eG Foodblog: arbuclo - Dubai is a long way from Montana, baby!

[arbuclo]

So, it’s the morning of the 19th, and it’s my turn on stage. Oh, no! I think I’ve forgotten my lines, even worse, it appears there isn’t a script! How do I keep up the high standards therese set in her blog? Help! Deep breath, I’m sure I’m not the only one that gets food blog stage fright…

Ok, OK…Start with the basics…

Well, I grew up in Montana USA, moved to Alaska USA after uni/with husband (husband is from Alaska). After 4 years in Anchorage we moved to Melbourne Australia. We had a 2 year temporary visa but ended up staying 11 years. (Don't worry, we did actually renew our visas! ) Then just a few months ago we decided to take an opportunity that has brought us to Dubai UAE. And that’s a looooong way from Montana in more than just distance!

To prepare for this week I did what I usually do to plan food. I grabbed some of my food mags and some of my cookbooks and paged through to find somthing I felt like cookin'. There's often not a rhyme or reason to what I pick, it just sounds fun to make! The thing I’ve done the most this past year is make bread and I’m very proud of some of my efforts. This week I want to give Ciabatta a try and I, of course am open to hints in making it!

Of course I'll just HAVE to go out for a meal or two this week. Sometimes that's hard to fit in with all the stuff I organise to cook but I'll just have to make the time, now won't I?

therese asked loads of questions of us last week and I’ll be asking some too. Difference is I don’t know the answers! I’m still trying to identify things at the supermarkets!

Before I forget, I need to say thanks to my friend Amanda who sent me the quote in my signature just in time for my blog and without even knowing I was gonna be doing this!

(doing dance of joy now since I made it over the initial posting!)

[arbuclo]

I'm living in a semi detached townhouse in Dubai not far from where they're building the first palm island, Palm Jumeirah. It's away from the main part of the city so later today I'll be driving to some supermarkets to get supplies.

I probably shouldn't post these pics so soon after you've taken a look at therese's since my kitchen looks sorta bland and boring compared to hers... But, here are some pictures of our kitchen.

Looking into the breakfast nook... In the left of the picture you can barely see the edge of a bakers rack I have there. It holds some of the cookbooks and mags that I read most often. (Still have to unpack the rest, of which there are plenty, but need a a place to put them first.) You might also make out my palm pilot near the island; that's where I normally store my grocery list. We added the island and so glad we did since it gives me plenty more bench space and storage space.

sink and fridge... We just bought the appliances from the previous tenants. I was surprised that our fridge has a lock! I guess it's because most people here have maids and apparently don't trust em?!

I love this stove! It's got 4 gas burners and 2 electric (which I haven't yet used but if the gas ran out they'd come in handy) and the oven is huge compared to the ovens I had in Australia. I've been hauling a couple of big cookie sheets around with me for eleven years that I haven't been able to use because of small ovens. Very happy that I can use 'em again! It runs on bottled gas, which I found interesting. Never had that before.

Dubai is currently one huge construction site and where I live is no exception. The view across the "lake" is of villas and townhouses being constructed. The view will be quite different in a few months by which time I won't know what quiet sounds like. (They do 24 hour construction!) It's quiet inside the house, thank goodness!

[arbuclo]

Breakfast today had to wait, as usual, until The Girls were fed. (They really don't look amused in this picture! LOL)

Brekkie, to use a good Australianism, was my homemade toasted muesli/granola with regular milk. Also had a couple of itty bitty finger bananas. I think I normally find them in the Sri Lankan fruit and veg section at the supermarket. I love 'em. They have really thin skin and the flesh has a sort of lemon taste which is very refreshing. The muffin is what my husband snarfed as he rushed out the door to work. I made 'em yesterday-dried apricot with walnuts.

[Pan]

I can't imagine they'll run out of gas in the Emirates any time soon, but have you discovered yet how long those bottles of gas last?

[torakris]

Do those bananas taste any different from regular ones?

This blog should prove interesting.....

