Dubai Diaries: Day 2 - Busaba Eathai

The London nostalgia has been kicking in a lot lately and this time I had my sister-in-law to reminisce with. We were jumping out of excitement when we found out that Busaba Eathai had opened in Dubai and were ready to head there the very next day for lunch. We were back in JBR, which was to my advantage, because I really wanted to swing by the place during the day. Strolling down ‘The Walk’ became a tad bit fatiguing in the scorching heat but as soon as we arrived our destination, I felt like I was stepping inside Busaba Eathai at Bond Street Station.

JBR Walk

 We were the only customers there, but that may be because it’s hidden in a secluded area in the insides of JBR. Busaba has a modern, contemporary but a very simple layout with long wooden benches around large, square shared tables. The entire kitchen along with the chefs at work is visible through a glass, so you can clearly see what’s going on inside.

Busaba Eathai takes from Thai cuisine but isn’t entirely authentic, so it’s best not to expect nose dripping curries or Tom Yum Goongs. This is more of an eccentric Thai meets Western taste buds sort of cuisine.

We remembered the favorites from London, but our Brady Bunch of seven had varying palates. That’s actually the best part about Busaba, the menu is quite brief but everybody can find something that they like.

We ordered the Thai Calamari and as good as it tasted, the dish was such a pleasure to look at. It was presented with a fine texture and I loved the aftertaste.

Thai Calamari

 From the two curries, Green Chicken Curry and Red Beef Curry, the red one was a bit of a disappointment with not much flavor to offer at all but the green curry made up for it. The ingredients were so well blended together and the taste of coconut mixed spices was a real treat, especially with the delightful sticky rice to complement it. Remarkable.

Red Beef Curry

Green Chicken Curry

 The stir-fry chili prawns were delicious as always and lived up to the reputation of being in the top 5 of “what to order” at Busaba Eathai – this was the only dish we ordered second rounds of!

Stir-fry chili prawns

 My absolute favorite was the Pad Kwetio. The dish looked fantastic and was extraordinarily aromatic and the wide noodles were cooked to perfection, flavored with oriental, tangy spices. The plate was wiped clean as soon as it arrived which is why I was unable to take picture of that divine looking dish. Highly recommended.

We also ordered the Char-grilled Chicken with spicy cucumber salad and sticky rice but it was a complete miss. The chicken was quite dry and bland in flavor and didn't really do justice to the rest of the variety there. Nevertheless, the sauce it was served with was great.

Char-grilled Chicken

Even though it wasn’t required, we didn’t find it courteous to simply ignore the dessert especially when they had Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut!! The only typical Thai item there lived up to its mark and left us extremely satisfied with our meal.

Thumbs up for the very attentive staff there and the great service we got.

Mango with sticky rice and coconut

Dubai possibly has everything you could ask for from the west and if it doesn’t, it’s probably on its way.

Khao Suay To Remember

When I get mad cravings for Khao Suay, I always want them homemade. Let’s face it, no matter what new tastes and variations exotic eateries bring to the dish – it doesn’t have that kick of “ammi ke haath wala” flavor, just like iftar pakoras.

Anyway, so with the mother goose out of town, I somehow needed to cater to my stomach growls that were hankering for some memoni delicacies! I have already tried all the famous Khao Suay deliveries and take-outs but wasn’t too satisfied with life. From a recent socialist food festival in Karachi, I had heard of this girl Saniya and her famous homemade Khao Suay that apparently sold out like hotcakes!

                          Side Note: Couldn’t have agreed more…LOL

                                     

Placed my order to this girl with the sweetest voice ever, and confirmed to pick it up in the evening. I kept my expectations low, even though all our honorary critics raved about it in the “qaumi” food bickering page on Facebook. This page has become delight of every Karachiite in the past 2 years including mine – not gonna lie, I’m in the “creepy likers” department.

Everything included in the Khao Suay was packed neatly in separate, plastic containers. One yellow curry, one chicken curry, a foil box of noodles, and very generous amounts of assorted condiments packed in small Ziploc bags.

The exceptionally aromatic curry got me pumped to quickly mix everything together to my liking and devour into the flavors.

OMG! Did I want “Ammi wale khao suay”? Eureka!! What a flavorful mix of ingredients – I don’t know what she used but it was divine. This is what Khao Suay’s should taste like – they don’t need variations, they just need that zest. I inhaled my first, decently portioned serving bowl and went dog-nuts for the second one. I love that it’s served in different containers so I could prepare it according to my taste buds.

I don’t know how authentic the flavor is to its Burmese origin, but the best of the lot in the Khao Suay culture in Karachi for sure. I think I can do more without my mom, now that my hunger pangs have been treated.

I added the boiled eggs myself by the way, you know, because I’m the infamous new “self proclaimed foodie” in town ;).