Famously and undeniably, the UAE is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, no matter which of the seven emirates you're in.
Over the decades, people of myriad nationalities have settled here, bringing with them a taste of home.
In particular, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos and Filipinas have moved here and settled down.
While across the country there are countless restaurants serving food from the Philippines, a few stand out.
Head to Karama, in Dubai, and you'll find Kabayan Turo-Turo Cafeteria.
Turo-Turo in English means point point, for short, and when Filipinos are hungry, they go to a turo-turo and point to the food they want.
Here, popular dishes include siomai, the Filipino version of the Chinese dim sum with shrimp or chicken, and turon, or banana spring roll.
Turon is said to have been created as far back as 1521 in the Philippines, but influenced by the Chinese.
It is believed to have been invented in communities near banana plantations when there was a surplus from the harvest, so extras would be given to locals and ultimately sold on the streets.
Over at Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre in Abu Dhabi, there's Hot Palayok Restaurant & Grill, which also has a branch in Dubai's Karama.
Hot Palayok, which is in the food court on the second floor, offers a buffet spread of authentic Filipino cuisine, but also pan-Asian dishes, with a particular focus on seafood.
But it's the desserts on offer here that really shine.
The malagkit roll, a type of rice cake or sticky roll (malagkit means sticky), is made of two different kakanins (the word for sticky rice cakes) rolled into one, topped with sesame seeds.
Then there's the sapin-sapin, a glutinous rice-and-coconut dessert composed of three layers.
The top layer is yellow or orange, flavoured with ripe jackfruit. In the middle, purple yam gives it a violet colour, while the bottom layer is white and has the flavour of young coconut or plain coconut milk.
Over at Kabayan Zone, which is in front of Al Wahda Mall, it's all about the barbecued meat.
This is easily the busiest Filipino street food joint in Abu Dhabi, promising a buzzing vibe almost any night of the week.
Here, the most popular dishes are jumbo isaw, or barbecued chicken drowned in garlic, onions and vinegar with red hot chilli peppers, as well as "helmet", also known as barbecued chicken heads, and "adidas", which is barbecued chicken feet.
Elsewhere, Razon's of Guagua, which is in the Al Wahda Mall extension food court, is known for its pancit luglug.
Luglug refers to the method of cooking thick rice noodles, which are placed in a blanching basket and repeatedly dipped in boiling water until completely cooked.
The dish can be arranged on a plate for individual servings and prepared in a "bilao", a round and flat rice winnower made from woven split bamboo.
Also in Dubai, is Pan Pugon TinaPIE Bakeri, at Al Attar Shopping Centre.
Here you can find ensaymada, a classic Filipino bread created during the Spanish colonisation of the Philippines. Originally from Mallorca, Spain, it is a spiral-shaped pastry made with sweet yeast dough and topped with powdered sugar and cheese.
While you're there, pick up a buko pie.
"Our shop survived the pandemic because of our buko pie sales," says owner Edward Bernabe. "We started using fresh coconut meat and not from the can or bottled coconut.
"Fresh baked is our bread of life, quality is the bread you deserve."
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
