New Junk Fud on the Road From UAE!

 In this episode of Junk Fud on the Road, Allison and Chris return to the UAE after a long time. They talk about the proliferation of western restaurants, Warner Brothers World and modern rules for Ramadan.

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A Look at The Junk Food and Snacks at Warner Brother's World in Abu Dhabi

 

On a recent trip to UAE, Allison and I decided to take a little road trip to Abu Dhabi. We had several reasons to make the trip, one of them being to visit the world's largest indoor amusement park, Warner Brothers World. In the UAE they're really known for two things, the dessert, and making things bigger than anyone else. They also have a lot of money to spend, and are willing to make things to the extreme. That's probably the best way to describe this massive indoor theme park. The park is split up into different themed lands, with a general city square in the middle. There's Metropolis, Gotham, Cartoon Junction, Dynamite Gulch, and Bedrock. 

This is not just a mall dressed up with a few themed elements, this is a full on indoor theme park. While there are many attractions that are crunched into small spaces, there are also full sized attractions in huge rooms. I was pretty impressed at how immersive every single land was. Just walking around and taking in the atmosphere was really great. That's not to discredit the rides as many were state of the art and very entertaining. As far as if you should visit, my answer is this, if it sounds like something you'd want to check out, and you're in the area, it's well worth it.

There was however one part that really didn't live up to the hype, and that's the food. There were a few highlights, but for the most part I was kind of disappointed. The quality was all okay, and everything we ate satisfied our hunger, but I feel like there was something missing, and that's theming. Considering you have the entire Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera and DC comics library to choose from, I was really surprised at how little themed food was available.

There were a few nods to famous foods in the theming of parks, but when it came down to actual themed foods, there was very little. Most of the food was just basic theme park treats, with a few restaurants scattered around. Most of the stores, even the ones that looked like they might have fun themed treats, where just fronts for general merchandise (t-shirts, mugs and that sort of thing). The restaurants had some nice looking and tasting food, but nothing to theme the food except a few logos thrown on.

There was one store that was a little better, and it actually had more than just a façade of a candy store. In the Gotham section there's a candy store based on Harley Quinn. Visually it was beautiful, well designed and fit the theme of the land perfectly. Having not read too many Harley Quinn comics lately, I'm not sure if she actually has a sweet tooth, but her esthetic does work well for a candy store. The candy inside was nothing amazing, but at least it looked cool.

For all my complaining about the food, there was one exception, and it was the one place that was a must visit for lunch. When we planned this trip, I noticed on the map that the Bedrock section of the park had a restaurant, and the first thing I did was check for Bronto Burgers. Fortunately they totally had them, they also offered ribs and other barbeque, which is perfect when it comes to theming a restaurant for a Flintstones themed land. 

I can't say it was the best burger, or barbeque, but it was really fun to eat a Bronto Burger and barbeque in this well decorated restaurant, surrounded by Flintstones stuff.

The food at Warner Brothers World is fine, it's just not that creative, with one exception. As a writer, artist and food lover, I feel like there's so much more they could have done, particularly on the snacks and candy front. As it stands, the most common themed treats are just chocolate bars and lollipops with images of various characters. Don't let this harsh criticism change your mind about visiting this huge indoor theme park. The food is fine, and just be sure to have lunch in Bedrock.

CC

UAE Highlights

 

I'm trying to think if there's any other country that I've visited more than the United Arab Emirates. I've mentioned many times in the blog that I have reasons for visiting places that have a lot of western stuff. I have, and currently live in countries that are a little off the beaten path. In fact, I've lived in at least two countries that have never had a McDonalds. Depending on your opinion of McDonalds, you might think that's a good thing, but what it means is that I've lived in countries that are often short on western comforts. While that gives me a great opportunity to sample what many would consider to be exotic goods, it also makes me miss some of the regular things I can normally get at home.  You might be wondering why I wouldn't just go back home regularly then, that's a simple answer, price and time. It's both expensive and very time consuming to get back home from where I am. Fortunately there are many countries and cities dotted around the world that offer some of the comforts that I'm used to in Canada, and when I have the chance I like to get my fill of comfort food.

United Arab Emirates is probably one of the best countries in the world to get wester comfort foods. I haven't been in a while, but I've found that's become even more true. It used to be a place that had all the regular places, with a few more obscure western restaurants. Now it's chock full of all the regular places, and plenty of very specific and obscure western treats too. Allison and I decided to take advantage of these, while still managing to make regular stops at one of our favourite places, Cheesecake Factory.

One of the stops we managed to make was at Dickey's Barbeque, which was fine. I believe Dickey's is a chain of BBQ restaurants in the US, but I'm not sure if it's made its way to Canada yet. It wasn't the best barbeque either of us had ever had, but filled the gap.

The strange thing about Dickey's is their obsession with their yellow cup. They really seemed keen that I not only get my soda in this yellow cup, but that I take the cup home. I'm presently using it as a cup to hold my paintbrushes, so I guess that's something.

We also managed to stop at 5 guys, which was a first for us. This is a weird one because this is a place that's actually fairly common in Canada, but we just never go. It's not that we have anything against the place, it's just that all of the 5 Guys locations near my house in Canada are in places where I have other restaurants that I love. If we're in those areas, it means we're going to those restaurants, and we never really try anything new.

That might change after this visit as the burgers and fries were pretty good. I also like the idea of getting peanuts before a meal.

We didn't just eat western food on this excursion, we also managed to sample a really famous and very tasty Pakistani restaurant. It was nice to go to a Pakistani restaurant since there really aren't that many around. Having lived in Pakistan for a few years it was some wonderful and familiar flavours.

While the food was great, the real highlight was the fact that they also sold custom Adidas... sort of. Apparently they may or may not be authentic, but I have my suspicions.

While we did eat a lot of foreign foods, we also managed to enjoy a few iftar dinners as well (since it was Ramadan). Iftar dinners are one of my favourite meals since they're often buffets and they also often have foods I've never tried before. The format allows for a great sampling of new and fun foods including amazing desserts.

You also can't go wrong when you start a meal with a delicious date.

The candy scene in the UAE hasn't changed much over the years. Plenty of over the top candy stores, lots of imports, but only a few treats that you could really call local. I can't say that I completely hate the fact that most of the treats in the UAE are imports as it's a great place to take a look at the popular treats from all over the world. It also lets you really see how exotic western treats actually are.

The candy and desserts you could call local are also always presented in a big way, with lots of pageantry. 

I do however admire their very modern candy machines found all over the place. Video screens make for a much flashier and fun place to buy snacks.

CC