Fast Food Frenzy in Fujairah is Changing Dietary Patterns

In less than three months Fujairah will have witnessed the opening of five new fast food restaurants which are changing the dietary patterns of the city’s residents.

It started with the opening of the Fujairah McDonald’s Restaurant and drive through on 21 November 2010 after more than a year of waiting to get the electricity connected.

Thai Express followed a few days later in the same fast food location between the Beach Motel roundabout and the Fujairah Port. Its opening was not as frenetic as the commencement of the first ‘Maccas’ on the UAE’s East Coast.

Last Thursday saw the opening of Subway which appears to be doing a brisk trade and is still advertising for staff.

Domino’s, the fast food pizza restaurant, is due to open in a month alongside Thai Express and this will see the addition of Fujairah to its growing chain in the UAE.

Between Subway and Thai Express, Baskin-Robbins has put up its sign and word is that they will open in two months. The popular ice cream specialty store with its ‘31 flavours’ already has a presence in Fujairah’s main street and a Facebook Page “for all those folk who simply cannot live without B & R and need to have their daily dose of B & R creamy luscious ice cream!”

There is one more space between Domino’s Pizza and McDonald’s in this fast food block that hasn’t been spoken for.

Corniche Location
In another location, on the Fujairah Corniche, between the Marine Club and the Night Souq, work is proceeding steadily to finish a two-storey restaurant which is due to open under the banner of the Golden Fork.

Fujairah’s Fast Food Court
This fast food centre behind the Eppco Petrol Station does not look like a food court in a Dubai mall but it will operate as such.

Imagine the dinner orders from one Fujairah family reading something like this:

+ Abdulla: 3 Imperial Rolls, 1 Big Mac, Large fries with plenty of salt, Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake, Very Berry Ice cream.

+ Fatima: Tom-Yum soup, Filet-O-fish, Medium fries with no salt, Cinna Stix, Baked Apple Pie and Chocolate Ice cream.

+ Mohammed: Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, Big Fries, Cashew Nut Stir Fry, Pepperoni Pizza (deep dish crust) plus Pralines’n Cream.

+ Saleem: Tom-Yum Soup (lemongrass), Big n’ Tasty (without pickle), Small fries and chocolate ice cream.

+ Ali: McDouble, Pad Thai noodles, Large fries, Hawaiian Pizza (crunchy thin crust) and a McFlurry.

+ Aisha: Pad Sew (stir fried noodles), Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Hot Caramel Sundae and cherries jubilee ice cream.

Too Much to Stomach?
It is good for Fujairah residents and tourists to have options but with the huge pulling power of these international restaurant chains it will be sad if they bring about the demise of the traditional Middle Eastern restaurants and takeaway counters that have served Fujairah residents for decades.

With the recently expressed concern about the diluting of Emirati identity, government authorities might well be advised to monitor the move from an Emirati/Middle Eastern diet to a globalised diet of hamburgers, pizza and ice cream, due in large part to the force of the fast food restaurants that are springing up all over the UAE.

Take a Look
Some photos of the fast food restaurants that are emerging in Fujairah are in this photo album.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: In less than three months Fujairah will have witnessed the opening of five new fast food restaurants which are changing the dietary patterns of the city’s residents.