Dubai chocolate — a mixture of milk chocolate, pistachio cream, and kataifi for the crunch — has been circulating social media for the past few months. Recently, it has become available in various places around New York City. This delicious mixture comes in the form of a chocolate bar, it can be found in crepes, or even melted on top of strawberries.
Dubai chocolate itself has been viral since late 2023, but in December, it picked up again all over TikTok and Instagram, after people began to use it in different ways than only a chocolate bar.
The obsession began on December 18, 2023, when Mariave Hera posted a video of herself on TikTok eating a Dubai chocolate bar. The video gained over six million likes and over 100 million views. Hera lives in the United Arab Emirates and shares various videos of different foods to try, many of which contain Dubai chocolate. Comments on her TikTok support Hera and her essentially beginning the trend to have Dubai chocolate.
This led to malls and other locations becoming packed with people craving Dubai chocolate. The Nuts Factory, for instance in Roosevelt Field Mall, placed their strawberries on display and varieties of chocolate including the Dubai chocolate on a stand next to the entrance. It is prepared for all to see the droopy delicious chocolate and have their mouths water before they even eat. There are several Nuts Factory locations in New York City, including near Bryant Park.
On social media, this love and support will always come with jokes and laughter. Another viral TikTok video, which also gained around six million likes, mimics the chocolate with brown clay (substitute for the outer milk chocolate bar) opening up to grass, with yellow leaves on top to represent the kataifi. The video was captioned, “Dubai chocolate [smiling face with heart eyes]”.
The TikTok video was mostly posted just for a laugh, as many of the comments aren’t clearly attacking the Dubai chocolate that was referenced to in the video. If anything, the expense of the chocolate was complained about in the comments section.
When it comes to the price, many people have found this chocolate to be not only difficult to find, but a bit costly as well. Hera herself is shown to be wealthy and an expensive person. She is always shown to have acrylics on, and is always trying the expensive foods, not accounting for the fact that she posts around twice a day.
At Nuts Factory for instance, one 7.5 ounce chocolate bar costs around $20 here in New York City. For something extra special like the strawberries with the chocolate, or the crepe, the price can vary but is around the same. At Chocolate Factory in Brooklyn, the best seller Dubai crepe costs $14.29, while at the Nuts Factory near Bryant Park, the strawberries with mixture of Dubai and milk chocolate as well as the kataifi costs $25.
Yes, the Dubai chocolate is very delicious and appealing. It definitely has its complications, but it is worth the try. To avoid the expense, there are several recipes available to make the viral chocolate at home. Let’s hope this desert is here to stay for the next few years.
