Frying Pan Adventures - Dubai

18/04/2024

Our team at Frying Pan Adventures is hiring for part-time tour leaders!

We're looking for food enthusiasts and history buffs who are also outgoing, articulate and energetic. If you love exploring every hidden nook and cranny of a neighborhood, sampling new foods, sharing stories, researching history and meeting people from around the world, then reach out to us today to learn more about working with us—or share this link with a friend you think might be interested!

Learn more and apply at

We're hiring! We're looking for food enthusiasts who are also outgoing, articulate and energetic to join us as food tour leaders in Dubai.

10/10/2023

So here’s a story few know.
Without my sister , there would be no Frying Pan Adventures today.

Back in 2012, I was ready to call it quits. I’d finally met every licensing checkbox after months, but now they needed proof that I had a manager with 3 years tourism experience. I didn’t have one, didn’t know one, couldn’t afford one.

I called from the license department to vent — I was SO DONE. Then, she pulls out an old college tourism certificate from her meticulously color coded closet. Would that work for the license? Heck yes it would. And that’s how she saved my 🍑 I promised she wouldn’t have to lift a finger, just her name on the license.

But that turned to out to be JUST the prologue (of a book titled: Never Believe Your Younger Sister).

As I gradually started asking for help with this and with that, Farida went from being a well-wisher on the land waving my ship farewell to being yanked aboard to help plug the springing leaks. It was ‘only’ emails first, then ‘only’ recruiting new guides, then ‘only’ getting certified as a guide and helping with a few tours—to finally steering our ship solo during my 2-year maternity leave amidst both our back-to-back divorces iced with the pandemic. It was pretty brutal. But she kept it together, for the both of us.

+ she’d come home to help me change diapers.

Farida’s passion for the tours comes through loud & clear, but her real dream? Helping cats. Lots of them. She’s rescued 3 already, but she’d save 3000 if she could. For now, she puts it on hold to help me chase my dream.

She’s the Cheshire Cat to my Mad Hatter. I wake up thinking, “Let’s change EVERYTHING!” She’s the voice of reason, the one who keeps us from going off the deep end. We don’t always agree, but she stuck around, through the good and the godawful times.

Most would’ve run, but not her.
❤️

26/09/2023

Just some of the different things we’ve been tucking into lately 👹

🤓Let’s see if you can guess each of the 5 foods & their country. The 4th one is hard, but we know you got this one💪🏽

10 years ago, we used to cry that no one was focusing on the right narrative around food in Dubai — it was always the most expensive this or the biggest scoop of that…or that silly fridge button magnet where you could order a pizza with the push of a button😒 But SO MUCH has changed.

At every level, we’re finally owning and celebrating the diversity and culinary talent this city has to offer — and it keeps getting more delicious. No not every meal is perfect, a few in this quiz were sort of disappointing…but the point is we have these options to begin with, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll keep hunting cause someone somewhere in the city is getting it right. Every time we have to pick a food for our weekly excursions, it’s like taking a mini mental trip around the world to figure out what to focus on ✈️ We love that. We thrive on the diversity and it makes Dubai one of the best food cities on the planet to live on.

07/06/2023

Our first ever tour of the Waterfront market on June 17th is now live for early bird bookings🦅 Use the 15% off promo code EARLYBIRD to book before midnight on Thurs, June 8 -- and kids go free!

While we used to tour the old open-air (and now demolished) fish & veg market in the past, this tour is still a first in many ways. It's our first time being accompanied by none other our very own chatty mum Nafeesa Ahmed who infected us with the food bug! She's not just an avid cook and curious eater, but also a senior nutritionist with over 30 years of experience with helping patients through their diet choices....well before it became the 'in thing' to do! Along with Frying Pan sister & guide Farida Ahmed, mum will be sharing her expertise and top tips, from selecting the best veg to testing if your fish is fresh.

We'll also be buying fresh seafood and have it cooked up at the market. Vegetarians don't fret -- you'll have veggie options too!

