Christmas! Five days left y’all! In my festive haze I tend to forget that not everyone is going to love Christmas. Or maybe you’re simply dreading the annual agenda of rich foods, boozy nights and couch potato marathons, so you’re feeling a little like Scrooge.
This year I’m perfectly happy to take part and enjoy all of those things but I can’t say in the past that I haven’t thought about booking a trip away to switch things up, or ring in the New Year somewhere new and exciting without having to worry if I can manage to secure a taxi home.
A few months ago, Ed from Boston shared some top spots for desserts in London. This guest post went so well and I’m delighted to present another, written by travel junkie Gaby Lucius. Dubai remains incredibly popular as a tourist destination, and Gaby has some first hand experience when it comes to Dubai’s delicacies. So whether you’ve planned to jet off in the next week or Dubai is on the cards for you in the new year, this post is for you…
Decadent Dishes in Dubai
If I did not love food so much, I fear I would never travel. As it is, I find myself picking geographic haunts based upon where I’d most like to eat, spending the majority of my travel funds on dinners and skimping on the finer luxuries of travel. You won’t find me staying in fancy hotels or buying souvenirs, but if you were to look, you’d most certainly catch me stuffing my face in a small café or snacking on walks through new towns. If I’m biking, it’s likely just to burn off the calories from last night’s feast.
My trip to Dubai was no exception (except for the biking thing). For your reading pleasure, I compiled a list of the foods I cannot imagine not having eaten while there. (Author’s note: writing this only makes me want to go back and eat Kanafeh).
The Falafel
Not just something you can get at a Gyro Shak in the states, the falafel hails from the Middle East, and is one of their most popular dishes. It’s not hard to see why though, and the deep fried ball of chickpeas or fava beans is comparable to American French fries in side-dish stapleage.
Al Harees
This whipped wheat, savory dish is made from a base of soaked whole wheat and a pinch of salt. Lamb is added to it, cooked, and shredded, and the entire pot is slowly cooked until the entire dish reaches a smooth consistency. The mixture is then whipped to perfection. Here, the recipe changes slightly based on local taste and preferences of the chef—often cinnamon or cumin are added. It is a staple to Emiratis.
Hummus
My Jewish great-uncle was known in his neighborhood as “The Hummus Man” before he passed. I have always been comforted by the savory spread, and if I can no longer indulge in the dish in Uncle Ed’s kitchen, I can’t imagine a more appropriate place than the part of the world from whence it came. Hummus—made from chickpeas, olive oil, tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic, and salt—pairs wonderfully with shawerma, another delectable and quintessentially Middle Eastern lamb dish.
Kanafeh
A dish coming out of an area known as the Levant –the eastern Mediterranean (now Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, southern Turkey)—Kanafeh is a beautifully syrup-soaked cheese pastry that can technically be devoured at any time of day, but I prefer it as a culminating dessert because it is rich and sweet and basically a party in your mouth.
Gaby Lucius likes to spend her time traveling the world with her long-suffering husband, Mike. Thankfully, their mutual love for food has kept their marriage alive over the years. When she’s not trotting around the globe, she does freelance writing for Holiday Place.
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