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60 stories for“restaurants”

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The Red Sea Crisis Is Squeezing Gulf Restaurant Margins

Shipping disruption is pushing up the cost of imported produce and packaging, and Gulf restaurateurs are running out of room to absorb it quietly.

Apr 9, 2024

The Gulf's Restaurant Scene Is Reinventing Itself in 2026

After two years of shocks, Gulf dining is rebuilding around homegrown brands and confident local concepts rather than imported franchise names.

May 19, 2026

A Beijing Studio Put a Restaurant Inside a Live Highway Underpass and Left Half of It to the Public

MARS Studio split the space beneath a working road bridge in Tongzhou with a wall of mirrored glass. One side is a 108 square metre dining room. The other stays an open corridor for anyone walking or cycling through.

Aug 29, 2026

Beirut and Lebanon's Vegan and Plant-Forward Tables

Centuries of fasting cuisine gave Lebanon a plant-based head start. Here is where that history shows up on menus across Beirut today.

Mar 5, 2026

Where to Eat Plant-Based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

A Michelin-starred vegetarian tasting menu, a food court burger stand, and the cafes in between: plant-based dining across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Aug 14, 2025

Qatar's Plant-Based Dining Scene: Where to Eat Vegan in Doha

From a museum-attached vegan kitchen to a Pearl Qatar juice bar chain, Doha's plant-based restaurants are small in number but sharp in ambition.

Dec 18, 2025

Where to Actually Eat Emirati Food in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The cuisine of the country is the hardest one to find in it. A practical guide to the kinds of places that serve it properly, what to order first, and when the calendar does the work for you.

Aug 10, 2026

Plant-Based Dining Across the Smaller Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman

A vegan bakery in Janabiyah, a Four Seasons tasting menu backed by a Saudi prince, and Muscat's coconut-bowl breakfast spot: the region's quieter vegan scene.

May 27, 2026

Where to Eat Vegan in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh and Jeddah

Cold-pressed juice bars, Armenian-Lebanese plant plates, and a vegan bakery in Ar Rawdah: how Riyadh and Jeddah are building a real vegan dining map.

Oct 2, 2025

Why Smash Burgers Took Over Dubai's Menus

Thin, crispy-edged patties have muscled aside gourmet stacks across Dubai and the wider Gulf, and the reasons go well beyond taste alone this time.

Oct 5, 2024

Why Gulf Diners Are Eating Differently This Year

Boycotts, tighter budgets and a longer war are reshaping where GCC consumers eat, and Western fast food chains are the ones feeling it hardest.

Sep 10, 2024

Traditional Emirati Food: What It Is, and Why You Rarely See It

A cuisine built by pearl divers, date farmers and traders across the Indian Ocean. The spicing came by dhow, the technique came from scarcity, and almost none of it is served in restaurants.

Aug 10, 2026

Food Photography: Tips and Tricks For Creating Mouthwatering Images

Photographing food has taken the world by storm. With innovative social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, food photography has become a form of art. People love to click pictures of their meals before eating, whether at restaurants or at home. However, clicking a perfect and professional food picture is not easy. It requires some

May 18, 2023

Chicken Shawarma: Oven-Roasted Spiced Chicken at Home

Without the rotating spit, home cooks still achieve restaurant-quality shawarma through high-heat roasting and a broil finish. Marinated, caramelized, and sliceable, it's worthy of your best pita.

Apr 20, 2025

Lebanese Hummus Proper Technique: Silky and Transformative

The secret to restaurant-quality hummus at home: skinned chickpeas, proper tahini blending, and understanding how warmth transforms texture into pure silk.

Nov 22, 2023

The Case for Travelling in the Weeks Nobody Else Books

Shoulder season is cheaper, emptier and usually better weather than the peak it sits beside. It also has failure modes, and knowing which ones apply is the difference between a bargain and a wasted trip.

Aug 8, 2026

Birria Went From Tijuana Side Streets to Every Menu in America

The rich, red stewed meat that started as a Tijuana taco filling now shows up in ramen, quesadillas, and fast food chains coast to coast nationwide.

Sep 30, 2024

Chicken Tikka Masala: British-Indian Comfort Classic

The beloved fusion dish born in Glasgow kitchens. Tender marinated chicken in a creamy tomato-spiced sauce that became Britain's favorite curry.

Nov 14, 2023

Korean Bibimbap: Mixed Rice Bowl Perfected

A Korean rice bowl: steamed rice topped with seasoned vegetables, beef, and a fried egg, finished with gochujang and the act of thorough mixing.

Jan 3, 2025

The Same Beans, Four Countries, Four Different Breakfasts

Egyptian ful is crushed, oily and cumin-heavy. Lebanese ful keeps chickpeas in it and more lemon. Sudanese ful arrives under cheese. The bean is the same and almost nothing else is.

