[upbeat music playing]
[Phil] This is Atmosphere,
the bar and restaurant on the 122nd floor
of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
And this is one of the most expensive burgers in the world.
Look at this.
-That's all gold? -[waiter] Oh yes, 24-karat gold.
That's the only way I have my cheeseburger.
-[Richard laughs] -Enjoy.
[Phil] I have to show you. Look at this.
-[Richard] Oh, God! -Oh, no.
[Richard chuckles]
[Richard] Oh, God!
[upbeat theme music playing]
♪ A happy hungry man's ♪
♪ Traveling all across The sea and the land ♪
♪ He's trying to understand ♪
♪ The art of pasta Pork, chicken, and lamb ♪
♪ He will drive to you ♪
♪ He will fly to you ♪
♪ He will sing for you ♪
♪ And he'll dance for you ♪
♪ He will laugh with you ♪
♪ And he'll cry for you ♪
♪ There's just one thing He asks in return ♪
♪ Somebody please, somebody please ♪
♪ Can somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil? ♪
♪ Somebody feed him now ♪
[upbeat music playing]
[Phil] Marhaba from Dubai.
A gleaming metropolis on the Persian Gulf shore of the Arabian Peninsula,
Dubai is the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates.
I flew here about five years ago on our way to do the Cape Town episode
with my son, Ben.
He worked on the show at that time. And we had this layover here in Dubai.
It was over 100 degrees, so what do you do?
We went to the mall.
It's the biggest mall in the world.
I thought, that's Dubai.
I was wrong.
Behind the glitz, there's an older part of town you don't hear much about,
and I really want to spend a lot of time exploring that.
But whether you're here or the part of Dubai that looks like this,
you're in a city with a thriving immigrant population.
Approximately 85% of Dubai's residents moved here from other countries,
which makes for some fantastic world food.
Like at this special place run by three brothers.
Why would brothers want to work together?
Mohammad, Wassim, and Omar Orfali are from Syria,
and they opened the number one restaurant in the whole Middle East and Africa.
This is Orfali Bros.
-Hello. Finally. -[Phil] Mohammad.
-Hello. -How are you doing?
-Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.
Hello, team.
-Hello, hello. -[Phil chuckles]
Today, I'm lucky enough to have Mohammad cook just for me
as I belly up to the bar here.
I know your brothers are here, but do you have other family in Syria?
-There's some of the family in Syria. -Do you go back?
-Unfortunately not. -It's a rough time, isn't it?
Yes. Yeah. I left Syria 2005.
The last time I've been there, 2009. Unfortunately.
-That's a long time. -We're gonna come back.
We're from Aleppo,
one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.
[Phil] Yes.
And the complexity of the cuisine of Aleppo,
it's come from so many layers of years, and centuries, and human being,
and ingredients, and cooks.
-Cheers. -To Syria and to you.
-Yeah. -Thank you.
-Oh! -It's a bit winey, like, you know?
[both] Rose cherry kombucha.
[Mohammad] Ready?
-Am I ready? Yeah. -Awesome.
First bite gonna be all about corn.
As you can see here the tostada, made from masa.
We do it here from scratch.
This is the first layer of corn, the crunchy.
And then the creamy, made from the juice of the corn.
Reduce it, emulsify it, make it cream.
So this, I'm guessing, is inspired by Mexico.
Hundred percent.
And how did you come to find Mexican cuisine from Syria?
I've never been to Mexico, but I read a lot about Mexican food.
You have to go.
[Mohammad] I wanna go, but Mexico is far away from here.
I need to plan it very well.
You're far away from me, but I still came.
[Mohammad laughs]
The silk of the corn, we fry them as well.
-Here we go. -[Phil] I never ate the corn silk.
-[Mohammad] Look. Beautiful local corn. -Nose to tail corn.
You want to make it one bite or two?
You think I can do this in one bite? I don't think so.
[playful music playing]
-[crunch] -Yeah. I want to hear that.
You see the crunchy,
the creamy, the explosion of corn.
[Mohammad giggles]
You not only get all the textures, you get all the different flavors.
And you realize how many different flavors there are in corn.
[music fades]
Next... [chuckles]
A caviar bun stuffed with smetana.
Smetana is sour cream all the way from Russia.
So this is like one of the star since we open.
I wonder why. That's a very generous, uh, heap.
[Mohammad] Yes. It's gonna be two bites.
The first bite, the caviar by itself, like this.
Mm.
Go ahead. The entire caviar.
And then dip in the smetana.
Come on. I've never had that much caviar in one bite.
[Mohammad] One bite. Go ahead.
I have one for the brother.
No! Do you like working with your brothers?
-Um, to be honest? -Yeah.
-Yes and no. [laughs] -Yes and no?
-[Phil] Richard? -[Mohammad] Richard.
You're lucky, he likes you. I wasn't sure about giving you this.
-[Mohammad] Two bites. -First, the caviar.
[Mohammad] And then the second, the bun.
[whoops]
-[Mohammad] Don't wait that much. -Don't wait that long. Stuff that...
[giggling]
-[Phil] Yeah. -Thank you for giving him that.
I've been waiting for the right moment to say this: "You're fired."
