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:
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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.
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.
“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)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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