Among the many food trends in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the latest is knafeh-filled chocolate. Known globally as Dubai chocolate, the sweet treat was first introduced by Fix Dessert Chocolatier, a high-end chocolate shop in the city.
Dubai chocolate has gone global thanks to TikTok. Now, many other brands are making chocolates inspired by the dessert. In Indonesia, several famous dessert shops have also added this chocolate to their menu.
Despite its popularity, many people are still curious about Dubai chocolate. So, here are some interesting facts about this dessert.
1. Dubai Chocolate Creator
Dubai Chocolate was created by British-Egyptian Dubai expat Sarah Hamouda. She is the founder of Fix Dessert Chocolatier who launched the brand in 2021. She was inspired by her desire while pregnant to create something more than just regular chocolate and Fix Dessert Chocolatier was born.
2. Chocolate Filling
The viral Dubai chocolate combines the Middle Eastern dessert knafeh with rich chocolate indulgence. It has a gooey, crunchy texture of pistachio and cheese, with a splash of colorful paint on top that makes it look appealing.
3. Can only be ordered via the application
Dubai chocolate is not available in any store, not even Fix Dessert Chocolatier. The only way to get it in Abu Dhabi and Dubai is through food delivery app Deliveroo. But there is a trick.
Every day, the chocolate bars go on sale at 2pm and 5pm, and they sell out within minutes. So to order, customers need to log into their Deliveroo account just before the chocolate goes on sale, add it to their shopping cart as soon as it’s available, and pay for it right away. If you hesitate, someone else will probably take it.
4. Price
This Dubai chocolate is sold per box with six variants priced at AED 385 or around Rp1.6 million. There is also a mini box containing 10 pieces of smaller chocolate priced at AED 189 or around Rp816,000.
The flavors include Can’t Get Knafeh of It-Hero (crunchy knafeh mixed with pistachio and tahini paste, coated in milk chocolate), Cereously Chewsy (chewy fudge brownie with cereal coated in milk chocolate), Mind Your Own Buiscoff (crunchy lotus cheesecake coated in white chocolate) and Pick Up A Pretzel (crunchy knafeh and salted caramel pretzel coated in milk chocolate).
5. Queue up to 10 hours
Dubai chocolate is now widely made by other chocolate brands abroad. Although it is becoming more common, the queues to get this chocolate are crazy. In Stuttgart, Germany, for example, this chocolate was introduced by Lindt this month. Fans waited for hours in the cold weather to buy the chocolate bar. Although the price is more expensive, up to 20 euros per bar, consumers are not afraid. They are willing to wait up to 10 hours.
In Paris, the Salon du Chocolat chocolate brand also makes its own version. People are willing to queue for three hours to get Dubai chocolate which is sold for 15 euros or around Rp251,000.
What about in Indonesia? Several dessert shop brands also make their own versions of Dubai chocolate such as Dapur Cokelat, Harvest, Pipiltin Cocoa, and Don Bakeshop. Some of these shops only make Dubai chocolate based on orders.