Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe in Dubai – My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience!

My folks are here. But more scary is the fact that my little brother (he’s hit his 30′s but still a little Brother to me to his utter disgust) is here. He’s been scouring like a wild cat for new things to eat, specially local eats. Two weeks have passed since they are here and I do not know where else to take him so that his gastronomical explorations do not put us in a frenzy. The only person that I could think of whom I can resort to is my fellow Fooderati Arabia blogger Arva who literally lives her life in a manner reflected by the name of her blog I Live in a Frying Pan. I love to call her a Sizzler because her writings on local ethnic eats simply sizzles. They make me go topsy-turvy in my desire to roam around in the streets of Dubai, trying out ethnic foods that haunt me in my dreams as well. Her ‘Life in a Frying Pan’ can soon be experienced by all and sundry when her Frying Pan Food Adventures start off officially in October 2012 as she prepares on food tours in Old Dubai.

Another Fooderati favourite of mine, My Custard Pie’s post where she willingly admits to being a guinea pig for for the prototype outing being road-tested for Frying Pan Food Tours made me keep awake the whole night thinking whether I could organise something for my folks in the similar line. Arva did manage to chalk out a few joints that promised a similar food experience that emanates from her own posts. However, being unsure of whether my not-so-old-yet-behaving-much-older-than-they-are parents would have the same levels of energy munching Shawarmas in one joint, crossing the road in this summer heat to another joint to have some Falafels and then off to another to have the Baklava. Come October, we promise to surely hop on to her tours but decided to spare my ‘old’ folks the agony of going ecstatic over hopping, munching, sweating and finding a parking slot – all simultaneously. At the same time my brother’s insistence in taking him something spectacular not in-terms of fine-dining but in terms of a soulful experience kept me on tenterhooks. Thankfully, it was another Fooderati fellow blogger, my dear FooDee whose post on an Emirati restaurant came to my rescue. And what a soulful rescue it was! Not only did it suit my folks who I have now stamped ‘old’ all over but also my little Bro.

Al-Fanar Restaurant & Café

Authentic Emirati Cuisine in a themed ambiance; No Alcohol; Prior reservation mandatory

According to the official website, this is the first and the only restaurant in UAE serving Emirati cuisine. I haven’t yet heard of a restaurant serving Emirati food. Our previous experiences in Arabic food had been limited to mostly Lebanese food, Jordanian food, Egyptian food, and Iranian food. The UAE’s expatriate population had till now a very limited opportunity to know about the Emirati Cuisine. Practically impossible for most of us until and unless someone has had the chance to be invited by an Emirati into his/her home. We have been living in Dubai for quite a while and every time a guest would visit us and would wish to taste local food we would take them to most probably, a Lebanese restaurant. The only Emirati food experience we have had till now was the occasional Leqaimat (golden crisp fried dough balls coated with date syrup and sesame seeds) cooked up by the local womenfolk at Heritage Village or some the UAE kiosk in the Global Village. This was officially the first time we were going to experience Emirati food and needless to say we that we were really looking forward to it. Though the following line should be the signature line but I dont mind repeating it again at the very beginning of the post – this was an experience to remember.

The storyline behind the look of Al-Fanar
Al-FANAR refers to the kerosene lamp that was used to light up the homes in Dubai in the olden times. The ambiance recreates Dubai in the 1960s, when Dubai was just a small town on the Arabian Gulf surrounded by Al Badia Oasis. The out-door seating is amidst tents and Barasti huts and reflects the trading activities of a by-gone era – fishermen, pearl merchants and Bedouins. The amazing details gone into the making of a magical ambiance is really commendable. It is a 4D experience with the smells of freshly burnt Bukhoor (scented bricks that are burned in incense burners to perfume the home and clothing) and Uod drift and hit one’s senses. The remnants of a wooden fishing boat, the blue old Land Rover with goods heaped onto it’s back, the old box television set, the pots and pans, the traditional wind-towers, the grilled wooden windows – each and everything lends to the charm. It builds up an odd sense of drama and a huge amount of expectation in the food that we have come to devour!

