Eating the WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BIRYANI with SWATI VERMA in Dubai, UAE!!

Are you ready to try the world's most expensive biryani? In previous life, you know, I was Indian. Good afternoon, everyone. This is David Hoffman from David's Bin here, coming at you from beautiful Dubai, UAE. Today I'm so excited because I'm here with Swati Verma, an Indian makeup artist. Dude, you're awesome. Thank you. So she started Swati Cosmetics with your husband. Yes. And it's all about empowerment, 100% vegan, and your products are in Sephora and many other big outlets, right? Yes, yes, that's true. And you love Indian food? I am a big fan of Indian food, and we are here today at Bombay Borough to try some crazy Indian dishes. And there's one more special thing, right? Yes, so they have the most expensive biryani in the world. It's like a gold-foiled biryani. Oh my God, I am so excited. But, you know, I'm a vegetarian. Yes, yes, I know, I know. So luckily for us, they're going to put the lamb on the side, the egg on the side, so you'll be able to eat the vegetarian aspect of it, right? Yeah, that's amazing. I am literally dying to try out the most expensive vegetable biryani. And they also have like an array of Indian dishes from all across India, north, south, northeast, west. So if you want, we can even try a ghost pepper from Nagaland. Yes, yes, I love spicy food, you know, more than anything. Oh, do you? Yes. No, yes, I'm so excited. I love it. This is going to be awesome. But I'm just worried about my stomach. Let's see what happens now. Pepto Bismol. All right, so let's go inside Bombay Borough and let's go eat. Ready? Let's go. Ready to go? Yes, super excited. You hungry? Yeah, very hungry. All right, let's go. By the way, I entered this restaurant like half an hour ago, and it is amazing. Did you eat anything already? Oh, I ate this morning, but not here yet. And here's my friend Hamza. Hamza. How are you doing? Everything good? All good, thank you. This is Swati. Hello, nice to meet you. Hi, nice to meet you. We're going to have something special today. It's going to be something unique here in Dubai and UAE as well. It's called the Gold Biryani. Please welcome. Are you ready to try the world's most expensive biryani? Very ready, yes, super ready. So they have an incredible bar over here, so if you're into drinks, they got it. And they got Kingfisher. I am on an office break, you know. You are, you are. I'm taking a break from drinking, so I'm good. I'm just drinking water, in Dubai especially because it's so dry. I need a lot of water. You need a lot of water, for sure. So we're going to have a ghost chili tikka? Maybe, maybe. Okay, I can give it a try. I've never tried it before in my life. Oh, no, no, no. It's scary. Maybe we don't try it. Maybe it's next time. Maybe. I love this terrace, by the way. Look at this, beautiful. So Swati, I have to ask you, you've been in Dubai, you said... It's been three years now. Three years? Yeah, that's it. Okay, okay, that's it. So I was here in 2006. Okay. That was the only structure. I can imagine. That was the only thing. You know, if you talk about the building, which is old, it's like five years old, you know? I know, I know. It's crazy. Five years, six years old. It's amazing. I really, really like Dubai. Yeah? It's a standard. Especially when you compare to India. Yeah, yeah. No, for sure. You know the best thing about Dubai? No taxes. Yes, that's true. Actually, that's true. But for the employers, it's kind of hard because as an employer, you need to give visas to people. Yeah. You should move to Dubai. I don't know. I have two kids in Miami, so it's going to be hard. Well, I'm ready for the food. And this is incredible. I love this outdoor seating, right? Yeah, it's really, really nice. Fresh air. I love the white. And what area is this? It's DIFC. DIFC. So what's DIFC? To be honest, I'm from Marina side. Oh, you're from Marina. Yeah. So I lived in Pond two years, and it was beautiful there. It was always like waking up in Maldives. And then we moved to Marina because we wanted a little more happening. During COVID time, it was really just two of us, me and my husband, and we were sick of each other. Everything. He's going to watch this video. It's going to kill me. But we work together. We live together. 