[arbuclo]

yeah, you're right about them not running out of gas here too soon! Not sure how long these bottles last. I'm working on the smallest size and have been using it for 2 months so far. I do cook a fair bit so I think that's pretty good. I have a bigger one ready to go for when this one runs out.

I can't imagine they'll run out of gas in the Emirates any time soon, but have you discovered yet how long those bottles of gas last?

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[arbuclo]

Do those bananas taste any different from regular ones?

I reckon they're not as "heavy" tasting since there's a bit of lemon taste to them. I found them again today. They were in with the Indian foods at the supermarket. Does anyone know if they're called something other than "finger bananas"?

[edited for spelling]

Edited February 19, 2005 by arbuclo (log)

[jackal10]

My stovetop runs on bottled gas (we are out in the country).

We have two big calor bottles outside, with an automatic changeover.

They seem to last for ever, although all they are powering is two burners and a wok burner,

I've had to get a refill maybe once in five years..and that was when a squirrel chewed though one of the flexible gas pipes connecting the bottle (tails).

[arbuclo]

Lunch was a falafel "sandwich". I picked it up at one of the grocery stores. It cost a whole dirham. It was a few falafel wrapped in a flat bread and very tasty. I love falafel and haven't had some for quite some time. No picture since I ate it while shopping! Late afternoon snack, some Thompson seedless grapes that were well past their prime and didn't deserve a photo.

Will post pics of my food shopping venture after I get back from the gym. (I'm sure I'm gonna eat too much this week so might as well start off with some exercise!)

[lexy]

From the little I know about the UAE, I remember hearing that a lot of westerners live in compounds (sort of gated communities) and buy all their groceries in stores that ship in western products. Do you shop at somewhere like this, or do you frequent local stores? (or both?)

[therese]

Really looking forward to visiting Dubai this week---it looks like an exciting time to be living there.

The locked fridge is an interesting feature of the kitchen. I could see it being handy with a teenage boy in the house as well.

[percyn]

This should be an interesting blog....

[arbuclo]

From the little I know about the UAE, I remember hearing that a lot of westerners live in compounds (sort of gated communities) and buy all their groceries in stores that ship in western products. Do you shop at somewhere like this, or do you frequent local stores? (or both?)

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Hmmm, well so far I haven't really seen any "local" stores. I've been to one co-op where there were few westerners. The other shops I've been to have had a mix of people from various ethnicity. I did try to go to the spice souk a couple weeks ago but there wasn't much there. I'm unsure as to whether that's because of the time of the day I was there or whether there's not much to the spice souk now a days. So, in conclusion (finally!) I suppose to date I just shop at the stores that have western goods (and plenty of local stuff too). I have to try to figure out where the local shops are so I can check them out.

[arbuclo]

The locked fridge is an interesting feature of the kitchen. I could see it being handy with a teenage boy in the house as well. 

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Yeah, I did think it could help out in dieting. You could put all the "bad" stuff in there and hand the key to someone reliable!

[NulloModo]

What is the exchange rate between dollars and dirhams? 1 Dirham for a sandwhich sounds pretty cheap unless a dirham is somehow worth like ten bucks...

I always have heard Dubai is pretty much a resort town compared to much of the middle east, and isnt the UAE one of the wealthiest nations in the area? How is the general cost of living there, are groceries and restuarants on par with prices in the west, or cheaper or much higher? Also, how easy/difficult is it to get alcohol out there?

[Abra]

Please take lots of pictures of UAE food in its natural habitat! I have no idea of the local cuisine and am really looking forward to learning more about it.

[arbuclo]

The first place I went to today was a mall called Wafi City. (A lot of shopping is done in malls where it's air conditioned. ) It has a theme (I swear nearly everything has a theme. It's like a more subtle less sinful Vegas!)...Egyptian!

I've been wanting to go back to take a good look at a Lebanese food emporium called Goodies. They were still setting up when I got there so I sat at the juice counter and had a pomegranate juice. Haven't tried that before. I was thirsty and while it tasted good, it was like lemonade and didn't really quench my thirst.

