One-third of the cult-favourite offering, Mohamed dishes on memories, mana’eesh and making it big
Created by dynamic father-and-son duo Ibrahim and Mohamad Akkaoui, Akhu Manoushe was born out of a desire to create a dining experience where the first bite will take you home. In the past two-and-some years, it has been steadily doing just that, firing up many manoushes – made of superlative quality and a whole lot of heart – for curious first-timers and age-old loyalists.
We sat down with Mohamed, probably the quirkiest social media ambassador out there (follow their page here for all the fun: @akhu.manoushe), to talk about all things mana’eesh and finally ask the burning question – what do they put in those things?
How did the idea for Akhu Manoushe come to you?
My dad has been in the business for a very long time, but also mana’eesh is rooted within our culture. Whether it’s Lebanese, Palestine, Syria, whatever, whatever it is. There was always that memory of us going down on a Sunday or Saturday and going to our favorite bakery and bringing like 5 or 10 cheese and zaatar (mana’eesh) and just going back home and having that kind of communal table with the rest of the family.
It is a staple part of growing up in the region. The whole experience of going, seeing the owner there, interacting with him, hearing him complain or even talk about life while making you the sandwich.
So, yeah, if you ask me, it was part of my childhood growing up here in Abu Dhabi, and when we were in Lebanon, going downstairs, standing, listening to the guy asking me about the UAE and how I’m living there and waiting for my sandwich, which usually takes 5 minutes, but it’s a 30-minute experience because of the old man.
Both your parents are part of Akhu Manoushe – what is the experience of working with your family like?
Listen, it’s rewarding.
It’s difficult, but rewarding. And it’s one of the best learning curves you’ll ever get in your life. Not from learning new things, but also learning things about your family that you probably wouldn’t see in the household, whether how they think, the processes, how they deal with people, how they chat to customers.
And it will also teach you patience, because at the end of the day, they’re a whole different generation. There’s a beauty and magic when you find synergy between their way of thinking and the new-age way of thinking.
And when you find that synergy, it creates magic and it creates core memories.
What is the secret to making the perfect manoushe?
I think the secret to making the perfect manoushe or the secret to making food is the person that’s making it.
Someone that’s passionate about what he’s cooking – you can feel that kind of love and effort and passion in the food. So, that’s one of the main ingredients that you can’t buy from anywhere. So, our trade secret is the love that we have in it.
Why do you think Akhu Manoushe became such a cult favorite?
It’s a mixture of reasons but I think one of the main reasons is because we reminded everyone of a core memory they had as kids, which is that nostalgia. Nostalgia played a very big role because we truly hit on everything that our customers had when they were kids, whether it’s the same experience that I had, whether it’s going and getting the manoushe or it’s interacting with the people that work there and forming a relationship with them. I think these are small things that made us grow, that made us stay consistent.
We have a beautiful number of loyal customers that made us part of their weekly routines. It’s the nostalgic experience the second you pass by the stall, whether it’s through the smell or if you’re hearing my dad say something or us speaking in a very loud voice because we’re Arabs and you think that we’re arguing.
And then all the way leading up to engaging your taste buds with our mana’eesh.
What is your favorite manoushe or your favorite way to enjoy this dish?
My favorite way to eat it is…well, it depends which manoushe. If it’s a morning one, I’m a fan of our cheese egg mix. I’ll put some vegetables on it, roll it up into a sandwich, hold it with both hands and just have it all in a couple of bites.
And of course, the BonJus on the side.
So, what is BonJus?
So, what is BonJus?
Quenching thirsty patrons since 1962, BonJus is one of the oldest fruit juice brands in Lebanon. The classic pineapple beverage, paired with a fresh mana'eesh, has become a symbol of childhood, nostalgia and all the good things growing up for the Lebanese community.
What’s next for Akhu Manoushe?
We’re on the lookout for our HQ – we want to have a home that welcomes everyone, not just at the booth. If any of the readers of this article would like to suggest, we’d love for it to come from the community that we serve versus just looking at it. We truly believe in family and community, so anything that we do, anything that we build needs to have that essence in it. We’re always looking for people to be part of it.
That’s why the brand was built. At first, it was because I just wanted to spend more time, selfishly, with my family. I know that we’re all workaholics. So I thought if I build a brand in Dubai, I’ll probably get my mom and dad here to come help me and spend time with them.
There wasn’t a full thought process around us expanding – it was just maybe a pop-up for Ramadan. And now we’re here today, two-and-a-half years in and AlSerkal is a great partner, a great location. We have a great relationship.
We love them. I think it truly fits our brand ethos. But hopefully we’ll have an HQ to welcome more people, to have seating, to interact with people, to share more memories.
I think that’s super important to us.
Image credit: Supplied
Bonjus image credit: @thevoicenotechef
Deeply passionate about food, culture and community, Manaal loves telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Besides sniffing out a tale to tell, her favourite things to do include binging true crime documentaries, chasing cats on the streets and curating a good outfit.
