We just celebrated the 49th UAE national day and there couldn’t be a better post this week. Al Mashowa gives you an opportunity to experience the traditional Emarati cuisine. The recipes that is unique to UAE and has been passed down from generations. Although they are well known to serve a wide range of menu, Al Mashowa has specialized in serving seafood specialties which is not just limited to one emirate but all seven emirates. In general the food is less spicy and made from locally sourced ingredients which gives their food a unique texture and taste. We love their branch at Citywalk but this would be our first visit to the branch at Riverland Dubai.
You can opt to sit outside or inside the restaurant. The outside seating have wide open views of the waters at Riverland Dubai. On the inside you have the option of smoking and non smoking area. It’s a typical scene to see people having a long chat over a sheesha in the smoking area. On the wall reflects the pearl diving history, furniture such as the wooden chair designed as kayak pedals perfectly sets the tone to a seafood restaurant. By the way, beware of the flies here, they’ve been a little disturbing during our lunch.
We then started of with their complimentary breads, pickled onions and ghee. All these are locally sourced including the ghee which is made in house, the Emarati way. Unfortunately, the breads are not made in house. The juices were mind blowing. The classic vimto drenched in ICE was a wow of sweetness, the Passion of Arabia Mojito tasted refreshing and came filled with fruits in it. The Laban was also commendable for it’s natural taste. We tried 3 different salads, the one that really caught our attention was the one that came with raw mango slices and the recommended one would be the HAMBA WA JARJEER salad consisting of raw mango, rocca leaves, white onion, tomatoes, lime juice and olive oil. The grilled tiger prawns was the star on the table which was juicy and big. The dipper that came as a side wasn’t as exciting as the prawns to be honest but otherwise the prawns by itself was pretty good.
The chicken biriyani which is called Tahta Deyay on their menu was really nice. The flavour from the rice and also the baby chicken inside it was well cooked and soft, which was a delight to eat. The real star from the mains was actually the marak rubyan(Prawns curry), prawns served in a thick gravy. The gravy was just too good and had a strong flavour to it. It also come with white rice as a side. Ofcourse we had to try the Machbous which is an Emarati classic. 2 king sized slices of king fish laid on top of the yellow rice. The rice by itself has a unique flavour to it with the addition of tumeric to it.
We then ended our lunch with their signature dessert called the lugaimat. The best lugaimat you can have. You find Lugaimat in many places in Dubai but this one is the original. Soft, puffy and just perfect everything about it including its size. The dates syrup on top of it makes it an addictive one. The rice pudding was also unique, once again a rice pudding is quite common in Asian restaurants but this one is very different from all of it and I personally enjoyed for it’s special taste and texture. This was the beauty of eating at Al Mashowa, they really make the traditional way and its the best outlet to experience Emarati cuisine from it’s roots. Click here to visit the official website. Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:
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