24 hours together. So, you know, it's kind of hard. These are the mocktails. One is your Magic Melon, which is orange, musk melon, and coconut nectar. Then we have Ooty Sunset, which is a pineapple with thyme. This is your Pink City, which is guava with the blackberries. I'm going to get the best one. This one is the best. OK. All right. I'm going to take this one. Thank you. Oh, that one's the best? Come on. What can I do? You're still in the three most popular drinks, OK? And these are non-alcoholic. We're trying to keep it light. So, if you want alcohol, they have that as well. They have a bar here. They have Kingfisher. They have non-stop alcohol. Beautiful. You know, I live in Dubai, but I've never been here because it's actually the other side of Dubai. But I am definitely coming back here. This is closer to downtown. Right there, we have Emirate Towers. That's like one of the first structures ever built. And then they're both super tall. It's like 300 meters high. All the buildings are so, so gorgeous here. They're tall. They're stunning. Wow. Genuinely so good. Yeah? All right. So, a mocktail. Huh? Not a cocktail. A mocktail. Cheers. Don't worry about it. Mmm. Amazing. Super refreshing. Mmm. Oh, nice and minty. This is almost like a lemonade. This seems like a coconut curry to me, to be honest. But I love it. Yeah, it's really nice. No joke. Personally, I love everything coconut. I went to Kerala. Yep. Kerala. Oh, you pronounce it Kerala. Uh-huh. That's actually a very bitter vegetable. Oh, is it? Yeah. Have you been there, by the way? Yes, I've been there. Oh, yeah? And, you know, the funniest thing is, when my husband, when we were just dating, and he was meeting my parents, and my parents were going to Kerala the next day. And we were trying to impress him that he knows so much about India, and he was like, Zoe, you're going to Kerala tomorrow. And they were like, no, we're not going to Kerala tomorrow. That's like a dish, you know, nobody really likes so much because it's so bitter. Amazing. Look at this dish. Wow. That's crazy. Seriously. That's a hell of a biryani. What are you doing there? Just placing gold foil. Wow. All right, guys, this is crazy. This is the most expensive biryani in the world. 1,000 dirhams. So, like, almost 300 US dollars for this massive platter. So, basically, what he's doing now, he's putting gold foil on all the meat. That's why it's so expensive. All edible gold foil. Crazy. It's crazy. And on the side, we have nihari. It's Pakistani, right? So, it's more of a Pakistani dish. That is what? Dahi? Oh, that's raita. Raita, yeah. So, that's yogurt, basically. With pomegranate on top, right? And then this one is? A little spicy, right? It looks too spicy. No, it's never too spicy. It's never too spicy. Especially for the Indians, you know, it's never too spicy. Wow. You're gonna gain a lot of weight. Oh, I'm so used to it, my friend. It's just desi ghee, desi ghee, desi ghee. It's amazing. It's not Indian food without the pure desi ghee. Exactly. That's so true. Yeah, like, in the States, we don't get the pure. You know, it's not the same thing unless you bring it in. But it's still different. And I'll tell you, I ate yesterday, here in Dubai, Indian food all day long. Best Indian food of my life. Not outside of India. Oh, yeah, yeah. I had one of the best buttered chickens ever, and one of the best biryanis I've ever had over there in Meena Bazar. But this is something special. This is really special. I have never seen something like this before. All right, my friends. This is it. The most expensive biryani in the world. Oh, my gosh. What do we have? I mean, this is crazy. So many things. To be honest, I have no idea about the meat part. Okay. Because I'm a vegetarian. Yeah. You explain it to me. What is it? I think, so we have lamb chops here. Yeah. All covered with gold foil. We also have here seekh kebabs, right? Yeah, that's a Kashmiri seekh kebab. Kashmiris. This is chicken? This is chicken. So you have the delicacies from whole India. All of India. Wow. And so this is 1000 dirhams. So, like, almost 300 US dollars. I think it's like 270 right now. This looks incredible. What is vegetarian here? These three are veg. And this is the lamb. Those three are vegetarian. I love how you have variety of everything. From vegan to non-vegetarian food. Wow. So what's inside it? Let's open it. I think it's the rice here. Oh, it's like sticky rice. Wow. Oh, to mix that noodles into the curry. Then take some rice, apply some curry, mix it and have it. The aroma of that coming out, the coconut. Wow. Everything coconut is for me. How do I even start this thing? Can you finish the whole? That's the question. I mean, I'm gonna destroy the shops. So, the gold is edible, right? Yes. My vegan meal. So tasty. I love the marinade. It's the best curry I had ever in Dubai. This one? Yes, honestly. No way. Oh, I'm gonna have to try it. Oh, whatever they marinate it with, I'm sure it's like malai, right? They usually use malai? Uh-huh. I'm gonna just dive in here with my hands, right? Let's get in here. Break up some of this. Wow. Get some of these potatoes. All right. You are a true Indian. You were just born in the US. Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. That's funny. People tell me that all the time. They're like, you are turning into Indian. I'm like, no, no. My previous life, you know. I was Indian. Three different rices, right? So that one has some pomegranate. This one's more with cashew nuts. And this one. It's three different. Yeah. Three different. And this one, I guess, has meat in it, right? Yes. That was the vegetarian. That was the vegetarian one? Yeah. But it's just, you know, the meat is kept on it. So I'm like a little sensitive. I get it. Amazing. Oh, my God. It's so moist. Nice and meaty. Make you feel it. Yeah, yeah. But this one, honestly, this is so, so good. That one's so good? Yeah. I mean, it looks incredible. Presentation was so amazing. Yeah, right? Love it here, guys. Love it. So good. Aren't you going to try those things also? Because they're vegetarian. These three are veg. They're gravy. But this looks really spicy. That one? Yeah, but this one. This is so good. Yeah? Is it spicy? No, no. I mean, it's spice level, I'd say, right here, I'd say a five. I mean, there is some spice in here. On top of potatoes, especially. You see that? The chili, right? Yeah. Chili pepper. But this is a nice meatball. I love the gold aspect. I mean, obviously, taste-wise, you don't taste anything. Yeah. Like in the gold. Yes. But just the flavor inside the meat or the chicken here. So good. Yeah. So good. So much flavor. Mm-hmm. Nice seekh kebab. Oh, this is so good gravy. Yeah? It's good? Mm-hmm. But it's not spicy. It was looking really spicy, but it's not. That one? Yeah. Wow. So good. I like this kind of spice level. Mm-hmm. I cannot handle it more than this. It's more like, you know, you need a lot of water, and you get full with the water only. You want to try ghost chili? Well... Oh, gosh. Let's do it. You want to try? Thumbs up. Can we see a ghost chili? When people make the biggest or the most expensive, usually, it's for that number or that thing. This one is good. Yeah? Yeah. I don't know if it's the best biryani I ever had. For me, that's hard to compare unless I literally have it side by side. Yeah. Because that whole thing with, like, it's the best. For me, the best is usually the last one. Yeah, but it's also about the experience, I guess, you know? Oh, yeah, yeah. And when you look at this... Oh, gosh. Mm-hmm. Wow. This is so tasty. I'm going to try this one. So you just put this... Yeah, this is really good. Just mix it with rice. Just with rice? Just like right here? I think you should try it with the rice. With the plain rice? Yeah, the plain one. All right, I'll try the next one. Because it has a lot of flavor already. Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, there's chunks of meat in here. You can see it, right? But you know what I love about the gravy is it makes it a little pasty, right? And it binds everything together. Mm. It was good. Love the gravy. Not too spicy. Yeah. Yeah, it just looks spicy. That's what I was talking about. Yeah, just... You know what it is? You put the chilies on top, right? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. This, and you crumble, like, on top. You know, people sometimes don't like the egg. Yeah. I love the egg aspect. I do eat eggs. You do eat eggs, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, because that's more like... Vegans don't, right? Vegans don't, yeah. I'm a vegetarian, so it's okay. I mean, you know, when you travel, you cannot really survive being a vegetarian. Oh, you cannot. You need to have a lot of options, and... It's so hard. It is really hard. It's so hard. Are you ready for it? Yeah, Indian food has spices. Sichuan, Chinese, Thai food, most of Southeast Asia, that's super spicy because they use chilies. Exactly. Like this. I'm gonna eat