Jake’s sells bagel burgers in Dubai. The Food Truck – the company behind the mobile outlet – has plans to launch several more over the coming months. Satish Kumar / The National
Jake’s sells bagel burgers in Dubai. The Food Truck – the company behind the mobile outlet – has plans to launch several more over the coming months. Satish Kumar / The National

First free-to-roam food trucks hit the UAE



Get ready Dubai: the food trucks are on their way and they are going to be on the move.

Although its vehicles paid visits to Kite Beach last week and the Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show over the weekend, The Food Truck company officially launches today, sending its first customised vehicle, Jake’s by The Food Truck, out on the road to serve up three kinds of gourmet bagel burgers. The second truck is due to launch in two months, with a Latin-American theme, followed by an ice cream truck early next year. One serving Italian food and another sandwiches, bagels and coffee are also in the works. Asian fusion is also a possibility.

The investor behind the company wishes to remain anony­mous, and only an unnamed representative was authorised to give The National a first sneak peek at what they have planned.

“It’s fine dining on a truck. I don’t want to sound clichéd, but it is that quality.”

Every day, 2.5 billion people worldwide eat some version of street food, but the food trucks that have been so popular in the West have been surprisingly absent from the streets of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

What sets The Food Truck company apart is that it's the first food truck concept in the UAE that's been given a license to roam. That means it can serve bagel burgers on Kite Beach in the morning and dish up burgers across the city in the afternoon. Half the fun for fans of street food – a phenomenon seen in the 2014 foodie film Chef – will be tracking the trucks to find out where they are each day. The Food Truck already has a tracking app under ­development.

There are other food trucks in the Emirates. One in Dubai, called Salt, sells burgers out of a truck on Kite Beach. There’s also Ghaf Kitchen, which pops up at concerts, parties and other special events; and Meylas Emirati Food Truck debuted at Abu Dhabi Art earlier this month, giving people a taste of local cuisine.

These food trucks each have a strong following, but they only have event licenses, which means they serve at a specific location for a set amount of time and aren’t able to change locations frequently.

Despite having the freedom to choose their location, the investors behind The Food Truck know the food has to be good to succeed. To keep the food high-quality and the service fast is the aim, and the representative says: “The concept of a food truck is to limit your menu. If you have an extensive menu, you’ve lost the concept of a food truck. It is about being very specific. You’re celebrating a flavour of a region.”

The investor’s representative is adamant about making sure the food is something customers will come back for. He says: “You’ll be able to see us in various locations. That’s the beauty of The Food Truck. We can be anywhere, but our focus is on the food we serve. We are proud of the food we serve.”

Until the tracking app is up and running, you can find the location of Jake’s by The Food Truck each day on its Instagram account, @thefoodtruckdubai.

sjohnson@thenational.ae

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

The biog

Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah

Date of birth: 15 November, 1951

Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”

Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Napoleon
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Other workplace saving schemes
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  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
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Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
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The Bio

Name: Lynn Davison

Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi

Children: She has one son, Casey, 28

Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK

Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite Author: CJ Sansom

Favourite holiday destination: Bali

Favourite food: A Sunday roast

RACE CARD

5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Gully Boy

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi​​​​​​​
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Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals

2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis

2004 Beat Andy Roddick

2005 Beat Andy Roddick

2006 Beat Rafael Nadal

2007 Beat Rafael Nadal

2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal

2009 Beat Andy Roddick

2012 Beat Andy Murray

2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic

2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic

2017 Beat Marin Cilic

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

The Bio

Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”

Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”

Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”

Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”