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Kerala’s beef to UAE’s baby shark: This Abu Dhabi food trail helps people unite over delicacies

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On March 3, 2025

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From delicious Sudanese foul and falafel to shark soup at one of the oldest restaurants in the emirate, one platform is helping UAE residents discover Abu Dhabi one dish at a time.

The 421 Arts Campus, an independent platform dedicated to emerging artists and creative practitioners in the UAE, is organising food walks across the capital city to help residents discover hidden gems and learn more about the emirate.

“We believe food is one of the best ways to explore a community or place — offering a direct connection to its cultural fabric and history,” said Mays Albaik, Programmes Manager at 421 Arts Campus. “The Abu Dhabi Food Trails are a unique food walk series, where we use food as a lens to discover UAE’s vibrant culinary landscape, all while connecting with fellow foodies and likeminded individuals.”

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During its first session held last month, tour guides Ayesha and Sanju introduced a group of foodies to some of the oldest restaurants in the emirate. The series will have two more food walks with separate themes.

One, which will be held on March 7, will take visitors through some of the lesser-known cuisines and dishes in the emirate. Meanwhile, another one titled Lunchbox Classics, will be held on March 22, and will take attendees down memory lane by introducing them to some classic street food including luqaimat and roasted corn.

Oldest restaurant

The trail began at Abul Afwal cafeteria that served Sudanese foul and falafel. According to many of the diners, the creamy and nutty foul was “perfect” to scoop out with bread.

However, the highlight of the day was a stop at the Al Dhafra restaurant, one of the oldest restaurants in the city. Inaugurated by the late Sheikh Zayed, the father of the nation, the restaurant has cemented its reputation as one of the finest seafood restaurants. It served a dish of the Emirati minced baby shark dish, Jesheed, along with rice. Food walk participants were also treated to an assorted platter of grilled seafood.

After a brief stop at Calicut Paragon, where everyone was treated to Kerala porotta, beef, appam and fish mango curry, the tour took its participants to the final stop of the day at Olive Branch. There, they tasted zaatar, Palestinian olive oil, olives and jams.

Started as strangers, left as friends

For participant Hiba Basheer, the best part of the food tour was being able to connect with like-minded foodies. “The tour brought together people from different walks of life,” she said. “We started off as strangers on a silent bus but by the end, we were a noisy lot that jammed over good food and fun conversations. I enjoyed meeting new people from different walks of life and bonding with them over food and culture.”

She added that she discovered new ways to cook with ingredients, noting it was interesting to see how similar dishes were eaten differently by people of different cultures. She also learnt more about the city she grew up in. “We learnt how Abu Dhabi developed from a desert with fishing as its business into the world-class city it is today,” she said. “We also heard of how baby sharks were caught in plenty by fishermen and how it became a staple in most homes.”