[laughing]
I want him to go out on a good note.
[Richard laughs]
We can keep continuing doing things until you say stop.
-You might be here a while. -[laughter]
[Phil] The feast continues.
Smoky eggplant paired with roasted red pepper tahini,
edible flowers, and two kinds of chili.
Then Sichuan meets Syria with these Wagyu beef dumplings.
And a savory éclair filled with mushroom cream and topped with quince
and prosciutto made, since this is a Muslim country,
from beef instead of the usual pork.
-[Mohammad] One bite? -[Phil] One bite.
I like it one bite, don't you?
All right.
[exclaims]
Mm!
[Phil] Listen, by this point, after eating all this spectacular food,
I was completely full.
And then he said, "You know, I have a burger."
[upbeat music playing]
[Phil] I dropped my last burger. I'm not dropping this one.
Here we go.
[Richard giggles]
[Mohammad] Hand-chopped Wagyu beef, my secret sauce, a bit caramelized onion.
I... I don't know. Best burger ever?
Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
-Richard, don't be stupid. -[Richard] Yeah.
[Phil] It's sad that I have to come to Dubai when I want a burger
because you've ruined burgers.
I ate every single thing that Mohammad made,
and then he introduces me to his brothers.
They are the pastry chefs.
-These are the famous brothers? -Yes. Wassim is the genius.
-Wassim, you're a genius? -[Mohammad] Yeah.
-No. -[Richard laughs]
-[Mohammad] And Omar. -Omar? What does he do?
Both of them pastry chefs.
I loved that he said, "This is my brother. He's a genius."
"And this is my other brother."
You're calling him a genius and him not?
-He's the... -He's the Fredo?
No, he's the backbone.
[laughing]
Look how nice these brothers work together.
-Were you watching, Richard? -[Richard giggles]
Look at that beautiful French pastry, but they've never been to France.
[Wassim] And we have crispy with dulce de leche.
[Phil] Thank you, Chef. Chefs.
[upbeat music continues]
This is inspired from our culture. Chocolate sour cherry.
-[Phil] Look at that. -[Mohammad] Go ahead.
The rice pudding we turned into a mandarin.
-[Wassim] A mandarin shape. -[Phil] Like an orange egg.
[Mohammad] Where's the pistachio come from?
-From Aleppo. -Ah!
-[Phil] There's a black sesame yuzu cake. -Can you believe that?
[Phil] A hazelnut praline in the style of French pastry master Pierre Hermé.
Mango.
[Richard] I don't think we've ever had this many desserts. Ever.
[Richard chuckles]
Welcome to my last scene.
[music fades]
[percussive music playing]
[Phil] Now that I have my footing, it's time to start exploring old Dubai.
And what better way to get to know this place
than by meeting up with someone who's been to every country in the world.
Drew Binsky is probably the top YouTube traveler
of his age in the world.
He does things I wouldn't dream of doing, even when I was his age.
-[whistling] -[woman] Move it.
What?
But I get a twofer with this scene
because Drew's co-conspirator, Deanna, is here too.
-Two Jews and a Filipino. -Yeah. [chuckles]
-That's a new sitcom. -It is. [laughs]
[Phil] Did I mention they just got married? Like just-just.
[Drew] Welcome to Dubai, Phil.
-This is your honeymoon? -[laughing] Yeah.
-[Phil] Thank you for spending it with me. -Our pleasure.
-Is this how you pictured your honeymoon? -[Deanna] Yes.
[Phil] Hi, how are you?
-What's your name? -My name is Nihal.
Nihal, I'm Phil.
-Drew. -Deanna. Nice to meet you.
Do you like Indian food?
Yes. I love Indian food.
I love it too.
-Tell me what we have here. -[Drew] It's paratha, right?
[Nihal] Yeah, this is onion paratha, and this is aloo methi paratha.
-[Drew] The best pancake you've ever had. -[Phil] I like it.
At night, there's a huge line, so it's so hard to come in.
-[Phil] We came at the right time. -[Drew] Best place.
-[Phil] Here I go. -[Drew] Go for it.
-Hang on, Nihal. -[Drew] Important moment.
[laughing]
[Drew] Instant smile. How's that? A little spicy, right?
-[Deanna] Oh my God, it's so good. -It is spicy.
Drew reminds me that I should have started traveling way earlier.
[Drew chuckles]
'Cause you guys are still young, but you've already hit
every country in the world.
-Yeah. All of them. -How many is that?
A hundred and ninety-seven.
-Yup. -I'm not gonna make it to 197 countries.
Yeah, you could.
But this is what I'm trying to tell people, go when you're young.
-Travel's the best education you can get. -[Phil] Yeah!
-I tell everybody. Yes. -[Drew] That's it. Period.
-And I can add to that. -[Phil] Please.
That if you can travel with someone, then I think you can conquer the world,
or you can do anything.
I thought you were going to say, "If you can travel with someone,
you can live with them."
Monica and I went to Europe when we were only dating three months.
And... and, uh, that was the test of the relationship,
because when are you together more in life than when you travel?
You see the good, the bad, the ugly.
Monica mostly sees the ugly.
[laughing]
We're going to the... Where are we going?