I'm in love with Goodies, can I just confess? I mean, just take a look at all this...

salads (mostly olive based):

dips and more salads (look closely and you may be able to see the lamb brain one!):

Fish and seafood meals that you can eat there or take home for a meal (they have the same thing with meat and veg too):

olives:

fruit display (the guys was carefully wrapping each fruit in tissue and even cutting off excess stems on the grape bunches!):

more fruit and veg:

kebabs:

glacee fruit:

marzipans (I think these are so beautiful!):

nougat and other sweets:

dried fruit and nuts and in the middle background it seemed to be dried flowers for tea? infusions? pretty?; far background is jars of spices and spice mixes.

Sorry for killin ya with pictures, but guess what? There were even more counters of fresh fish, meat, coffee, chocolate, wrapped sweets, middle eastern pastries, and ice cream.

[arbuclo]

What is the exchange rate between dollars and dirhams?  1 Dirham for a sandwhich sounds pretty cheap unless a dirham is somehow worth like ten bucks...

I always have heard Dubai is pretty much a resort town compared to much of the middle east, and isnt the UAE one of the wealthiest nations in the area?  How is the general cost of living there, are groceries and restuarants on par with prices in the west, or cheaper or much higher?  Also, how easy/difficult is it to get alcohol out there?

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Yes, Dubai is quite a resort town. It seems to be the most liberal place in the Middle East. Not difficult to get alcohol here as long as you're not a Muslim. There are liquor stores (you have to have a license to buy) and nearly every hotel restaurant sells alcohol. Beyond that there are plenty of bars and night clubs too.

Other Emirates, however, are quite strict, though not as much as other ME spots. There is no duty/tax here so there are a lot of very good bargains to be had. In general, I find the prices for food to be better than in Melbourne (been awhile since I shopped in the US) and gas/petrol is extremely cheap. Cars look to be less expensive too, though I haven't had the chance to buy one yet. (Hubby and are are sharing his company vehicle.)

Interestingly, higher range restaurants are only found in hotels. Therefore those sorts of meals aren't particularly cheap. However there are many little Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan/Chinese joints, etc where you can have a meal for very little. Also there seems to be a thing about buffets (which also reminds me of Vegas) so there's many a place for all you can eat at a great price in both restaurants and cafes. What cracks me up is that you can get nearly everything delivered to your home including...McDonalds!

[arbuclo]

A$ = 2.80 dirhams

US$ = 3.70 dirhams

1 euro = 4.8 dirhams

1 GBP = 7 dirhams

Yep, that falafel was rather inexpensive.

[arbuclo]

Please take lots of pictures of UAE food in its natural habitat!  I have no idea of the local cuisine and am really looking forward to learning more about it.

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I'll see what I can do! I read this article recently on Emirate food. There really isn't a local cuisine, per se. The adopted local food is primarily Lebanese. I wanted to go to the dinner that is mentioned in the article but didn't make it. I hope I get the chance again some time because it'd be really interesting, I reckon.

[arbuclo]

After I went to Wafi City today, I went to another place called Carrefour. It's a French based "hypermarket" (whatever that is!). It's my favourite supermarket simply because I love buying stuff from the big barrels and bags! (aaah, the simple joys... or simpletons are easily amused, or something like that )

They have big barrels of olives and other pickles (lemons, veg, Indian-type pickle), legumes (more types of dhal than I knew existed!), nuts, dried fruit, and all those spices pictured above.

Plus I also love that I can get some amazing European imported stuff like cheeses and salamis. Due to the import restrictions in Australia we couldn't get a lot of stuff. There are no import restrictions on food here. (Yeah!! woo hoo!) I have visions of me flitting off to, say, Italy, for instance, and coming back with a big chunk of parma ham and slab of parmesan and being able to waltz right on through customs. Of course, as long as I don't have any scary reading material or too much alcohol. That sort of stuff they'll inspect and confiscate!

