Hi, Sunil here to bring you the best and most popular Dubai food items

I should have had Kish write this section because she is the true foodie in the family. But Arabic food is one of my favorite types of cuisine so I thought I’d write this one.

Dubai is a mixing bowl of cultures and for that reason all kinds of food is available there. However, Arabic food is the main type of food in Dubai.



This is not an all encompassing and comprehensive list of Dubai food items.

However it is a list of the few special, traditional, staple, most basic or common, popular, great tasting and my favorite Arabic food available in Dubai.

Dubai food is also inexpensive relative to other food available in Dubai.

On average, any combination of the items below served as a meal will cost you between $5-7.

So while you are there, I definitely recommend you try the following foods in Dubai!



Kabobs

Grilled lean meat on silver metal ?sheeks? (hence sheek Kabob also pronounced as ?sheesh?) served sizzling hot with rice or bread. Raw onions are also served along with lime to squeeze on top.

The staple Arabic food. You can have this three times a day. Kabobs for breakfast, kabobs for lunch and guess what? Kabobs for dinner….these are my personal favorite.


Shawarma - Staple Dubai Food

Most commonly lamb or chicken meat served with tomatoes, garlic sauce and pickle wrapped up in bread. It is the Middle Eastern version of the American sandwich.

This is typically served with fries but I ask not to have them to maintain my good health (I hate the after taste and feeling of oil sitting on my throat).

This is arguably the most popular Arabic food in Dubai.


Falafel

I first had a Falafel in New York City from a street vendor and thought it was good. But when I had it in Dubai it was insanely amazing.

These are rounds of mashed chickpeas blended with herbs and spices, deep fried and served in bread pockets. A quasi sandwich type dish that is so unhealthy (relative to others and for me at least) but so good.


Tabouli

I have no idea how to describe this nicely but I love it. So I took this excerpt from Wiki:

“Tabbouleh (or tabouli) is a Levantine Arab dish, often used as part of a mezze. Its primary ingredients are finely chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, scallion, and other herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings, generally including black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice.

In the Levant, tabbouleh is traditionally eaten with a lettuce leaf, but in the United States it is often served with pita bread, as a dip. Tabbouleh is popular in Brazil and in the Dominican Republic (where it is known as tipili), due to Middle Eastern emigrants who settled there”.


Baba Ghanouj

I love this as well for a starter/appetizer. It is eggplant mashed up and mixed with all kinds of Arabic seasoning.

It is baked and sometimes broiled to give it the soft and smoky texture and taste. I like eating this with pita bread as my dip. Relatively healthy compared to other dips. This is another staple Dubai food.


Arabic Rice

There is no better rice than Arabic style cooked rice. Proper combination of oil, salt and shredded almonds (and some other things I don’t even know) make it a great dish by itself. I can eat a whole plate of rice (and more) without any side dish to go with it. It is that good and super edible!


Arabic Bread

Also called roti or naan. This is fresh baked in brick ovens also called tandoors (the dish tandoori chicken comes from this style of cooking). The bread, more so than the rice, is a staple that you will see served and eaten with almost anything. Heck, it is so good I eat it by itself a lot of the times.


Raw Juices

Freshly squeezed raw fruits and vegetable juices. This is one of my favorites worldwide. In fact when I was in India in 2008 I went on a liquid diet for 2 weeks and only had fresh raw juices.

I came back to the USA with a six pack, I kid you not (DISCLAIMER: I am not claiming anyone overweight go there and do this. I was in very good shape to begin with, and I was muscular and lean, but certainly did not have a six pack).

All that said, there is something very distinct about the juices made in Dubai. Maybe it is the soil in which the fruits and veggies grow? I am not really sure what they do to it but it tastes very good!