To the tea shop, so it's an Af... Uh, Afghan tea.
-Yes. -Arabian teahouse.
-Yeah. -You forgot what country you're in.
[playful music playing]
[Phil] The Arabian teahouse is in the Bastakiya area.
-Not the Buster Keaton area. -[Richard chuckles]
[Phil] I know this is old Dubai, but maybe I was expecting old old,
-like thousands of years old. -No, no, no.
-Because there is a history. -Yeah.
So when we say "old Dubai," this is from 50, 60 years ago, right?
-Yeah. 1970s, 1980s. -[Phil] Really?
[Drew] There's a creek around here, that's the original settlement of Dubai,
where merchants and traders came.
The oil industry, it's why you see all the tall buildings.
-There's oil here? -[laughing]
Before even this was built, there was just tents in the desert.
In the desert. That's it.
[Phil] It's safe to say they've come a long way since tents in the desert.
-[Phil] There it is. -[Deanna] Teahouse.
-[Phil] The Arabian Tea House. -[Drew] Yes.
[Phil] This is as close to a camel as I want to...
[laughing]
[Drew] I wanted to take you here because it feels more Middle Eastern.
-[Phil] It sure does. -[Drew] We got food coming with tea.
It's a teahouse, so they specialize in tea.
[Phil] In all your travels, do you have an absolute favorite?
We love Iran.
-[Phil] You do? -I was about to say that. I love Iran.
-It's the hospitality. -Yes.
In the Middle East, the people are so incredibly friendly.
-I see it here. -Yeah.
-[waiter] Excuse me, the bread. -[Phil] Oh!
-Looks good. -Yes.
Looks good.
-Lovely bread, and here's your salad. -[Deanna] Oh.
Salad. I like salad.
[Phil] Look at this.
Lamb shank machboos.
Chicken salona.
I love these names.
-What is that? Lamb? -[Deanna] Mm-hm.
-[Phil] Let's do it. -[Drew] Yeah.
-[Deanna] Cheers. -[Drew] Group cheers.
-Oh. -[Deanna] Oh.
God. So soft.
-[Deanna] Mm. -[Phil] Mm.
Teahouse owners Rania and Ali
stop by to make sure we're doing everything right.
-[Rania] What'd you try? -[Ali] Lemon tikka?
Fantastic.
[Ali] It's a very unique dish in this part of the world.
[Rania] Marinated in black lemon.
This is a black lemon.
-[Ali] The dried lemon. -[Drew] I've never seen that.
-[Phil] Should I squeeze this? -You can squeeze it or eat it.
-I can? -Of course.
[laughing]
If you didn't tell me this was okay, I wouldn't have gone near it,
but it's really good.
-Try the rice. -[Phil] Here I go.
The star of the show.
-Alright. We have a new star of the show. -[Deanna] Here you go.
-[Richard] I've been waiting. -[laughs]
-[Rania] The recipe is Ali's mom's recipe. -[Phil] Ah.
So every now and then we give her a little of the food to try
to tell us if this is good, up to her standards.
-Is she very tough? -Yes, a little bit.
-[laughing] -A little bit.
Here I go.
-[giggle] -Where's your mother?
[laughing]
-What's her name? -Mariyam.
Mariyam.
[laughing]
[music fades]
[imposing music playing]
[Phil] Welcome to the worst sequel in history: Schlemiel of Arabia 2.
-[camel grunts] -[Phil] Oy.
[laughs]
Not used to this yet.
Yee-haw!
[Phil] Oy, camels.
[camel grunts]
Listen, I'm enjoying this a lot less than you.
[traditional music playing]
I did schlep all the way out to the desert, so while we're out here,
we may as well do something else I'm afraid of, which is falconry.
Hello, my friend.
This is Mohammed from Nara Desert Escapes,
and he's gonna teach me a thing or two about
this bird with a very long, sharp beak and talons.
-Yeah, this is Ghost. Peregrine falcon. -Wow.
-And symbol of this country. -Yes. Beautiful.
[Mohammed] He's the fastest animal on the planet.
These guys can dive at the speed of 389 kilometers per hour.
-Which is about 242 miles per hour. -Yeah. Wow.
Is he going to fly now?
Yeah, and then he will come and land on your hand.
-You sure? -Inshallah. We'll try.
[chuckles] Okay.
[traditional music continues]
[Phil exclaims]
Okay.
[Mohammed whistles]
The Bedouin, they used to live in the desert,
decided to catch these guys, train them.
"They'll hunt, and we'll have food for our family."
-Put your left hand inside. -A little nervous.
No. [chuckles] Hold this thing tight.
-Hold it tight? -Yes.
[Mohammed whistles]
[music builds]
[music stops]
[Phil] Wow.
He's like, "Okay, I came, I did what I'm supposed to. Where's the food?"
[falcon cries]
I feel exactly the same way. Yes. I'm hungry too.
There it is.
I was very happy to meet Ghost the falcon.
He didn't go for my eyes. [chuckling] He was a good boy.
But the show isn't called, Somebody Feed Falcon.
Mohammed and I deserve some scraps of meat too.
But we're gonna do it the way they've done it for thousands of years.
Minus the tinfoil.
[traditional music playing]
[Phil] Hello.
