A Peking duck connoisseur I am not. I cannot claim to have tasted the original in China, nor have I patrolled every Chinese restaurant in Dubai to sample the noble dish whose origins can be traced back to seven centuries ago, in the city that we know today as Beijing. But, of all the times I have tried Peking duck in Dubai, my favourite has been the one at China Sea.
China Sea’s Peking Duck emerged suited up in a deep chocolate-brown coat that crackled like a sparkling firecracker on the verge of explosion. Its juicy flesh made it clear that the Peking ducks I’d encountered previously in the city were quacks. The dry, chewy shreds of meat that had been inflicted on me before were the signs of low-grade duck, a shoddy cooking process, or a clumsy carving. Thankfully, China Sea would have none of that.
After the first few mouthfuls of crisp-skinned, glossy duck meat sans accoutrements, I slowed down to adhere to tradition. I dabbed thick hoisin sauce over my choice cuts and cradled them in thin wheat-flour pancakes alongside slivers of fresh cucumber and spring onion. It made me feel like a Chinese empress.
But the clincher of this royal meal was not just the meat, but the bones. China Sea reserved the duck bones, and presented them as a crunchy side dish with tiny pockets of duck meat still clinging to the charred brown crevices. In such times, you had best forget civility, and lick and crunch on the bones to appreciate the flavour that seeps into every part of the bird.
I hope to sneak into the kitchens of the restaurant someday and watch the cooking process. But until then, I’ll always look back at the dish that waddled to my table at China Sea as the first Peking duck that made me quack with glee.
China Sea, Al Maktoum Street, Deira, 04 295 9816
Arva Ahmed blogs about hidden food gems in Old Dubai at www.ILiveinaFryingPan.com
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
