Eating Around the World - Without Leaving Abu Dhabi

 Talea is one of the first restaurants to be awarded a Michelin star in the UAE. Marinated sea bream, beetroot & sesame to start.  Followed by ravioli with duck, pumpkin and mustard.  Main dish was turbot. Most interesting was a drink made with gin and buratta .  I read that mixologists use the water from buratta to make the drink.   Our gracious waitress from Argentina said they added some basil syrup.

I've had camel meat before.   And camel milk.  I once had gold-flecked camel burgers at Emirates Palace.  And gold-flecked coffee.  But I've never cooked camel meat. Maybe I should try making my own camel burgers.  Lulu Hypermarket even has meats from Kazakhstan and Sudan.  Mostly lamb. For a minute, I thought they had Kazakh horse meat.  I've tried it a couple of times in New York and Kazakhstan. I guess small (young?) camel meat is tastier than older meat?  Maybe this is the camel equivalent of lamb?  Or veal?

I once bought oreshki from Alliance Bakery near Al Wahda.  It's described as "nuts with condensed milk" on their website.  To be more accurate, they are walnut cookies filled with dulce de leche . Saw something similar last night at the Lebanese Roastery. The package read " Ain Jamal ".  Interestingly enough, the Alliance Bakery website lists its version as " aiyun aljamal ".  So they must be the same thing.  I wonder - where did this first come from - Russia or the Middle East?  I'm guessing Russia.

 Second time to enjoy Nepali food this week.  This time at Mt 8848, a more upscale Nepali place. Found out that Mt 8848 refers to the elevation of Mt. Everest - 8,848 meters (29,027 feet.)  Had a mixed plate of momos , fries, barbecued chicken and butterflied fried sausages.  Salty lassi was saltier than Indian version. Dish came with some rice crispies called bhuja .  Finished with mukhwas , mouth freshener sometimes given after meals at Indian restaurants. Manager named Umeish did a quick survey with us on his IPad.  Gave them top ratings all the way.  They just launched 2 weeks ago. Umeish said they have bara , a Newari pancake that I always look for in Nepali restaurants.  Will definitely try it next time along with some chow mein , with ketchup, Nepali style.

We visited Talea restaurant, a 1-star Michelin Italian in glitzy Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.  Lots of well-dressed people.  Huge contrast from our previous meal at Birat Manila which caters to the great unwashed.   More French than Italian.  Got their chef's table menu.  Marinated sea bream, beetroot and sesame to start.  Followed by ravioli with duck, pumpkin and mustard.  Main dish was turbot. Marita ordered a cocktail of Malfy gin with basil syrup and buratta .  My guess is that they used the liquid from the buratta cheese to make the foam.  Inspired recipe.  I'll try to make it myself. Maybe I can get some mozzarella and use the liquid? Gracious waitress from Argentina.  Told her she made me think of getting some choripan and Quilmes beer.  The last time I had choripan was in London at Borough Market.

Went to Birat Manila in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, an area which is home to some huge labor camps.  Fusion cuisine combining Nepali and Philippine cuisine?  Not really.   Rode with Ram, our favorite Nepali taxi driver to this restaurant.  He said he'd eaten there and that they served pork (not easy in this Muslim country). Waiter said they did not have a menu.  Luckily, I read their menu page on Zomato which had just 6 items.  Ordered a Nepali thali with mustard greens, rice, potatoes, and yes, fried pork belly cubes with soy sauce, garlic and chili.     Could have ordered some momos and chow mein but we weren't that hungry.  Birat Manila is what I imagined it to be - an inexpensive restaurant catering to working class Nepalis, Filipinos and the like.   Actually pretty good. AED 15 ($4.08) for a very satisfying and filling meal. Saw Pakistanis, Afghans and Indians playing cricket in some of the open fields near the labor camps.

It's November in Abu Dhabi.  Normally, we see cherries in the supermarkets until about August.     Surprised to see cherries this late in the year.  Checked the cherry harvest calendar.  The cherries  are likely from Australia, New Zealand or Chile.  To date, the best cherries we've eaten have been from Uzbekistan. The cherries were from Spinney's, a food and wine retail shop here.  Pretty good.  Nice deep red color.  Sweet finish.  Great for my gout. Still looking for tart cherries though. They're even better.  There must be some trade issue that keeps them from getting to the UAE.  Used to buy tart cherry juice sourced from Turkey. I can't find them anywhere in the UAE anymore.