Book using the code: EARLYBIRD 👇🏽
https://www.fryingpanadventures.com/tours/dubai-waterfront-market-tour-and-lunch/

Visit the largest indoor fish and vegetable market in Dubai with our founders' mother, a 40+ year UAE veteran. Market lunch included!

07/05/2023

Photo dump — chips oman & everything in between👯‍♀️

Was flipping through these photos as we tried to make sense of our 10 year journey to prep for our chat at Al Serkal’s WHAT THE FOOD today. But sometimes you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing in the moment — other than that’s what feels right and gives you joy. Felt it again yesterday, 10 years later, leaving a tour of guests from Dubai and Portugal who, for the millionth time, gave us the joy you get when you watch someone truly fall in love with their food. Indian and Arab aunties, you know what we’re on about 😑

Drop by to say hi today (Sunday, 7th May, 3pm) at . We’re gonna chat with one of the most brilliant interviewers in the country, from , about our journey and how we’ve lucky to land up with a community of you rockstars 🫵🏾 So join us to celebrate the journey that each of you have been a part of, whether you joined this community 10 years ago when we started or just last week or anything in between.

🎟 Free to register, link in profile.

07/04/2023

Thrilled to be bringing back our International City noodle tour this Dubai Food Festival! On April 29 and May 6, we'll be slurping up 7 unique noodles dishes across lesser known spots in International City with a Chinese gastronome and noodle aficionado. Stay tuned, bookings to go live next week!

24/03/2023

Iftar throwback to Sharjah, 2018 with our forever sister & the heartbeat of —

مبارك عليكم الشهر يا أختنا فاطمه 🤍

Ramadan has given us some of the most beautiful bonding moments with this community (remember the pre-pandemic era when we could eat communally without freaking out?!😱) So much gratitude for these memories and for the many angels in this community who’ve spread the love for us far & wide.

& — spotted you in these photos & counting you both in that circle of angels. So glad we could share this experience with you, and thank you for always rooting for us✨

̇ftar

22/03/2023

Wishing you Ramadan Kareem! May the days ahead be those of mindfulness and gratitude. We hope we'll have the chance to break bread with you in Old Dubai this Ramadan 🕌🌙

03/03/2023

Photo dump: How you snack like a boss in Al Ras😎

Super excited to bring back the tastiest bits of this National day tour with Rove Hotels & Project Chaiwala on our 2-hour Quickie Snacking tour 💃🏽 We had such a blast doing this last Dec that we had to make it a regular feature. Plus it’s quite kiddie friendly coz tons of color in the souks🌈 + there’s chips & chocolate too 🤪

📅 Next one is on Saturday, March 4! Join us this weekend or for another date -- details & online tickets here: https://www.fryingpanadventures.com/tours/old-dubai-quick-snacking-tour/

🤗Ps. If you're a single parent or a parent of a child with special needs in the UAE & need to let down your hair on a fun morning with random other folks who don't know your backstory…but paying for this tour is just not feasible given the mountain of other priorities on your shoulders, just DM us. We'd love to find a way of making this happen for you at whatever cost seems doable💕

26/02/2023

This fantastic feature in the French-language Canadian publication, Le Devoir by Catherine Lefebvre who joined our Dubai Souks and Creekside Food Walk!

"From Dubai, I didn’t know much about it other than the grand hotels and the extraordinary architecture.
Through its history and cuisine, on a guided tour with Frying Pan Adventures - Dubai I discovered a fragrant, rich and fascinating culinary culture!"

28/10/2022

Those foods you first met in Dubai? Photo dump of a few of ours 🙆🏽‍♀️

➡️Iranian kebab negini, fresh Palestinian zaatar on a fatayer 🌱, Filipino hopia, Egyptian aish baladi, Moroccan tangia, Sudanese ful. Tasted all of these for the first time in Dubai, & this is barely touching the surface.

📈10 years ago when we were pitching the idea of walking food tours in Dubai, we’d harp on about how the city had potential to be recognized as a TRUE food mecca…not just make weird food news like having the first fridge call button for on-demand pizza🤨 or the world’s most expensive (drink/cupcake/whocares)💁🏽‍♀️

Feel like our food scene here & how we all talk about it is in such a strong place right now. We take the diversity for granted but it’s when we go somewhere else that we MISS having so many culinary cultures at our fingertips.

