Dubai: Emirati food

I find UAE pricey for a holiday visit but as part of my holidays, I like to try some local cuisine. I tried a breakfast and a lunch in UAE. Balance were some cheap eats from nearby the hotel I stayed - a random eatery which I won't recommend (it wasn't tasty) and got a briyani from a supermarket. 

Breakfast at Arabian Tea House

I went to the outlet at Al Fahidi. I had my eyes set on their Special Emirati Breakfast Tray (AED 79). It was described to be for 2 pax and there was only 1 me. The server didn't stop me from ordering, in fact, he said I could take away if I cannot finish them. I also ordered Emirati coffee (AED 23) as part of my breakfast treat. 

Bread and dips were also served on top of the breakfast tray. I had this for breakfast and dinner. It was filling enough for me to skip lunch. The components of the breakfast tray are balaleet (vermicelli cooked with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron topped with omelette), dates molasses, cheddar cheese, melted cheese, watermelon jam, dango (boiled chickpeas), bajella (beans) that comes with traditional bread - khameer (flatbread) , chebab (pancake) and omelette. 

The teahouse is also very beautiful and it did come across as touristy but I only saw another group of patrons who also bought a tea set from them. 

Outdoor space that was too hot at daytime during my visit

Lunch at Ana Restaurant

This, I expected to be expensive because they are within Dubai Mall. But this shop was what recommended when I asked the information counter. Haha. 

Lunch selection was Mbahar Chicken (slow cooked chicken breast in creamy curry sauce served with saffron rice and fried mixed nuts and onion), AED 69. Also served with bread and balila (chickpea). I ordered a hot karak (tea brewed with spices), AED 16 to try. 

Side note: Hope game updates coming soon!

Dubai: Things to do in Dubai

I had 4 full days in Dubai. I initially planned to do a day trip to Abu Dhabi but at the time of visit, PCR within 2 weeks was still a mandatory requirement. In order to make the 2 weeks validity, it would meant I would have to find a place for PCR in Türkiye or Dubai, with allowance of time for results to be available. Due to logistic reason, I decided to forgo Abu Dhabi but went on a desert safari tour instead, which an old friend who used to work in Dubai said I should try. 

Walking around Old Dubai

The accommodations I booked were in Deira due to both cost and location. So day 1 was spent in Old Dubai. I don't know what gotten into me but I walked a lot under the hot sun in Dubai in October. I attempted to do this walking tour in the Old Dubai. 

First stop was Fish Market. To be honest, I wasn't sure if the Fish Market I saw was the Fish Market mentioned in the walking tour link. The one I visited was within the Waterfront Market Dubai which houses more than just Fish Market. I didn't take a photo of the market as there was a steady stream of patrons but the outdoor, as the name mentioned - along a waterfront.

From there, I walked to the Gold Souk. The gold and jewellery on display at the shop front were very impressive. I didn't enter any of the shops as I had no intention to get any. It was a good respite from the heat though. I might have walked passed Perfume Souk according to Google Maps but they are shops instead of "souk".

Then onwards to the Spice Souk. Also didn't get any, especially since I went to Dubai from Türkiye. I felt shop or stall owners in Dubai were so much more persistent than the ones in Turkiye. It gets very tiring trying to walk pass the shops or stalls.  

From there, I walked towards Abra Station to take the boat service to Bur Dubai. On the way to the Abra Station, I walked passed Grand Souk "Deira". 

From here, look for an Abra station to cross Dubai's Creek in traditional Abra (wooden boat). It cost AED 1 for one way. Fare was collected when on the Abra, and paid by cash.

The ride ended near another souk, Grand Souk - Bur Dubai. 

The walking tour went towards Al Bastakiya and Al Fahidi historically neighbourhood. I don't know how I ended up at Al Shindagha neighbourhood, possibly because of a nearby metro station. Think the heat was getting to me, it was still hot in Dubai in October. 

Al Shindagha is an area which houses waterfront museum which hosts historic exhibits in the place where the city began.

Upon realising that I missed both the Al-Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood and Al-Seef, I returned on my last day in Dubai. 

Al-Fahidi is a heritage site with preserved original infrastructure of old Dubai along the Dubai Creek. Next to Al-Fahidi is Al-Seef. Al-Seef also features a heritage area of old architecture, and another side with more comtemporary structures. 

On the day of my visit to Al-Seef, I have already moved to Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek which conveniently right across from Al-Seef. I took another Abra ride across the creek to head back to the hotel. This ride from another station and felt less touristy. I think this is cost more than AED 1 but still very affordable. I can't remember the exact cost as this round was paid with Nol card. 

