Pavilion—so again, we were not impressed. We decided very quickly to move on as it was almost 9.00 pm by this point and we were fading away. On making inquiries, we were told that the pavilions closed at 10.00 pm and the Expo at 11.00 pm. We had two more that we really did want to see, the USA and India. 

            USA: The American Pavilion was also highly impressive. By means of a moving platform, visitors are ferried through its various sections as they read text and see pictures of American History from 1776 onwards. There was special emphasis on American invention and contribution to global technology such as Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and Ford’s Model T automobile right up to the moment. The section began with a welcome address from Kamala Harris, VP, but other than that, there were no images of the country’s leaders at all. Emphasis was on the common man, not on celebrities. Finally, in the last section, you could see a reproduction of the module that has been left behind on Mars and actually touch a piece of moon rock that was brought back to the earth by the Apollo 11 Mission that first put man on the moon.  A lot of emphasis on America’s scientific achievements as it moves towards creating a more eco-friendly nation. 

With this one done, we hurried to the India Pavilion. And what did we find? Not only was the façade least interesting, but it was closed! It was only 9.35! We discovered that the India Pavilion closed at 9.30. Again, this was a disappointment to us and we realized that we would have to return just to see it!

            We had caught glimpses of the nightly light show in the Main Pavilion, but as we were simply too tired by this point, we did not stop for it. We were also disappointed to find that the UAE Pavilion which everyone said was gorgeous, was closed because a special function was being held inside it. Another disappointment!

            By this time it was almost 11.00 pm and we had covered a lot of ground. It was time to leave. We found the shuttle bus that took us back to the first stop from which we joined the crowds leading back to the Metro station. A little later, we bought our tickets and hopped on to the train and were at our stop within 20 minutes. By then, it was almost 11.30 and we had not eaten dinner. It was time to look for a suitable place near the station.

 

Dinner at Kapadokya Turkish Restaurant:

            Luckily for us, the Kapadokya Turkish Restaurant was still open and we were able to find a lovely table inside and order a nice meal. We decided to share a large plate of mezzes which included hummus (chickpea mash), babaganoush (eggplant mash), tabouli (parsley salad), Fattoush (pita bread salad), dolmas (rice-stuffed vine leaves)—all served with puffed up kaboos (bread). It was all wonderful and we were fully stuffed by the end of it.

            All that was left for us to get to the Taxi stand and hail a cab that took us to the Ayub residence. We had the key and since it was almost midnight and the entire household was asleep, we crept up quietly to our beds and called it a day!

            Until tomorrow, kuda hafiz. 

         

Flight and Arrival in the UAE