We have some signature Arabic lamb madfoon.
And this is a sauce for you. You can just grab the bread over here.
-[Phil] Thank you. -[waiter] Thank you.
Oh. Oh, yes.
All right, he said just do this, right?
-[Mohammed] Yeah. -[Phil] Get in there like this.
-And this is a little sauce? -Exactly.
Mm!
Mm.
[Mohammed] Yes?
-It's spicy. -It is.
-[Phil] This is Bedouin food? -[Mohammed] This is Bedouin, yeah.
It's delicious.
This is towards the top of the list of unique experiences for me.
[Mohammed] Yeah.
[Phil] We're in this oasis about an hour outside of Dubai,
but we may as well be in the wilderness. We are in the wilderness.
[Mohammed] Yeah.
I'm just glad they have a chair with pillows in the wilderness.
[wind blowing]
[gentle music playing]
[Phil] If you like home cooking, you must come to this place in Dubai.
It's worth the trip.
This is Bait Maryam, which literally translates to "the house of Maryam."
This is Salam Dakkak and her daughter Nada.
Maryam was Salam's mother.
-Hello. Hi. [laughs] -Hello.
[Phil] Salam is cooking the Palestinian-Jordanian food
she grew up eating at home.
-Welcome to Bait Maryam. -Thank you.
We're excited to have you.
I just read that you are the female chef of the year.
[Salam] Yes.
And this restaurant is a dedication to your mom, right?
Yes. And this is the curtains for her.
-Her curtains? -Yes.
Aww.
-You wanted to make it feel like home? -Exactly.
I feel she is around me all the time.
-She always says when she stirs the pot... -[Salam] Yes.
As if she's not stirring the pot, it's Maryam.
-Oh. Sweet. -So...
Honestly, not just because it's our food,
but when you taste it, you'll feel some sort of energy.
Even if you're not from the Middle East,
wherever you're from, you will still feel that.
You'll feel home.
-Arabs are known for their spices. -[Phil] Yes.
[Nada] So we have a special dish for you today.
-It's called kibbeh nayyeh. -Okay.
Which is raw meat.
So, basically, she's from a village. It's called Tarshiha.
Tarshiha is very well known for their raw meat.
We wanna bring that to you.
Well, I have to tell you, my parents came from Germany.
[Nada] Mm-hmm.
And when we were little kids, my mother would roll up, uh, ground beef, raw...
-Okay. -With a little salt...
Mm-hmm.
-In a bowl. And that was my snack. -Yeah.
-So I was already having kibbeh nayyeh. -Wow. Okay.
Yeah, but this looks a little more sophisticated
than Mom's, uh, hamburger meat.
-We should wash the bulgur. -[Phil] Yeah.
After that, remove all the water.
And we put all the spices like cumin, murdiqush.
-Murdiqush? -Yes.
I never heard of this. Is there an English word for that?
Ooh, uh...
-It's like "margoram." -[Phil] Marjoram.
-[Salam] Yes. Exactly. Yes. You are right. -Yes, wow.
[Nada] Not too bad, Phil.
Then this is a mix of spices for the kibbeh.
It's a special for the kibbeh. And lots of spices, mixed.
-[Phil] Different spices? -Yes.
Cloves. Not too much. Little.
And cinnamon.
[Phil] Right.
And we start to make like this.
So when I read that this is Levantine cuisine...
-Yes. -That is the entire area?
-[Salam] Yes. -[Phil] What kind of meat is this?
-[Salam] It's, uh, lamb. -[Phil] Ah.
That special part from the leg, inside the leg.
-And make in the machine very smooth. -[Nada] Yes.
-She used to teach cooking. -Yes.
And then moved to the States and back here.
-Took care of us mostly. -Yeah.
Then we were like, "It's about time you think of you,
do something that you love."
So she's like, "I want a restaurant."
-This is my dream. Yes. -[Phil] Well, yeah.
-Look how beautiful this is. -She's giving you a bite right now.
Ah-ha!
-Wow. -[Nada] I'm gonna show you how it's done.
You need to eat it the right way to experience all the flavors.
[Phil] Got it.
Then get the bread that's next to you.
-[Salam] Choose also from this... -So this, this, this.
-[Phil] I'm gonna do whatever you say. -[Nada] Yeah.
-Do you like onions? -Yeah.
Okay. Amazing.
-One bite? -Yeah.
-[giggles] -[laughs]
[Salam] Go ahead. Don't... So good.
[laughs]
I don't know what happened, but when I bit into this...
Where is it taking you?
[laughs]
[Phil] There are some moments that are transporting.
And I'm not just saying to another land, like Dubai.
I'm saying to another time and place and human being.
-I have to tell you something. -[Salam] Tell me.
It's so... crazy.
I feel emotional.
Yeah. [laughs]
You're gonna make me cry. [laughs]
Always when I make it, I remember my mom. Yeah.
I don't know if it's because you gave me the story.
Yeah. I told... I warned you.
-But... -[chuckles]
I don't think that's it.
I think that it's so wild to... feel an emotion in food.
-[Salam] I'm telling you. -Yeah.
That's... That's magic.
You know I put all my heart, all my love in the food.
