10.296 Grilled Shaari Eshkeli and More

10.296

28 (Mon) October 2019

Grilled Shaari Eshkeli and More

3.25

in our room

(Shangri-La Hotel Dubai)

-Dubai, United Arab Emirates-

with the Family

Family Holiday Fall 2019 in UAE, Day 2.

Day 1 (10.295 Tofu & Mushroom Spring Roll with Hoi Sin Sauce)

In Dubai. We’re spending the boys’ fall break in the United Arab Emirates, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

fullsizeoutput_8f1d — In the distance, Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world.

BREAKFAST

When travelling, I am usually dissatisfied with the foods available at hotel breakfast buffets, which tend to lean western with items like breads and pastries, bacon and sausages, baked beans, hash browns, eggs – oh god, how I detest those tubs of undercooked/watery scrambled eggs.

We were happy to find that the breakfast buffet at the Shangri-La Dubai also offered eastern fare, like dumplings, vegetable stir-fries, congee, and made-to-order noodles.

Even better, the congee and noodles came with a full range of condiments, which are essential, including my favorite zha cai (pickled stem of the mustard plant).

LUNCH

We spent the morning in The Dubai Mall, the second biggest shopping center in the world by area (second to New Century Global Center in China).

fullsizeoutput_8f1e — As far as I know – and I just learned it here – Arabic is the only language other than English in which Rolex does its trademark – gives me an idea for another tattoo.

We had lunch in the food court, everyone getting their own thing.

Looking for something local or close thereto, I went with Iran Zamin, a Persian stall specializing in mixed grill platters. It was quite good.

fullsizeoutput_8f1f — Mango Yogurt + Blueberries + Pomegranate.

Afterwards, we had dessert at Yogurtland, a frozen yogurt stand in which customers serve themselves yogurt and toppings of their choosing and pay by weight. I’m not much for dessert, certainly not frozen yogurt, but I was totally blown away.

TOUR

We took a guided tour of the city in the afternoon.

fullsizeoutput_8ee0 — Dubai Museum – the oldest building in the city.

fullsizeoutput_8f01 — Water taxi to the spice market.

For me, the highlight of the tour was sniffing, negotiating, and buying saffron.

fullsizeoutput_8f14 — At bottom, strands from the first picking, which were offered to me at AED 75 (about USD 205) per gram; I opted for the second picking, at top, starting at AED 45, which I managed to haggle down to AED 35 (about USD 9.50); I bought 10 grams.

When the shopkeeper accepted my offer and called me a thief, I realized just then that I’d been scammed, but the experience was fun – totally worth getting ripped off for 95 bucks.

GMTD can look forward to many saffron dishes in the coming days.

DINNER

For dinner, we were again too tired to go out.

Fortunately, the room service menu offered a broad range of items. And the boys just adore ordering room service – I take full blame for that.

fullsizeoutput_8f6b — I did the currency conversion for the 30 grams of Beluga caviar, and actually thought about it for about 10 seconds before deciding that AED 1,822 (about USD 495) was too much.

fullsizeoutput_8ebe — Having ordered the Arabic Mixed Grill, I forgot to ask them to identify which of the kofta was camel – in any case, I was the only one who ate the meats, so I know for sure that I consumed camel at some point during the meal.

Unfortunately, nothing on the menu was strictly “local” or at least not identified as such. Turns out that Emirati food culture isn’t really a fully developed brand as yet, even while sharing similarities with what would generally be characterized as Arabic/Middle Eastern cuisine. Also, Emiratis themselves aren’t much for running small businesses, like restaurants, so their food isn’t commonly found in commercial settings (but see 5.091 Chicken Shawarma Sandwich (with “Salad”), 4.301 Arabic Spiced Chicken Kofta with Beans & Potatoes, 3.334 Bamiya). The gaps are filled with cuisines from neighboring countries with well-established food cultures and food business practices, such as Lebanese (see midnight snack yesterday), Iranian/Persian (see lunch today), and Indian (see butter chicken tonight), as well as global cuisines like Chinese, Italian, and American.

Regardless of attribution, we enjoyed a feast that included Fattoush (3.5), Arabic Mixed Grill (2.5), Butter Chicken (3.25), Grilled Shaari Eshkeli (2.5), and a ridiculously wasteful amount of breads.

While scouring the menu for something local, the mention of shaari eshkeli did catch my attention. Turns out, it’s a fish caught in the Persian Gulf – aka pink ear emperor – recommended by the World Wildlife Fund as a sustainable food species (see “The UAE’s First Sustainable Fish Cookbook a Wise Choice,” 2011).