I have a confession to make: I love food and I love trying new products. When I do my weekly shop, I usually have a list to help me along the way, but once the list is complete, I will choose a couple of things […]
If you are following me on Instagram, you would have seen that I had a quick stop-over in Beijing on my way to Seoul. China wants to attract tourist business and allows stop-overs of various lengths in its major cities if you are travelling to […]
Dubai is a shopper’s paradise, full of shopping malls, souks and independent small shops. You can literally spend all your time shopping if you want to. And the opening hours of the malls only encourage you to do so, as majority of them are open past 9pm. I would like to offer you some suggestions on what you can bring back home as souvenirs for your friends and family or a treat for yourself.
1. Embroidered and colourful shoes
These are so bright and all are handmade. If you find them in souks, please do not forget to haggle as your final price will probably differ a lot from the first one offered. This rule generally applies if you are doing your shopping at the markets and souks. Shoes are perfect for summer or for walking inside. Very Scheherazade!
2. Perfumes and gold
Perfume souk is close to golden souk, so you will kill two birds with one stone! Perfumes vary in price depending on the ingredients, if they are natural and oil -based, the price goes up, if they are mostly chemical then it is cheap as chips.
Gold souk is massive and you will have a hard time choosing something due to sheer variety available. I understand that the trade is heavily regulated, so don’t be afraid you will pick up a fake, just bear in mind that you can still haggle.
3. Materials
Dubai is home to lots of different shops selling material, cloth and haberdashery. If you can sew or order made-to-measure outfits, you are in heaven. The shops cater for Indian community, the colours, the embroidery and texture is abundant.
4. Dates
The variety of dates and the methods of preparation are numerous. I have to say I am not much of a date expert, but you can probably judge based on their appearance. The plumper and shinier they are , the sweeter they probably be. Also don’t be afraid to ask sales assistants for advice, as they should know what they are selling. There are also numerous varieties of dates dipped in chocolate, stuffed with nuts, soaked in honey and sesame seeds, I can go on.
We have tried buying dates in Bateel outlets, which I thought was very expensive, but they had unusual varieties. You can try checking local supermarkets, which will surely stock dates at much more agreeable prices.
5. Oriental sweets
When we found this shop full of home made sweets, we were offered an option of boxes with either 500g or 1 kilogramm. I thought the latter was a bit much. Silly me! Now I wish I bought two kilos, the sweets stay fine for 3 months and the quality is absolutely superb. Cashew nuts, pine and pistachio nuts encased in thinnest pastry and absolutely soaked in honey/sweet syrup. Go on treat yourself!
The shop featured here is Al Samadi Sweets on Al Muraqqabat Road, Dubai.
Let me know what you think about my list and whether you brought back from Dubai something different.
Dubai is full of superlatives: they have the world’s tallest building, the world’s only seven star hotel, the biggest golden ring in the world and so on. Dubai aims for superior quality everywhere and usually achieves it. On our recent trip to Dubai we wanted […]