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Emirati chef Sahar Parham Al Awadhi isn’t shy about sharing her love of Dubai. “I’m very biased,” she says. “I was born and raised here, and I think it’s the greatest city in the world.” As owner and chef at Abra, a new restaurant opening in early 2026 in Dubai’s Etihad Museum, she’s championing New Emirati Cuisine while honoring its roots and the heritage that lies behind the modern city, a place known for its superlatives like bling and luxury lifestyle. But Dubai is much more than that. “When people say Dubai has no soul, I say they just haven’t been to the right places,” Al Awadhi says. “If you want to go to Dubai Mall, go ahead. But seeing the range here will change people’s minds.” Here, she takes us on a winter weekend tour of some of her favorite places that embrace both old and new in always-exciting Dubai.
Having breakfast in Old Dubai
Away from the skyscrapers and supercars, Bur Dubai offers a slower, calmer pace founded on a tapestry woven by generations of merchants and traders who settled around Dubai Creek and made it home. “Bur Dubai is where all cultures meet, and it’s a big source of inspiration for me whenever I need a boost of energy or to ground my restaurant and recipe ideas in the UAE’s heritage,” says Al Awadhi. Her mornings here start with breakfasts of dosa and vada at Sangeetha, or Sudanese bean stew at Foul Abu Al Abbas. “Bur Dubai is where people built their businesses and homes so you’ll see Indian restaurants, Filipino bakeries, Persian kebab shops, and places selling juice, spices and saffron. They’re all major influences on Emirati cuisine,” she says.
Art and culture, architecture and design
A short drive north of Dubai, the emirate of Sharjah is making a name for itself as a cultural destination, and is great for a mid-morning art and architecture walk. Al Awadhi likes to visit the Museum of Islamic Civilization, housed in a former market and filled with manuscripts, astrolabes, ceramics and a gold-embroidered kiswa, the cloth that covers the Kaaba in Makkah. “Look up and you’ll also see a dome covered in mosaics of the constellations,” she says. A little further along the Corniche, the Sharjah Art Foundation’s galleries, made with traditional coral stone walls, host diverse, thought-provoking exhibitions. When she’s in the area, Al Awadhi always stops by Bait Elowal, a century-old house transformed into an art-filled café, restaurant and boutique, and the Al Omani Sweet Factory near the Rain Room, an immersive art installation featuring a constant downpour.