Aug 15, 2026

Where Shakshuka Actually Comes From

Tunisia has the strongest claim, the name means roughly a mixture, and no version of the dish can be older than the sixteenth century. The argument about who owns it is really about something else.

Aug 14, 2026

Saudi Women Are Expanding the Meaning of Economic Transformation

Women’s growing participation is reshaping workplaces, entrepreneurship and the range of role models visible to the next Saudi generation.

Jul 28, 2026

After 123 Million Visits, Saudi Tourism Is Building Its Next Chapter

Saudi Arabia passed its original tourism ambition early; the more interesting future now lies in richer regional journeys, local businesses and repeat visitors.

Jul 28, 2026

How the Red Sea Crisis Is Reshaping Gulf Supply Chains

Houthi attacks on shipping have rerouted global trade around Africa, and Gulf importers are absorbing the fallout in freight rates and delivery times.

Feb 5, 2024

Dubai's Visitor Rewards Bet Turns Residents Into Tourism Ambassadors

A new incentive campaign asks Dubai residents to bring friends and family to the city, revealing how destinations compete when regional uncertainty weighs on travel.

Jul 24, 2026

Oman's New Air Links Are Turning Tourism Strategy Into Real Journeys

Direct routes to Singapore, Sochi and Medan give Oman a practical way to diversify visitors while spreading tourism value beyond familiar markets.

Jul 29, 2026

Qatar's Summer Tourism Bet Is Bigger Than Escaping the Heat

Hala Summer, new rewards and a packed events calendar show how Qatar is turning an indoor-friendly season into a broader tourism proposition.

Jul 31, 2026

Slow Travel and the Death of the Checklist Trip

The seven-cities-in-nine-days itinerary is losing its grip. More travelers are choosing one place, more time, and fewer photographs to prove it.

May 14, 2024

The City Fills Back Up, and Nobody Warns You It Will Be Loud

For ten weeks the Gulf empties. In the last fortnight of August it refills, all at once, and the version of the city you got used to disappears in about four days.

Aug 16, 2026

Creamy Cashew Alfredo Pasta: A Dairy-Free Classic

Rich, silky cashew cream transforms simple pasta into an elegant Italian-inspired dinner. No dairy, no compromise on flavor or texture.

Oct 5, 2023

Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili: Hearty, One-Pot

A warming chili where sweet potato and black beans do all the work. Spiced simply, it feeds a crowd and freezes beautifully.

Apr 20, 2025

The Perfect Hot Chocolate: Rich, Spicy, and Unapologetically Comforting

Discover how to make rich, spicy hot chocolate with cocoa, milk, chili, and salt. A cozy, flavorful recipe with calories, nutrients, and benefits.

Jan 28, 2026

Crispy Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce: Golden, Crunchy

Cornstarch-coated tofu emerges golden from the oven, ready to be dressed in silky peanut sauce. No deep-frying, all crispness.

Jul 22, 2024

Authentic Cacio e Pepe: Creamy Roman Pasta

Master the technique behind Rome's most elegant pasta: just spaghetti, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper emulsified into silky perfection. No cream needed.

Sep 5, 2023

Saudi Arabia's Tourism Megaprojects: What Is Actually Open

Billions have been promised across the Red Sea coast and Diriyah. Here is what travelers can actually book right now versus what remains a rendering.

Mar 9, 2025

Batata Harra Lebanese Spiced Potatoes: Crispy and Aromatic

Golden-fried potato cubes tossed with garlic, cilantro, and warm spices in this beloved Lebanese street food and mezze staple.

Mar 8, 2024

Fattoush Lebanese Salad: Fresh Vegetables and Crispy Pita

This iconic Lebanese salad transforms leftover pita bread into crispy shards that crown bright vegetables and tangy sumac dressing.

May 17, 2024

Fish Mansaf: How Aqaba Rewrote Jordan's National Dish

Jordan's coastline is 26 kilometres long, and it produced its own version of the country's lamb dish. The jameed stays. The animal changes entirely.

Jul 31, 2026

The Oldest Written Hummus Recipe Is Egyptian, From a Cookbook Roughly Seven Hundred Years Old

It contains four things and one of them is not optional. The supermarket version usually gets the ratio wrong, the ownership argument is genuinely political, and the earliest written record does not point where most people expect.

Aug 21, 2026

Food Allergy Treatment Exists Now. It Is Not a Cure.

Oral immunotherapy raises the dose a patient can tolerate before a reaction starts. That protects against accidents, which is not the same as being able to eat the food.

Jul 29, 2026

The Fastest Growing Thing in Nightlife Is a Room Where Your Phone Is Locked Away

Phone-free events have grown by 567 per cent globally since 2024 and by 913 per cent in the United States. The interesting part is not the abstinence. It is that people are paying for enforcement.

