The eats on the streets

One of those basic pleasures in life, perhaps dictated by evolution, is foraging for your food. And when you find it, in this day and age, it better be worth the hunting.

One of my favourite pastimes is searching for that elusive hole-in-the-wall restaurant that delivers. The one where, with every bite, you cannot believe your luck of finding such a gem in the rough.

New York or New Delhi, there are dark and dank alleyways where one finds some of the best cooks, hard at work, behind makeshift trolleys. Their concoctions so well regarded that they are local legends. I remember my experiences of feeling like I was one of the locals in Delhi, when feasting on succulent kebabs in the middle of the night, and wiping the grease from my hands on my denims (for the obvious lack of seating, cutlery or napkins).

Similar treks around Abu Dhabi have been hard, simply because most of the best places in town have now been consumed by the chaos of the construction in the downtown area.

But last week, with three days to spare and enough time to explore Dubai, I launched once again a plan to map some of those places that friends wax eloquent about.

Surprisingly not so hard to find was the Chicken Tikka Inn in Jumeirah 1 on Jumeirah Beach Road. Less than 50 metres from the Village Mall, the so-called-inn offers the best behari kebabs in the business. Not to mention their delicious haleem (which I ordered two of). Even their nan, stuffed with keema (minced meat), was a meal in itself. It is, however, located in an elusive corner of a strip mall beside another posher mall, and if you drive too fast, you will miss it. Like all such places, it is best found on foot.

As if finding one such haunt wasn’t enough, an American friend directed me to another dubious-sounding Indian restaurant. By now, having enough faith in the street fare of Dubai, I agreed to tag along. In a place called the Chalet Restaurant (it turns out that restaurants with names that make them sound more upscale than they really are always offer the best dishes), there was another delicious meal to be had by the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

First they sit you on makeshift tables and chairs on the pavement, a venture that rapidly turns into al fresco dining for the daring. Service is best attempted with hand gestures, unless you know any Indian languages. In our case we did, so the food arrived perfectly seasoned and in perfect sync with each person’s order. Who knew you could roast cauliflower and paneer to such perfection?