“Try one,” said the salesgirl. She offered me a small white cube from a tin. “It’s the best variety of nougat and is handmade.” I peeled the wrapper open, hoping she wouldn’t talk me into buying it-I wanted to spend my remaining dirhams on something memorable from the Dubai Mall. The moment the tin was opened, the atmosphere at La Cure Gourmande changed. Her colleague, who was arranging cookie boxes stopped what she was doing and said, “Hey I want one too!” “See, I told you it was special,” added the salesgirl. “Go on, try it.”
I popped it in, a little curious-she watched me intently as I did so. It lasted almost 30 seconds-the sugary bliss of the chewy confection rendered me speechless, literally. Chunks of almonds embedded inside only added to the high. The salesgirl watched with a smug smile on her face. “How many tins,” she asked.
I walked up and down the nougat corner of the confectionary- there were rose, orange, apricot, and caramel-flavoured ones, placed in beautiful blue tins. She hovered about, arranging and rearranging them. She knew she was going to make good business.
I could feel myself sweating, despite the heavily air-conditioned atmosphere. I knew I was going to end up spending my entire shopping money on kilos of French nougat. Twenty minutes later, I walked out. The salesgirl waved with a satisfied smile-I bought three tins of traditional nougat. I polished them off within three weeks back home.