this. I've never tried it in my life. No? No. My father loves it. My husband loves it. Oh, my gosh. I am gonna die, I think. Oh, let's try one. Let's try one. You ready? You don't have... Can I get some... Okay, I have some water already. Yeah, I would say take a nibble. Just for the safety. You take a tiny bite. I'll take the whole bite. Ready? Ready. Okay, wait. It's like taking a medicine, you know? Oh, this is definitely medicine. But it helps you, right? Okay, so it has gold on it. That's like a really special thing here. Okay. Ready? Let's do it. Too hot? You know when I feel it? Oh, my head starts sweating. Oh, my gosh. Are you okay? And you had a nibble. That's the whole thing. Oh, God. No, no, no. This is not okay. Oh, my God. So I'm gonna try this chicken with malai and gold. And I'm just happy with my vegan coconut curry. I love all this. So much flavor. And obviously, most of this comes from tandoor, right? So that smokiness. Look at that charred. Wow. And I'm getting that spice from the chili. Oh, you feel it, right? Oh, I still have that. Okay, so I'm gonna try the veg part of the biryani or the, I guess, the white rice, right? This side. Yeah. And we're gonna pour this on top, right? Okay. Badami sauce. Badami is almond. Oh, look at that. Yeah, I love it. Look at this. It's like a nice paste right there. Look at that. It's supposed to be like this. Oh, it's so thick. I always say we should never leave any rice. But in this case, I might have to leave some rice. No, no, no. It's gonna be great. You have to follow the same rules. Oh, my gosh. You're crazy. You're not eating for one week, then. No, no. I'm taking this all home, for sure. Look at this bite, though. What a bite. This is gonna be awesome. I mean, I'm gonna get a smaller piece. It's a little too much. Mm-hmm. So, what are your tips for, you know, in the stomach, by the way? The stomach. What are you gonna tell your viewers if they eat this kind of food every day? If you eat this kind of food every day, you take Pepto-Bismol. And how do you look like, you know, how can they look like you, then? So fit. So, I've told people all the time. Yeah? Yeah, you did? All right. Yeah, it's basically, it's a mix of intermittent fasting. So, that means 16 to 18 or 20-hour fast. Wow. Every day. I did the same. You did? Yeah, yeah. It's, you know, three years in. Yeah? I'm past the mental. You did it for three years? Oh, it's three years, yeah. I mean, obviously, traveling is different. But when I'm home, it's automatic. Mm-hmm. You know, I have dinner with my kids at 7. I don't eat till 12 or 1. And then around 3 or 4, have a banana or an apple. Okay. Super light. And everything's super healthy. I don't touch fast food. Okay. Like, I haven't touched fast food or soda. It's not fast food. This is, like, really good food. Really good food, yes. Of course. I mean, obviously. Cut some of the ghee. Cut some of the butter. But ghee is healthy, hey? It is, it is. It is healthy. It's definitely healthier than butter. Like, butter, like a block. Right? I would agree. You know, I was doing an intermittent fasting with a window. I started with seven hours of window of eating. Okay. And then rest of the hours, you know, just not eating. Just fasting. Mm-hmm. And then I started a window of 20 by 4. Wow. So 20 hours of fasting. Four. And four hours of eating. Like, not eating the whole four hours. No, but in that time frame. But just, you know, one or two meals. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Then, when I was at peak, I did, like, 24 hours window. Right. I ate one meal a day. Healthy meal. Nothing crazy. Like, healthy as in just vegetables and all that. I'm a vegetarian, so. 13 kilos back. Can you imagine? Like, in one and a half months. 13 kilos? 13. Oh, wow. Once a year. And I was like, and you know what? Once you start eating, you don't have the conflict. Well, you have this whole briyani to finish. I'm joking. This is my, like, two weeks food. I know. Me too. Look at this. Look how massive it is, though. I think I need to try this one. So we just put the nihari on. And there was nothing vegetarian. Nothing. Beautiful. It's all meat. It was nothing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. This is so good. Like this? Yeah. So actually, I'm going to mix the rice and this chili. So we got the nihari. We have the rice. Oh. So it's a different type of rice, this one. This is not basmati. This is kaiser rice, you