THERE ARE OVER 200 nationalities in Dubai, many of whom call the city ‘home’, but perhaps quite a few see it as a temporary secondment – a supremely comfortable place to spend time before returning to your native land. Two predominant issues often arise with such a transient population. The first is the reluctance to put down roots resulting in the occasional sensation that you don’t belong, and the second is a failure to embrace local customs, preferring instead to stick to what you know within your own culturally-similar social circle. This National Day weekend is the perfect opportunity to address these matters by going more local and we think you can accomplish it all in one place, Bait Maryam.
A Levantine home-style, family-run kitchen, Bait Maryam in Cluster D, Jumeirah Lakes Towers is everyone’s grandma’s house. By that we mean, it doesn’t matter from where you hail; the décor, the welcome and the soulful recipes cooked with love and affection will resonate and remind you of home. Remember those blue or pink and white plates with pictures and scenes etched into the china? The restaurant has them. Can you recall being so full after dishes upon dishes of steaming hot food that you weren’t able to move for at least half an hour? That’s going to happen. Inside the dining room, made up to look like a living room with plush chairs and curtains from old Palestine, there is even an ancient sewing machine belonging to the head chef’s mother. The cook, herself a Jordanian-Palestinian, uses her mother’s recipes to create authentic tastes from all over the Middle East.
Sitting down on the outside terrace, overlooking one of the lakes upon which Jumeirah Towers stand we were presented with the first in a procession of meals. Creamy hummus, freshly baked bread, Maryam’s salad consisting of beetroot and leaves and stuffed mini vine leaves magically appeared. These were closely followed by kibbeh in a sweet pomegranate sauce, lamb covered in yoghurt topped with pine nuts and a couple of meat kebabs with thick French fries. These were just the tip of the iceberg too! The table was creaking. Top marks have to go to the yoghurt-covered lamb, which, with the tenderness of the meat combined with the sourness of the dairy undercut by a dusting of sweet spices and nuts, made for a sensational concoction. Likewise for the kibbeh, which were expertly fried so as not to be too greasy and slathered in tart molasses.
For dessert, a Levant-style (as opposed to Turkish) kunefe, which is a lot smoother than its Anatolian contemporary and goes down just as well with a cup of Turkish coffee. Overall we couldn’t fault a single element of the big warm hug that was our visit to Bait Maryam.
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