36 hours in Dubai

Seth Sherwood| 2015 The New York Time

Dubai is impossible to ignore. As its leaders and property developers proudly trumpet, the city-state
along the Persian Gulf has the world's highest building (the Burj Khalifa), the world's tallest hotel (JW
Marriott Marquis Dubai), the world's largest artificial island (the Palm Jumeirah) and the world's
biggest mall (Dubai Mall). Lost in the bravado is the more impressive truth that this formerly sleepy
backwater of the United Arab Emirates has emerged as an ethnically diverse metropolis where the
world's populations mingle along a recently opened coastal corniche, on well-kept public beaches, in
modern subway and tram systems - the latter inaugurated last year - and within hundreds of ArabPersian-Indian-Pakistani-Filipino-French-Japanese-Chinese-British-American restaurants, both
humble and high-end. And now Dubai is finally developing an alternative, arty side, with a fast-rising
gallery district, ambitious indie fashion designers, a crop of cool organic cafes and world-class nightlife spots.

Photo courtesy: Celia

Peterson for The New York Times

Friday
5 pm
Straight to the Top
Visiting the Burj Khalifa - more than 160 stories soaring 2,716.5 feet in the air - is like catching an
airplane. You book your ticket online (125 to 200 dirhams, or $35 to $55 at 3.60 dirhams to the
dollar), print it at an electronic kiosk in Dubai Mall, wait in line, undergo a security check and enter a
tightly packed metal enclosure. Then, suddenly, liftoff, and the high-speed elevator deposits you on
the 124th-floor observation deck. Best viewed at night, the twinkling cityscape - pulsing highways,
soaring skyscrapers, desert sprawl - is a powerful introduction to Dubai's vertical ambitions and
outward push.
8 pm

A Colossus Called Rhodes

The evolution of British cuisine from global joke to global juggernaut owes much to Gary Rhodes sometime cooking-show personality, cookbook author and Michelin-starred chef - who opened the
much-anticipated Rhodes W1 last year. Within the white, soft-glowing, minimalist-cool interiors, a
friendly young staff (sometimes more eager than experienced) delivers modern takes on British
country classics, from Welsh rarebit to braised oxtail to offal meatballs in gravy. Especially
recommended are the mushy peas - which form the earthy bed for crispy oyster tempura - and slowroasted pork belly with winter vegetables, apple chunks in honey and green salad with pungent blue
cheese. A three-course dinner for two, without wine, costs about 600 dirhams.

Ph
oto courtesy: Celia Peterson for the New York Times

10:30 pm
Dubai's Got Talent
Musical decisions are tough. Do you want to hear fez-wearing, oud-strumming troubadours kicking
out classic Arabic dance tunes with an orchestra? An ace disco cover band channeling Donna
Summer? A portly crooner bellowing Italian opera and a singalong of "We Are the Champions"? All of
this and more, from reggae tributes to Egyptian crowd-pleasers, is served up live and loud in the
vast, velvety concert space known as MusicHall, on the famous Palm Jumeirah island. Numerous
acts perform short, spirited sets during the night, sending the well-dressed, all-ages crowds into a
tizzy. Book a bar seat or table in advance and quaff a glass or two of Chivas Regal Scotch (1,200
dirhams for the bottle) or a Spiced Pisang cocktail (spiced rum, aged rum, Pisang Ambon, Midori,
banana; 95 dirhams) on arrival.
Noon
Saturday
Bohemian Brunch

Warehouse-chic style arrives in Dubai courtesy of Tom & Serg, an Australian-Spanish pair whose
namesake restaurant fills a soaring, neo-industrial space with tall windows, exposed ducts and
hanging light bulbs. The menu is equally large and international, mixing brunch-style bites like
corned-beef eggs Benedict (49 dirhams) and breakfast burritos (59 dirhams) with lunchtime fare like
seared tuna with soba noodles (51 dirhams) and sea bass (69 dirhams) with Mideast-tinged sides
like tangy eggplant puree and rice pilaf with pistachios. Then visit the pastry counter to choose
among bread pudding, carrot cake and many other house-made desserts.
2 pm
Art Street
Like a Hollywood studio lot, each of the warehouses within nearby Alserkal Avenue - an enclosed
arts district housing over 20 galleries that is undergoing a major expansion - offers a window into a
fascinating universe. Salsali Private Museum, a sleek space outfitted with classic midcentury chairs
and a mini-cinema, shows mainly Iranian and Middle Eastern artists. Grey Noise, which has
exhibited at international fairs like Frieze and Art Basel, presents highly conceptual projects, while
the more accessible Gulf Photo Plus shows international photographic works. For inspiration, hit A4,
the district's dedicated cafe, lounge, library, cinema, fashion boutique and ideas incubator. A cafe
latte runs 20 dirhams.
5 pm
Stilettos and Smoothies
Megamalls? Meh. Ditch Dubai's oversized, overpopulated, overwhelming retail cathedrals and
instead stroll down Jumeirah Beach Road to seek out its small indie boutiques. Slip into the Closet,
part of a small new trend of Dubai consignment stores, for red leather Jimmy Choo stilettos (600
dirhams) and a funky floral Marc Jacobs scarf (200 dirhams) for a fraction of the retail cost. For
ethno-chic silvery teapots (315 dirhams), embroidered cushions (350 dirhams) and Taschen tomes,
French-owned Comptoir 102 serves it all up - along with fresh juices, smoothies, coffees and teas.
Sharing a villa, Bambah stocks the designer Maha Abdul Rasheed's haute couture - mainly
glamorous evening wear recalling Hollywood's golden age - while the Zoo Concept provides kitschcool accessories and novelties (a clear plastic clutch embossed with an Emirati flag, ladies?) chosen
by Rasheed's brother Hussein.