Aug 17, 2026

Mandi, Kabsa and Machboos Are Not the Same Dish, and the Difference Is Mostly the Oven

One is cooked in a pit with the meat hanging above the rice. One is built on a tomato and spice base. One is the same dish under a different name across four countries. The word mandi comes from the Arabic for dew.

Aug 21, 2026

Palestinian Food: A Guide to the Dishes, Regions and Rules

Not a single cuisine but several, split between coast, hills and desert. What defines it, which dishes matter, and why so much of it is built on olive oil, wheat and the seasons.

Aug 9, 2026

Tahini Is One Ingredient, and the Jar in Your Cupboard Is Probably the Wrong One

Ground sesame, nothing else. Whether it is hulled or unhulled changes the taste completely, the bitterness people complain about is usually a sign of the cheap kind, and the trick that stops it seizing is counterintuitive.

Aug 21, 2026

Histamine Intolerance: Popular Online, Thin on Evidence

It has become one of the most searched explanations for unexplained symptoms. The mechanism is plausible, the tests being sold are not validated, and the diet is more restrictive than almost any other.

Aug 7, 2026

Sheer Dressing Is Back and the Argument Came With It

Illusion gowns and transparent couture are dominating red carpets again, and the online reaction is as reliable as the trend. Both are doing exactly what they are designed to do.

Aug 6, 2026

Falafel Was Almost Certainly Egyptian, Made With Fava Beans, and the Chickpea Came Later

The version most of the world eats is the Levantine one, and it is a revision. Egypt still makes it the older way, with fava beans, under a different name. The argument about who owns it is genuinely political.

Aug 21, 2026

Shish Tawook vs Shawarma: They Are Not the Same Chicken

Both are marinated chicken, both arrive in flatbread with garlic sauce, and they are made by completely different methods. The difference is the heat, and it changes everything.

Aug 14, 2026

How consumers plan to spend differently in 2026

Growing wealth inequality is reshaping consumer behavior. Experiences over goods, values over discounts, and AI shopping tools mark 2026's divide.

May 20, 2025

Mediterranean Diet Keeps Winning: What Research Says

The Mediterranean diet isn't trendy, it's proven. New 2025 research shows it cuts diabetes risk by a third when combined with lifestyle changes.

Feb 10, 2025

Shawarma, Gyro, Doner and Al Pastor Are the Same Machine in Four Languages

Three of those words literally mean turning. The fourth means shepherd, and it exists because a hundred thousand Lebanese migrants arrived in Mexico and their children swapped the lamb for pork and added pineapple.

Aug 21, 2026

Kibbeh Bil Sanieh Baked Lebanese Kibbeh: Two Layers of Flavor

Layered bulgur and meat with a savory spiced filling, baked until golden. This show-stopping Lebanese dish is easier than it looks.

Jul 25, 2024

The Quiet Disappearance of Places to Sit Without Buying Something

Home is first, work is second, and the third place is everywhere else you can exist without a transaction. In fast-built cities that category has been squeezed hardest, and people feel it before they can name it.

Aug 8, 2026

Shawarma Is Not an Arabic Word, and the Dish Is Younger Than Almost Everyone Assumes

The name is a loanword from Turkish, the technique is a nineteenth century invention, and the man usually credited with it was a butcher in Bursa who turned the spit on its end. Here is where shawarma actually comes from.

Aug 21, 2026

Chicken Kabsa: The Weeknight Version of Saudi Arabia's National Dish

Lamb kabsa takes an afternoon. Chicken kabsa takes about an hour and follows the same logic: build the broth, cook the rice in it, and grill the chicken at the end for colour.

Aug 14, 2026

Salt and Blood Pressure: The Evidence, and the Gulf's Convenience-Food Problem

WHO sets a 5 gram salt ceiling; the Gulf's average intake runs far above it, driven largely by bread and processed food.

Jan 16, 2025

Smart Glasses Have a Style Problem Called Surveillance

AI eyewear is becoming more capable and less conspicuous, but a celebrity revolt and fresh privacy fixes show that bystanders still get a vote on adoption.

Jul 22, 2026

Shakshuka: Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato Sauce

This Middle Eastern and North African classic transforms tomatoes, spices, and eggs into something elegant enough for company but easy enough for any night. Serve it straight from the pan with crusty bread.

Jan 10, 2024

Gulf Tourism Holds Its Nerve Through a Turbulent 2024

While war rattles the wider region, Dubai and Saudi Arabia are still posting visitor growth, and the numbers say the Gulf is winning the confidence contest.

Aug 14, 2024

Ful Medames: Breakfast That Has Outlasted Every Empire in Egypt

Fava beans simmered until they collapse, crushed with garlic, lemon and olive oil, eaten out of a bowl with bread. Older than the pyramids by some accounts, and still what Cairo eats at dawn.

Aug 14, 2026