I aint a food blogger, but boy do I love food. A couple of times I have actually thought about adding a food section to the blog, because I am always trying out new restaurants and new cuisines but never get to write about them. This is sort of my first “food” post, and I ate so much delicious food while in Dubai that I was too afraid to step on the scale to even weigh my luggage. Dubai has some amazing restaurants and no matter what kind of food you are looking for, you will find it in Dubai- from the traditional Arabic meals, to modern cuisine to good old South African boerie roll, Dubai has it all!

For some New York City Seafood Cuisine

Catch is the latest addition to the Fairmont Dubai hotel, and it is the second restaurant opened by the owners Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm. We dined there on our first night in Dubai for the restaurants soft opening, and it was one of the best meals of my life. For starters you can enjoy sushi, where the salmon and miso honey rolls get torched right before your eyes or the lobster rolls with home-made bread that are nothing short of amazing. For mains, the discovery of my life were the potato chips with white truffle shavings on them- those went into my belly so quick, I couldn’t even get a picture! Scallops and steak with lobster mash was delicious and the dessert choice topped the meal off- a stack of different flavored waffles and a S’mores pizza. I rolled back into my hotel room and I still can’t stop thinking about that meal!Dining there is expensive if you convert back to South African rands, but for Dubai it’s rather well priced- you can expect to pay about R1500 between 2 people(for the best meal of your life!)

For drinks with a view

Neos bar is located on the 63rd flood of The Address Hotel in Downtown Dubai which overlooks the Burj Khalifa and the dancing fountains. There really is no other view like that, except maybe at the Atmosphere bar right in the Burj Khalifa. We enjoyed their signature drink, the Level 63 , which is a vodka based cocktail,it is Dubai’s answer to the NYC Cosmopolitan.Drinks are about R150-R200 and the view is free 😉

For 5 Star Dining

We visited the Zeta restaurant on our last night in Dubai which specializes in Asian fusion cuisine. Sushi for starters is a great option, and langoustines for mains. I tried the best dessert of my life there, a Japanese dessert called Mochi.It is flavored ice-cream wrapped into a thin layer of mochi rice. Dinning here is on the expensive side, you can expect to spend R750-R1000 per person, but it was so,so delicious!

For when you miss home

It is rather exciting that our home-grown Tashas restaurant has opened up branch in Dubai!The menu is pretty much identical to the one in South Africa with good old favorites like the salmon tartare and little chicken pies, a couple of Middle Eastern additions and South African touches such as the boerie roll. The restaurants’ quality is amazing, and half the staff there is actually South African. The restaurant is managed by the previous Melrose Arch Tashas manager, and it is very much a family restaurant, as we saw a number of families having dinner and lunch there. I had a Mojito Mocktail and the baked vegetarian pasta, and it tasted just like I was back home in South Africa.

For a traditional Arabic meal

We visited The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, which was an amazing experience in its own, but the traditional lunch that we had there was beyond words. Starting with Arabic coffee and dates on arrival, the lunch was a traditional Middle Eastern feast- chick peas,Balaleet(sweet vermicelli),home-made Khamir(arabic bread) and Ligamat(little fried doughnuts) amongst some things. I highly recommend visiting the SMCCU when you are in Dubai! Check out more here.