Photo
courtesy: Celia Peterson for the New York Times

8 pm
Mideast Feast
Get out your hyphens. Qbara fuses an innovative east-west, neo-traditional, Arabo-LevantinePersian-Ottoman mash-up menu in a bi-level, low-lit, Moorish-chic den of sultriness. Faster than a
flying carpet, the kitchen can transport you to Yerevan via Aleppo (a sweet-salty hybrid of air-dried
beef basterma with tangy peaches and halloumi cheese) and Marrakesh (a smoky synthesis of quail
in grilled grape leaves with Moroccan spices) followed by stops in Istanbul (gelatinous red-fruit
Turkish delight coated in a chocolate shell with rose-flavored ice cream) or Shiraz (Persian pear
sorbet). The fat wine book, with vintages extending from the States to Syria, includes a lovely, light,
dry, mineral rose from Chateau Massaya in Lebanon (65 dirhams per glass). Three-course dinner for
two, without drinks, is around 700 dirhams.

Photo courtesy: Celia Peterson for the New York Times

11 pm
Go With the Glow
The roofs are on fire in Dubai as top-floor, open-air bars sprout citywide. Everything glows atop the
recently opened Dubai branch of Pacha, the Ibiza-based megaclub. The lights glow red. The dome
with the trompe-l'oeil sky glows blue. The futuristic Meduse water pipes glow in multiple hues. And
the iconic sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel next door glows gargantuan white. You'll be glowing too
after a few Iberian Cherry Rose Martinis (mixed with vodka, tomato and rosemary; 75 dirhams). The
glimmer (and glamour) continues at 40 Kong, a 40-story vantage point over the city with an orangeglowing bar, white-glowing low tables and pillars of fire in wire cages. The Kong cocktail (bourbon,
vanilla liqueur, orgeat syrup, lime, mint, ginger beer; 90 dirhams) is king.
Sunday
10 am
Beef Blanket Bingo
Dubai's most abundant natural resource - sand - is free and prime for exploitation along the
emirate's expansive, well-maintained public beaches. Kite Beach, tucked behind Le Wazawan
restaurant on Jumeirah Beach Road, attracts global cool kids, young professionals and hipster
families with its golden sands, placid waters, volleyball areas, laid-back vibe and multiple food
kiosks. For lunch, follow the swimsuited bodies and smell of grilling Wagyu beef to SALT - the two
adjacent Airstream trailers enjoy a cult following for their miniburgers (two for 35 dirhams) topped
with melted cheese and jalapeno slices.

Photo
courtesy: Celia Peterson for the New York Times

Noon
Spices and Gold
Save a 1-dirham coin to cross Dubai Creek - actually a wide, powerful river - on one of the old
wooden abra boats departing from the embankment near the textile souk. You'll glide past Sinbadworthy old dhow ships before alighting in the Iranian-Indian-Pakistani working-class district of Deira.
Across the street, the bazaar called Souk El-Kabeer enfolds a warren of shops selling everything
from spices to water pipes to ironing boards. A few blocks away, the shop windows of the Gold Souk
gleam with buttery and brilliant rings, ropes, necklaces, pendants, brooches and other 24-karat
concoctions. Bling notwithstanding, the neighborhood retains a traditional, down-to-earth feel and
recalls the Dubai of yore, before the emirate's skyscrapers, seven-star hotels and world-domination
schemes.
Where to stay
Amid the historic quarter's galleries and shops, Orient Guest House (Al Fahidi Historical District,
orientguesthouse.com) occupies an Old World courtyard house with 11 rooms of traditional Arabian
furniture and fabrics. From 300 dirhams. Opened in 2014 on Palm Jumeirah island, the 319-room
Waldorf-Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah (Crescent East; Plot C-34; ar.hilton.com/en) is a palatial
spread. Doubles from 920 dirhams (summer low season) or 1,525 (high season).