The first for-adults Street Food Market DXB will be held at Dubai International Marine Club from January 19. A licensed event, it will feature restaurant pop-ups and food trucks, along with five local DJs playing hip hop, RnB, reggae and more in the parking lot next to Barasti. Here are some of the food outlets you cannot miss:
1. Café Isan (Thai)
The owner and self-taught chef New started out cooking privately for Dubai’s Thai community before opening the home-style Café Isan in January last year. New’s food is lighter than standard Thai, especially the curries. Soups are clear without a coconut base, and most dishes are traditionally spicier as Thai red chilli (crushed, dried or paste) is amply used.
2. Ka’ak Al Manara (Lebanese)
The restaurant sells ka’ak, popular Lebanese sweet baked sesame flat bread shaped like a bagel. The round hole in the flat bread is there because street vendors in Beirut hang the bread off of planks on their push trolleys. The recipes used by the pop-up are focused on light snacks and breakfast and straight off the ones from streets of Beirut. You may customise from a host of fillings and toppings.
3. Huguette and Guy (French)
Maxime Simon from Brittany, France (birthplace of French crepes) quit his job two years ago to open a business using his grandmother Huguette’s recipe, which has been part of the family for six generations. He named the pop-up after his grandparents.
4. RacletteDXB (Syrian/Swiss)
Owned by Syrians, the restaurant serves the popular Swiss dish made of baked baby potatoes topped with the melted raclette cheese, with a side of cornichons and Rocca leaves.
5. Moti Roti (Indian/Pakistani)
This is a fresh, modern take on Indian and Pakistani food, including gluten-free and vegan options. Moreover, customers can create their own meals.
6. Zapie Kanka (Polish)
Street Food Market DXB launches a new brand of open-faced sandwiches from streets of Poland. The name is derived from zapiekac, which means “to bake,” and is the Polish culinary term for a casserole.
7. Wingsters UAE (American)
The Buffalo wings specialists offer guests a chance to create their own burgers with 21 homemade sauces, and milkshakes with over 100 possible combinations.
8. Sir Loin & Sons (American)
The gourmet ‘meatery’ offers burgers. The meat is slow cooked and smoked in 6m long, custom-built Texan smoking rig.
9. Moshi (Nepalese/Japanese)
As the name suggests Moshi (Momo + Sushi) serves a fusion of Nepalese and Japanese cuisine, but it’s inspired by the Middle East.
10. The Shebi (Indian/Lebanese)
Shebi is a place where street food from around India and Lebanon are married together. The street shack has been passed along over four generations and is famous for one specific item that they master through their own family recipes. On the menu is Lebanese chicken shawarma served with the Indian paratha, falafel pita pockets or homemade butter chicken shawarma with cumin rice using spices from Lebanon and India.
Don’t miss it
Street Food DXB runs on the last two weekends of January: From January 19 to 21 and then from 26 to 28. Tickets are Dh10 and entry is limited to those 21 years and over.