The Inside
Contrary to Al Badia, the out-door set-up of a bustling old town, the inside brings us into an inner courtyard of a Tawash, or the traditional home of a Pearl Merchant’s house. This houses the Bait Al Tawash, the main dining area.Like the Reception Area, the walls here too have artifacts and many curios dating back to 1960′s Dubai. Framed Black and White pictures hanging on the walls brings out an elegance and an age-old charm. Sitting under the canopy of a tree, I look around and am mermerised by every little attention given to the detailing – an old carpet hanging over the railing on the first floor, the real sunlight filters through the grilled windows onto the curved arches and coarse walls along with artificial lightings that bring to bring in the reality factory. After the initial wait (though not much as we had prior reservations), we felt quite relieved to have secured our seats. Being a Friday afternoon and the courtyard was completely packed. The proportion of Emirati diners seem to be much higher than the non-Emirati diners – something that intrigued me. Why would an Emirati come to a restaurant to seek the pleasure of his local cuisine that is probably being cooked daily in his home? Well, it’s the story of the tragic death in traditional home-cooking in most cuisines that have invaded the lives of most modular small families worldwide. As pointed out by this article in one of the national newspapers.

The Courtyard throbbed. From diners, from the waiters running up and down taking orders and serving the hungry diners, from children crying in prams, from groups chatting across the tables. Amidst all these, there was this relaxing atmosphere that pervaded most of the space. This seemed to bring in a sense of enjoyment all around. And No! we were not left feeling neglected. Prompt service satiated our thirsty souls (quite literally!).

As we sipped down our drinks like a desert sponge (if there exists something like that!) we realised that our Friday heralded even more better things. Fresh Juices of various colours invaded our senses – Swoosh-and-then-Gone-in-a-minute! Pineapple, Orange, Lemonade with Mint, Watermelon – the juices glasses couldn’t even linger on within our fingers even for a minute. Blame it on the heat, blame it on the distance walked from the Parking to the Canal Walk of the Festival City where Al-Fanar is housed or blame it on our thirst and greed, who cares? Immediately, some more beverages by the name of Namlaits were ordered. These were bottled drinks that were also being sold at the Reception area priced at Dhs 13/bottle.

Now the food!

We were slightly famished so the border in our brains that patiently waits for the appetizers to get over and the main meals to start simply seemed to have momentarily vanished. We wanted everything together! Huge tray carrying all our food and resting on a singular hand reached us safely and sound. I have always wondered how the staff in most Arabic restaurants do this. A major feat and an art by itself, I would declare.

Starters:

Dango – Chickpeas in bowls awaited us in the table, complimentary – but they lasted only for a while!
Koftat Samak – These are crumbled fish balls (Samak means fish) mixed with onions and coriander leaves mixed in Al-Fanar’s signature spices and then deep fried. I couldn’t get a chance to take a picture – we were 5 adults plus the two Z-SISTERS. We gulped them down like tablets. All that was left was the Al-Fanar Tomato Sauce that was served along with the Koftats. We asked for this Tomato Sauce too, at-least 4 times, not because they came free, but simply because we loved that too!
Naghar Mashwi – Delicious, grilled squids with a good portion size, enough to serve more than three people. Mashwi refers to Grills.
Robyan Mashwi – Grilled, Tiger Shrimps (Robyan means Shrimps), similar to the char-coaled grilled shrimps available in the Lebanese Retaurants.

Main Course:

I would say whatever we ate from henceforth was, well to be honest absolutely delish and an ultra-sensory experience. However this doesn’t mean that our gastronomical journey so far was any less.

Jesheed - Baby Shark cooked with onions and Arabic spices, crumbled and served with White Rice. This was something I haven’t tried before. But probably I hadn’t heard the word ‘Baby Shark’ when Mr Danish, the Marketing Manager had recommended the dish!
Samak Mashwi – Samak or Fish grilled (Mashwi) with special Arabic spices and served with white Rice. This was specially for my Dad who prefers fish over any other meat.
Machboos Dajaj - Dajaj or Chicken cooked with Yellow Rice simmered in chicken stock and special Arabic spices and dry lemon. Machboos consists mainly of mutton, chicken, or fish placed over or mixed in a large mass of well-cooked and prepared rice. It is popular in many Gulf countries & across Saudi Arabia. Incidentally, it happens to be the national dish of Kuwait.
Beryani Laham – Mutton served with a mix of Rice, onions, raisins and almonds.

