Wednesday 24 December 2008

When `mandi' does not mean taking a bath

I had not expected to travel abroad this month but was asked by the boss to handle some issues at one of the company's projects in the Middle East. The previous Sunday saw me and a friend named Hasnul, on an Emirates flight bound for Dubai and we spent the whole of last week in the United Arab Emirates.

The project is located in Fujairah, one of the seven emirates or states in the UAE, the others being Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al-Khaimah and Umm Al-Quwain. The UAE is a federation not unlike Malaysia. Each emirate has its own government and is headed by an Emir or ruler. Although Dubai is perhaps the most well-known of all the states, the capital of the federation is actually Abu Dhabi. The ruler of Abu Dhabi is also the president of UAE.

I was last in the UAE in April of last year, having spent about six months posted there to manage a project. This latest trip was therefore more like a return to a familiar place and meeting old colleagues. Fujairah is located about 130km from Dubai and is the only emirate that has a coastline facing east towards the Gulf of Oman. The other states have coastlines facing the Persian Gulf. The landscape in Fujairah is a stark contrast when compared to Dubai. Most of Fujairah consists of rocky mountains while Dubai is generally sandy desert.

The first day was spent attending a meeting and later evaluating the progress of works at the project site. The following day, I took the opportunity to visit some old colleagues who were stationed at the company's crane barge that was moored in Dibba Port, located to the north of Fujairah town.

Later that evening, we had dinner at a Pakistani restaurant that has become one of our regular makan place. My friends had chicken briyani while I chose to have chicken tikka with naan bread. The weather in the Emirates at the present time is mild with temperatures around the low twenties Celsius. Since the air was cool, we chose to have our dinner at the outside table. At other times of the year, the temperature can be a sweltering 40 degrees, even at night.

Dinner at Zaman's Restaurant in Fujairah

We were able to complete our task earlier than anticipated and managed to bring forward our return date by 4 days. Before flying back, Hasnul recommended that we have dinner at a restaurant in Dubai that serves a delicious rice and meat dish. He has been to the place only once before and could only remember the name of the restaurant and the street on which it is located. But he could not recall the specific area of Dubai where the street is or how exactly to get there.

After asking for general directions from the hotel front desk, we ventured out in the notorious Dubai traffic in search of a makan place that reputedly serves a tasty meal that would become unforgettable. It took us quite a while before we finally found the place. At one point while we were crawling in the jam and circling the streets, I told Hasnul that the food had better be real good for me to endure the terrible congestion. He assured me that it is... and having tested Hasnul's recommendations of other food places before, I never thought of giving up.

Bait Al Mandi Restaurant is located on Al Muraqqabat Street in the Al Rashidiya area of Dubai. It is quite plain-looking and does not have any fancy decor to pull the tourist crowd. The restaurant basically serves a rice dish called `mandi' that comes in three variants : mutton, chicken or fish. Mandi is a traditional dish that originated from Yemen.

Since there were four of us that evening, we selected a combination of mutton and chicken mandi. The dish included a standard serving of fresh vegetable salad, some yoghurt and a homemade tangy chilli-tomato dipping sauce. The mutton meat was tender and so tasty. The chicken was juicy and delicious too. For a mutton lover like me, the meal was really exquisite. It was worth the trouble of wading through the horrible traffic.

Mutton and chicken mandi dish served in a large plate

If I ever do get the chance to visit Dubai again, I'm willing to skip the shopping or sight-seeing just to have another mutton mandi at this place. Unforgettable.

8 comments:

Snakebite said...

Some say that UAE started off from seven pirates preying on ships passing by on the Persian Gulf. If it is true, are we now witnessing the emergence of another would be state? with it's capital at Eyl.
:)

Ummi365 said...

salam, my children love this so much... infact we are going for one tonite at jalan damai, ampang..

Fadhil said...

Snake,

UAE started from pirates? Now that's an interesting angle. Haven't heard of that one though.

But in Frederick Forsyth's latest novel The Afghan, there is a mention of smuggling activities around the Dibba area of Fujairah. I'm quite familiar with this area and have heard of smugglers bringing in stuff from Iran using very fast speedboats.

Fadhil said...

Salam Ummi,

I presume you're talking of the mandi dish. There are a few mid-east restaurants at that Damai area. I've been to one but didn't know that they served mandi. Will check again on my next trip to KL.

By the way, welcome to this blog. Hope to see more of you again.

Anonymous said...

hi oldstock..
looks like bryani dish...yummy..!!

miezarra..

Fadhil said...

Hi Miezarra!

Thanks for dropping by. Hope to see more of you soon. Memang sedap mandi dish tu... rupa macam briyani tapi rasa dia lain sikit.

voltz said...

I knew that place, I was a regular when I was there at Dubai...really good food. Next time you're back in Dubai try Al Mallah shawarma and their mix fruit salad called Al Mallah special...

Fadhil said...

Dear voltz,

Thanks for the pointer. don't know when I'll be back in Dubai again but I'll give that place a try. Tq for dropping by and commenting.