You know the feeling. It’s evening and you’re driving around Jumeirah Beach Road and craving something sweet. Those mental images of chocolate sauce, macarons, and fudgy cake are circling your brain round and round. Where do you go? Sometimes you feel as though you want a dessert you’ve never tried before- at a place you maybe haven’t been to before. Well, here are three quick desserts that can all be found on Jumeirah Beach Road and at a maximum driving time of twenty minutes from one another.
Dessert #1: Daar Saan (#87 on the menu), AED20, at Chinese Pavilion, Ground Floor, Beach Centre
I’ve been having this dessert at Chinese Pavilion ever since I can remember. Chinese Pavilion is somewhat of a Dubai institution with some of the best stir-fries you can find this side of town. But since we’re talking about desserts, Daar Saan is a wonderful mix of soft and crispy, and sweet and crunchy. It is made of flat noodles that have been tossed in honey and sesame seeds for a crispy texture. The noodles are then topped with a generous scoop of wonderful vanilla ice-cream. The sensation in your mouth of warm, sticky, and crispy noodles with cold, soft ice-cream is phenomenal.
Dessert #2: Nutella Regag, AED4, at Al Labeeb Grocery, Jumeirah Beach Road, Jumeirah 3 (opposite Al Arz Lebanese Restaurant)
After hearing so much about these nutella regags at Al Labeeb Grocery, I decided to check them out for myself. Regags are thin regional bread and this grocery store has taken a twist on them. You can have them with nutella spread and cream cheese, or on its own. I prefer the ones with only nutella.
Dessert #3: Strawberry Cheesecake, AED35, at Mina Al Salam Lobby, Madinat Jumeirah
I first ate a mini version of this cheesecake at a wedding I attended that was at Madinat Jumeirah and fell in love with it. It doesn’t have that usual sticky smooth texture that most cheesecakes have, and the topping isn’t sickly sweet either. The cheesecake itself is a wonderful flavor that isn’t too sweet, and it has a texture that is halfway between a mousse and a cake. Perfect.
And so there you have it. Three desserts, all on Jumeirah Beach Road, all super-quick, and all delicious. A major plus point at all these three venues is that parking is not a problem. Beach Centre has a large outdoor parking lot, you don’t need to park at Al Labeeb Grocery, just double-park until your regag is ready, and Mina Al Salam has valet parking. Is one of these desserts going to be on your to-eat list this week?
– Sidiqa Sohail is an international relations student at the American University of Sharjah and also a food blogger. Her blog can be found at spontaneous-euphoria.blogspot.com
