Dubai Travel Guide

A slow-cooked porridge of wheat and meat, simmered for hours until it becomes a silky, deeply savoury paste — a Ramadan and celebration staple in Emirati homes that most tourists never taste. Try it at a local Emirati restaurant during the visit.

Dubai's street food king — spiced chicken or lamb shaved from a rotating spit, stuffed into bread with garlic sauce, pickles and chilli. The shawarma at Al Mallah in Satwa has been Dubai's benchmark for decades at a fraction of any restaurant price.

The Gulf's answer to biryani — spiced basmati cooked with slow-braised lamb or chicken, dried lemon (loomi) and rose water, then topped with crispy onions and toasted nuts. Rich, fragrant and deeply comforting.

Tiny deep-fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup and sesame seeds — Dubai's beloved street dessert, especially during Ramadan. Crispy outside, airy within, eaten hot from the fryer with strong karak chai.

Dubai's contemporary dining scene has embraced camel meat in burgers, sliders and slow-braised dishes — lean, slightly gamey and genuinely good. The city's new wave of Emirati restaurants are worth seeking out for a taste of actual local culture.