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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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