-I... I swear I was gonna say that... -I need to feed the people.
-But I didn't want to seem like too much. -I get you.
-[Phil] But you understand? -[Nada] Yeah.
[Phil] Isn't it amazing that food can do that?
That's the thing I love most about it. It doesn't happen all the time.
Certain dishes are delicious, and that's good enough.
That's always the bottom line. "This tastes fantastic. Have it."
But now we're talking about another dimension.
I wish my wife was here. You know, today is our anniversary?
-No. -Really?
-You should have brought her. -[Phil] I should have.
-I'll come back. -Yeah.
-And promise to visit me. -Of course.
If you like my food. If you don't, you don't have. [laughs]
[Richard laughs]
You will... One day you will say, "Phil again?"
-No. -[Phil] Too much!
No. Never. Never.
[Richard laughs]
[music fades]
[Phil] We happened to arrive in Dubai in the last days of the Muslim holy month,
called Ramadan.
Ramadan is a holiday where, for roughly 30 days,
you fast from sunrise to sunset,
and the breaking of the fast every night is called the iftar.
In the streets of old Dubai during Ramadan,
people gather by the thousands to break the fast together,
and I'm lucky enough to join them.
I'm meeting Drew and Deanna, and I'm meeting Peyman Al Awadhi,
who's a great food blogger.
And then I'm just meeting these gentlemen all around me.
[indistinct chatter]
[tender music playing]
How you doing?
-[Phil] Hello, my friend. -[Peyman] How's it going?
Nice to meet you.
-Hello. -Hi.
-[Drew] How cool is this? -Are you okay?
-I am okay. I'm not... -Do you need more space?
No, no, no, I have plenty of space.
It's my back and my legs that are not as good as yours.
But you...
Look at how I'm sitting.
You've been doing that your whole life, I bet.
[laughing]
How many people are here tonight?
We have around three to 4,000 people possible a day, every day.
[Phil] In these streets that I just walked through,
it's very emotional.
-And everyone has the same thing? -[man] Yes.
I see an orange. I see dates. This is a soup?
This is especially from South India.
-Yes. -It's called kanji.
Kanji. I know that. Sure. Yeah.
It's rice porridge.
Is... Is everyone here Indian?
-It's a mixed community here. -It's mixed?
We have Indians. We have Pakistanis. We have Bangladeshis.
[Phil] And what's in the bag?
It's some snacks.
-Snacks? -Yeah.
-[Phil] We like snacks. -Just snacks.
[Drew] He's on the phone.
[Drew and Deanna laugh]
Who's calling at such an important time?
It's my son. He's asking me, "Is it the right time to break the fast?"
Yeah. There's the call.
[call to prayer over loudspeaker]
[man] So now we can break the fast.
It's also all synchronized, so all of the mosques will,
at the same time, call to prayer.
That's why you can hear... Those are not echoes.
[call to prayer continues]
-It's my favorite thing. -Goose bumps. Goose bumps.
[call to prayer]
We break the fast with the dates.
So everybody starts with a date.
So the reason for that, Phil, is because that's how, uh,
the Prophet Muhammad broke his fast.
-[Deanna] Mm. -[Drew] This is so cool.
There's something about, like, eating together. It's just so magical.
I feel like I'm part of something huge.
And if you think about every other mosque in the country
that's doing the same thing,
you're talking about millions of people probably eating the same thing.
-In the world. -[Peyman] Yeah.
-Forgive my question. -Sure.
When I hear the call to prayer, nobody stopped to pray.
Why is that?
Exactly. Very good question.
Usually, the prayer call is for prayer,
but for us, this is the sign that you can break the fast.
It's the call to eat.
You actually get another call to prayer in 15 minutes.
-Then you'll see everybody go pray. -[Phil] I see. Tell me about yourselves.
Tell me what you do and your life here in Dubai.
I've been here in Dubai for the last four years.
I am working in chemicals manufacturing.
-[Phil] Chemicals manufacturing? -Manufacturing.
[Phil] And you've lived here how long?
I'm born and raised. I'm from here. [laughs]
I'm... I'm one of the 12 percent.
So, the majority of people who live in Dubai come from somewhere else?
-Absolutely. -Right?
-The country's been growing so fast. -Yes.
We can't procreate fast enough, so... [chuckling] ...we have to import everything.
-Do you need some tips? -Yeah. [laughs]
So they're going to the mosque to pray?
Oh, they left.
-Leaving one by one. -[Phil] Don't let us keep you.
-I don't want you to get in trouble. -[call to prayer]
Oh, there it is.
-We still have time. -Yeah?
-[man] Nice meeting you. -[Phil] Shukran.
All right, thank you. Very nice meeting you.
-Lovely to meet you. -It was a pleasure breaking fast with you.
It was my absolute pleasure.
-[Drew] All right. -[Deanna] Nice to see you.
[Drew] Bye, Phil.
[Deanna giggles]
I... I need help getting up.
[military music playing]
[zips pants]
[Phil] Good afternoon, gentlemen.
We've gone to great expense to build a giant snow mountain
in the middle of a desert.
You have two jobs today, gentlemen.
Your first mission is to make sure that the old man with you
does not get scared.