said? Right here. You ready? And the chili. The gold flake chili. Mm. Mm-hmm. Okay. So let's do one more thing. What are you going to do? Can you finish this? No, I can't. You want me to finish that? Maybe, you know, I don't want to have a bad day. I'm a little nervous with that. I'd rather eat the rice. Can you finish this? These. I do not want to finish this. I do not think I can finish that. I do not want to try that. No problem. How many can you eat? I can eat another one. This guy is crazy, I swear. No. I love spice. I mean, the only thing is, when it comes in spicy, it definitely comes out spicy. Just know that. It's part of it. You're going to have a bad day tomorrow morning. Boy, I got a cool boomerang. I can't actually have a competition with my father. Honestly. He loves it. I love the spice. I don't know the thing that, you know, the rush that he gets by eating spicy, the chilies. You know, it's the rush right here in the head. It has to come from somewhere. Oh, it's hot. Oh, my God. I know, right? Look at my head. It's like boiling. He's being bad to me. What is this? No more chilies. He's like forcing the chilies on me. I just wanted to see how many he really has. This is an amazing thing. Actually, we're going to be here for eight more hours and he has to finish everything. No. I'm just going to have a little more rice. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, right. The taste of the chilies. I need raita right here. Guys, I am boiling. You're going to feel better now. The raita neutralizes everything. This is the Malabar way, right? You throw in the raita. I love the pomegranate aspect here, too. Yeah. It gives a nice little burst. A little fruity. What do you think of my skills? Really nice, right? I'm impressed. What other American knows how to do it like this? I've never seen one. I know Gordon Ramsay knows how to do it. Yeah. He does. Raita. Cool me down. Actually, I always take raita with every spicy thing that I eat. I think you have to, right? Yeah. I'm going to try your curry here. So, coconut curry, right? Yeah. Vegan coconut curry. It's really good. It's amazing. I mean, it's like the taste of Kerala right here. Kerala. How do I say it? Kerala. Yeah. And you have curry leaves as well in here, right? It's boiling right now. It's okay. I'm dying right here. Yeah. No worries. It's good. Sorry. I need to take a break. So, we came into the kitchen here at Bombay Baro to see how they make some of the tandoori items and also a chaat, right? You're going to get a gold plated very soon. You're going to go with biryani. We're known for our juicy mouth-watering kebabs. This is where it all happens. And it's going to be followed by another signature chaat that we do. A very modern Indian innovation on that. So, bon appetit. So, right here, he's making a seekh kebab. As you can see, he's using a huge skewer. A very, very thick skewer. I've never seen this before. So, he puts the minced lamb meat, obviously mixed with some masalas, of course. He makes a big ball. Then he puts it on the skewer. From the skewer, he throws it into the tandoor. And look at this tandoor. It's like a marble. Almost like a marble tandoor. I've never seen a tandoor this beautiful. Incredible. And it's so hot. Literally, you get next to it and you lose hair. That's how hot it is. 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not get too close. It will burn. You can see the juices and the fat oozing out. So, a lot of restaurants put additional fat on it. We don't do it because the way we marinate it, and the spice and the meat blend, that's the secret to this. To keep it juicy throughout. So, when it gets to you, it's got all the juices which soak out of it, which ooze out of it. So, that's our secret. The seekh kebab is actually plated on the naan, right? It's a Kashmiri-style kebab that we do. This is basically our naan. But on this, it's a bed. And this is the seekh kebab. So, on that, it will be layered with butter, and saffron, and a little bit of cream on that. This is the doon chutney. Vinegar, onion, on the topping of spring onion. And this is the best-selling item in our restaurant. And you will never get this type of kebab in any restaurant. Guys, I'm gonna try this incredible kebab right here. Super hot. It looks amazing. Super juicy. Oh, I love lamb. So, I can't wait for this. So, I'm gonna dip in the chutney right there. Whoo! Oh, my gosh. I wish I wasn't so full. Mmm. Oh, my