With many of the Syrian restaurants in Dubai being around for less than 5 years, Syrian food is still a lesser known territory for most non-Syrian communities that live here. On the other hand, if you cross the border to Sharjah, you’ll find an entire street peppered with Syrian shops and restaurants (which is also where we once did a Syrian food tour).
To better understand what specialty treats we should be looking out for if we venture out for Syrian food, we called on two passionate Dubai-based food lovers with deep culinary connections to Syria: Nahla Tabbaa and Omayah Atassi. Tune in to our chat with them about 4 Syrian dishes that the rest of the world has to try using the player below:
Our speakers on the Deep Fried Podcast:
Nahla Tabbaa (@nahlatabbaa) is a Jordanian-Bangladeshi artist, curator and food tour guide with Frying Pan Adventures.
Omayah Atassi (@omayah.atassi) is a Syrian-American food and architecture photographer and writer. She blogs at Omayah Cooks and launched a doughnut concept called D’omes Donuts.
4 Syrian Foods You Need to Try:
- Ruz bil foul: Rice with fresh green fava beans, though Nahla claims to use the frozen ones out of season with good results!)
- Kibbeh: There is a staggering variety of kibbeh. Omayah mentions having heard of about 58 types of kibbe in Aleppo, Syria and about 90 varieties of kibbe in the world!
- Bish mishkat: Veal steak that’s been stuffed with a traditional ‘hashwa, ‘tied with surgical steel thread and simmered in a tomato sauce.
- Halawat al Jibin: Sweetened cheese and semolina roll filled with clotted cream and often drizzled with rose water/orange blossom water.
Restaurants/Shops Mentioned on the Deep Fried Podcast:
- Seroop in Sharjah: Try their kibbeh safarjaliyeh (with quince!), osh el bulbul (meat pastry with pomegranate molasses) and kebab b’il karaz (kebabs with sour cherries, though this is quite a jammy sweet dish so maybe not for everyone.)
- Bait Al Moona Al Halabi in Sharjah: This shop stocks Syrian pantry products. Try their Aleppo pepper paste and grape molasses!
- Mashawi Halabi / Aleppo Grills in Garhoud: Try their muhammara (red pepper dip with pomegranate molasses and walnuts), Azmerly kebabs (lamb with pistachio, halloumi cheese and peppers), osh el bulbul (meat pastry with pomegranate molasses). Their shish tawook is also incredibly tender!
- Al Hamadieh in Dubai
Want more of our scrumptious podcast episodes? Feast on our main podcast page here!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcast App | Spotify (available on AppStore and Google Play) | Google Play Music (currently supported only for listeners in US/Canada) | Anghami
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.