Or hurt. Or frightened. Or cries.
[giggles]
-Is there something funny? -Yeah.
-[Phil] What's so funny? -Nothing.
The second job is to have as much fun as possible!
-Yes! -Yes.
Logan! DJ! Here we go!
[upbeat music playing]
-[Phil] Have you done this before? -Yes.
-All right, you drive. -[DJ] One, two, three, go.
[Phil screams]
[Phil] Woo-hoo!
If you haven't already guessed, Dubai isn't a place that skimps on excess.
Like this, one of the world's largest indoor ski resorts.
[Phil] Woo-hoo!
Ah!
-Hee-hee. -[Logan] Woo!
[Phil] I have to say, that's the most fun I've ever had in the snow in a mall.
-Again! -[DJ] Yeah! [giggles]
[jazz music playing]
[Phil] Something I love to do when I'm in a new place that I don't know,
and I know the food scene's gonna be good,
is take a tour.
I need some guidance.
So get a guide, people. There's no shame in that.
So here's Arva Ahmed,
who runs a food tour company called Frying Pan Adventures,
and she's taking me around the Al Ras neighborhood.
[Arva] This is my favorite part of Dubai
because it's such a fast-paced, constantly changing city,
and sometimes you just want to unplug. Here you can just sit down...
-Have a cup of chai... -[Phil] Yes.
And just be.
This is Chef Al Naz.
She is from the south of Iran,
and she has changed the game on one of my favorite breads in the city.
-It's called ragag. Have you had ragag? -[Phil] I don't know.
[Arva] From the word "raga," which means very thin.
-Like a crepe? -Exactly. But even thinner.
[Phil] She's got that going pretty hot. I can feel it from here.
[Arva] Yes. Hands of asbestos, my friend.
[laughs]
Now this is like your canvas, you can go wild with it.
-I love it with eggs. -Anything with an egg.
But then there's a very refined addition to most of our dishes here,
which is Chips Oman.
This is from the neighboring country Oman.
-There are spices on there. -Yes.
-Chili flavor. -Mm-hmm.
So we add that, and then we add a fish sauce called mehyawa.
Basically a preserved anchovy sauce.
-There we go. -Wow.
-There. We're gonna break it in half. -[Phil] Great.
-Ah! -It's superhot still.
-It's okay. -Look at you, hands of asbestos.
That's how it is.
-You grow up in an Indian house... -Yeah.
-You're used to this. -Yes. There we go.
[Phil] Okay.
[Phil] Mm!
The chips are like... This is like a main ingredient.
We not only eat it like a snack, but we add it like a spice on things.
-[Phil] Right! -[Arva] Let's taste her tea as well.
Ooh!
-Sweet. -[Al Naz] Okay?
-Dentist needed after this. -[Richard laughs]
This is how all Dubai drinks their chai.
A gallon of sugar.
-Thank you. Sepas, Chef Al Naz. -Thank you. It was nice to meet you.
[traditional music playing]
[Arva] I know we're doing our second bread stop,
but I just love bread.
-[Phil] Hello. -[Arva] Salaam-Alaikum.
[Phil] Salaam-Alaikum.
[Arva] Oh, look at this.
-They have everything on display. -[Phil] Oh, boy.
These guys do all of the regular bread for this working-class community,
'cause you have a lot of men who've left their families back home,
their wives in a different country.
These are the communal places,
but the one I love is the za'atar and cheese.
-Za'atar and cheese. I'm taking a... -Za'atar and cheese. Go for it.
-Grilled cheeses of the world, right? -Mm! Yes.
[giggles]
That is the right reaction, my friend.
Arva.
-This is such a divine mash-up. -It is.
You have the Afghanis using a Middle Eastern za'atar
along with, like, super-processed cheese. It's just... This is so divine, like...
But don't you always find that's where the magical stuff happens?
When we cross-pollinate everything.
Shall I add one more piece of pollination to this?
Yes. Yes! Do it.
-This is the hot sauce... -You're like a gunslinger.
Every Emirati-Iranian household has this brand of hot sauce.
-Excellence. -Okay.
-That's an American bald eagle on the... -It is made in Louisiana.
Come on.
-It's more vinegary than it's spicy. -Yes.
We don't call it Bald Eagle Sauce, we call it falcon sauce.
Falcon sauce.
-[Phil laughs] -It's our sauce now.
-That's cool that you have that. -Yeah.
-What you were saying about the workers... -Mm.
We hear all kinds of things at home.
But I also heard, now that I'm here, that most of the workers,
they've chosen to leave their countries because they can make more money here
and send that back home.
I know my dad came to Dubai because he just felt
there was opportunity, which he couldn't have done back home.
I'm not saying everybody,
but it was and is the land of opportunity for many people.
[Phil] She's two for two with the bread.
I can't wait to see what she's got for dessert.
Imagine my surprise when Arva says, "You know what's good?"
[Arva] Camel milk chocolate.
All right, not something I've ever quested, but here we are.
But I'm willing to try anything.
-Don't diss it until you've tried it. -I'm not dissing.
I've just had experiences with camels.
There we go.
-[Arva] Camel milk has a salty edge. -Yes.