I love that everything says where it's from:

And because 80% of the population here is from outside the Middle East we have so much interesting imported food, particularly from Asia. (There are big Indian, Philippine, Sri Lankan populations here.) Much of the western stuff comes from the UK but Carrefours, of course, has a lot of French things. (In fact I bought French Granny Smith apples today (and boy were they giving me attitude- Just joking. No offence intended!)) And one of these times I'll find some dish worthy of the gorgeous (and pricey) French mushrooms.

Some other things you might find interesting:

**Butter being sold only in frozen form (I assume it's to prevent melting on the way home since it can be very hot here).

**A check out line for women with a covered Arabic woman running the register (for particularly sensitive Arabic women shoppers)

**You have to have your fruit and veg weighed and priced before you get to the register. (Which I didn't do the first time I went 'cause I didn't know. And a man helping bag groceries had to be sent back to that department with about 8 bags of stuff to price for us!)

**Separate sort of hidden place in the supermarket to get pork products. (Anything containing pork even potato chips and some things you just wouldn't think of as immediately having pork are tucked away so as not to offend Muslims.) Actually this Carrefour didn't seem to sell any pork products.

**All veg including herbs and lettuces grown here all come with copious amounts of sand. I'm sure I should have expected that but it hadn't occurred to me!

I have some "what is this and what do I do with it" pics to post for you tomorrow!

[TheFoodTutor]

Fascinating blog, and I love the pictures of the markets. Very cute kitties, too.

I'm wondering if perhaps the lock on the refrigerator is to protect Muslims from roving bandits who will stuff a piece of pork in there with your Halal ingredients, which would make everything inedible. Have you seen any stories of such bandits in the newspapers?

[NulloModo]

Wow,t hat is very interesting. So, they won't sell alcohol to the muslims that want it, or do the muslims just avoid alcohol in general? I know lots of jewish folk who sometimes indulge in pork, so, I figure there must be some muslims who want alcohol, but do they have to go to a black market for it, or just pretend they aren't muslim when they buy?

[arbuclo]

What else did I eat today? This afternoon I had a snack of a Middle Eastern pastry (only one piece, left the rest at a friend's place, I swear!):

Had a few pretzels while preparing dinner. And speaking/writing of which...

I decided to make some rolls/scrolls using a recipe that a friend (thanks Adrienne!) sent to me a week or so ago. It's basically a scone base and you fill the dough with whatever you want, roll 'em up and bake 'em. Here's what mine looked like ready to be rolled up. I filled them with a chile and cheese mixture. (They have this chile paste here that I'm in love with. It's basically chiles and salt, I think. The chile could be hotter but... me likey!)

I started to make Hoppin' John last night following a recipe from a chile calendar I have but then we weren't really hungry. So I finished it tonight. Actually I didn't have any salt pork; had some procuitto instead. Since that's more posh I figure John can't be hoppin' he must be chauffeured. And I added some Aussie spices (bush pepper leaves and bush pepper fruit) along with the bay leaves. So, really it probably shouldn't have the name John; should be the ever Australian 'Mick', I think.

Anyway, here's what Chauffeured Mick looked like with the finished rolls. Not that photogenic, our Mick. Had to add hot sauce too since the jalapeno's I used were apparently fake.

And lastly we had a couple of treats I picked up at Goodies:

I wasn't sure what they were when I bought them but suspected marzipan. Yep marzipan it was; couldn't taste any chocolate, though it looks like there was some chocolate in 'em. A nice little hit of sugar to finish the night with.

[arbuclo]

yeah, you're right about them not running out of gas here too soon!  Not sure how long these bottles last.  I'm working on the smallest size and have been using it for 2 months so far.  I do cook a fair bit so I think that's pretty good.  I have a bigger one ready to go for when this one runs out.

I can't imagine they'll run out of gas in the Emirates any time soon, but have you discovered yet how long those bottles of gas last?

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How freakin hilarious! Guess what happened tonight?! Yep, small gas bottle ran out. Excellent timing. So now I know...the small bottle seems to last 2 months.