TRAVEL - Dubai and Abu Dhabi

One of the most stunning buildings I've ever seen - the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

The last week has been an absolute surreal dream. Thanks to a Christmas Day mistake fare tip from The Points Guy, I’ve just returned from an absolutely fantastic trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While the six days we spent there were unexpectedly perspective changing in many ways, I think the stellar food we got to sample deserves a highlight post. 

Kicking off our first day in Dubai with an excellent Egyptian breakfast. It goes without saying but the hummus in this part of the world is so much better than in the States.

I always love hitting up local grocery stores whenever I'm abroad, and this one in the Deira area of Dubai didn't disappoint, with its AMERICAN CLASSIC corn and coconut products.

This is a big claim seeing as I grew up in Los Angeles, where you can get some really excellent Persian food - this was the best Iranian food I have ever had. Three kinds of (incredibly well cooked, fluffy) rice and unbelievable lamb!

Found Aroos Damascus, a local, hole in the wall type joint that we hit up for breakfast one day and (over)ordered this fantastic manaish, which is a fairly common flatbread-type snack you can find all over the Middle East. My favorite by far is the one on the right, which is covered in za'atar (a combination of sumac, sesame seeds, oregano and other herbs.)

Being completely obsessed with them and South Indian food in general, I have eaten many a dosa in my time. These ones from Chhappan Bhog in Abu Dhabi, however, were incredibly good, as was the Indian food we tried throughout the course of the trip.

Obviously we couldn't get enough of the Indian food available so for our final dinner in Abu Dhabi, we were lucky enough to find Peppermill, a self-professed purveyor of "colonial" (....) Indian cuisine. Despite the somewhat dicey description, the biryani and butter chicken were completely bonkers delicious.

The biggest personal takeaway from the food we had over the six days was a realization that the chefs and cooks in this region approach food with incredibly bold, gutsy flavors. They aren't afraid to use oil (yes!) and use ample, aggressive seasoning (double yes!), all of which are things I appreciate.

I absolutely can't wait to be back to see more of this part of the world. 

What we flew:
Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE (on its brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, if you're a fellow aviation nerd)

Where we stayed:
Sheraton Dubai Creek, in Dubai
Fairmont Bab al Bahr, in Abu Dhabi

What we ate:
Everything