💬 What ONE food from a distant land have you tasted for the 1st time in Dubai? Tell us in the comments👇🏽

17/10/2022

Hey! We're hosting a very informal Instagram peer-2-peer discussion over Google Meet in the upcoming days. It's about sharing what works and doesn't work between small business entrrepreneurs (or aspiring ones) in an open discussion. This is not an expert session by any means, it's more about sharing tips and tricks with each other as we all try to figure out the beast that is social media.

If you'd like to join the free chat, please register using this link: https://form.typeform.com/to/s2Yet4xm ...and feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested!

Turn data collection into an experience with Typeform. Create beautiful online forms, surveys, quizzes, and so much more. Try it for FREE.

09/10/2022

That time of year💥

If you’re in Dubai, you can totally have an EPIC Diwali...even if you’re not someone who’s throwing, joining (or gatecrashing😬) a Diwali bash. Here are 3 ideas:

🪔Hang out with us Dubai kids on our epic Diwali walking tour in Old Dubai. Hit up the streets of Old Dubai for some righteous Indian street food, soak up the psychedelic vibe & if you’re tight with a pro camera or your phone lens....the snappy experts from Gulf Photo Plus will be there to help you channel your inner Ansel Adams. You don’t HAVE take photos to join — you know us, we’re just there for the food😜 Spots are super limited + early bird special going on right now till Monday, Oct 10th afternoon — you can book over at Gulf Photo Plus’ site: https://bit.ly/3yoCW56

🪔Hunt down Indian street food & eat yourself silly. Wherever there’s a cluster of Indian street food spots (Bur Dubai, Karama…maybe JLT?), there’s likely to be a pretty perceptible Diwali vibe. We’ve got an entire Little India food tour laid out for you which is now available as a PDF guidebook so you can be all set with our go-to spots in Meena Bazaar! Grab it here 👉🏽https://www.fryingpanadventures.com/tours/digital-tour-guides/

🪔Land up at one of the Diwali bazaars happening around town. We’ve got our ears tuned into Souk Al Marfa on Deira Islands — & no, they didn’t pay us to tell you 😂 but they seem to have a pretty serious Diwali dhamaka/bazaar/bash/something awesome happening on Oct 22/23. It’s hosted by & looks like it has some potential. Might be worth checking out?

Look even if you’re not desi...ESPECIALLY if you’re not desi...you should still totally check one or more of these out. People are super nice usually — but if you’re feeling shy, just join our tour. We’ll take care of you.

06/09/2022

Here's a 3-stop food tour that you can do on your own! Dubai kids like us love these spots so if you’ve been here a while, you’ll already know these iconic places. But if you have visitors or friends who just moved to town, share it with them as a basic foodie induction to the city 💃

We're going on an amazing 3-stop food tour around Dubai to discover its hidden gems.

22/08/2022

Beef like butter🧈

Technically this is an early morning winter dish that you'd have after Fajr prayers in Old Delhi butttt...in Old Dubai, we ain't waiting around for no winter schminter to eat the good stuff😜 This little place has been rocking the beef nihari game in Dubai since 1978 using a recipe that was passed down from father to son. When we interviewed the owner back in 2015, no one else in the kitchen had access to the recipe which required the beef to be slow cooked over 11 hours until it was BUTTER.

📍If you haven’t been to this OG of nihari spots in Dubai, comment👇🏽 with the word 𝙉𝙄𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙄 & we'll DM you the location pin. Try their nihari & their hari mirch keema which is honestly even BETTER than their nihari (though just order both, you won’t regret it). Their beef Bihari kebab used to be a showstopper back in the day but it seems like they’ve changed the recipe & it’s since lost its lustre💔

Nihari is typically mopped up with khameeri roti though we’re partial to the sweet buttery sheermal that we’ve enjoyed in Old Delhi & this little place is one of the rare ones in Dubai (or maybe the only?) that serves up this combination. It’s ridiculously rich, but that slightly sweet tender bread with salty beefy gravy is our calling. They have a side window where the nihari cook sits cross legged by the massive ‘deg’ just as they do in Delhi, spooning out bowls of nihari & then splashing it over generously with a pool of oil (considered hospitable even if artery clogging).

