I feel that we should get something clear from the start: this is not a hate column against vegans. I am one. Not sure I'd refer to myself as a proud one — it's just a lifestyle choice I have made — but it's the way I live my life all the same.
So if you've clicked in to read some anti plant-based-diet spiel — because, let's face it, that's half the reason most people read stories about vegans — then you've come to the wrong place.
It is, however, a column against vegan meat.
Don't get me wrong, I eat the stuff. I even like the stuff, sometimes. But it's been exponentially infiltrating the UAE restaurant market over the past few years to a point that it's almost all anyone wants to offer us any more.
At first it was the Beyond Burger, adopted by a few burger joints and cafes here and there, but then the meat-free brand Impossible came in and everyone jumped on the bandwagon.
Impossible shawarmas, Impossible tacos, Impossible quesadillas, Impossible burgers.
The thing is, I don't believe the Impossible meats were really made with vegans in mind. They're more for people considering dabbling in a few more meat-free meals every now and then, or perhaps those starting their journey to a plant-based diet.
It's like the Impossible "vegan" burger at Burger King, which is cooked on the same grill as the meat. It's just not for us.
For me, the beef patties remind me too much of meat, and for someone who hasn't eaten red meat in more than a decade, it's simply too much and I spend the rest of the day trying to digest it. I'm sure many of my fellow vegans would agree — give us a vegetable-based patty any day. (To be fair, I do know plenty who wouldn't agree.)
I almost miss the days when I'd joke that every vegan option would be mushroom risotto or tomato pasta.
Of course, I'm in no way opposed to more vegan options appearing on menus in even the unlikeliest places and more people opting out of regular meat-based meals is no bad thing. Plus, the clearer labelling of dairy, egg and meat-free dishes is much appreciated.
But we were getting to a point where restaurants were being creative in what they were offering, and it was getting easier and easier to eat somewhere everyone else wants to go (I don't hang out with too many vegans).
Now, all of a sudden, it feels like everywhere I look, Impossible reigns supreme (Beyond pretty much left forgotten), and it's back to the days when I had to ask for the chef to make me something off menu (and I hate doing that).
Don't get me started on the restaurants that use vegan meat and then slather it with cheese, so even if you do like it, you can't have it (I'm looking at you Starbucks and Pickl).
I'd be truly interested to know how many non-vegans are actually ordering these dishes in comparison with the number of vegans who might have ordered the dish.
On the other hand, what I have been enjoying is the introduction of Tindle. The plant-based chicken meat is actually pretty good and far less offensive to my herbivorous palate than the beefs.
Zaroob's "not chicken" shawarma, for example, is a pure treat.
I'd also quite like to see more vegan fish options. New Dubai Mall joint Neat Burger has a fish burger, which uses jackfruit as its base, that is also really quite special.
But what I'd really like is for chefs to get a little more creative and think about their growing vegan customer base a bit more. At the end of the day, we're an enthusiastic bunch when it comes to new dishes and far more likely to come back to a restaurant simply because we're dreaming about that one plate. And we'll tell all our friends (who will listen).
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
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Quick%20facts
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THE%20SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
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The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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Director: Andres Muschietti
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Three stars
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Griselda
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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