Peggy Kandemir, 40 and Susan Sell, 42 from Germany usually visit the food trucks after their daily jog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Peggy Kandemir, 40 and Susan Sell, 42 from Germany usually visit the food trucks after their daily jog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Peggy Kandemir, 40 and Susan Sell, 42 from Germany usually visit the food trucks after their daily jog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Peggy Kandemir, 40 and Susan Sell, 42 from Germany usually visit the food trucks after their daily jog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

A Ramadan night: food trucks bring life to Khalifa City park


  • English
  • Arabic

As dusk falls and the end of the fast draws near, the lights begin to flicker and the shutters rise on a group of nearly 30 caravans on a patch of dusty ground on the edge of Khalifa City.

This is Khalifa City Truck Park, an informal gathering of food trucks that have brought the neighbourhood to life becoming a place to unwind with friends or for families living nearby in Al Raha Gardens to visit.

Almost the first thing visitors smell on arrival is karak steaming from a black and yellow trailer with two finjans, the small delicate cups without handles that hold Arabic coffee, painted on the truck’s body.

Al Mobaraz Café is the newest truck on the block, having joined the congregation two months ago. Decorated with vintage mosaic bowls that hang from the ordering window, the truck is the only one in the area that serves traditional Emirati snacks.

By the end of 2014, a single truck set up shop outside Raha International School. Since then the park has grown to become one of the most popular destinations in Khalifa City, offering dishes from all over the world.

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Read more:

Meet the cooks that make 3,000 litres of porridge a day for fasting Muslims in Dubai

What it takes to put together a successful large-scale iftar

Midnight in Ramadan: The coals burn late into the night in Khalidiya's Family Park

Mobile businesses are on the rise: some ideas you can start today

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The first arrival, still preparing food, was 21 Emirati Café. A patch of fake grass greets its visitors as they approach its aluminium tinted glass window to make their orders.

The orange truck, which resembles a small house, is famous for making healthy burgers by steaming the meat rather than frying or flame-broiling it.

Its signature dish is the camel burger served with only organic vegetables and grilled potatoes.

“We explored different areas before we realized that Khalifa City was the one in need most of food outlets. The location of the truck on the road leading to the airport and its presence on a main internal road catalysed its success,” said managing director, Khalid Al Hajeri.

However, the lack of washrooms and a simple dining area limit the customers’ dining experience, he said.

“Simple services would help us all out. I hope the government works on improving the area surrounding the food truck park to make it more hospitable,” said Al Hajeri.

The peak period for sales begins in January with an improvement in the country’s weather but Ramadan has slowed business considerably as families prefer to gather at home.

“In Ramadan, we don’t have as many customers as we do before it,” said Angelica Sarmiento, 21 Emirati Café’s sandwich maker.

One of the mobile eateries at Khalifa City Truck Park. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
One of the mobile eateries at Khalifa City Truck Park. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

MOW, a matte black food truck, share’s their struggles. It has been part of the park for the past six months serving a mixture of American and Italian cuisine.

The park is more subdued during iftar as people rest at home, congregate at home or in Ramadan tents.

“Before Ramadan we used to earn above Dh1,500 per day and now we are lucky if we get Dh600,” said chef Joel Carrillo.

Customers pass between trucks, chatting over the sound of a low hum coming from generators - the trucks’ sole source of energy.

Strings of vintage light bulbs flicker around the ordering window for the Healthy Way truck which serves a wide variety of healthy alternatives to high calorie meals found in other trucks.

Though the Ramadan shift ends at 2am, cooks said they prefer working in food trucks rather than in industrial kitchens.

“It’s less work here for me, it’s not too busy and we prepare the food on the spot or else it gets spoiled,” said chef and barrista Felipe Julio.

The caravans’ relaxed atmosphere is what lured Franklin Mbema, supervisor of Caffeino, to work at the truck.

“I left my job at a four-star restaurant to be here because it’s a lot less stressful even though work timings can be unpredictable. We can be asked to move the trailer at any time to attend an event,” he said.

During Ramadan, midnight is busier than midday in the caravan’s kitchen.

Customers seeking their nightly dose of caffeine begin to trickle into the park by 8pm and the crowd grows in the hours leading up to 1am.

Observing at the scene was a father gently rocking his one-year-old daughter as he waited for his order from Meals Way.

“My wife goes jogging and I meet her here with our daughter. We live in Khalifa city so when we can’t be bothered to cook, we come here,” said Christopher Dysart.

Christopher Dysart, from Scotland, with his daughter Shae usually visit the food trucks to pick up something quick. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Christopher Dysart, from Scotland, with his daughter Shae usually visit the food trucks to pick up something quick. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

“When it started out, there were only one or two trucks off the roundabout, but now it has changed a lot. There are maybe 20 food trucks and I can see it growing even more,” he said.

At 8pm, two women power-walked towards the Caffeino truck, enjoying the cool of the evening after their run.

“We come here every night during Ramadan after we exercise for a cup of iced coffee,” said Susan Sell, 42.

Her friend, Peggy Kandemir, 40, pointed at the trailer with a wide smile on her face. “If we go there and they see us they will take the chair and the table and set it up in front of the truck,” she said.

The specs: 2018 Maxus T60

Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000

Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder

Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm

Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

FIXTURES

Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)

Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Persuasion
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma

When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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)
MATCH INFO

Manchester City 0

Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh359,000

On sale: now 

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The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now