PS. You’re better off playing Russian roulette than trying to find parking at night. But if you’re really into your nihari, you’ll deal with the danger🔫

15/08/2022

Spotted in Dubai 🤩

💡Hint — it’s a type of Uzbek bread — rich in butter & keeps for a really long time. But you knew that already. What’s the specific name of the bread & which city is it associated with?

😵‍💫STUMPED? Comment👇🏽 with the word 𝗨𝗭𝗕𝗘𝗞 & we’ll DM you the answer!

We’re blessed to have close to real deal Uzbek food right here in Dubai. Back in 2018, we once featured it on a food tour where we explored the unlikely overlap between Korean & Uzbek cuisines.

📍Saw these exquisitely patterned breads (sadly was too stuffed to try one) at in Nahda — it’s our go-to spot but we hear their Barsha branch is packed to the brim with Uzbek customers. Reserve (your table & a slice of honey cake, it runs out) before you go.

Special thanks to for being our Uzbek culinary encyclopedia 📚


https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChOOtI5JXgM

Frying Pan Adventures shared a post on Instagram: "Spotted in Dubai 🤩 💡Hint — it’s a type of Uzbek bread — rich in butter & keeps for a really long time. But you knew that already. What’s the specific name of the bread & which city is it associated with? 😵‍💫STUMPED? Comment👇...

23/04/2022

What’s your go-to Arabic dessert this Ramadan?

in Deira is an old timers’ favourite for Arabic sweets and speciality dishes from Palestine and Jordan. 🇵🇸🇯🇴

Their Ramadan sweet specials include:
🔸cream or nuts atayef (syrupy turnovers)
🔸special dates and mango kunafa for the adventurous — though their original cheese one is a crowd pleaser!
🔸atayef asafiri, thick aishta baladi (clotted cream) & nuts that you can take home for a DIY dessert
🔸Traditional drinks by the bottle: amrdeen, jallab, erk suus & lemonade.

Go savory with a traditional Jordanian lamb mansaf, a specialty rice dish of Jordan with lamb slow cooked until tender in a cheesy, slightly funky jameed sauce made from preserved goat’s milk yogurt.

🔸No Iftar set menu, but free dates and juice served at Iftar time.
Approximately 🔸AED 120 for two people for dates, Tang juice, main course that includes soup and dessert.
📍Murragabat road, Deira

08/04/2022

Will you try nombu kanji this Ramadan?

𝙍𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙪𝙗𝙖𝙞: 𝙄𝙛𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝘼𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝

While Sri Lankan food dares to make even the most resilient spice lover shed a tear or two, the iftar at is an accommodating spread from both a spice and a price standpoint. Their iftar spread is a modest 13 dirhams.

The main Sri Lankan specialty to be enjoyed is the nombu kanji–nombu, a wholesome and mildly spiced porridge with rice, coconut milk, vegetables and beef or chicken.

Miamix also has an extensive mouthwatering display of ‘short eats’ which are deep-fried snacks; you can pick any 3 for your Iftar.

Wash iftar down with a cooling glass of falooda, replete with vermicelli, jelly, sabja seeds and the mandatory ice cream scoop on top.

🏷AED 13 for Iftar set menu featuring dates, fruits, beef/chicken/vegetarian kanji, 3 short eats and ice cream falooda
📍Satwa (Dhiyafah road), Nahda (2 branches)

25/03/2022

SKILLZ 😱

Have you ever watched these bakers make feteer msheltet?

It’s when they make a multi-layered feteer — one layer tossed & placed inside the other, then kept aside to rest, then repeat.

We’ve seen about 7 layers being put one inside the other to make this rich flaky buttery pastry that you can have with cheese & honey or tahini & molasses…then wake up 12 hours later in a food coma daze 😵‍💫

📍Ammor’s many branches are super well known for feteer + does it too, still on our list to try.