Sinigang refers to a Filipino stew that uses souring agents like tamarind.  Beef and shrimp are popular proteins in sinigang . Sinigang Tried a sinigang made with corned beef at Sentro Restaurant in Makati.  Also some fried galunggong which used to be a poor man's fish and is now a gourmet item.  Both very good.

Apparently, Tim Ho Wan has one Michelin star.  Came across their branch in Makati.     Ordered pork buns, fried tofu and some shrimp.  Nothing fancy.  But pretty good.  Reminded me of Din Tai Fung, another dim sum place with a Michelin star.   The food scene in Manila is getting really interesting.

 I came across this strange looking item in the supermarket - maramiya shatora .   Did some quick research on the Internet.  It's basically dried sage.  Apparently used for tea by Palestinians.  (Click on the picture to see the distinctive sage leaf shape) From this article from the Paliroots website: " Brewed with water, sage is also used as a gargle for gingivitis, tonsillitis, and a sore throat."    Might try it one day.

I've never eaten anything from Zimbabwe.  Saw blueberries at Lulu supermarket marked "Product of Zimbabwe" and bought a packet.  AED 4.95 ($1.34).  Very basic, crude (laser-printed?) labeling. I'll try them for breakfast. I also bought some Egyptian onions.  Smaller, shallot-sized onions from India that were cheaper. Onions from the USA and other western countries are always cleaner-looking and more consistent in size.  GMO?

I've never eaten lemons.  Of course, I've had them in salads, juices and various dishes, but have never eaten them raw. Our dear Lebanese friend Arlette brought us to the Mosaic Restaurant on Al Najda Street where we had our best Lebanese meal ever.  Without a doubt, one of our top 10 meals in the UAE. All the dishes were perfectly cooked, elegantly plated and delicious - mouttabal, hummus, makanek, shish barak, kibbeh , etc.  This memorable meal will be hard to beat. Arlette showed us how to sprinkle lemon slices with salt and eat them raw, skin, pith and all!  Tried it myself.  Quite surprised that the lemon tasted rather sweet.   Arlette also ordered a dessert of rice pudding, topped with mangoes and flavored with mastica , a resin obtained from the mastic tree.  We found mastica in the nearby Lebanese Roastery.  Pretty pricey spice.

There are about 1,200 Venezuelans living in the UAE.  Stumbled on the "Caracas Pastry" shop on Al Najdah Street.  Hoped we'd enjoy some, well, Caracas pastries.     No such luck.  This shop had no menu items that were even remotely Latin American, let alone Venezuelan.   Oh well . . .  They must be doing something right.  According to their flyer, they've been around since 1999. 

I asked Dilshan, the Sri Lankan lifeguard at our pool at World Trade Center, for recommendations for nearby Sri Lankan restaurants.  He pointed me to Ceylon Cuisine and Dana Restaurant.       Sri Lanka Lunch Took the 41 bus to Ceylon Cuisine.  Ordered their Special Weekend Lunch of chicken with beetroot, dal, rice, chicken sausage, veggies, a boiled egg, breadfruit and cashew nuts.   Delicious.  But very spicy.  High up on the Scoville Scale.  Marita was sweating profusely as she ate.  I felt my own sinuses clearing. There's another Sri Lankan restaurant next to Ceylon Cuisine.  We'll try it next time.

After a meeting at the Uzbek embassy, I was given a box of walnuts, almonds and dried fruit.  I've never shelled almonds.  I've always had them already shelled and usually roasted.   Uzbek Almonds Tonight we shelled a couple of those Uzbek almonds.  Best we've had.  The whole walnuts were already shelled (thank God) and were delicious too. I was reminded of an article that claimed walnuts, which are shaped like brains, are helpful for maintaining brain health. Uzbek Walnuts The almonds paired very well with the Bangla mishti doi we had bought earlier.