God, the flavors. The juices. Oh, I love the chutney. Mmm. Chutney is almost like tzatziki. Cucumber, right? Yeah. This is doon chutney. Doon chutney, yeah. Mmm. So nice. Oh, there's nuts in here, right? It's crunchy. Mmm. Oh, man. Guys, I love the chutney. This kebab, one of my favorites. Wow, with the naan, it's like a nice little wrap. Best seller for a reason. Because it's so well-balanced, it's juicy, and everyone loves it. You know, all nationalities, people of all backgrounds, they come and they love it because it's got that right spice mix. I can't stop. I love this. Oh, creamy. Mmm. Juicy. It's everything. Insane. Awesome, huh? Awesome. Try this kebab. It is a small cheese chili kulcha naan. So that's cheese chili kulcha naan. So cheese, chili, and bread. It's the kulcha. So that's like a Punjabi style, right? They put it in a tandoor. Amazing. Very nice. Next time, I'll try that. Sure, sure, sure. I think I have one more thing, right? Dessert? Yeah, yeah. Dessert. One dessert and one gol gappa. Oh, gol gappa. Oh, my God. Hey, guys. Thank you so much. Dune, dune, dune. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, chef. Thank you. Thank you, the whole team. Thank you. Awesome. All right. So what do we have there? Sir, this is your Amritsari gol gappa. What is happening here? This is crazy. It's amazing. So falooda. Rabdi. And then right here we have the kulfi. All right. And if you guys don't know what kulfi is, that is Indian ice cream. The difference between ice cream and kulfi is this is not whipped. Not whipped. Oh, wow. Look at this. Beautiful. What a crazy dessert. Amazing. Oh. Mmm. Sweet, decadent. And what I love about it is that it's different. A little denser. A lot more flavor. Mm-hmm. This place is too good. Bombay Borough. Last bite, guys. So I thought it was over with the kulfi, but no, we have gol gappa. Okay. So this is my favorite thing ever, but it's different. I've never seen it like this. All right. So what are we doing here? Chicken pani puri gol gappa. So we have a chicken mince with the puri. And this is just go in and take it, right? Yes. Gol gappa with chicken. Crazy. Mmm. Crunchy, juicy. Mmm. So much flavor. Tamarind, mint chutney, pomegranate. What? I've never tried one of these in my life. This is an incredible invention. Gol gappa, pani puri, puchka. One last one, and we're going back to Swati. All right, my friends, we did it. Swati Verma and I just had the most expensive biryani in the world here at Bombay Borough in Dubai. What an incredible feast. Obviously, she's a vegetarian, so she didn't try it, but I'll tell you. I tried this part. You tried this part. Yeah. You tried this part, yeah. They had some vegetarian options too here. Yeah, right. But obviously, they put chicken on top, but if you want, ask them to remove it, right? But amazing lamb. I love the kebab, right? That's the lamb kebab. Over here, we have chicken. We have chicken meatballs. I mean, everything was so good. You also had this coconut curry. Vegan curry. Oh, my gosh. That was very nice. I loved it. I love Dubai so much. I mean, if I have to compare between Sweden, India, and Dubai, I would say Dubai any day. Dubai any day? Yeah. I mean, I'll tell you. I love it here. Not July. Not summer. I mean, right here is awesome. Most people want to travel in summer, so they go out. Yeah, exactly. But people from Europe come here because they want the heat. Exactly. But we go out from here during the summertime. But other than that, Dubai is the best place to live. Yeah. So, December, January, February, best months were here in December. It is amazing weather right now. It's cool. It's breezy. It's like that desert feel. Yeah. It's amazing. And do you know what? It touched nine degrees the day before. Nine degrees? Yes. Wow. In the night. Nine degrees. That's the first time in my life. So, you need an actual sweater for that day. That's awesome. Well, guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, please follow my friend Swati right here. Instagram. Swati Warma. And if you love the video, please give me a thumbs up. Leave me a comment below. Subscribe to my channel for more awesome travel content. See the next travel food adventure in Dubai. I might have to have a little bit more. Maybe that lamb chop. You have to take whole and this is your whole week. I know. Come on. I know, right? We're not wasting it. You know what? I'm going to take it to go. Let me limb myself.