Machboos Dajaj and Beryani Laham turned out to be the stars. The Chicken and the Mutton in the respective dishes were so soft, succulent and mildly spicy. The aroma of the fine rice, the tinge of herbs – both the taste of both these two lingers on.

What is the difference in the cooking method between Machboos and a Beryani? Or what is the difference between Machboos and the Indian Rice Dish, Pulao? The answer to the latter is nicely explained here. But I am still searching for the answer to the former.

After my last piece of prawn that I managed to hide and savour from my family (well, as such all the members in the family are generous enough except when it comes to sharing food!) got devoured shamelessly I ventured into some photography. A mini-break before the Desserts! Honestly, each little detailing held me in awe. And that starts with the pink rose designs on the plates that we were served. Apparently most traditional Emirati households possess similar cutlery collection belonging to either the Grandma or the loving Aunty! The entire ambiance emanated the basic philosophy of Emirati hospitality and generosity. Meals, I have heard are generally large family affairs, with many conversations and notes of daily proceedings taking place over the dining table. On the other side of the courtyard across the corridor was the casual dining area – Souq Mosheq. Souq Merchandises on the shelves and a long table with locals enjoying their meal lent a gay casualness to the air. 

Desserts

Well, our fondness for sweets can’t be helped but blamed on our Bengali genes. If you ask me whether we had any empty inch in our tummies, I would say ‘NO’! But our taste-buds wouldn’t be satiated till we signed off our meals with some sweets.

Ferni – My parents ordered Ferni, a Rice Pudding that was a less sweeter version of the Indian Rice Pudding with the similar name, Firni.
Cake Al Tamor - The date cake, deliciously soft and absolutely yummy – this got to be a winner!
Leqaimat – Ah these magical golden fried dough balls coated with date syrup and sesame seeds can be a subject of my food dreams for many more days to come. The Z-SISTERS went berserk. So did we. I am trying to justify their super-fast disappearance into our tummies! You will find one photograph below where one such magical ball is anti-gravitating (meaning floating up) and simply disappearing. Where’s the fork? Where’s our hands? Did our tummy magnets just pulled them in? Really, I have no clue to how this happened. All I know was they disappeared in seconds!

The Sign-off
Did we have a satisfying experience – Oh Yes! Undoubtedly! S declared he was going to come back for Machboos Dajaj and Beryani Laham, specially the latter which he laments didn’t quite reach his plate. He also declares he’s going to leave me and my camera behind. Apparently he’s just going to eat without any camera flashes distracting him. I’m going to come back for the Arabic Coffee which I’ve heard from others is amazing.

Is Al-Fanar very expensive? I wouldn’t say so. For the novelty and experience you are getting, plus the amazing portion size I think Al-Fanar does shine. But prior reservation is absolutely essential considering the number of diners lining up.For Reservations please click here or call +971 4 232 9966.

As we left, Danish, the Marketing Manager who had previously helped us choosing some brilliant items from the menu, led us through Bait Al Serdal, a new section which is about to open soon. While Bait Al Tawash captured the inner courtyard of a traditional Pearl Merchant’s house, Bait Al Serdal will have private rooms where one will be served set menus. The following pictures are from this new section. Definitely beckoning us to come back for sure!

Unblogging it all… Ishita

Disclaimer: The opinions stated here are my own and are absolutely independent. The lunch at Al Fanar cost us approx Dhs 100/- person – and the portion size was really generous. I hope you enjoy reading the posts with lot of visuals but please do not use any material from this post. You can see more pictures of my travel and food journey here. Reviews of Al-Fanar have also been done by my fellow Fooderati Arabia bloggers FooDee and  Ginger and Scotch. It does take lot of effort to capture a food experience in text and pictures. While it’s meant for you to enjoy them, I request you not to use them!

Resources:
Arabic Cuisine