It's really precious. A cow will give you 40, 50, 60 liters of milk a day.
Camels will give you six to seven liters of milk a day, right?
But they'll complain about it.
I am not going to comment on the poor queen camels.
-They are... The ship of the desert. -I tease the camels.
-[Arva] Let's do this guy first. -Thank you.
[Arva] Okay.
I... You know what I wanna say?
You can really taste the camel.
[laughs]
I'm kidding.
Very good chocolate.
You'd never know that it was from my, uh, nemesis.
This is the best thing to ever come from a camel.
[laughs]
[grand music playing]
[Phil] Tonight we're going to Ossiano
with Chef Gregoire in the Atlantis Palm Hotel.
I understand there's something cool to look at while you eat.
[ethereal music playing]
[Phil] When you hear about it, it sounds a little gimmicky,
but then when you're sitting here, it's so mesmerizing.
I don't know that I've ever seen a tank
filled with as many different types of fish, and rays, and sharks.
Indeed. The legend say that there's 65,000 animals.
Sixty-five thousand animals?
I'll have the little one for the appetizer and that one for the main course.
Is that how it works?
-I send a guy. We cannot do that, sadly. -[laughs]
In a way it's pretty strange to eat fish in front...
-In front of fish. -Yeah.
Do you ever, as someone's eating a fish, get another fish looking and going, "Mom!"
[laughs]
Now tell me about you. You are from...?
France. I'm French, from Brittany, the western part of France.
-Yes. -A beautiful place, inspired by the ocean.
[Phil] He's also inspired by the unexpected.
Our dinner starts with wine,
decanted with a candle to look for sediment,
which is fancy but not unusual.
Except that this wine is alcohol-free, 'cause it's a Muslim country, remember?
And then there's the candle.
[Gregoire] The candle is not really a candle, as you can see.
-It's a foie gras candle. -Wow.
-The best kind. -[Gregoire, laughing] Indeed, yeah.
The wax is made from white chocolate and duck fat.
Hello.
[Richard chuckles]
-[Gregoire] It's my best enemy. -[Phil laughs]
I love it. But I always try the guest to look at the food.
It's a tough task because they want to upstage the action, don't they?
But I have to say this is absolutely delicious.
Shark!
[Richard laughs]
[Gregoire] We try to provoke emotions. It's very important.
The emotion you're provoking is happiness.
Indeed. But it can be fear.
Is fear coming?
Not really fear, more into unknown.
-Okay, well, I'm afraid of that, so... -[laughs]
You will see the next course.
[Phil] All right, a treasure box.
Ready, everybody?
Ooh, whoa.
-Now you will have to put your hand... -What?
Not knowing what's inside.
-That's okay. -[Richard chuckles]
Oh. Oh. Hello.
Oh!
Wow. I'm glad I didn't go in hard,
'cause I've had experience with those guys.
-Richard... -That's the thing.
The full story is about not knowing what you're gonna find.
-Sea urchin, not everybody like that. -I like it.
And since Chef pairs this sea urchin with mango, seaweed, trout caviar,
and kimchi ice cream, I think you'd like it too.
Mm!
That's cold and, oh my goodness, what a lovely dish.
The next dish is inspired by the classic old soups of southern France.
But the presentation is all 21st century Dubai.
[Phil gasps]
-A salt is forming. -[Gregoire] The fish hasn't been touched.
We fillet it, torch it a bit on the top to release the oil.
And then we will pour this magic things on the top.
[Phil] How did that salt form?
-This is magic. I cannot tell you. -It is magic.
That's incredible. I've never seen that.
[Gregoire] And taste-wise it's essentially a bouillabaisse.
Don't look, guys.
[Gregoire chuckles]
[line calling]
Hello? Ted? Can you hear me?
[Ted] Am I here?
[Phil] I hear you. Do you hear me?
-[Ted] I'm trying to hear... -There it is!
-Hi, Phil. -I'm just... I'm just happy to see you.
-How long have you been in Dubai? -A week. Have you ever been here?
No, never. Never.
It's got a real depth of characters,
meaning people from all over the world.
There's an old part of town
with the old, you know, markets, and it also is like a city of the future.
Including the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
-You know, where Tom Cruise was... -Right.
Yeah. Richard wanted me to do that scene,
but without the safety precautions that he got.
[laughs]
So you see this napkin here.
The reason I'm placing this on my lap is because they sent up this.
-Can you see that? -Oh my God, that's a dessert plate.
That is a full dessert plate of all kinds of pastries.
Look at this thing. I have no idea what's in here
-Isn't that gorgeous? -Wow.
It's like a Smurf poop.
Or you put it in your baby's nose to suck out mucous, maybe.
Hey! [laughs] I'm gonna try it. Ready?
Mm!
Oh my God.
Is that ice cream or pastry?
It's like a beautiful almost like marshmallow cream with a raspberry center.
Jeez.
What'd you have for dinner tonight?
We went to this fish restaurant, and I got chicken piccata.
You sound like, you know, my dad.
We would go to the fish restaurant,
took him all over Italy, took him to the Amalfi Coast,
and he would ask the waiter, no matter where we were,
"Could I have a veal cutlet?"
I would say, "Dad, why don't you try the things
that they're famous for in Italy?"
