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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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