*Written by staffer Zain Masood*
Lately, the “viral Dubai chocolate” has been all over the internet. Since this past summer, my feed has been filled with people cracking open the thick chocolate bar filled with a crunchy pistachio-green filling.
The filling consists of a crispy spun pastry called kataifi mixed with pistachio and tahini paste. Originally named “Can’t Get Knafeh of It,” the chocolate bar is a take on the traditional dessert made with kataifi, which is then soaked in a sugar syrup and layered with cheese, nuts and pistachio.
The bars are exclusively available in Dubai and can only be ordered at 2 or 5 p.m. Gulf Standard Time via Deliveroo, an app similar to DoorDash. When the bars first began to sell, they received around six orders per day but now up to 100 bars are ordered per minute. Prices for the bars have gone upwards of $50 due to resellers price gouging and capitalizing off the low supply and high demand of the chocolate. Thankfully, the reseller I bought the chocolate from was kind enough to price it at $10.
I had given up on the prospect of ever trying the Dubai chocolate until last month when I was visiting my cousins in Chicago. We went to Matari Coffee Co, a popular cafe, to try their Adani Chai – a tea infused with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Unexpectedly, I saw the Dubai chocolate nestled in the display case among other pastries after ordering my chai. I excitedly made a second round through the line and paid a full $10 for the bar, with everyone else in disbelief that I paid that much for a piece of chocolate. I took a picture of the chocolate in my hand and subsequently displayed no patience in unwrapping it and taking a bite.
It was . . . cold. Probably due to the chocolate being imported from overseas and having to be frozen. I was left a little disappointed, especially since the dessert the bars are based on is served warm and gooey. The richness of the pistachio cream and the crispiness of the kataifi in the filling did alleviate my disappointment however, leaving me to rate the chocolate an 8.5/10 – still one of the best chocolate bars I have tasted.
Matari Coffee Co. is named after the hills of Bani Matar, arguably the birthplace of coffee drinking. The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking goes back to the 15th century in that region, and coffee was used to increase concentration two centuries later – sparking a global phenomenon that survives to this day. (Photo/Zain Masood)