Downtown Dubai

After spending a day at Old Dubai, day 2 was spent at the rich and famous side of Downtown Dubai covering the iconic landmarks of Dubai Mall, Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain.  The heat was bearable at this day as I was indoor most of the time, except when I was out to catch the Dubai Fountain.

I decided against going up Burj Khalifa but caught the fountain show in both daytime and night. The Dubai Fountain shows starts at 6pm to 11pm daily. Each session is about 5 minutes long and runs every 30 minutes. Daytime shows timings are 1pm to 1:30pm. Friday timings are 1:30pm to 2pm. 

Not many people were outside waiting for the daytime show, a big contrast compared to the evening shows. 

Also too cheapskate to pay to go in to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, the free section was fun too. 

Dubai Mall is huge and it also houses Kinokuniya or I would not be able to spend the rest of the day loitering around. 

Desert Safari

I randomly found a tour to desert safari which included dune bashing, sandboarding and bbq dinner. There were only 6 of us excluding the guide. I was picked up first and sent back last as I was the one closest to the tour company which happened to be in Deira. The rest were staying in Jumeirah area as coincidentally they were visiting another person who happens to live in Dubai. 

First stop was for an optional quad biking that I didn't participate then we were off to dune bashing. We were at the Red Sand Desert, which I was told is located in Sharjah. After dune bashing and sandbashing, we were sent to a camp for dinner which had side activities of a very short camel ride, shisha corner and heena hand painting. There were also live performances like belly dancing and fire show in the middle of the camp. 

Jumeirah

The intention was to see the Jumeirah, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina area. I got to where Burj Al-Arab is but didn't have enough credit in my Nol card to get on a bus to anywhere else. I asked, the bus driver said no other option. There was nowhere to top up, I walked back to the nearest metro about 40 minutes away. So naturally, I just decided to head back. Ha. 

I'm not sure where is the best free spot to see Burj Al-Arab though as during my visit, many areas were cordoned off due to construction. 

Side note: It feels bare now that my neighbour has chopped off the tree between us... 

Türkiye / UAE: From Istanbul to Dubai

Getting to Istanbul Airport 

I took the Havaist bus number 12 (HVIST-12) from Aksaray Metro, TL67. I have balance in my Istanbulkart enough for the travel but they don't accept payment via Istanbulkart, only cash or credit card. Commute time approximately 90 minutes.

Despite Beyazit Square station is a little closer to Sultanahmet square, but Havaist bus goes to Beyazit Square station only between 21:30 and 10:00 am since Ordu Street is closed for the vehicles during the day. 

Arriving at Dubai

I didn't get any plan to get any sim card or other means for internet connection in Dubai as I would only be there for a few days. However good news was there is free sim card given away at Dubai Airport. 

At passport control, the immigration officer handed back my passport along with a free Du Dubai sim card. The sim card came activated with a free 1GB that is valid for 24 hours. All one needs to do is insert the ready-to-use sim. I only activated this on my last full day in Dubai as I would be going around and might need it for navigation. 

Getting to Deira

One of the main criteria when I booked the accommodation was the distance from metro station. The one I ended up booking was in Deira, near Al-Rigga metro station. Bonus was it was really near the airport. I bought a Silver nol card, 25 AED which includes a 19 AED value. On my commute to and fro the airport, I had with me a big backpack and there were kind humans offering me their seat both times. 

Arriving at the accommodation

The flight landed in Dubai International Airport closed to 10pm. By the time I reached Al Rigga metro, it was passed 11pm. I looked up on google maps on how to walk to the accommodation that I booked using the free wi-fi at the station. On leaving the metro station, I heard the staff made announcement on last train for the night. 

Backtracked to the day before when I was in Istanbul. I would usually let the hotel know my estimated arrival time especially if it would be outside of usual business hour. Given that my flight was due to land in Dubai at 9:50pm, I sent a message to the accommodation via the booking app. I got a default response that mention to contact the accommodation directly. I sent a whatsapp message to the accommodation. I noticed that the country code for the listed phone number wasn't in Dubai. No reply. Then I saw a poor review for the accommodation that mentioned there were no room available. Not very promising but the accommodation had billed me. I figured as plan B, I would look up some backup accommodations around the area in case there wasn't a room available for me too. 

On arrival at the location given, all I could see was a supermarket. I walked up and down the street a couple of times and I wasn't able to find the building. I walked to the nearest hotel to me at that time, Ibis Dubai Al Rigga. While the front desk didn't come across as most friendly, she very kindly offered me the hotel free wi-fi after telling me she doesn't know the place I was looking for. By this time there were a few people at the front desk with their queries. I thanked her and the doorman who also tried to help me to check the address given and walked to my plan B. 

