This week on Cheap Eats on Dubai 92 radio station, our co-founder Arva talked about her experience from a tiny Moroccan Sandwich shop serving delicious Moroccan donuts.
What’s This Week’s Cheap Eat?
Bab Chaouen serves handmade, freshly made Moroccan donuts called Sfenj. Unlike regular donuts, Sfenj puffs up dramatically when deep-fried, creating a crispy exterior and airy interior. When you bite into them, they collapse in your mouth, offering a unique texture. Remember, savor them within the first 10 minutes for the best experience.
These unsweetened donuts can be enjoyed plain or you can relish them by dunking in honey with sips of sweet Moroccan mint tea on the side.
Bab Chaouen is a tiny shop tucked away in Abu Hail and it is easy to miss. So, here’s its location on Google Maps which will help you find it.
Watch the Reel to See What Their Moroccan Donuts Look Like
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Tune In
Tune in to the segment using this audio recap or check out the transcript below.
Transcript
Nats:
It’s Dubai 92. It’s the big breakfast with Jono and Nat and it is time for our favorite thing that we do every single Wednesday morning which is team up with one of the sisters from Frying Pan Adventures for this.
Jono:
Arva’s back. Brand new school, same old Arva though. We’ve got a brand new place to go and check out that I don’t know we’ve been.
Arva:
Few pennies less Jono after the back-to-school season.
Nats:
It’s been a bit hectic for you, huh?
Jono:
What I like is that you manage to save us cash. So even though you’ve spent all your money on brand new books and uniforms and Smiggle stationery, that you’ve still managed to save us some cash on someplace we can go and chow down some food on. So where are you taking us to this week?
Arva:
Alright, so this is where you need to go for your Moroccan donut fix. It’s called Bab Chaouen and it is a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny little Moroccan sandwich shop that is in a little corner of Abu Hail and it is known in the Moroccan community for their deep fried, freshly made, handmade Moroccan Sfenj.
Nats:
Now, is Sfenj savory, or is it sweet?
Arva:
It is unsweetened so you can have it just plain like that. Or the way I like to have it is dumped into honey and with a side of sweet Moroccan mint tea.
Nats:
Oh my goodness. Yes, I am here for that. Right.
Jono:
Oh… Nice!
Arva:
Right? So each of these is only two and a half dirhams. The Moroccan donut itself is two and a half dirhams and the tea, the Moroccan mint tea is five dirhams, and unlike a regular donut, Moroccan Sfenj actually are not doughy on the inside. When they’re deep-fried, they puff up really dramatically. So they become super bubbly and crisp on the outside. And then on the inside, it’s quite hollow. Like you have these airy, very light pockets. So when you crunch into it the whole thing just goes ‘pfft’, and it collapses in your mouth and that is what I love and the thing is you have to eat it in that first 10 minutes, do not wait, juggle this Sfenj if you have to but because it’s all about the texture it will lose that quality pretty quickly so it’s not the kind of donut that you would pack and take back home.
Jono:
Now, this is not gonna cost you a whole lot of cash but what’s your recommendation? Get two or three of these, start off at one, what would you say to do?
Nats:
Twelve. I’ve looked at the pictures, I could eat twelve.
Arva:
No no no, they are quite big Nats, they’re quite big. I would say, if you’re gonna do a breakfast, you could just get one Moroccan tea and one Sfeng and honestly, you will be set because they… you know donuts do sit heavy even if they look like light puffy bubbly rings I mean it is gonna sit heavy and you do get you get fill up. So I would say begin with one and then you can always order a second one. It’s nicer to get them super hot and fresh anyway.
Nats:
I’ve just seen the pictures from this particular place and you’re right they are they’re pretty big so two, I could have two.
Jono.
She could have three I take it. Three, given this week so far. Give us the name of the place once again and where we can find that in Hora Al Anz
Arva:
Alright, it is called Bab Chaouen. It’s on Google Maps, it’s impossible for me to explain because it’s in a tiny little corner. But it’s super small so it’s easy to miss, make sure you kind of keep a lookout for it.
Nats:
Alright, well we’re going to put the name of this place when we post it up on our Instagram at Dubai 92 a little bit later today, but thank you yet again for making us salivate this morning.
Arva:
It is always a pleasure. Have a scrumptious week ahead guys.
Jono:
Arva, thanks so much. Frying Pan Adventures, check them out on Instagram.
Find out where to find Tantalizing Grilled Octopus Skewers in Dubai here.
Arva Ahmed is the co-founder of Frying Pan Adventures, Dubai’s first food tour company, and a celebrated food explorer known for uncovering Dubai’s hidden culinary gems. Her expertise in the city’s diverse food scene has been featured in prominent publications such as CNN, Khaleej Times, BBC Travel, The Sun, The Independent and countless more. She also hosts Ditch the Silver on YouTube. Through her immersive tours and storytelling, Arva brings Dubai’s rich flavors and vibrant cultures to life.
