Like many Abu Dhabi residents, my friends and I are desperate for the capital's new developments to be completed - not for more fine-dining restaurants, but in the hope of finding at least a few middle-priced places to eat.
The bills we get when eating out make us wonder how high they can go. In higher-end coffee shops and restaurants in Abu Dhabi, a cup of coffee can now cost as much as Dh30 (US$8), excluding additions such as caramel or milk.
As someone who grew up in Abu Dhabi, I can tell you that for most of the past two decades even at the lower end of the sector - cafeterias - two cups of tea has always cost just Dh1. Now prices have doubled in some places.
Yet cafeteria owners claim their prices are cheaper than the costlier mini-marts associated with petrol pumps, which charge Dh2.50 for a cup of tea.
"This is ridiculous!" said a disgruntled Emirati, who I had a chat with recently in Al Wahda Mall. "If I want to have a good cup of morning coffee from a well-known coffee chain … I have to pay at least Dh18.
"This is blind robbery because I know that the same coffee chain in the USA doesn't charge more than $3 for the same order."
Many Abu Dhabi residents are enraged at overpriced restaurants, cafes and grocery stores around the capital. Yet restaurants and retailers are continuing to increase their prices, citing rises in the costs of oil, essential commodities, wages and rents.
According to a consumer price index study published by the National Bureau of Statistics, restaurants and cafes have suffered from increased inflation since 2006, reaching as high as 12.26 per cent in 2008.
Inflation slowed from late 2008 but as of February has been increasing again, albeit at a slower pace.
Nada al Ammari, 24, an Emirati friend of mine, is regularly shocked by the high prices at Abu Dhabi restaurants.
"When it's time to pay, sometimes I wonder, 'how much did I eat to end up paying this much?'" Nada says.
"If you want to take guests out or enjoy a lovely evening, you have no choice but to spend over Dh500 in a fine restaurant. There is a lack of middle-priced fine restaurants in Abu Dhabi and I think that's because the population is either very wealthy or not."
Marian Lynch, an American, agrees with these sentiments.
"There is a middle class but a small one, and they can afford high-priced restaurants anyway," Ms Lynch says.
She also noted that a chicken cordon bleu dish at a mall restaurant now costs Dh55, compared with only Dh35 six months ago.
In a meeting held by the Ministry of Economy in March, restaurant owners attributed the increase in meal prices to the higher costs of commodities such as meat, chicken, dairy products and cooking oil, and the high cost of living in Abu Dhabi and increased wages for their employees.
After the ministry received complaints about increases of as much as 20 per cent in restaurant prices, it banned them from making any further rises without its approval.
Yet a Syrian restaurant owner on Muroor Road, who asked not to be identified, said he had to increase the price of a shawarma sandwich from Dh3 to Dh5.
"Distributors increased their prices," he said. "Chicken, vegetables and oil prices, which we pay for delivery, have increased. If I didn't increase my prices I wouldn't be making any profit, and at the end of the day this is a business."
But studies by the Consumer Protection Department revealed even with the rise in the commodities prices, restaurants should still be able to generate a profit without increasing their prices.
Amal Ghanim, a Bahraini resident, suggests that in addition to regulating bread and rice prices in the UAE, fish, meat and cooking oil prices should also be regulated.
"Distributors should be more strictly regulated," Ms Ghanim says. "A good idea is to have government-sponsored coupons to get a discount on necessary commodities.
"People need to afford the price of meat, chicken and other necessary dietary supplements to ensure healthy growth."
Whatever the solution, when it is time to satisfy their taste buds, Emiratis and expatriates alike cannot wait for more opportunities to finally meet in the middle.
Manar al Hinai is a graduate of the University of Leeds and works in Abu Dhabi
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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Company%20Profile
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The biog
Name: Capt Shadia Khasif
Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police
Family: Five sons and three daughters
The first female investigator in Hatta.
Role Model: Father
She believes that there is a solution to every problem
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Company%20Profile
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Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mountain%20Boy
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability