RAS AL KHAIMAH // At first glance, the teashop seems abandoned and forgotten like the faded coral buildings that surround it.
Cava Zabia Teahouse sits at the edge of a seaside ghost town, a secret abode of grease and tranquillity hidden behind heavy wooden doors, askew and bleached grey by salty sea air and sun.
The Emirati mariners who once frequented this seaside cafe left long ago, yet Cava Zabia has stayed afloat with the business of Indian fisherman who have replaced them at sea.
Cares and worries are forgotten at Zabia's waterfront patio, where the only fury is the pop and sizzle of Mohammed's chillies in the frying pan.
Diners are sheltered from the elements by barasti ceilings and walls of plywood, palm and twine, while coconut trees, pink oleander blossoms and frangipani trees frame a view of ships at port.
"I have seen the whole UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi …" said Javed Samsakum, 26, a driver from Bangladesh. "Every place has its beauty and there are a lot of places that have paratha sandwiches, but this one is pretty good."
Rush hour starts at 6am as port workers and labourers grab the cafe's classic paratha breakfast meal to load energy for the day ahead.
A breakfast for two includes a paratha sandwich, cardamom tea and water for just Dh5.50. A fish and lentil dinner runs to Dh25 if you are trying your best to spend. For the best deal, bring your own fish and Mohammed will fry it up with chillies and turmeric for Dh5 to Dh10.
Hints of the cafe's past are found in a room near the kitchen, where cobwebbed photos show men from the old village of Jazirat Al Hamra. Life preservers and palm mats lie forgotten under a heavy coating of dust.
Only one patron remembers those times.
Matar Humaid, an Emirati fisherman, stops here every day for coffee and a cigarette.
His hands are leathered from 12 years as a labourer in Kuwait and a life spent at sea.
"All the men who used to come here, they've all died," Mr Humaid said. "British people come here now and then, you know, from London. My son has been there for work."
"But you know, in London, Dubai, RAK and all around the port, the stomach is always the best bank."
The teahouse has aged with the village.
When Emiratis left Jazirat Al Hamra for Abu Dhabi and industry moved into the area, Zabia abandoned its post as a shisha cafe where old men would come to sip clay gaidu pipes and transformed into a cheap draw for port workers and fishermen from south India in plaid lungi sarongs.
Baban Shuto Rongon, 50, spends more hours at the cafe than he does at sea. The fisherman has come here every day since his sponsor died two years ago.
He now works for his sponsor's son, but the son has little chance to go to sea and so Mr Rongon spends most days on shore."The boss went every day, a few times a day," said Mr Rongon.
"The son stays in the house and works in an office. He doesn't have time for the sea."
Mr Rongon divides his time between Cava Zabia and a tattered couch outside his accommodation that overlooks the water.
He lives 20 metres from Zabia where he meets his son, who lives 250 metres in the opposite direction, in a house owned by another sponsor.
It is a relationship that is envied by Mohammed the cook.
"I have no wife, I have no money," he said. Mohammed arrived 30 years ago when the cafe was known for its shisha. "Before, lots of Emiratis came, you know?"
Now in his fifties, he finds solace in toasting paratha sandwiches, but can cook up a breakfast of dal or a lunch of fried fish on request.
"You come, I'll make it."
Where to find it: To get to Cava Zabia from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, take a left at the E311 traffic circle as you enter Ras al Khaimah. Continue for about 5.5km and turn right after the Jazirat Al Hamra strip mall. Turn right opposite Al Jazeera Culture and Sports Club and then take the first left. Cava Zabia will be on your right.
Next week, get a taste of Mumbai at an Oud Metha restaurant
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