Paratha King, Dubai - Not Quite Fit For A King

Most countries tend to use more rice than flour, or vice versa. India is one of the few countries who seem to be happily obsessed with using both as often as they can, sometimes even on the same plate! When you consider rice dishes like biryani or mandi, and then think about delicious sub-continental breads such as naan or roti, I think there is definitely room at the table for all the different carbohydrates. I am an efficient person, so I try to pack as many types of carbs into a single meal as I possibly can. It just saves time.

And so I found myself at Paratha King, trying to decide between all the various stuffed parathas and rice dishes on their very, very, very, very long menu. I think I've mentioned before that I get intimidated by unnecessarily long menus. I swear some places just write up every single conceivable combination of their ingredient base and give each combo a different name. Why not just take 'The Pizza Hut Approach'? Just list all the available bits and pieces, and let the customer choose what they want to have stuffed into their particular dish. I mean let's face it, a stuffed paratha is the Indian answer to the pizza, since just about anything can be safely shoved into one, dipped in sauce, and devoured by people who often don't care what they are eating at 4am.

But this was 2pm, so I felt like my dining decision should be a little more carefully thought out. Feeling a little overwhelmed, I asked for one of whichever the most popular spicy paratha was on the menu. "Hara Bhara Paratha" was the answer, and so that musical sounding recommendation became my lunch for the day. The Hara Bhara paratha sounded good on the menu board, stuffed with pieces of spinach, green onion, sesame seeds, diced chilli and even some tiny bits of potato. Good to see they hadn't forgotten Ireland's favourite carbohydrate either.

One nice addition was the 'salad bar', although that's not an accurate description of the stuff that was on offer... chic pea 'chana' curry, daal, sour pickle, chillies, yoghurt, raw onions and a number of other little extras were all laid out inside a sterile-looking stainless steel counter. Sounds good so far.

My paratha was delivered on a plastic lunch tray, with little indents for the extra stuff which I happily piled on. Nothing like a brightly coloured meal to make me hungry!

The paratha itself was dry and bland, with no measurable degree of spice. The strongest flavour came from the tiny bits of mashed spinach, which were fresh enough, but apart from that, the whole paratha was just a tasteless lump. It was overdone to the point of slight charring on one side, while the other side felt a little bit like play dough. The side dishes were a mixed bag - The chana was forgettable; a bit spicy, but as salty as the Dead Sea. The daal was passable; a little watery, but definitely a step up from the chana. Chillies were old and soft, onions were crisp and fresh, plain yoghurt was thick and fresh, while the mint yoghurt was warm and watered down. Why the hell does one location have such enormous variation of quality between such simple things as side dishes?!

The insides of the paratha looked good, but were almost tasteless.

OK, relax. What do we do when we start to get mad? We pump ourselves full of sugar, of course. That's what I needed, a dose of good ol' fashioned sweetener. It always makes things better.

I ordered my favourite Indian dessert, Galub Jamun, which are essentially just little balls of vanilla cake batter which are deep fried and then drowned in a bath of sugar syrup where they stay until sold. What could possibly go wrong? It even looked great when it arrived at my table. It was only when I punctured it with my spoon that I discovered the problem - They had almost microwaved them to death. The good people in the kitchen had taken two otherwise perfectly innocent little lumps of galub jamun and stuck them inside a thousand watt microwave oven for a bit too long, which reduced their already-tender insides to a molten, sticky pulp of tongue-searingly sweetness. I would have preferred them to be served the same way 99% of sweet shops sell these things - at room temperature. They were still edible, but only after I blew on them for about the same length of time as a 102 year old man with an iron lung would spend extinguishing the candles on his birthday cake.

AVERAGE

Between the bewildering menu, the saddened paratha and salad bar offerings which ranged from okay to bad, I was not exactly impressed by Paratha King. Maybe the Hara Bara Paratha was not in fact their most impressive dish. I have to say that after I had placed my order, I sat and watched a number of other various dishes emerge from the kitchen, all of which looked better than the lethargic lump that I had to contend with. It's that promise of potential, thanks to the endless menu variety which kind of makes me want to go back again at some stage, just to dig through a few more different things, and see if it gets any better. I'm not always an optimist, but in this case I think it's a safe bet that it could only improve, which is why this place just scrapes into the Average category.


