Pakistani Food and Scrumptuous Treats from the Souks

Last time on "Doin' Dubai", we were just about to head off to a most scrumptaculicious Pakistani meal. But first, I also promised to show you some of the beautiful things I scored in the souks! Here for your oohing and ahhhing, are:

A sparkly, silky bag, all glittery and shiny. I can't wait to load it up for my next trip!

How about this tasty little number- can you see a trend here? This trip was all about getting sparkled up! I love these sequined, embroidered shirts. Ironically, they are becoming popular here in our area, too, but I bagged one for about 1/3 of the price!!

Next up, a gorgeous pair of rather uncomfortable leather shoes whose purveyor handed them off to me for a mere $5.00! They pair up great with the shirt you drooled over a second ago.

And behind door #4 is my most favorite grab of all! An exquisite table runner made in India of silk. See those places inside the embroidery?? Those areas are hand painted. Wanna guess at this one's price? Nope. Way less... $10!

Each shopping trip participant was allowed to choose one souvie from Dubai. NariLoo couldn't wait- like any typical 6 year old- and chose one of the first things she saw. However, since I rather liked what she chose, I caved instead of doing the responsible parent thing, and making her see more before settling on something. I was not forgetting the saffron that I, myself, had missed out on by waiting too long.

You've already seen the blue scarf bought by Daughter #1, and Pixie chose a box for her ever growing collection from around the world.

Time to Eat!

So, let's get out of the souk and museum mode, and get ready to EAT! Now, I understand that a lot of North Americans are NOT very adventurous eaters. I think that most "adventurous" diners in the West believe that using sweet Thai chili sauce is exotic- :)

Let me introduce you now to some of the tastiest food on the planet! Pakistani! It is rich in flavor, quite spicy, and so varied! Well, hmmmm..... maybe the best way to do this is to SHOW you.

This restaurant was highly recommended to us by some expats living in Dubai, and told us this is the real deal! Trust me, "Ravi's" IS the real deal! This is THE hangout for local Pakistani taxi drivers and was buzzing when we arrived. We could choose to sit either inside or out, and to be less conspicuous (ha, what a joke- with our white skin and light hair, there was NO hiding!) we chose 2 tables inside. We were given water (our tastebuds thanked us for this later!), and were left to be mystified as to what to order.

I left the ordering to the "experts" in our group, as I needed to pop over to the next door pharmacy to get remedy for our raging headaches. After securing relief from a very amiable Palestinian man, I headed over to the areas where our food was being prepared. The "kitchens" were actually open in full view along the sidewalk, and it was fascinating to watch the masters at their craft cook up our victuals. Here is our bread being made fresh! Mmmmmm, fresh Nan!
After the little dough balls were made, he would flatten them out and fry them on this HUGE greased griddle! Other dough balls were turned into these tasty looking little babies. You can see in the back the folded up meat pockets behind him to his right. We didn't order any of these, but they sure looked good!After not too long, our 6 different dishes arrived. We were starving, and we dove into our dhal, butter chicken, spicy, tangy curries and washed it all down with Pepsi and copious amounts of water. I have a feeling that this kind of food will be on our Master's banquet table.

See the little dish with the white saucy stuff? No Pakistani meal is complete without fresh yogurt laced with mint or cilantro or other flavorful herb or spice. Other popular seeds used a lot were anise and cumin. All mixed together with a large fistful of nan, and wow! a meal to not soon forget! To end a most scrumptuous feast, we ordered Pakistani chai and the kids grabbed ice cream cones from the freezer.

Well, are you full? Or just getting hungry??

Coming soon, a Wild, Wild Time at Wild Wadi Waterpark. Get your swimsuits ready, and we'll all splash together,

Next time in, Doin' Dubai

Love,

Your SteppeSister