Frying Pan Adventures - Middle Eastern Food Pilgrimage
Supplied by: Frying Pan Adventures
Join an experience that feels less like a tour and more like a dinner party with about eight to 10 well-travelled and culture-seeking guests.
Highlights
- • Feast on the dishes of Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria; of course, we’ll check off falafels and hummus too!
- • Join an experience that feels less like a tour and more like a dinner party with about eight to 10 well-travelled and culture-seeking guests
- • Hear stories about Middle Eastern food, culture and communities from a resident guide who is knowledgeable and passionate about the region
- • Visit restaurants where the staff treat us less like ‘customers’ and more like old friends and family
- • Meet like-minded travellers and even residents who are looking for an authentic experience far away from the touristy clichés
- • Immerse yourself in food traditions of the region, such as learning the intricate art of serving coffee
- • Visit places where old timers shop for baklava, Arabian cookies and other delicious export-friendly souvenirs
What's included
- • Corner Falafel Cafeteria: design your own falafel sandwich using delicious ‘stuffed’ falafels and all the trimmings –hummus, fried eggplant and cauliflower, three kinds of sauces and pickles
- • Palestinian-Jordanian restaurant: Sample a sweet cheese pastry made just for us, fresh off the fire; this decadent pie is topped with crunchy noodles and pistachios (G/N/D)
- • Lebanese baklava shop: experience the timeless customs of local Arabic coffee or ‘gahwa’ with a pressed date cookie and pistachio ‘cookies and cream’. Mixed boxes of baklava and Arabian cookies are also available for purchase. (G/N/D)
- • Syrian restaurant: visit a popular Syrian eatery for a popular meaty snack and for our vegetarian guests, we’ll bring out freshly-baked za’atar and cheese flatbreads
- • Iraqi restaurant: partake of ancient Iraqi culinary customs with a traditional wood-fire smoked Iraqi fish* (F) or kebabs* (M). *Food selection varies based on group size
- • Allergens key: contains G-Gluten; D-Dairy; N-Nuts; M-Meat (Beef/Lamb); P-Poultry; F-Fish; S-Shellfish. We regret that there may not be substitutes for dishes. Even if specific dishes do not contain these ingredients, we cannot guarantee against cross-contamination of allergens in the restaurant kitchens.
- • Drinks other than water
- • Earphones for our audio system -- make sure to carry earphones with a 35mm jack (else you may also purchase them on the tour)
- • Hotel pickup and drop-off
- • Substitutions in case of allergies/restrictions
Overview
Exploring the Middle Eastern cuisines of Old Dubai’s food scene is difficult without a guide to steer you to the right dishes and restaurants.
With this small-group half-day tour, enjoy the must-tries and hear the backstories of their creation. Additionally, visit a range of Middle Eastern restaurants to ensure you experience a culinary cross-section – something that's difficult to achieve on DIY food tours. Feast on dishes from Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria; of course, we’ll check off falafels and hummus from the list too!
Know before you go
• Meeting point: we meet at Diva Gents Salon in Deira (not the Satwa branch). It’s right outside Al Rigga Metro Exit #2, Al Rigga Road. Please be on time, we don’t wait for latecomers. GPS link: https://goo.gl/maps/a4KruNcHPPCrJcih6
• Guests running late past the tour start time assume full responsibility for finding the group and joining the tour. The guide is not responsible for answering phone calls after the tour start time, for coordinating with any latecomers, or for providing missed information/food for guests who join after the tour has already started. Should you miss the group, we'd request you to arrive at Sultan Falafel restaurant on Murraggabat road. (Google map link:
Cancellation policy
Non-refundable
Additional Information
• It is mandatory that all guests joining the tour are vaccinated against COVID-19
• Tastings include gluten/lactose/dairy/nuts; we do not recommend the tour for those with severe allergies
• Food tastings: two non-vegetarian (one beef and fish dish each), one vegetarian savoury dish with mezze and two desserts
• Route may vary during summer, May to September
• Walking only; distance covered is ~2.8km (1.7mi) with stops in between
• Carry earphones for the audio system used by our guide
• Dress comfortably to walk; cover shoulders and legs above the knees
• The minimum age to join the tour is 14 years; strollers and infants are not permitted on the tour
• Please be at the meeting point 10 minutes before the tour start; the tour guide is not responsible for coordinating with any latecomers after the tour has started
• The tour requires a minimum of two guests; we may cancel and refund tickets if the minimum is not met