Why did I put up Souk Kafe?
Souk Kafe is a dream I share with my family - Jovy, my husband and two children, Joan Fatima and Jose Mari. Our family lived in Abu Dhabi for a number of years while our children were toddlers. There were so many great things about Abu Dhabi and the Emirates. But there was always the thought of going back home to retire. As my mind wondered of how life would be after Abu Dhabi, I realized that I would be missing a lot of these great things
There are a number of things I love about Abu Dhabi. I love its serenity especially on Friday mornings. I usually take the streets 26th -32nd to get to the heart of the city, where my office is. Along these streets, the old fortress of Abu Dhabi and other diwans and palaces can be seen and admired. Imagine huge, mediterranean palaces and monuments in the center of round-abouts and varied fruit trees that lined-up the avenues. I love the feeling of security, the peaceful people of different nationalities, the simplicity of Pakistani and Indian laborers. You find them sitting at grass laden grounds, eating ‘kaboos’ or round, freshly baked brown breads with friends and family.
In my dealings with varied nationalities in the office and along the streets, I learned a lot of things from them, the way of living, society, culture, food. It was a time of knowing much things about the world and this is why I cherished it so much.
Back then, the restaurants for us were either fast food restaurants or proper food in hotels and at home. As a family, we used to visit fast food joints, which offered eat-all-you-can treats for only AED20 for the entire family. When celebrating anniversaries, birthdays and holidays, we ate in proper hotels and stay there for the night as well – either in Dubai or the northern emirates – Sharjah, Fujairah or Ajman. It had always been a great pleasure knowing and experiencing other cuisines while we visited hotels – Persian, Indian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc.
That’s why we came up with the idea of putting up Souk Kafe – to remember, celebrate and share our glorious, colourful years in Abu Dhabi. To keep these memories alive as we move on to other phases of our lives. To be able to trace back our steps wherever we came from.
Souk Kafe is a myriad of things we came to know while in Abu Dhabi. It’s about the food, people, music, that we all enjoyed. We wish these good memories will linger on and on and on…
Janet M. Tuano, May 2007, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Souk Kafe is a dream I share with my family - Jovy, my husband and two children, Joan Fatima and Jose Mari. Our family lived in Abu Dhabi for a number of years while our children were toddlers. There were so many great things about Abu Dhabi and the Emirates. But there was always the thought of going back home to retire. As my mind wondered of how life would be after Abu Dhabi, I realized that I would be missing a lot of these great things
There are a number of things I love about Abu Dhabi. I love its serenity especially on Friday mornings. I usually take the streets 26th -32nd to get to the heart of the city, where my office is. Along these streets, the old fortress of Abu Dhabi and other diwans and palaces can be seen and admired. Imagine huge, mediterranean palaces and monuments in the center of round-abouts and varied fruit trees that lined-up the avenues. I love the feeling of security, the peaceful people of different nationalities, the simplicity of Pakistani and Indian laborers. You find them sitting at grass laden grounds, eating ‘kaboos’ or round, freshly baked brown breads with friends and family.
In my dealings with varied nationalities in the office and along the streets, I learned a lot of things from them, the way of living, society, culture, food. It was a time of knowing much things about the world and this is why I cherished it so much.
Back then, the restaurants for us were either fast food restaurants or proper food in hotels and at home. As a family, we used to visit fast food joints, which offered eat-all-you-can treats for only AED20 for the entire family. When celebrating anniversaries, birthdays and holidays, we ate in proper hotels and stay there for the night as well – either in Dubai or the northern emirates – Sharjah, Fujairah or Ajman. It had always been a great pleasure knowing and experiencing other cuisines while we visited hotels – Persian, Indian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc.
That’s why we came up with the idea of putting up Souk Kafe – to remember, celebrate and share our glorious, colourful years in Abu Dhabi. To keep these memories alive as we move on to other phases of our lives. To be able to trace back our steps wherever we came from.
Souk Kafe is a myriad of things we came to know while in Abu Dhabi. It’s about the food, people, music, that we all enjoyed. We wish these good memories will linger on and on and on…
Janet M. Tuano, May 2007, Abu Dhabi, UAE