I’ve never been one for chemicals in my food, so I’m wondering if you can recommend somewhere with a decent selection of organic produce. My life depends on it!
Abu Dhabi’s slowly catching on to the organic revolution, with chemical-free food gradually creeping on to shop shelves and restaurant menus. In fact, even your bog-standard local supermarket is likely to have an increasingly large organic section.
We’ve found that one of the places with the best selections is The Deli (02 558 1468) in Souk Qaryat Al Beri, which has an ample range. The store is part of the Abela supermarket chain, and there are two other branches in the city – one next to Paris Gallery in Khalidiyah (02 667 4675) and one in Eithad Plaza in Khalifa City (02 556 7061) – although both of these have a smaller range of organic fruit and veg. Another recently opened store is Mazaara, on the corner of 30 and 25, behind the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which does a good line in chemical-free fruit and veg, including a few that were grown in this very land.
If you want to go organic while eating out, Eat Smart in the Fotouh Al Khair Mall (that’s the Marks & Spencer mall to you) does a decent organic smoothie, while the compact store, located upstairs from the café, is good for filling your basket with organic pastas, biscuits and the like.
A recent discovery of ours is the D-Club (02 644 6461) delivery service, located in the Tourist Club Area of the city. The business offers a delicious choice of international cuisine, all prepared with organic produce. An innovative idea is that each dish is listed on the menu with a calorie count next to it, which should dispel any worries that your healthy-sounding vegetarian meal could actually have been deep fried in lard.
If you’re feeling the need to be super healthy, check out the Health Factory (04 347 3808; www.healthfactory.com) home delivery service. Sign up for one of their monthly packages and they’ll deliver three healthy, nutritious and convenient meals and snacks a day to your front door, all of which are organic. It won’t be the cheapest month of eating you’ve ever indulged in, but you’ll feel the true benefits of pesticide-free food by the end of it all.
