DUBAI
HOMEGROWN HEROE S T IME OUT MAR K ET DU BAI
At BB Social Dining, the habibti bao marries Japanese flavours such as wasabi with a steamed Chinese bun containing a soft-shell crab. At Brix, the African powerhouse is a dessert pairing a rich cake — made with single-origin Ghanaian dark chocolate — with luxurious, Madagascan vanilla ice cream. Meanwhile, the fiery Nashville chicken sandwich at Pickl attracts food-lovers from as far away as Abu Dhabi, a 70-mile drive away. These exquisite dishes can all be found under one roof at one of Dubai’s newest gastronomic destinations, which opened in April this year. Within Souk Al Bahar, Time Out Market
Dubai brings together 17 of the city’s best homegrown food businesses, handpicked for their popularity among the city’s diners. Each has its own booth in the 43,000sq ft space, which also contains three bars, long communal tables, a few private dining areas and a wraparound outdoor terrace overlooking the Burj Khalifa. At Fulvio’s, a crowd has gathered around
Italian-born chef Fulvio Opalio, who’s scraping a 40kg wheel of grana padano cheese. It’s the climax of the theatrical cooking process behind his signature risotto with black truffle, and the key to its creamy consistency. “It stays true to the Italian way of cooking,” Fulvio says. “Simple, yet focused on the best possible ingredients. Most importantly, it’s made with love.” Next, I venture over to Masti, where a steady
stream of diners is proof of Dubai’s appetite for contemporary Indian cuisine. “[We] have defied people’s perception that the dishes are always spicy, making it more approachable,” explains chef Prashant Chipkar. The Hindi word ‘masti’ means ‘mischief’, a quality evident across Prashant’s dishes. For example, the avocado ceviche pani puri injects a street-food favourite with guacamole — and while it’s citrussy and refreshing, there’s no raw fish to be found here, despite the nod to ceviche in the dish’s name. Meanwhile, the truffle khichadi khakra heaps a cracker-like base with wild mushrooms and truffle caviar. “Dubai is a melting pot, so using ingredients from around the world comes naturally after living here for a while,” Prashant tells me. Elsewhere in the market, Reif is a popular
spot for kushiyaki (all things skewered and grilled). I defy convention, though, and choose the crabmeat uramaki, a sushi roll in which sweet, soft crabmeat is offset by crunchy cucumber and crispy rice, with the whole thing brightened by a tiny dollop of yuzu-kosho mayo. Finally, I pay a visit to Local Fire, where the
effervescent Hattem Mattar caters to a queue of carnivores with everything from sliced brisket to smoked beef chorizo. Touted as the world’s first Arab pitmaster, he has a fanatical following who come for creations such as the
Neha Mishra’s karaage Karaage, a Japanese take on crunchy, deep- fried chicken, was regularly served as a starter with spicy mayonnaise and a crispy shiso leaf at Neha’s supper club. Today, it appears alongside edamame, gyoza and katsu sando in the izakaya section of Kinoya’s menu. SERVES: 2 TAKES: 30 MINS
INGREDIENTS 600g chicken thighs, skin on, halved 30g fresh ginger, grated 5 garlic cloves, crushed 1 ½ tsp salt 1 tsp sugar
10ml dark soy sauce 380g potato starch ½ litre vegetable oil
METHOD Put the chicken, ginger, garlic, salt,
sugar and soy sauce in a bowl and mix together. Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hr, or ideally overnight. Coat the marinated chicken in the
potato starch. Pour the oil into a saucepan and heat
to a temperature of 180C. Carefully add the chicken and fry for 7 mins, or until crispy and golden-brown in colour.
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/FOOD-TRAVEL
109
IMAGE: STOCKFOOD
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