Foodie (Natova)

If you really know me, you would know I love seafood. I could literally survive off garlic crabs for an entire week and be just fine. I believe I actually did that leading up to my last days in Jacksonville and Melbourne. Ray believes if we had a past life I lived in the ocean. With that said I really miss the lovely creatures luring at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Although, I miss family and friends, I truly miss the food. I guess I have to bring a taste of home here to Abu Dhabi.

I remember my first trip to the grocery store with Ray. He rolled me the shopping cart and told me to start practicing, and practice is exactly what I needed.  All the wheels on the shopping cart swivel unlike in the US just the front two wheels swivel allowing for sharp turns and easy navigating throughout the store. It’s very hard to keep the basket straight and the turns require you to sway with the cart and make very wide turns. I know I looked like a complete idiot trying to maneuver the basket up and down the aisle while trying to avoid the many unsupervised children running throughout the store or the huge crowds that seem to think it’s a great time to shop in the supermarket after 8 at night. As of late, I have gotten much better with the shopping cart itself but still adjusting myself to the brands and products available. For the most part, I can find what I need but have requested in a care package the infamous Season Salt, Old Bay seasoning (LOL got to have my seafood) and Vanilla Wafers (Banana Pudding for the holidays).

 There’s one frustrating part about the grocery stores here. They never seem to keep the same products or brands available on a consist basis. I can go into the store to buy say Cheerios and the next week it won’t be there for another two weeks or so. I’m not sure what they’re doing in their transportation department or at least their buying office, but I would like to have my Cheerios or whatever the item available every week. Maybe, they need me working in their logistics department to make sure product is flowing and the customer is satisfied because you know, that is what I do. Also, these same Cheerios could cost say $3 this week and next week $7. Why? I don’t even ask anymore sometimes. I just keep a close eye on the prices because the cereal next to it maybe $5. Who knows? Consistency is not one of their stronger qualities here in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi has a grocery store on just about every street. There’s either a hypermarket, our version of supermarket,  (LULU, Carrefour or Spinney’s chain stores), neighborhood store (locally owned) or Cooperative Society (Co-Ops), bigger than the local places but not as large usually not as large as the hypermarkets. I typically shop at Lulu‘s because it’s the closest to my apartment with the most options. It’s located at the Mushrif Mall. There at least 6 malls on the island of Abu Dhabi and they all have either a Lulu’s or Carrefour inside, which is convenient because Abu Dhabi is built around their numerous malls. On occasions I will shop at Spinneys’ to get the safe guarded, sealed off pork. Yes, they sell pork in Abu Dhabi, but it’s located in the back of the grocery store behind sliding glass doors labeled for “non-Muslims only”. I knew I smelled bacon in the hallways of my apartment building. Now, back to Lulu’s…

I now understand why on the cooking channels they mention to always know where your meat comes from. The simple task of picking up ground beef requires a bit of decision making. Will it be New Zealand, Austrian or Saudi beef today, Natova? The same goes for chicken and lamb. I also have to double check the labels to make sure I’m picking up what I intend as most of the meats are surrounded with every part of the animal including brain, feet, tongue so on and so on.  I wasn’t much of a lamb person in the US, but since it’s a popular meal here I have tried it several times, which Ray has mentioned in a previous post. Currently, I’m not a big fan of the local cuisines. I guess I need to get use to the favors and all the spices. My stomach is not strong enough for the Indian curry on most days and the Arabic dishes are just so foreign to me right now, but I’m sure I’ll warm up to it since we’ll be here for two years. However, there is a popular dish called Shawarma in which a lot of expats seem to enjoy. It a wrap consisting of shaved chicken or beef stuffed with pickled veggies, mayo or a special sauce and fries. Sounds delicious, right? LOL. In order, to get some real good quality food we tend to good to the many hotels where the restaurant are either 4 or 5 star. We come with an empty belly and a coupon in hand. The coupon books are sold here and they are of great value and use. We would prefer not to spend thirty plus dollars per entrée so the coupons which offers “buy one, get on” works out perfectly. The book is a hot commodity amongst the expats.

I’ll be posting again real soon. Hoped you enjoyed my take on Abu Dhabi so far.