Music creds: Trippystan by Zoh

22/03/2022

EPIC za’atar jabali & feta fatayer

with some terribly inane background commentary 🎤

Had that moment of “craaaap, did we hit the record button?!” right before & us were about to annihilate our fatayer. Taking videos gives us some SERIOUS anxiety when we’re trying to just get it done so we can EAT ALREADY😅

How much time do you waste ‘gramming your food before you take the first bite? We’ve got it down to THREE (minutes) —coz shoddy video over cold food for us any day.

📍 our fav Palestinian bakery

🍕

20/03/2022

Frying Pan Sisters 👯‍♀️

It’s amazing that we work together & we’re not totally cuckoo yet 😵‍💫

It was combat zone in our room growing up 💥She pinched me so hard I bled 😫 & I retaliated by calling her a…cauliflower 🤭🤷🏽‍♀️ So what that one sister nearly died of bruises growing up…heck we’re still alive with a lot of fight left in us💪🏽

⏭ many years later, we’ve finally figured out how to channel a little better. We get that each of us brings something a little different + we rarely work on the same stuff which is why it only took 9 YEARS of food tours to get us in a proper photo together!

But gosh we simply couldn’t pull off this biz with only one of us. The combo works shockingly well & we rarely step on each other’s toes

…& when we do, the weaker sis has finally figured how to leg it outta the room faster😂

PS. If you wanna join a food tour with us in Old Dubai & need info, just follow us first (else our DM might never reach you 😭) & then reply in the comments below with the word "INFO"...we'll DM you the details!

04/03/2022

Chat later, dinner time 👋🏼

Tbh we get WAY more joy in stuffing OTHER people’s faces even more than our own. We used to complain that our mums would incessantly cram our plates with more & more & more…well guess who turned out to be like mum?😂

For all of you who’ve given us a chance to feed you in the past few weeks…& relented when we’ve gently chased you to have that last luqaimat or slice of kunafa or piece of Iraqi fish or com’on, ONE MORE SAMOSA YOU’VE GOT THIS 🏋️‍♀️…thank you! You make us so happy to be food tour guides

(…& come back, we still have more to feed you 😂)

📍The underrated foul labneh shatta pastry at Khaleej Al Latheethah on Murragabat.

28/02/2022

“There is Jerusalem missing from the ka’ak.”
—

🖋Words in video: for

This beautiful Palestinian bread is made in Sharjah…but the exact flavour of Jerusalem is impossible to replicate unless you import everything from the air to the soil.

Sometimes food gets serious, political, even inconvenient. But don’t turn away. If you go try this bread, then first read THIS, by Frying Pan sis for 👇

“The genesis of ka’ak Maqdisi (literally, bread from Jerusalem) is difficult to trace – it has been a staple on Palestinian tables for centuries.

Colloquially referred to as ka’ak Al Quds (Jerusalem bread – Al Quds is the Arabic name for the city of Jerusalem), this bread is one of the strongest culinary threads that binds together a Palestinian diaspora scattered across the globe.

For many Palestinians, it is not just reminiscent of simpler times, when a trip to the old city could be undertaken without the arduously uphill battle of obtaining a pass. It has become the now-elusive taste of freedom.”

So go — taste this Palestinian bread and share the story with as many people as you can. Because stories move people, and stories MATTER 🇵🇸

🙏Eternal gratitude to who shared their stories with us for this article.

08/02/2022

CRACK THIS 🕵️

We FINALLY launched our Scavenger Hunt with as an independent game that you & your friends can play ON YOUR OWN any day you like, just with your phone📱The food ‘target’ in this vid👆🏼may or may not be a clue in the game 😶 Can you guess what it is?