The dodgy accommodation that I initially booked is no longer listed. I also reported it to booking.com. Excelsior Downtown Hotel was the plan B hotel.  

Türkiye: Food options

Turkish breakfast 

The one above was the best breakfast spread I had in Türkiye - in Lunaria Guest House in Ayvalik. Otherwise the rest of the breakfast would still include egg, jam, olives, bread (of course), cheese, fruits, coffee or tea. So not at all shabby. 

Pottery Kebab (Testi Kebabi)

It is the most renown dish of the Cappadocia region. The traditional pottery kebab is made using an Avanos pot. Avanos is the "pottery village" of Cappadocia. The one I ordered was chicken and cooked with tomatoes, capsicum and onions, with the addition of a mixture of herbs, the contents of the pottery kebab is placed into small, single-serve pots. I had this in Göreme Han Restaurant, it was the first restaurant I came across that serves testi kebabi on my walk back to town. Very tasty and free tea provided. 

Chicken testi kebab, TL170

Grilled fish

This lunch was part of the Green Tour that I joined. It was a three-course meal - soup with salad, main meal and dessert. I chose fish for my main meal. This was some sort of lentil soup. 

Tavuk Sarma

Chicken stuffed with spinach, served with cheese, potato cubes and rice. The tour guide for the tour I joined recommended Anatolian Kitchen for food and so I went for dinner after that. Maybe not the best choice, but I find the chicken was a bit dry, TL185. 

Pide

The one below is Kuru Kiymali Kasarli Pide (or Pita dry minced meat with kashar cheese). It was described as roasted ground beef, onion, mint, chilli flakes and kashar cheese. This was simple, tasty and cheap, TL60.

Adana Kebab

I initially wanted to find another shop but as my luck has it, I seem to have issues locating restaurants that I wanted to go. I was approached by the owner of White House as I walked passed, the shop was empty so I initially a little apprehensive but it was already after usual lunch hour. The price looked decent so I went in. The adana kebab was very good. I had adana kebab when I returned to Melbourne, the one I had was nowhere near this. Coffee was provided free of charge. 

Adana kebab, TL125

Shish Kebab

When I was wondering where to go for dinner, a fellow traveller came out of Seven Spices İndian restaurant and told me his dinner was superb, and I was sold. Eatery was busy but the owner pre-empted that service would be slow. I wasn't in rush for time so happily sat down and waited for dinner. I gained weight despite walking some ridiculous number of steps daily which my friend said must be all the kebabs I consumed. He wasn't wrong I guess. 

Shish kebab + ice tea, total TL128

Durum doner

My choice of eatery was by feel mostly, i.e. no logic. As I waslked passed many food places in Bodrum, this place had the least intimidating vibe, so that was dinner - at Nokta Sebzeli Bodrum Döner. It was advertised that the lemonade on sale was homemade, so I got a glass. 

Durum doner + lemonade, TL128

Lokanta

Lokanta is something like an eatery or “restaurant.” It serves home-style casserole dishes, mostly tradesmen working in the neighborhood. I was first brought to one by one of the local who struck up a conversation with me on my walk. I didn't have lunch and wanted an early dinner. When I asked for suggestion on where locals eat, I was brought to a lokanta and got the below. I guess in Malaysia, this is like "chap fan" or economical rice. I got a mixture of different dishes. 

I went to another one in Çanakkale, I also got a mixture of dishes - TL80

The one in the further plate was stuffed eggplant

Papalina

Papalina (European sprat) is a specialty in Ayvalik so that was my first meal in Ayvalik. This was delicious. I had this at Muhteremin Yeri. I'm not sure if it was true but google said it is marked as permanently closed. 

Papalina+salad+orange juice, TL145

Ayvalik Toast

It has fillings of sausage, salami, picked cucumbers, etc. I was asked if I want to omit anything but I asked for all. I can't remember the name of the shop where I got this, but it was somewhere near the #Ayvalik sign.

TL35

Manti

These are small dumplings of dough filled with meat mix, served with yoghurt and paprika. This did get a bit too rich by the end of it. 

Manti + tea, TL60

Tavuk sis

This was at Three Partner's Cafe Restaurant at the recommendation of the hotel owner. Order came with entree (bread with dips) and dessert of baklava, TL130. It is also important to note that they didn't auto add service charge to their bill. 

Grilled Fish

I wanted to have a fish dish, the recommended restaurant that I looked for doesn't seem to be open for service and looked way too expensive. So this was plan B. The dish was ok, but I can't remember the restaurant name and I wasn't pleased that they added service charge to the bill. When I asked, I was told that they didn't jack up their prices to include tipping so they added as a service charge. According to the hotel owner, he told me that service charges are not compulsory, and told me that was why he recommended Three Partner's Cafe Restaurant and they don't add service charges. 