"I like veal cutlet." I'm like...
They always said they don't have it.
We go finally to one of the best seafood restaurants in the world,
on the Amalfi Coast.
Seafood. It says "seafood" in big letters everywhere in the restaurant.
And the waiter comes over, and I'm holding my breath,
and my dad says, "Could I have a veal cutlet?"
And I explode.
[laughs]
"Why do you insist on...?"
And the waiter goes, "We can do that for you."
-[Ted laughs] -And my father goes, "Ah-ha, thank you."
[laughs]
And I never questioned him again.
That's why we love him.
You're gonna do a joke. Do you have one?
-I do have a joke. -I'm excited.
So, uh, this older couple
go to their friends' home for dinner.
And there's some gentlemen there,
and his wife goes to talk to the women, he talks to his older gentlemen friends.
They look at him and they say,
"You look fantastic. You seem really sharp."
And he says, "I am."
"I have been taking this medication for memory,
and it's working miracles."
And one of the guys says,
"Boy, I could use that. What's the name of it?"
And he says, "It's, uh..."
-"Oh, boy, uh... it's, uh..." -[Phil and Richard giggle]
"It... it smells beautiful. It's, you know..."
"It's a flower, it's a stalk that has, uh, thorns on it, and every..."
A guy says, "Rose?" He goes, "Yeah. Rose."
"Rose! What's the name of that medicine I'm on?"
[laughing]
[Phil] Perfect. This I have to tell you,
a variation of that is my dad's favorite and best joke.
Seriously, that you just thought to say that joke
is a real tribute to him.
God bless you.
Ted, I love you so much. My friend, sleep well.
-I'll be back in... -Can I see your brother's face?
I don't want you to have nightmares before you go to bed, but here he is.
-[Ted] Younger. -Yes.
So much younger.
-[Ted] Very handsome. -That's enough, Ted.
[laughs]
Hey, travel safely.
Thank you, my friend. Awesome. Ted Danson, everybody.
[Richard clapping and whooping]
[upbeat music playing]
[Phil] Tonight's reunion meal is at Al Qbabh,
one of just a handful of restaurants in Dubai
that actually serves real Emirati food.
[all] Yay, yay, yay!
[laughs]
And I am meeting all my friends I've made this week.
Plus a few new ones, like Peyman's sister, Sahar,
and Trevor James, the Food Ranger, if you're familiar with YouTube.
I heard this place is very, very good.
-Emirati-style hello. -Yes.
And that is a nose touching.
-That right? -That's it.
-I'm not sure you can handle this. -Look at mine.
Very good.
-Do you do that too? -No.
[laughing]
Don't bring that near me.
[emotional music playing]
[Phil] I don't even know what's under here, but I'm excited.
Ooh!
[all] Oh, oh!
[Phil] This is it?
No. This is the appetizer.
-[all laugh] -[man] It's the welcome platter.
-[Phil] We just dig in? -[Richard] Wow.
[Phil] This is unbelievable. All seafood.
-What do you start with? -[Mohammad] The prawns. Yeah.
[Nada] With the hands.
-Yeah, okay. I got it. -Yeah.
-[Nada] You gotta do the pinch. -[Peyman] Great.
And fun. And delicious.
There's so much delicious food.
-Preserved lemon. The Arabian... -I love it. Did you try it before?
-Yes. At the Arabian Tea House. -Oh, yes.
My first day.
If you stay here for another ten days, you wouldn't leave.
[Sahar] That's what happens to everyone that comes to Dubai.
"We'll just be here for a bit and then leave."
And then bam, it's 20 years.
[laughing]
The great thing about Dubai, historically,
it's been a place where everybody kind of converges.
[Arva] Yes. Absolutely. This is the best place to be a mixed race.
Like, "I don't know where or which part of the world I'm from" child.
-You'll fit right in. -[Mohammad] A hundred percent.
I've loved every second.
A first impression of Dubai if you were driving through it,
you'd go, "Oh my God, look at all the money they spend on building."
But just a tiny bit under the surface, and you meet beautiful people.
I just want to thank you for making me feel so welcome,
and your generosity and hospitality,
and, and... just the love that I feel,
not because it's me, but because it is your nature to be this way,
is very sweet, and I'll never forget it.
So I raise a glass of water to you.
Raise a glass of water. That's the way we do it in Dubai.
-There we go. -The halal way.
Yeah.
I never thought that I'd go to Dubai for vacation
after that one stop five years ago.
It's a mall. What do I need that for?
It shows you how wrong a first impression can be.
That's the lesson.
You never know.
[music fades]
[upbeat end theme music playing]
♪ Come sit at his table ♪
♪ If you're happy, hungry Willing and able ♪
♪ To see how breaking bread ♪
♪ Can turn a stranger Right into a friend! ♪
♪ He will drive to you He will fly to you ♪
♪ He will sing for you And he'll dance for you! ♪
♪ He will laugh with you And he'll cry for you! ♪
♪ There's just one thing He asks in return! ♪
♪ Somebody feed, somebody feed Phil! ♪
♪ Somebody ♪
♪ Somebody feed Phil! ♪
♪ Somebody feed him now! ♪