Wanna play? Comment below & we’ll DM you the link & secret launch promo code to buy the game before 10th Feb 🔐 (you can play it on any day after the 10th, including V-day or even after💕

If you’re wondering how the game works, here’s everything in a nutshell:

👉PLAY using a mobile app (Android/iOS) & a one-time game code that we share thru a self-destructing email🧨

👉TRACK down blood thirsty assassins around the historic Dubai creek using clues sent thru the app 🥷

👉WIN by solving the entire crime case AND emerging alive

👉PAY based on the number of players you sign up at fryingpanadventures.com. Up to 4 players play on a single squad. Eg your group of 7 friends will play as 2 squads in a head-to-head battle 🤺

👉PLAN a half day (4.5-5hrs) to play — it’s like a food & history tour + 11-round game + escape room + crime novel all in one. There’s a ton of walking, brainwork & reading of crime case files. Coz INTENSE is our middle name 💀

👉CHOOSE any day to play as long as you start before 5PM else you’ll be left hanging once things close 🤙🏽

👉CHANGE your game date any time. Bought the game for Feb 24 but need to change to Mar 10? No problem.

👉UNLOCK our launch promo code before the 10th of Feb. You can even if you want to buy the game to play months later. Comment below⬇️ & we’ll DM it to you.

👉GO VEGGIE if you like during the game if meat ain’t your thing🥗

Other questions? Fire away!🔫 Cannot WAIT for you to try this game!

06/02/2022

Honestly cannot remember for the life of us which video shoot this was for...all we know was that it was from March 2017, back in those days when we could touch each other's food without freaking out😱 but worry not, if you join our Middle Eastern tour, we'll show you our beloved Jordanian-Palestinian falafel spot AND supervise from 2 metres away as you make your own killer DIY sandwich 🤣

❓What are your must-have fillings in a falafel sandwich? Ours--tahini, shatta 🌶, tatbeela akhdar, fried eggplant & cauli, a smear of hummus. Pickles on the side. Hold the fries✋🏽

👉🏽If you wanna join a food tour with us & need info, just follow us first (else our DM will never reach you 😭) & then reply in the comments below with the word "INFO"...we'll DM you the details!

04/02/2022

Real...or genuine fake?💃🏽

So we did bring this on ourselves by ordering zaafran (saffron) chai...but the question is, how do the economics work?!🤔 And with that much saffron, you'd expect the chai to be undrinkable...but it wasn't actually (as you can see from the empty cup). Or maybe the saffron didn't have enough time to soak? The strands are still pretty red which means they're likely not some dyed substitute...& you can see some yellowy stains on the edge of the cup which mean there must be SOME real saffron in there.

❓What do you think, how much of this is real saffron?

01/02/2022

What your Arabic dessert choice says about YOU.

You guys responded with your dessert choice on our 𝟰 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 reel from a few days ago (watch it on our Instagram reels tab https://www.instagram.com/fryingpanadventures/reels)...& after some serious research & dessert astrology, we've concluded that this is what your sweet choice says about you:

1️⃣ Palestinian Cheese Kunafa 👉🏽 you're eager to be a crowd pleaser, even if your ways of going about it are somewhat cheesy & clichéd. PS. you're not an early morning person, but once you warm up, you're pure gold.

2️⃣ Lebanese Ruz B'il Haleeb (rice pudding) 👉🏽 you're super subtle and smooth, though most ordinary mortals don't get your level of wit. Most think you're just aloof and bitter, but the few that get you, know you for the white knight that you truly are.

3️⃣ Emirati Luqaimat 👉🏽 you try to come off as tough and ballsy. But that attitude often lands you in some spectacularly sticky situations which reveal how vulnerable you truly are...& then you collapse with a p**f.

4️⃣ Egyptian Chocolate Banana Feteer 👉🏽 you toss the rules right up in the air...& you've often been accused of drawing many over to the dark side with your naughty ways. Moderation & subtlety ain't your thing. You ooze drama -- maybe a touch vulgarity at times -- all intentional of course to make the bland lives of those around you worth living.

♾ If you answered ALL, then... 👉🏽 you're genuinely sweet, easy to please and non judgmental. You wear your heart on your sleeve and simply don't know how to say no. But...you also clearly have commitment issues.

And if you read this far...then you're probably taking us WAY too seriously 🤣 Just switch off the 'gram & go get some dessert habeebi!