Food!

by Lindsay

I've been meaning to blog about food for a while, so this blog post is going to be about some of the amazing exotic foods and the comfort "home" foods we have enjoyed so far in the UAE.

I'm not sure I blogged about camel milk before, but I tried it once at the Grand millennium (our hotel in Abu Dhabi city). It was interesting. Not completely gross, but it has a bit of a kick of an after taste.

This ice cream with fresh fruit was so refreshing, especially after a 20 minute walk in the heat! Our friends all had dinner, but we had just eaten and were only out for the company, so we shared this. Yum!

First date! Haha, I don't think this was really the first time I have had a date, but it was my first date in the UAE! ...and it was delicious! My friend was nice and had a cup of the less than tasty coffee. I am lucky to be able to say I can't have coffee, because for me it is "haram" (a sin).

I love the variety of spices available here, but I prefer to buy my spices in bulk from LuLu's, where they are behind glass and I am fairly certain fewer hands have touched them. Some of my friends have seen kids just playing in the rice and other bulk items.

Mangosteen (left) and rambutan (right)! I haven't seen good mangosteen here yet, but it is my favorite fruit in the entire world, and I am constantly on the lookout for it.

Digestives and Pocari Sweat were two things I loved in Hong Kong and haven't seen since I lived these. I was pretty stoked to find these! They sound gross, but names can be deceiving!

Matt and I laugh every time we see fried chicken labeled "broasted chicken." My friend said it probably just means it is chicken roasted by bros. Ha!

In case you are running late, here is a great ingredient to add to your meal!

Durian. In my book, this is officially the grossest fruit on the planet. A spiky, stinky fruit should be safe from being consumed, but alas, it is a popular fruit on this continent.

While we were living in the hotel, this was a typical meal... Bread, jar cheese (the best kind is Almari, and it really is good!), regular cheese, meats, and veggies. This would last us several meals and cost about $15.

Bread, Papa John's garlic butter, jar cheese, meats, flamin' hot Cheetos, more cheese... Don't tell my mom!

At the Spinney's in Dubai, we visited our first pork shop...

15 oz. of bacon for $8.71!

90 g (3.17 oz.) of pepperoni for $4.22!

More items in the Non-Muslim section... Jiffy cornbread mix? Pop-tarts?! Really?!

So many kinds of Spam!

An interesting way to display bagels and pretzels...

Love love LOVE Ribena!

This was my typical breakfast at our hotel brunch. Probably a good thing I only got it on Fridays and Saturdays, when I was there at breakfast time. Other days, I got a box breakfast that also lasted me through lunch. I usually had a yogurt and a pastry for breakfast, a sandwich and juice and fruit for lunch. All from the breakfast box! The sandwiches got really old (piece of bread with mayo and a slice of deli meat), so I started putting jar cheese on them and bringing snap peas and carrots to add a bit of variety.

Matt found a little Mexican place when he took my abaya to the cleaner, and took me back that night for some amazing and much craved Happy Nachos with carne asada! The next time I had them, we had them delivered and they put real shredded cheddar on them. Yum!!!

They also included a side of rice and salsa. Que delicioso!!!

We bought a tea set so we can give our guests tea (peppermint) and dates when they visit. I have to say, peppermint tea and dates are an incredible combination and are even better with good company!

Our first guest for tea, my co-worker in the class next door, and fellow EMT.

Taco Tuesday with one of our favorite families! They have taken us in and made us feel like family. We love them!

Some of the most amazing pizza I have ever had, thanks to our friends Seth and Gayle Sinclair. They also made some amazingly cheesy garlic chicken pizza that was seriously incredible. If Seth wasn't such an awesome teacher, he would have to open up a restaurant.

The tap water here isn't good to drink all the time, so we get bottled water, and our water delivery company marked their territory on our doorbell! Haha, it is totally fine to use more than one company, but it is just funny to me that they wrote on our doorbell in permanent marker.