It starts with a car honk. A South-east Asian man walks out to take your order. Within a few minutes, your car smells of toasted bread, ghee and the earthy condensation of hot food in a synthetic takeout bag. The sandwiches come perfectly wrapped in parchment and individually stacked in small paper bags, with handwritten labels on each order, making them easy to pass around. After paying a mere Dh1, you are handed a small white styrofoam cup on a tray, the smell of black tea and condensed milk wafting up from it as you slowly pull away. Today, cafeterias can be found on almost every street of the city, offering accessible fast food that has evolved significantly since its boom time in the early 1980s. A typical cafeteria in Abu Dhabi carries hundreds of varieties of sandwiches: from simple cheese to Hasan Matar's tangy chicken and vegetables combination. The culture of cafeterias, however, has gone through a paradigm shift. Within a few decades, the essence has changed since fast-food chains began bombarding the city in the early 1990s. With the spread of commercialised fast-food culture, the typical Abu Dhabi cafeteria has had to adapt its style to cater to the general expectations. Today, in most cafeterias you have the choice of ordering a bahriya (seafood) wrap or a cheeseburger with a deal that includes French fries and a soft drink. Back in the day, burgers would not have been on the menu. Hamad Al Mehyas, a 33-year-old Emirati forensic scientist, laments the changes that progress has produced. "Cafeterias lost the traditional touch," he says. "Growing up, they only offered laham nashif [meat pieces fried in thick tomato and onion gravy], kima [minced beef with tomato paste], or eggs and cheese. Now, the selection is too much." As the traditional cafeterias have become an endangered species and those that remain cater to South Asian labourers, many Emiratis in Abu Dhabi have started to look back with nostalgia at these gems of comfort cuisine. But if you dig hard enough, you can still find a few survivors. Cafeteria Shaheen on Muroor Street, for example, prepares fresh parathas (Indian whole wheat flatbread) for kima (cheese, egg and meat sandwiches) and has them ready after the morning prayers for their loyal clientele, many of whom have been coming for years. These customers are a subculture on their own - each knows the perfect spots offering different dishes. "I drive to a specific cafeteria for their egg and cheese sandwich," says Mohammed Ali, a 23-year-old finance analyst, "and don't eat it until I pick up my favourite karak [tea with milk]. There is another one that I go to for the best cocktails." Most cafeterias in the city are known for their cocktails: an exceptionally sweet, thick, colourful juice made by blending fresh fruit with ice cream and sugar. It was back during the times of the oil boom, when exotic fruits were introduced in the Emirates, that these drinks took over the menus of the tea shops. "The trend started when the first real cocktail was served by a Lebanese man in Abu Dhabi. After that, several Indian refreshment stalls opened up, imitating him and [they] developed much sweeter versions of that drink," says Abdulateef Saeed, a 36-year-old Emirati anthropologist. But decades earlier, it was namleet - a cold drink made with artificial flavours and sugar and served in a glass bottle - that was the most desired of drinks. The bottle was sealed with a marble that fell in the bottle when you pressed it. It is widely regarded as the earliest popular refreshment in the country. However, by the early 1970s, the influence of the refreshment shops began to spread as small tea shops run by workers from Iran and India opened up to serve the local fishermen. Today, the few remaining cafeterias, the ones that stay true to the old format, offer styrofoam cups and thin plastic bags as treasures of simpler times. The truth is, I am much too biased and sentimental to provide an objective view on the taste of the food. For me, these shops are a source of soul and comfort food. I know that whenever I eat at the right places, I will find the food pleasant and I will leave feeling satisfied, like the 10-year-old boy with scuffed knees and a dirty kandura I once was - the boy without a worry in mind. <em>Salem Al Qassimi is a food writer and environmentalist working for the government of Abu Dhabi</em> <strong>Salem Al Qassimi's picks</strong> . Best cocktail: The shi'af at Lebanese Flower, not overly sweet but a guilty pleasure of cut fruit, cream and pistachios swimming in fresh fruit juice . Best karak: Al Ashbal Cafeteria, Mushrif, behind the Mushrif Medical Centre . Best sandwich: Laham nashif, Sea Shell Refreshments, Al Bateen, Khaleej Al Arabi Street Follow us Follow us on for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.
