Well, I am Australian and I have been buying Aussie rib eye steak for DH32 per kg and it is cheaper than home and better quality-you pan fry it and it is great!! Pork products and especially bacon are pricey. People can shop at Spinneys, Park 'n Shop, Choithrams and Union Coop the later being the cheapest but with no tabacco products wgich are cheap by the way and no pork products.So groceries are cheaper-if you look at a Carrefour website you'll find their weekly specials and that'll give you an idea. Heres a little run down
Milk DH5 a litre
Baskin Robbin's 2 litre icecream DH30
Bread DH3 a loaf
Potatoes DH1.75 kg
Eggplant DH2.25 kg
Pasta Sauce Dh10 per 750g jar
Dried pasta DH 2.15 (500g bag)
Tomatoes DH2.25 kg
Pawpaw/papaya DH5.95kg
Strawberries DH 5.50 250g punnet
Bananas DH 2.95
Arabic bread large Dh 2 small Dh 1
Croissants box of 6 Dh8
Cheese DH8 per 250g block
Olives are so cheap I don't even remember!!
Fish is cheap too.(had a small tuna filleted and it will feed more than the six of us and was Dh35)
Sausages DH28 per kg
Chicken breast fillet DH28 kg
There is also a chain of restaurants called "Eat and Drink"-no alcohol and they have great local and asian food at really great prices and they deliver too!! The prices are crazy and the fresh juices are fantastic. We have been out to dinner at more expensive places like Asha's at Wafi City and Madinat Jumeirah and the big shocker is not the price of the food but bottled wine especially since I live a stones throw from some of these vineyards.
I know there is a heap of guys that go to Jebel Ali and use one of those parachute thingees with a board on the beach there and love it-apparently people also camp when it's cooler. You can also go on the sand dunes with a 4wd or quad bike-there are places a short drive away near the border of Oman where you can hire the quad bikes but if you are into it they are not expensive either. I don't think boats are too pricey either but I am not sure about mooring etc. Golf?? Plenty of golf courses!
I just grabbed my Dubai Explorer book and it listscanoeing, caving, climbing, crab hunting,cricket, going on a dhow charter, diving (
www.7seasdivers.com ,
www.alboomdiving.com ,www.diversdown.tk ,
www.emiratesdiving.com ,
www.jumeirahinternational.com amongst others!!!), karting,fishing, flying, football, horse riding etc. Actually these books are great! They also have an off road book which apparently is out of print at the moment but is really easy to follow.
Also I noticed in McGrudy's book store they have an entertainer book full of coupons for restaurants and eateries in Dubai- this was a 2005 edition and it is DH225 and the coupons run out in December so I thought it may be wise to consider it next year.
Also places can often have cards or offers. Look for this when you apply say for a credit card 'cos some have great benefits. You should maybe get a Wafi City card as it is free and offers discounts in this shopping centre which has great bars/restaurants.
Hope it helps! Sorry but I blabbed on a bit!