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GENERAL INFORMATION
Visitors from many parts of
the world along with a multi-ethnic
resident community have ensured
that a sophisticated and innovative
food culture has developed in
the UAE. Almost any type of
food is available, from classic
European to Pacific Rim. You
can eat Mexican, Polynesian,
Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean,
Indian, Pakistani, Persian,
Italian and French cooking,
and more, at some of the finest
restaurants in the Middle East.
International fast-food chains,
serving the standard fare of
hamburgers, chips, pizzas etc
(McDonalds’s, Pizza Hut,
Pizza Inn, Hardee’s, Wimpy,
Dunkin’ Donut) are also
located in the larger cities.
Kentucky
Fried Chicken seems to be a
particular favourite. International
theme restaurants such as TGI
Friday’s, Planet Hollywood,
Fashion Café, Hard Rock
Café and Henry J Bean’s
are all represented in the Emirates.
If
you cannot find anything to
suit in that list, small ethnic
cafés and corner stalls
are ubiquitous. Shisha cafés
offer an opportunity to smoke
a shisha (hubble-bubble pipe)
and serve food, coffee, tea
and fruit juices and corner
stalls serve sharwarmas and
other sandwiches.
Gulf
and Middle Eastern food is also
available in a wide variety
of venues, from expensive restaurants
to local cafés. Fresh
fish from the Arabian Gulf is
always good. Try lobster, crab,
shrimp, or grouper, tuna, kingfish,
red snapper, grilled, stuffed,
or fried with spices.
But
it is not just a question of
variety, make no mistake the
food is generally good and the
standard of service is high.
Pork
Muslims are prohibited from
eating pork so it is not included
in Arabic menus. Hotels frequently
have substitutes such as beef
sausages and veal rashers on
their breakfast menus. If pork
is available, it is clearly
labelled as such.
Alcohol
Alcohol is generally only served
in hotel restaurants and bars
(but not in Sharjah).
Exceptions
are some clubs (e.g. golf clubs)
and associations. Restaurants
that are not associated with
hotels are not permitted to
serve alcohol.
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