TL270

Balik ekmek

Fish sandwich - cheap and happy but I got this near the Spice Bazaar before I saw the ones at the Galata Bridge. It was more expensive at TL80. 

Ciya Sofrasi

I feel this is like a lokanta as well but serves rarer regional dishes that are harder to find. The dishes were tasty but I find it a bit too pricey. I think it could be that they were charged by portion and that it can't be "mixed". 

Clockwise from top left (based on the copy of receipt): Firik Pilavı (this is rice mixture with some grain), Asude (based on google, I don't think this translate to any type of food but it was okra dish), Ekşili Kebap Yemeği (sourish dish with kebab), Güveç Yemeği (cubed meat casserole with vegetables). Total of TL300 and I was reminded that they didn't add any service charge. I added a 10% tip.

Lamb shank

It was marked under Ottoman Specialities in Ottoman's Kitchen Restaurant so I ordered this as I was feeling lamb. Maybe I have misunderstood but I thought it could be Turkish way of cooking it but thinking back, the Ottoman could be referring to the restaurant's name. Anyway it was good food and they gave full side free starter. Look at that bread. Also came with free dessert of baklavas and tea. 

I walked passed this restaurant after having the grilled fish dish on my second dinner in Istanbul. As I already had my dinner, naturally I wasn't interested. We had a short chat, I was ready to continue walking, but the restaurant host (is that the term for the person who stand in front of a restaurant to get people's interest?) asked if I could pop in for a tea, said most customers would feel more inclined to go in a restaurant if they see someone in there. I don't know what logic that is or what I was thinking, I ended up having a glass of tea. I had a look at the menu and thought the price looked reasonable so I thought I would return another day. I was told it is very common to be invited for tea as a big pot is brewed at all times. 

At the time of my visit, I found out that 3 of the staffs at this restaurant share the same name - Mustafa. 

TL400 including tips (I can't remember if I added 10% or 15% tips)

Baklava

Doesn't need introduction I think - this layered pastry dessert is made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. I went to a baklava sweet shop and got some as a gift, the rest were eaten as part of free dessert. 

There were 2, I ate one before I remembered a photo

Ayran

Turkish's national yoghurt drink, it was a salty taste yoghurt. 

Lokma

Got these deep fried dough balls, soaked in syrupr or honey as a snack before dinner on getting back to Bodrum from Kos day trip. 

TL40 for 15 balls I think

Kazanbidi

This caramelised milk pudding was randomly selected from one of my supermarket run, it was not bad actually and wasn't too sweet either, TL 8.

Peynir Helvasi

This cheese halva was found in Çanakkale, served with vanilla ice-cream and definitely need the ice-cream to cut through the sweetness. Way too sweet for my liking, texture felt like a dense type of cake. 

TL15

Midye dolma

This is stuffed mussel with aromatic rice, herb and spices, served with a squeeze of lemon or lime. If you see this, please get some. It was delicious. It is priced per each mussel and depends on the size of the mussel. The ratio of rice to mussel would depends on the size of the mussel. I think I had 4 of the TL2.5 ones. 

Simit

These sesame crusted bread rings, sometimes with nutella or cheese fillings are sold as street food. They were my sustenance when I was queuing to get in to Aya Sofya because breakfast were not included as part of my hotel room in Istanbul. However, on the balance of days, the hotel owner gave me free breakfast. Turkish hospitality :)

Cinnamon bun, TL12 (also sold by Simit sellers)

Poor photo but doughy good Nutella simit, TL15

Börek with cheese

I didn't go up the Galata Tower but did stop and have a tea break, at one of the small dessert shop nearby. I unfortunately totally cannot remember the name of the shop. Below are one baklava and some borek with cheese, washed down with tea.

Total TL44

Firin Sutlac and Sahlep

Turkish baked rice pudding was warm and comforting on the rainy day in Kadikoy. There were some rice bits within the pudding for texture too. Not too sweet, TL50.

The drink at the back is Sahlep, TL40. The drink is made from salep flour which was produced from from the tubers of an orchid genus Orchis. The texture felt a bit starchy. Salep flour is also used to make dondurma. 

Turkish coffee

I had many rounds of Turkish coffee, usually complimentary drink is tea or instant coffee but the one below was courtesy of a restaurant near the hotel in Istanbul. 

If you noticed, it is missing photo of dondurma. Not because I didn't have any, but all the photos I had were so bad, it's hard work trying to juggle the camera and making sure the ice-cream doesn't start dripping. :) 

Side note: Mayday!