Marita said she wanted to explore the side streets around our apartment.  We rediscovered the Bangladeshi section of town as we walked around. We'd been to that area before and actually ate at Sand Marine , one of the more popular Bangla restaurants. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy some mishti doi at the Geen Darbar Sweets shop.  It's made with fermented milk, curds and jaggery and usually served in earthenware.  One of our favorite South Asian desserts.  The last time we tried it was in Kolkata.

 I had to do a double-take after seeing this restaurant sign - Manila Royal Rajasthan.   Thought perhaps it was one of those oddball fusion cuisine places.  Authentic Rajasthani food is difficult to find even in this country that has 2 million Indians.  Intrigued by the unlikely fusion of Filipino and Rajasthani cuisines. Nope.  It's a regular Filipino restaurant. 

Tortang Talong & Arroz Caldo It's been a very long time since I've had tortang talong (pan-fried eggplant dipped in egg).  Ordered this dish at Pusong Pinoy, a new Filipino restaurant near our apartment.  Also ordered arroz caldo, which had curiously yellow rice (turmeric?). We enjoyed our meal as we listened to customers taking turns singing karaoke.  At one point, the track of "Through the Fire" by Chaka Khan came up.  Nobody dared take on that classic. We've resolved to take pictures of the people in restaurants - waiters, cashiers, cooks, etc.  Food pics get boring after a while. The 2nd best version of that song, IMHO, is Renee Olstead's.  

Seaside Restaurant is open 24/7.  It serves some of our favorite Indian biryanis and shakes.  The other night, I enjoyed a refreshing avocado shake with vanilla ice cream and pistachio nuts. I especially like the Nepali wait staff.  One of the male waiters saluted me like a ghurka :)  Even the chefs are Nepalis.  Nepali Wait Staff Outside Seaside Restaurant Avocado Shake with Pistachio Chicken Biryani

Our daily breakfast.  From the UAE: yogurt, blueberries.  Still so impressed that the blueberries, strawberries and produce are grown in the UAE which is mostly desert.  From India: kalonji (black cumin seeds), flax seed, chia seed.  From the USA: almonds or walnuts.  Sometimes  Indian kaju (cashew). A pinch of homemade zaatar from our Lebanese friend.  Mix them all up and pour Pakistani honey over it. Occasionally, some pan de sal (AED 1 or $0.27 for 3 pieces).  Dutch gouda .  St. Dalfour black currant preserves from France.  I just learned there is no such saint as St. Dalfour.  Shameless marketing gimmick.

  Bangla Ilish Fish My Uber driver today was from Bangladesh.  His name is Jafier.  Told him about my love for ilish , the national fish (and dish) of Bangladesh.  Also mishti doi , the Bengali dessert made with milk, curds and jaggery.  Instant ice breaker. He told me he was from Barisal , the town in Bangladesh where the best ilish comes from.  Checked out his claim on Wikipedia.  Jafier gave me some tips on Bangla restaurants in Abu Dhabi.  We might try Shawbal, which Jafier swears has the best Bangla food in town.  It's not too far from our apartment.  The other possibilities he mentioned are in the labor camps in Mussafah. We might visit those labor camp restaurants too.

Just found out that Sangham , one of our favorite Indian vegetarian restaurants, is open till 11 pm :)  We walked around our new neighborhood near the corniche.  Four pocket mosques in less than a square mile.  Visited Sangham.  Had ghee dosa .  Teepee shaped.  Crispy outside.  Chewy inside.  No filling - just a slather of ghee.  Salty lassi.   Waiter Vishal who served us is from Himachal Pradesh.  It's the one state we really want to visit in India.   Dalai Lama lives in exile there. They didn't give us the usual plastic utensils.  So we ate with our hands like all the other South Asian customers.  We were the only non-Indian looking customers.  On the way back, we saw Pulao & Grillz restaurant.  Afghan & Pakistani looking customers.  Will definitely visit one day. We'll probably get the usual stares but we're used to it.

 I'm not a huge offal fan.  After my recent gout attack, I have good reason to avoid it. Today, I saw some kapura and brains at Lulu supermarket. Kapura is lamb's balls.  And I don't mean meatballs.  I makes me squirm involuntarily when I think about cutting through testicles. I had brain before in Jerusalem.  It was cooked in a chardonnay sauce and breaded.  I liked it.