Dubai Day 2: Dubai Mall & Dancing Waters

It was 11:30a by the time we took the elevator back down 124 floors and left the Burj Khalifa.

Time to feed our tummies. But not just anywhere. Mui had learned that his favorite baklava shop in Türkiye — Hacı İsmail Hakkızade Hafız Mustafa … in short, Hafiz Mustafa — has its only overseas branch at the Dubai Mall.

Though Hafız Mustafa has been in business since 1864, we tasted the sweet treats they make for the first time when we were in İstanbul on Insignia last year.

Once seated in the café section of the shop, we were handed an iPad menu with all the available offerings — sweet and savory. We decided to start out with su böreği … a cheese-filled savory pastry. I don’t much care for this börek, because it can have a really soft texture. But the one at Hafız Mustafa had the right consistency. We enjoyed it with Turkish tea, which the waiter refilled … saying that it was on him.

Next came the künefe for me and a platter of baklava selections for Mui. Of course, I shared with Mui my fresh-from-the-oven künefe … two layers of kadayıf (shredded dough) with ooey-gooey cheese in between. The waiter brought it out with a small carafe of warm simple syrup to pour over it … and a bowl of crushed pistachios as garnish.

It was 1:00p when we stepped outside to the central courtyard. It was hot under the sun, but we wanted to find another vantage point from which to take a selfie with the Burj Khalifa as a backdrop. We were, however, distracted from our mission by music blaring over the loudspeakers. Turns out the fountains were doing their “choreographed dance.” Only for another 30 seconds. Darn!

The good news? Mui found out the time for the next dancing waters performance … in ½-hour. The guard even told us where to stand for the best views.

It was brutally hot by this time. So, we killed some time in another part of the air conditioned mall — an area called Souq Al Bahar. This part of the mall had a seemingly different ambiance … a lot of clothing shops … some bespoke tailoring … all catering to a more traditional Arab clientele.

The show was definitely worth the wait. And we even found shade. I later found some stats about the fountains — larger than two soccer fields … covering some 30 acres; the high-pressure water jets shoot up some 500 feet into the air.

Everything is big in Dubai. Why should the fountains be any different?

The dancing waters were a great way to wrap up our visit to the Dubai Mall.

Oh, and yes. I found another selfie spot with the Burj Khalifa as a backdrop … see if you can spot it in the last selfie.Read more