Dubai chocolate with pistachio kunafa now available in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi residents with a sweet tooth now have direct access to the chocolate bar made in Dubai that has gone viral.

Fix Dessert Chocolatier, founded by British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, creates chocolate bars with a Middle Eastern twist. One of its most popular products is the kunafa-filled chocolate named Can’t Get Knafeh of It. The chunky bar is made of shredded filo pastry and pistachio cream encased in milk chocolate, and it is hugely popular on social media. Other flavours include baklava, karak and Lotus Biscoff.

One TikTok video showing the kunafa-inspired chocolate bar has been viewed more than 90 million times, with many foodies and content creators from around the world uploading videos of themselves sampling it.

Fix Dessert Chocolatier has no physical store, website, social media sales or authorised resellers, but has been trying to expand its capacity. Its chocolate bars are exclusively sold on Deliveroo for Dh68.25 at two designated time slots, 2pm and 5pm.

At the peak of its social media success in Dubai, the company was reportedly fulfilling 100 orders per minute. “Our commitment has always been to expand our reach and Abu Dhabi was always our next stop,” says Hammouda.

Supermarket spin-offs

A spin-off of the Dubai kunafa chocolate available on Amazon. Photo: Casa Pons

The popularity of the chocolate has spawned many spin-offs, including a limited-edition bar by chocolatier Lindt called Dubai Chocolate, available in parts of Europe.

Closer to home, versions of pistachio-filled chocolate have appeared in many shops and online retailers. At Carrefour, for example, the 100g Choco Zen Pistachio Kunafa Chocolate Bar costs Dh25.75, while the Lucca Pistachio Kunafa Chocolate retails at Lulu for Dh17 for a 135g bar. Just Fresh restaurant offers a Pistacho Kunafa Bar for Dh45 via Talabat, and dessert shop Casa Pons’ version retails for Dh78 on Amazon for “an extra-large size”.

The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.

Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer