Restaurant Review:
Flavors of the World (Rabiee Al Shaay)

University City
​Sharjah

 The food scene in Sharjah is evolving and we are loving it! We were recently invited to Rabiee Al Shaay, a little restaurant nestled amidst other eateries on the busy University City Road of Sharjah. One half of Stamps and Stubs was a student at The American University of Sharjah and clearly remembers how there was just the odd restaurant on this stretch that now boasts of many different kinds of cafeterias and restaurants. So how does Rabiee Al Shaay fare amongst its competition? Read on to find out!

The restaurant is small and more for take away than dine in with hardly any seating, but the bright décor, logo and staff make up for the space constraints. The aromas of chocolate, vanilla, crepes and tea invade your nostrils as you enter but more on that later; here’s everything we had:
Appetizers

  • Shrimp Dynamite: Marinated fresh shrimp with their spicy special sauce
  • Dynamite Fries: Melted Cheddar cheese, spicy ranch, crispy onion, jalapeno and sour cream (this comes with beef sauce but we had it without)
Mains

  • Chicken Cheetos: Deep fried chicken, melted cheese, Cheetos, original salt, pickles, slices and lettuce served in a potato bun
  • Penne Pink Sauce Pasta with Prawns: Red pasta topped with prawns, jalapeno and creamy tomato sauce
  • Omani Chips Paratha roll​
Desserts
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  • Sushi Crepe: Chocolate brownies, blanketed with milk and white chocolate served in sushi style
Drinks

  • Lotus Temple Milkshake
  • Red Ruby (Fresh watermelon, lime and lemon)
 
While we loved some of the items, others could use some work. Our favorites from the lot had to be the Shrimp Dynamite, Prawn Pasta and the Omani Chips Paratha Roll; thumbs up to the flavors in these dishes! Although the staff explained to us that the texture of the Lotus shake was what it was after a lot taking into consideration comments from other customers, we found it extremely runny and felt that it needed to be thicker. The Sushi Crepe made for an entertaining end to the meal; entertaining because we got to see how it was prepared and we must say that it takes quite a lot of skill and precision to obtain the finished product. We enjoyed the process more than we did the taste but overall, it was a fine finale.

We had a pleasant experience at this restaurant and quite liked their service, simplicity and quirky menu. We have added this one to the list of pit stops we intend to make whenever we’re in Sharjah next!