one month, 12 bites
David shares his findings from each month of 2024 in Dubai, 365 days of taste buds on tour, roaming from the lavish to the distinctly low-key
January
Despite only having lived in the city for one month at the time of this writing, I receive messages every day requesting restaurant recommendations in Dubai. There are significant birthdays that need marking, cantankerous relatives who need placating, and usually a friend trying to impress a date, hoping to dazzle with a meal before, well, whatever comes next.
But restaurants are about far more than the cooking. As Henri Gault and Christian Millau remind us, the focus should be on the chef’s creativity and taste rather than the lavishness of the décor or dish complexity. Nowadays, many restaurant multi-course offerings run from three to four and into the umpteenth hour. Much easier to recall are my recent favourite bites, particularly over one month, and I have enjoyed many delicious ones since arriving in Dubai.
So, here are my most savoured, giddy bites from the past month. They range from small one-bite morsels to single plates and bowls of food and from the gold and glitter-crusted temples of the region’s fine dining scene to more simplified, less-glossy pizzerias and cafeterias. There are 12 bites (16 really), but I could have chosen 1,200, and the breadth of cooking across global cuisines was even more impressive.
My favourites may not be your favourites. And that’s fine. Perhaps I haven’t yet visited your favourite place. Chances are that I haven’t yet. But soon, maybe. Then I can try your preferred globule of moreish, milky burrata or that go-to Instagram-friendly plate of spicy tuna maki and then rave with the same rabid evangelical fervour as the rest of culinary Dubai. Or stand in line for hours with nothing to show for it but a salty pickle shawarma that takes 30 seconds to eat. I’ll get there; just give me time.
February
After receiving so much positive feedback regarding last month’s 12 Bites (One Man’s Culinary Introduction to Dubai) round-up, along with countless recommendations, I have been overcome with a sort of voracious obsessiveness, a beastly licking-of-the-lips intensity and a ferocious obligation to eat everything I come into contact with. So, thanks for that.
It has been two months since I arrived in Dubai, and while I’m still new, I have been out and about. Oh yes, I’ve been out and about. I’ve crossed the desert and the length of the Sheikh Zayed Road, gobbling everything in my path. From the mutton tikka and bhindi masala at Najmat Al Seeh to the sausage buffet at Daraj Alyasmin.
I have lifted and peeked beneath the cultural rug, experiencing outstanding Emirati dishes: heavy with history and hardship, elevated with brilliance and dexterity, shaped by a jumble of people thanks to waves of modern immigration, and just as famous now for its wagyu burgers and chicken saloona as its hares and chebab.
And dates, my goodness, there are a lot of dates – Ajwa, Khudri, Bayara, Deglet, Medjool, Wanan, Sagei, Jomara, Sukkary, Zahidi, Halawy, Mabroom, Super Jumo, some chocolate-coated, others dotted with orange peel and a few filled with pistachio, plus a whole host of other nutty centres.
Food has always helped me to understand my surroundings. After all, we eat for nourishment but also in the pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge of the business, process and mechanics of food. Food is a cultural and social signifier and so often the setting for conversation, employment, recreation, romance and communion. I continue to learn the most about Dubai through its food. So here are an additional 12 bites from what I have eaten this past month.