DXBtoDOH

ADIA is the government sovereign wealth fund and while I don't know the exact relationship between the ADIA wealth and AD government funding, most of the day to day budgeting and funding is dependent on current oil revenues.

The last few years has seen a marked slowdown in government expenditures with budgets of most of the ministries and agencies slashed heavily and many expat civil servants sent packing (Emiratis are protected). Projects have been cancelled left and right. Tendering is down big time (as someone involved on the BD side for my company I can attest that there are very few tenders coming out of AD these days, even the minor civil / infrastructure engineering works have slowed to a trickle). Certain key high profile projects have still been given the green light but on the whole, money is very tight in AD at the moment. The knockdown effect on the consultancies have been impressive - all the big firms are either laying off or not replacing staff, business travel is down sharply, and so forth. Unlike Dubai, AD has preciously little in terms of tourism or retail or logistics/trade/shipping to help offset the decline in government spending.

What you will quickly notice is that the Emiratis are very keen to try to paint everything in as positive and cheerful and optimistic light as possible. They will either flat out deny the doom and gloom or pretend it doesn't exist. That's their tribal nature, they take even a minor economic slowdown quite personally and an affront (public perception is everything out here in the Gulf). As such, local news are never allowed to report on any economic statistics that truly show the depth of the situation.

ShirleyG102

I have had that opinion of Dubai all my life, but after spending few days in Abu Dhabi I definitely felt like frequent visits to Dubai will be a must if I ever move to AD. While eating out is one of the main passtime activities in AD, Dubai still seems to have a much better selection of restaurants, cuisines, etc on offer. They even have a Din Tai Fung!!!

ShirleyG102

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

DXBtoDOH

Venture further northwards to the Deira area of Dubai and there's a selection of, ahem, 'authentic' Chinese venues. The Chinese presence in Dubai is growing by leaps and bounds so there's greater demand for proper Chinese, as opposed to the Chinglish or Indo-Chinese that dominates. Closer to the AD side is JLT opposite Dubai Marina, which has two decent proper Chinese restaurants (Homey and Star Lake). And a Chinese ghetto out in International City that has a number of dumpling places (bit greasy, in my view but packed with Chinese workers).

The biggest problem, however, is that as pork is verboten outside the hotels and pork is a critical component of Chinese cooking, all these places still feel as if they're lacking that touch. Din Tai Fung is still my reliable favourite, though the Mall of Emirates location is seemingly always chocked full that you have to wait a bit.

But yes, Dubai's food scene has exploded in the last eight or so years. It's quickly becoming one of the foodie cities and somewhat underrated from that perspective. Probably has the best Indian in the world, better than even India.

You might be interested in doing one of the Frying Pan adventures, food tours of the old parts of Dubai run by a long term Dubai resident. I've never been one one but they get rave reviews and will expose you to a side of the city far removed from 'plastic' Dubai.

fryingpanadventures

Leans heavily towards Indian/Pakistani/Arabic/Persian.

For more modern food, check out the Tom & Serge group in Dubai. They have four venues. Eclectic, Australian style mixed with Ottolenghi. Sometimes a hit or miss, as such cuisines tend to be, but on the whole pretty good.

Gawd, I miss Dubai. Being stuck in Doha is no fun I'd happily trade it for AD even if AD is still quieter than Dubai. Probably the best "cheap ethnic" eat in AD is Hanoi, a Vietnamese Place not too far from ADIA.

jam25mack

I would say the UK has better Indian than India and certainly better than here.

DXBtoDOH

UK has the best British Indian if you like baltis but for the proper stuff I haven't tasted anything that compared to the curry houses of Karama. UK stuff is too sweet and not spicy enough and doesn't keep you on the crapper long enough the following morning

ShirleyG102

Thanks DXBtoDOH! That's a wealth of information. I was also told there is a Chinatown in Dubai? My friends who live in AD bring back pork everytime they visit Europe!

ShirleyG102

Have you guys been to India? Travel from AD is a great attraction for me, and it seems that India and also several countries in the Middle East and Africa are easily accessible from AD.

ShirleyG102

Can't comment on the quality of Indian food in Dubai versus India versus the UK though as I've only eaten it in London, which has great Indian options, though I hear Indian friends complaining about its inadequacy all the time. Similar to your comments on it being too sweet and not spicy, DXBtoDOH!

DXBtoDOH

Most UK Indian is North Indian with the baltis thrown in, so there's a sameness to it (although to be fair there's varying options in parts of London).

What makes the UK Indian scene stand out is that there's multiple restaurants for all the regions of India. So you're spared having the standard Punjabi restaurant fare over and over again - the tikkas and saags and butter chicken that dominates the UK palate. In Dubai you want Gujarati? No problem. Want Kerali? No problem. Goan? No problem. Rajasthani? No problem. Their benefit over the original in India is that the combination of a large and fussy Indian community in the UAE + much higher quality control and better logistics means the overall restaurant quality is not only more sanitary but better. I find this not surprising based on several trips to India and comparison between the two countries.

And of course, if you miss home and want a sweet balti? No problem

jam25mack

You've obviously been going to the wrong places in the UK....

What do you define as 'proper stuff' tho...... Curry varies massively across India....

Pongo

Tourism in Dubai not doing so well according to the local press..

http://m.thenational.ae/business/travel-tourism/theme-parks-set-for-critical-year

ShirleyG102

Every region / country has its ups and downs. I guess there's no point debating on the situation in the UAE - it's not as if the country or region in general is doomed or going bust. Oil prices are recovering, and will probably result in a new equilibrium.

jam25mack

Several times..... It's a cheap trip from here.

Millhouse

You've not lived in the gulf yet !

The new equilibrium will look nothing like the one before. Especially KSA which is the bellwether for the region.