UPDATE: I did in fact make another trip over to the patriarch of the paratha, and ordered something as different as possible, in the interests of giving them a fair go. I went with the hyderabadi biryani, vegetarian obviously. It was a colourful pile of bright green rice and fried shredded onions, covering a smaller, slightly mushy pile of various other vegetables. The rice was fresh and fluffy, and the veggies had about as much flavour as a vegetarian dish could expect to muster without being garnished with a leg of lamb. It was filling, tasty enough, and improved my view of Paratha King on the whole. That said - it was a lot more expensive than other, better biryanis found in Dubai, and the side dish salad bar setup was identical to my last visit, with the same mix of hit-and-miss dishes that amount to very little.
I now happily rate this as a solid 'Average' based on both times I have been to the restaurant.

The bill (for 1):
1 x Hara Bhara Paratha - 14 Dhs
1 x Galub Jamun - 6 Dhs
1 x Chai Tea - 3 Dhs
TOTAL: 23 Dhs (Approx. US$6)

Second visit bill (for 1): 
1 x Hyderabadi Biryani - 18 Dhs
TOTAL: 18 Dhs (Approx US$5)

Restaurant address: Internet City, Building 12, Dubai

for exact locations of all reviewed restaurants, take a look at our map.

Al Madina Flower, Dubai - One Dish Wonder

Clockwise from left: Raita, Papadam and Sour Pickle, Parathas, Chicken Korma and finally the Mutton Biryani.

There are a lot of underpaid, overworked expats in Dubai, from places like India, Pakistan and Nepal. The amount they earn doesn't leave them with much to put towards eating out, and because of that there are a huge number of excellent value eateries where skint workers can enjoy a good meal without breaking the bank.
So maybe I've found the humanitarian silver lining in this sweatshop of a city; They don't earn much, but they have access to damn fine food for cheap. I like to find where the taxi drivers and laborers eat, and follow them inside for some inevitably amazing food which usually costs less than the tip at a 'regular' restaurant.

So, after all that, where did I end up? In Satwa, a predominantly Filipino neighborhood near the Dubai Creek, where I stumbled upon the Al Madina Flower cafeteria.

Cosy. In a good way.

This place is tiny. It can comfortably seat 15 people inside and another 4 outside on the mini verandah, which is livened up by a small array of green pot plants and flowers. Al Madina Flower, right?
Inside there is the usual cafeteria layout, only more compact - a cash counter near the door, to pay on your way out, a handwashing basin, a warmer full of samosas and fried chicken or fish, a fridge with randomly assorted soft drinks and laban (a watered down yoghurt drink with salt), and a few tables surrounded by plastic stools. Oh, and behind all that is the micro-sized kitchen and juice counter. Who looked at this place before it became a cafeteria and thought that it could ever fit this much stuff inside? They must have been damn good at Tetris, that much is for sure.

After a warm greeting we placed our order; one mutton biryani, a bunch of greasy parathas and a serving of whatever chicken curry was going at the time, which turned out to be a mild korma curry.
It all arrived after no more than two minutes, along with raita (yoghurt with chilli and onions), spicy and sour pickle, papadams and a very oily little jug full of chilli flakes and coriander with other spices mixed in. You gotta love side dishes.

Mystery Sauce. Very zingy and oily. Contained a lot of vinegar, which worked well with the rice.

The biryani was and is the best I have had. Ever. The spice blend was generous and rich, with whole cardamom and cloves, long slivers of green chilli and specks of mustard seeds and fresh coriander. The rice was fluffy and perfectly cooked, with multi coloured grains of red, orange, yellow and white giving a bright vibrance to the whole package. The meat was gorgeous, fall-away-from-the-bone mutton, cooked for hours and hours. Never dry, never tough, and not oilier than it needed to be. Not too much sinew, bone or cartilage to make it seem cheap, but enough to make it rustic and hearty. I didn't find any tiny shards of shattered bone, just a few large pieces of cinnamon bark which had to be carefully set aside. All those intense flavours worked in harmony and complimented by the smooth spice of the raita and the pungent lingering sting of the pickle.

