I tried Dubai inspired chocolate, the latest sweet treat to go viral across social media

Back in 2023, food influencer Maria Vehera went viral for an ASMR video of herself eating a thick chocolate bar filled with green-colored pistachio cream. The video, which garnered over 77 million views and 5 million likes, quickly spurred intrigue amongst hundreds of people who were looking to get their hands on TikTok’s latest confectionary craze.

Vehera wasn’t eating any ordinary chocolate bar — she was eating Dubai chocolate. The decadent bar is exclusively made at FIX Dessert Chocolatier, a Dubai chocolate shop, and fittingly called “Can’t Get Knafeh of It.” Each bar includes toasted kataifi — thin strands of shredded phyllo dough pastry — pistachio and tahini paste that’s all mixed together and encased in milk chocolate.

@mariavehera257 @fixdessertchocolatier WOW, JUST WOW!!! Can’t explain how good these are! When a chocolate, a dessert and a piece of art meet this is what you get! 🍫 "Can't Get Knafeh of it," "Mind Your Own Busicoff," and "Crazy Over Caramel." Order on Instagram Chatfood or Deliveroo and let me know what’s your FIX? Instagram : fixdessertchocolatier #asmr #foodsounds #dubai #dubaidessert ♬ оригинальный звук - mariavehera257

Sarah Hamouda, the founder of FIX, told CNN that she was inspired by her pregnancy cravings to create something more than the “typical,” everyday chocolate bar. The bar is essentially a pistachio rendition of knafeh: a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with kataifi, soaked in a sugar-based syrup called attar, and layered with cheese, clotted cream or nuts.

“We take a lot of time and effort, and put a lot of love into our bars,” Hamouda said. “We want to create an experience.”

In recent months, the demand for Dubai chocolate bars has skyrocketed. Hamouda told CNN that in their early days, FIX was receiving around six orders per day. Now, the company is receiving up to 100 orders per minute — and that’s just exclusively in Dubai.

Indeed, the chocolate bars are currently available only in Dubai. In an Aug. 13 Instagram post, the company told its customers to “beware of scammers” that are reselling their chocolate and claiming to be FIX. Per FIX, the company does not have a website and a physical store. They do not sell their bars on social media nor do they have any authorized resellers located locally or internationally.

“We are working incredibly hard to make FIX available across more cities, ensuring you get the quality and authenticity you deserve,” the company said in its post.

As for U.S. consumers who are looking to try Dubai chocolate, the closest they can get to the real deal is copycat bars from independent sellers or chocolatiers that have developed similar recipes. It’s not authentic Dubai chocolate by any means but rather, Dubai-inspired chocolate.

On TikTok, many eager taste-testers have satisfied their Dubai chocolate cravings at the Nuts Factory, a family-run establishment specializing in nuts, dried fruits, spices, coffee, tea and chocolates. Hopping on the bandwagon, I decided to pay a visit to one of its Brooklyn-based shops, which was a mere 25 minute walk from my apartment.

The Nuts Factory sells two kinds of chocolate bars, one made with milk chocolate (similar to FIX’s bar) and another made with dark chocolate. I was tempted to get a dark chocolate bar but in hopes of staying as authentic as possible, I settled for the milk chocolate bar. An employee at the Nuts Factory told me the bar is best enjoyed slightly “chilled” to ensure the filling is “extra crispy.” I disregarded their advice when I enjoyed my first bite of Dubai-inspired chocolate, purely because I was too excited — and impatient — to refrigerate the bar.

The bar was perfection when I unraveled it from its gold foil wrapping. The chocolate was chunky and the filling was bright green in color and creamy in texture, just like the pictures had promised. The only thing that was missing was the bright green swirls seen on FIX’s “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” bar. But considering that this was a dupe, I wasn’t really bothered by the lack of decorations.

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The highlight of the bar was the toasted kataifi, which was deliciously crispy when I enjoyed the bar moments after I purchased it and deliciously crispy hours later, after it had been chilled in the fridge overnight. I was expecting a stronger pistachio flavor but overall, the flavor was quite subtle. It wasn’t bad per say, but if the bar had stronger notes of pistachio, it would have paired better with the milk chocolate, which I found to be too sweet and overpowering in flavor.

That being said, it’s still a chocolate bar at the end of the day and chocolate is delicious regardless of how simple or fancy it is. Would I go back to the Nuts Factory for seconds? Considering that each bar is priced at $18.99 each, probably not. My Dubai chocolate craving has been satisfied, although I will say that if FIX decides to expand their business to the US, I will definitely try the real deal.

According to Today’s Rachel Askinasi, it looks like I did miss my chance to try FIX’s Dubai chocolate in the states. “In preparation for the launch of their newly redesigned suite at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the team at UAE airline Emirates flew to New York from Dubai with a suitcase full of Fix chocolate bars to share with their guests,” Askinasi, who tried the bars herself, wrote earlier this month.

I’ll be sure to keep my eyes out for the chocolate next time.