There’s something beautiful about light, that natural bluish-white light. It’s soft, it’s diffused – shadows whisper by – and appears during mornings where everyone’s still in bed.
The other day, while filling my time before dinner, I began flipping through an article about the significance of light.
My favorite part is how light summons your body to rise from the slumber of the night in such an elegant way.
First with grays, navy blues, blues and whites.
A feather trailing the lines of you face rather than a slap of an alarm.
With dinner almost cooked, I walk over to my black-out curtains covering my grand windows 60 something floors up and slide them open, one to the left and the other to the right. Before me, a bejeweled Dubai. Darkness, tacked to it, yellow windows of others getting ready for dinner, the streaming reds of cars on their way home and bilking whites of soaring buildings cautioning planes to steer clear of them.
This morning I awake with the sun.
It’s early, well before my Friday alarm, I open one eye to grey, I turn into my covers, I open the other eye to blues. Snooze. I open both eyes to white.
An extended process but I know my body values something natural.
Showered and dressed, I press the ground floor button in my elevator as I plug-in Dubai Museum into Google Maps.
With the Museum on my right, I find a place in an adjacent lot to park.
The morning winds pushes me along the old souk, a man waves pink scarf in front of me while another entices me to smell a sweet oil.
Towards the end of the dark alley the light of the creek shines through.
I step into the café, a small square with tables lined along the walls. A peculiar office carpeting makes me wonder what this space was used for prior.
I take my seat on the bench, with doors flung open, I enjoy my view of wooden dhows bobbing on the Creek and birds fluttering nearby.
My friends join in and choose a deck of cards to explore from a pile of board games placed the corners of the café. A game of Speed is well under way. I remember those young summer nights in Lebanon among my cousins. Mesh wooden chairs on the balcony, a miss matched set of cards and a night breeze the flows though laced with Jasmine. In the next room, grownups tinkering their cups and catching up on lost moments from living abroad.
I look through the menu, the regional positioning is well shown with Arabic Coffee, Omani lobster, local eggs and lamb offerings.
My granola arrives promptly and is well presented. I have a spoonful, tart yogurt, sweet granola and soft fruits. The granola approaches the boarder of too sweet but is something I will come back for.
I try a bite of my friends eggs, it’s a dish that I’ve seen gain popularity in Dubai, but it’s also a dish I never understood. Soft scrambled eggs wrapped in a thin pancake, two textures I’m not keen on sharing a bite with.
We finish off our breakfast with coffee another round of Speed and the breeze coming through the creek.
It’s approaching noon and light is at its full potential, I shield my eyes with my sunglasses, walk past the man now with a blue scarf, passed the museum and finally to my car.
The Creekside Café is located along the Dubai Creek. Their food offerings are café international with regional influences. Prices are fair. I would mostly be back for alfresco Friday breakfast with friends. Have the home made granola.
Location: Next to Dubai Museum
Cuisine: International Cafe
Price per couple: Approx AED 140