The chicken korma curry was simple and respectable. It was tasty, but not worthy of sharing a space at the same table as the biryani. Hell, I felt unworthy as well. The chicken was soft, and the sauce gave a nice creamy flavour to the slightly mushy parathas which we used to mop up as much as we could before...
Refills.
Yep, this place refills every part of every dish for free, other than the meat and bread. So just as we were starting to feel satisfied and proud to have made it to the bottom of the biryani, a gigantic bowl full of fresh spiced rice is plonked onto the plate. Same went for the curry sauce, which was instantly replenished whenever the level fell too low. We didn't even have to ask for any of this. Now that's what I call service. Two big thumbs up for attentiveness.
We had a couple of chai teas after admitting defeat at the hands of the never-ending rice mountain on our table. The tea was not as creamy as we would have expected, but it is possible that our taste buds were just overwhelmed by that stage.

RECOMMENDED

It's hard to highly recommend a place like Al Madina Flower. There is no denying that their biryani is world class; It's better than the ones I've had in India. But everything else was just adequate. The chicken curry was quite plain, and the parathas seemed a bit soggy. The staffs' attention to the needs of customers was second to none, and considering the budget that the place runs on, it is an achievement for everything to be so well kept. It is a quality establishment, with a solid commitment to good food, but it just doesn't tick every box.

I still recommend this as the perfect place to stop by for lunch if you have time. Five bucks for a bottomless meal for two people is hard to pass up. It won't take you long to be served, but it could take you forever to empty your plate.

The bill (for 2):
1 x Mutton Biryani (with unlimited extra biryani rice)
1 x Chicken Korma (with unlimited extra curry sauce)
4 x Paratha
2 x Papadams
2 x Chai tea
TOTAL: 20 Dhs (Approx. US$5)

Restaurant address: Satwa, on Al Hudaiba Road, across from the West Zone Supermarket. 100 meters from the Iranian Hospital.

for exact locations of all reviewed restaurants, take a look at our map.








 

BU QTAIR Restaurant, Dubai - AKA the Fish Shack

Perhaps not everyone in Dubai has been to what is affectionately referred to as the 'fish shack', but most will have heard of its name said in hushed, reverent tones around the office water cooler. It is not in a glitzy mall and you won't find it in any restaurant directory for Dubai (I am not sure it has even made it into the Dubai Lonely Planet Book). There are no menus and you will be sitting on plastic stools and eating off paper plates. But do you know what, it might just be the best meal you could possibly have in Dubai for USD$10 a head!


What this 'shack' lacks in glitz and glamour it makes up for in producing simple, no fuss, fantastic seafood. People from all backgrounds and pay grades sit outside with their feet in the sand, eating with their hands with fiery curry sauce dripping down their chins. And they all LOVE it. It is one of the few places in Dubai that I can take a guest knowing that it will consistently produce a great experience and top food. No small honour indeed!


This time round I was in a group of 3 and we ordered a Hamour the size of your arm (although I believe they often have different fish depending on the catch of the day) and a sizable stack of paratha (flaky indian bread). When you arrive you enter the shack,line up behind the counter, where you will simply select your fish of choice (the only type of 'fishing' that I enjoy) and 10-15 minutes later it emerges from the oil cauldron in all its glory. Despite being deep fried, the fish was not over oily. Instead the marinated spicy outside was deliciously crisp while the perfectly white meat inside was soft and moist. They serve the fish with a spicy fishy curry (watch out for those small bones) and a plate of vegetables which features predominantly raw cabbage and onion - i know this doesn't sound particularly appetizing but the sharpness and crunch of the vegetables combined with the soft fish and fluffy paratha are a match made in culinary heaven. The curry and vegetables are refillable for free, so don't hold back.

In my opinion the prawns (also deep fried) are too oily, unable to handle the cooking process with the same grace as the fish.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

As the weather gets cooler, this place gets busier so unless you are happy to wait 30 minutes for a table and chair, get there early. Go with an empty stomach, wear your most casual comfortable clothes and be prepared to have one of the finest dining experiences in Dubai without the pomp and ceremony that often accompanies Dubai dining experiences.

The bill (for 3):
1 x BIG Fish
9 x Paratha
3 x Chai Tea
3 x soft drinks
1 x Big bottle of water 

TOTAL: Dhs 115 (US$ 31)
(price of the fish varies based on weight, and we arent sure on the price breakdown above, since we were handed a bit of paper with the total written on it)

Restaurant address: 4D Street - Jumeira - Dubai

for exact locations of all reviewed restaurants, take a look at our map.