You’ll love Dubai if your used to satisfying the midnight munchies with a delicious doner kebab. The most popular takeaway option in the city is shawarma and after a few days you’ll have no problem identifying your favourite stall in the souk. Although the dish is typically made from lamb, veggies needn’t go hungry as there are plenty of places that serve meat-free versions made with falafel.
Dubai is also home to all the western food chains – KFC, Starbucks, TGI Fridays and of course McDonalds all have branches here, so it’s possible to satisfy homesickness and hunger in one go!
With your hunger dealt with, take a stroll through Dubai’s food souk. You can admire and purchase a wealth of fresh produce here. Don’t leave without tasting Omani bananas, guaranteed to be the sweetest you’ve ever tasted. Watermelon is also irresistible and there are a mouthwatering range of fresh dates available. Also worth checking out is the section of the market devoted to fish, where you’ll see blue lobsters, baby sharks and massive kingfish on the slab.
Have a look around you, can you see vendors serving sugar cane juice and pomegranate shakes? Can you see pieces of lamb slowly simmering in oil? Are the counter tops literally groaning with nuts and seeds? You must be in Egypt then where street food is a way of life. Peppers stuffed full of delicious spiced fish, gorgeous flatbread, tomatoless pizzas, kofte kebabs and tooth-tinglingly sweet semolina cakes all have to be tried to be believed.
There are two dishes in Egypt that define the whole street food experience. Taameya is like falafel but usually eaten at breakfast time and made from fava beans accompanied by fuul, a fava bean porridge. You’ll certainly feel full after this high-fibre, sustaining start to the day. If you’re hungry come lunch-time then seek out koshary, a favourite amongst the poor. This carb fest contains rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas and will have you craving an afternoon nap.
Emily Collins writes on behalf of Hotels4U. If you’re looking for hotels close to the souks in Egypt then click here.
