DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Deira, a historic district north of the city and second home to a big Filipino community, is now dotted with night markets.
Offering anything from Pinoy comfort food to souvenirs and handicrafts, the markets add to the festive mood of the yuletide season, set in a desert winter with its cool breeze perfect for shopping, entertainment, and dining al fresco.
Indeed, from the dinakdakan and sinanglaw of the Philippine North, to burong hipon or isda of Pampanga, “Gotong Ala Eh” of Batangas, kansi and batchoy of Bacolod, and balbacua of the south, everything is just a few steps away as Pinoys crave favorites that their grandmas used to make.
There is also no shortage of street foods that the city-bred love, like isaw, kwek-kwek or tokneneng, grilled “adidas” (chicken feet) and, of course, the silog, sisig, and pares range.
Even the shawarma, culinary legacy of the Ottoman Empire, got itself a Filipino twist with mayo instead of garlic sauce.
The kunafa, a typical Arabic pastry with layers of thin dough, cheese and pistachios, takes centerstage, being well-loved by Pinoys with a sweet tooth.
Adding to the yuletide spirit are the traditional puto bumbong and bibingka that one would usually have after hearing the dawn mass back in the Philippines.
Battle of the bands
Over the years, the night markets, which start popping up in mid-October as the punishing summer heat wanes, has evolved to showcase not only Philippine and other cuisines to tourists, locals, and homesick Pinoys, but entertainment as well.
A Battle of the Bands (teens edition) has been launched at the Rigga Night Market (RNM). The winning group will get a chance to meet and greet the Eraserheads when the legendary Filipino rock band does the Dubai leg of its Huling El Bimbo World Tour on December 8, at the Dubai Expo City’s exhibition center.
The RNM coincides with the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), which has the night market on the list of places to visit during the month-long fest.
“There are 10 bands competing. Two bands will play every Saturday,” said Frel Villaflor, a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) at Dubai Media City (DMC), who now is founder and CEO of an events management company that organized DSF-RNM.
Villaflor said there also were bands from the other emirates. “This Saturday, there will be a band from Fujairah (north of Dubai). Last Saturday, there was band from Abu Dhabi,” Villaflor said.
“Aside from the Battle of the Bands, we will also have our Shukran Festival will be starting December 1, it’s a daily entertainment. On Christmas, we will have a Christmas Eve countdown. We won’t do any event on New Year’s Eve because we anticipate the place to be packed as was in the previous years,” she added.
Nightly footfall at DSF-RNM is between 5,000 and 6,000, Villaflor said. The DSF-RNM is now on its fifth year. It is open from 4 pm to 2 am every day. With 41 food stalls and 64 retail stores, DSF-RMN, which is now in its fifth edition and will run until May next year.
Season of giving
Meantime, right next to DSF-RNM is the Al Rigga Street Park 2.0 (ARSP) which is set to open on November 22, and has 26 retail stalls, 10 restaurants, and 12 food kiosks.
The owners, Franz Barretto, an architect who used to work at an oil and gas company, and Eleanor Bernabe, who has been with a group of companies’ accounts departments for 12 years, said they decided to venture into business to help fellow overseas Filipinos.
“We want to be a blessing to other people dreaming to start a small business and to those looking for work. That is one of our main reasons,” Baretto and Bernabe said in a mix of English and the vernacular.
Bernabe said that aside from Filipino cuisine, their night market will also serve Thai, Nepali, and Indonesian foods, as well as those from Myanmar. She said activities lined up include a parol-making (Christmas lantern) contest, a Mr. Pogi (handsome) and Ms. Calendar girl competition, a magicians’ showdown and, yes, a battle of the bands.
“This our Christmas treat to our fellow Filipinos,” said Baretto. Baretto and Bernabe also run another night market a city block away, the Al Muraqqabat Night Market 2.0, which is also in its second season. Thousands are expected to visit ARSP when it opens.
Giving back
Across the street from the two night markets is the Winter Night Market (WNM), which has rolled out a bigger promotion dubbed “Got Talent” with a grand prize of AED15,000.
The competition is now on its second year. Last year it had approximately 450 participants, with about 30 making it to the grand finals. Prize was also AED15,000.
“We believe that the Filipino community has given so much to us. So, why don’t we all join together and give back?” said Mohammed Sohaib, general manager.
The WNM, which opened on November 1, also has nightly entertainment, including an eating contest. It has over 100 stalls — retail and food kiosks — according to Michico Lopez Ramos, managing director of Creative Group, the night market’s media, public relations, and marketing agency.
Nightly footfall is at approximately 5,000, organizers said.
The night markets will remain open until May next year, when summer returns. – Rappler.com