Market Day kicks off at Etisalat Beach Canteen during Dubai Food Festival

Market Day, one of the main attractions of the Etisalat Beach Canteen, the central hub of Dubai Food Festival 2016, will kick off at 12noon today (Tuesday, 8 March) with a ‘Fashionistas on the Beach’ event that will allow families  the opportunity to buy beach clothing and accessories from independent fashion vendors.  

Market Day will run for five days at Etisalat Beach Canteen, which is located at the Kite Beach, with each day focussed on a different  offering such as home-grown fashion, craftsmanship and locally sourced fresh produce. 

The lineup of activities today (Tuesday, 8 March) includes NOIR blind dining, a ticketed dinner event worth AED80 person, that will take place at 8:00pm, and where people will be blindfolded and encouraged to try dishes from selected vendors. Should they guess the dish correctly and which food vendors prepared the dish, they stand to win prizes from Häagen-Dazs, one of the Event Sponsors of Etisalat Beach Canteen.  Other activities scheduled for today (Tuesday, 8 March)  at Etisalat Beach Canteen include the popular Pancake Party by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, morning yoga with the Hot Box Kit and an afterschool storytelling session by BookMunch Café and Bookshop. 

Meanwhile, the Etisalat Beach Canteen has entered its final week of celebrating taste with Dubai’s home-grown food vendors giving new meaning to the concept of healthy food. People visiting Etisalat Beach Canteen have not only enjoyed the atmosphere, but have been amazed with the variety of food flavours that were inspired from different cultures. 

Karak House, which opened in late 2014, has generated a heavy footfall since the Etisalat Beach Canteen opened on 25 February, because of its unique take on Arabic and Indian fusion food.  Located on the top tier of the Etisalat Beach Canteen arena and overlooking the sea, Karak House has successfully brought the Middle East flavour to the people through their famous saffron infused karak tea, Nutella chebab pancake, lamb keema paratha.  For those who grew up in Dubai and around the Middle East, Karak House has become an aromatic reminder of a great childhood spent in this city.  

SugarMoo, a food vendor promoting sweet with a twist, has been fully operational since 2015.  They have added a lot of sweetness to the lives of the people who have been visiting their pop-up outlet at the Etisalat Beach Canteen. Their most popular dishes during Etisalat Beach Canteen have been the luscious red velvet cake, the decadent Chocoloco cake and Nutella brownies.   

The Shebi, another home-grown food vendor who opened in Dubai late last year, has focussed on bringing the best of Indian and Lebanese street food under one roof. The owners have infused their love for family recipes into each dish while incorporating the beauty of both cultures. Their food boasts of a splatter of Indian and Lebanese spices and this is evident in their best-seller, the ‘pulled’ beef sandwich. During the Etisalat Beach Canteen, The Shebi have also been promoting healthy living with their Acai Berry Amazon super fruit salad filled iron, anti-oxidants and vitamins. 

Shawarma Station, whuch started around three years ago,  has taken inspiration from the Middle East, Turkish and Lebanese cuisines, to create unique products such as the potato bun shawarma burger – a shawarma that uses a huge bun instead of Arabic bread.  People visiting the Etisalat Beach Canteen went for the popular Saj Bites filled with marinated chicken slices.

The Etisalat Beach Canteen at Kite Beach is open from 12pm – 10pm on weekdays and from 10am – 10pm during the weekends, and will run throughout the third edition of Dubai Food Festival, which is organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).  DFF 2016 runs until 12 March under the theme ‘Celebrate Taste’.