Friday, August 5, 2016

EATAKU

I travel for work. I eat for fun.

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Bu Qtair, Dubai, UAE

When I was researching places to eat in Dubai, most of what kept coming up were UAE outposts of fancy foreign restaurants serving Western food, which I was not interested in. And the deeper I dug looking for local grub, the more I was told that there is no “local” cuisine in Dubai. People kept explaining that Dubai is only 10% Emirati and the other 90% of the city’s population is made up of ex-pats, with most of the restaurants catering to them. But persistence paid off and I came across the name of one place where supposedly only locals eat that I should try… Bu Qtair, a small beach shack that only served daily catches of fish to workers in the area. Sounded right up my alley!
Having been warned Bu Qtair is a bit hard to find, I popped into my hotel’s concierge to ask for directions. He immediately tried to persuade me from going.“It’s not for foreigners. It’s too small for you. It’s too hot for you. You won’t like the food.” He gave me every excuse in the book to steer me to somewhere ritzy before giving me rough directions to the joint, telling me it’s right next to the Burj Al Arab…
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Well, it’s not. My cabbie got lost and had no clue where he was going. So we stopped into the Jumeriah Beach Hotel for better directions, and again the concierge there did her best to warn me off Bu Qtair, explaining I wasn’t going to like it, that they had a very limited menu of food I probably wouldn’t enjoy anyway. I ignored her too, more determined than ever to eat there.
After my taxi dropped me in the totally wrong place, I ended up having to use Google Maps to find the joint, walking about 20 minutes out in the 100 degree heat. But finally, like an oasis I was never supposed to find, there was Bu Qtair…
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The inside of the place wasn’t as small as I expected, so that was a relief, but Bu Qtair definitely caters to locals only. There were no forks, knives or spoons; you have to eat with your hands per local tradition, so there was a sink to wash in upon entry…
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Once you cleaned up, you grabbed a stool and pulled up a seat at one of the communal tables..
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When I originally walked in, it felt like that scene from Animal House, where the joint suddenly got silent with everyone turning to stare at me. But once I went to sit down, it was smiling faces all around and I was warmly welcomed into the lunchtime crowd.
There are no menu here. You get the daily special. Whatever the local fishermen had pulled in that morning accompanied by sides and rice…
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The catch of that day was a local fried white fish that no one could really give me the name of, served with a sort of papadum…
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Sides were a coconut curry and a SPICY okra and green chili soup. I love heat but could only handle about half of the small bowl…
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Turns out the curry also had sardines in it…
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Not bad for eating only with my hands, eh?
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Full disclosure… as I was struggling eating the rice and curry with just my fingers, the waiter kindly found a plastic spoon for me. Made things much easier, but I think he just wanted me to eat faster as other customers were waiting.
They keep bringing around extra rice and fish which you can help yourself to if you’re not full. You also have the choice between warm tap or cold bottled water.
In the end, when I went to settle up, with a bottle of water added in, my whole lunch only cost me 8 dirham, or about $2.50!!
I am so glad that I did not let anyone dissuade me from dining at Bu Qtair as the experience is one of mt fondest memories of my entire trip to Dubai!
BU QTAIR
4 D St.
Off Jumeriah Beach Road
Dubai, UAE
Note: If you do go, tell your cab driver to drop you off at the Fisherman’s Accomodations on Jumeriah Beach Road and you’ll find Bu Qtair right across the street. It’s definitely NOT near the Burj Al Arab as many guides say!
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