Dubai Street Food Tour

The entrance of the museum is our meeting point at 5 pm . The museum is inside Al Fahidi Fort in Bur Dubai in the heart of “old” Dubai. Every taxi driver knows it and it is only 5 – 7 minutes walk from the nearest Metro station, Al Fahidi station. It is a small but very informative museum and if you wish to go inside, you should arrive an hour earlier to experience it. The entry fee is only AED 3 per person. At the moment the museum is closed until further notice due to the corona pandemic. All other stops on our tour are not affected by the current situation. Your guide is looking forward to meeting you at 5 pm in front of the Main Entrance of Dubai Museum (Al Fahidi Fort).

First we walk through the Indian market. India is the most important trading partner of the region. Long before oil, the pearls found on the sandbanks in the Persian Gulf were the most important source of income of the region and there was a high demand for those pearls in India. So already centuries ago, pearls were exported to India and many goods were imported from India, such as textiles, building materials, food and spices. Since then Indian cuisine has a strong influence in what people eat in Dubai. On our way through Souq Al Khabeer, today the textile market, we will have our first Indian snack and there is time to explore the shops if you wish.

We cross the Creek via Abra, a wooden water taxi, which is an official public mode of transportation. On the other side of the Creek you are in for a real treat : Camel milk ice cream.

In the Spice market, you get to meet the friendly merchants who are mainly from Iran. They are happy to explain all about their exotic spices and spice mixes and let you try a delicious chocolate date. Here you also have a good opportunity to buy authentic souvenirs and gifts that are not “Made in China”, such as camel milk soap, camel milk chocolate, Saffron, Vanilla from Madagasgar, Frankincense, Myrre etc. The most famous Street Food however is “Shawerma” – the Gulf regions answer to Burrito or wrap. Of course you get to try it.

Our tour takes us through the main street of the Gold Souq. Dubai is known as the City of Gold. Around 10 tonnes of elaborate, jaw dropping pieces of art in the form of pure gold jewellery are on display here. We walk past the shops, however should you wish to have a closer look inside the shops, you are welcome to do so. Right after we stroll through the Perfume Souq. Here you get to smell the traditional oil based perfumes that are produced in the UAE and you will learn about the main ingredients used in traditional perfumes. To round up our visit to the Deira side of the Creek we eat the most famous Street Food, a “Shawerma” – the Gulf regions answer to a Burrito.

After another Creek crossing by boat we walk through winding little alley to a Puri Streetfood spot to try Dahi Puri a Mumbaian explosion of tastes in your mouth. Refreshing an delicious alike ! The highlight and last stop of our tour is a visit to one of the oldest restaurants in town, where you get to try a secret Persian family recipe for mutton kebab, while marveling at the eccentric interior decoration of old newspaper clips of Dubai, hundreds of photos of famous and not so famous guests and a collection of around 5000 different bank notes from all over the world left behind by visitors. Bon appetite!