Debashine Thangevelo
DUBAI has become a favourite haunt for A-listers, who drop a pretty penny in this shopping mecca of brandlabelled stores.
Of course, shopping isn’t the only offering of this modern city – it’s a culinary hub of world flavours, a place where you can indulge those adventurous whims with a plethora of adrenalin-fuelled outdoor activities or simply soak up the sights and culture of the place and its people.
The city boasts one of the fastest-growing economies, and tourism is a major contributor to its financial coffers.
Although it may seem like a visit here would be an exorbitant undertaking, it isn’t.
During a recent three-day visit to Dubai – as a first-time visitor nogal – I was exposed to the budgetfriendly options of the city.
On my first day, the foodie within was unleashed.
After a quick check-in to Zabeel House MINI by Jumeirah, a new three-star hotel, which lives up to its “maximum attitude, minimum frills” mission statement, I showered and got dressed for lunch at Kanteen Urban Kitchen with the team from Emirates Holidays, who put together my wonderfullypacked itinerary.
I’m told that this eatery in Al Karama is located in a very vibrant spot that springs to life at night.
Despite my street food tour being about three hours away, I tucked into everything that arrived on the table.
We had a wonderful mélange of hamour tikka, veggie and meat platters, chicken tikka, garlic and plain naans. Two different types of dhall. A wonderful selection of sauces.
If nothing else, make sure you try the hamour fish, which is native to the Persian Gulf. It’s succulent and delicious.
No alcohol is served here, but they have an interesting selection of fruit juices and mocktails.
I tried the kokam cooler, which comprises kokam (a spice which is great for digestion), curry leaves, lime and is topped with soda water.
Stuffed from all that pigging out, we nipped over to Chhappan Bhog, a sweetmeat store a few doors away, where I unashamedly tucked into a few tantalising delicacies.
There was time for an afternoon siesta before the walking street food tour with our affable and most enlightening guide, Partha Sawardekar.
Our first pit stop was the Al Mallah cafeteria to try their signature fruit cocktail, which was filled with different tiers of fruit and topped with cream.
Yes, it goes straight to the hips – but this was a cheat day, irrespective of whether I wanted it or not.
As they say, when in Rome… During the walkabout, with the humidity – not operating at its full blistering potential (it gets more unbearable, I believe) – leaving my clothes clinging to me, I found that the area we were in (2nd December Street) was populated by a lot of Filipinos.
The roads are kept immaculately clean and some of the buildings had the most captivating murals.
We also came across one of the many mosques in the area.
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