A little tea shop located in one of the most densely populated districts of Sharjah, called Al Majaz, has become a tradition for thousands of people.
According to Khaleej Times, Mustaqbal Restaurant is one of the most famous restaurants that were established in 1985, and they offer 6000 cups of karak chai daily. This translates to one hundred and eighty thousand cups per month, or approximately two hundred and fifty cups per hour, making it a busy place for tea enthusiasts, including delivery riders and taxi drivers.
The secret of a shop’s success is that it stays true to its principles and never compromises on quality. Owner Hashim Muttumthala noted that it is the consistency of the taste that has kept its customers loyal over the years. ‘We have set measurements for our ingredients and this leads to consistent taste in every cup,’ Hashim said.
It would be pertinent to note that none of these practices are exercised haphazardly since all the members of staff adhere to these guidelines to the letter to ensure that a consistent quality of tea is produced from cup to cup, as it were.
Most astonishingly, while costs have risen in other sectors through inflation, Hashim has remained defiant in not revising his price for tea. Even a small cup of karak tea costs only Dh1, which remains a rarity in Sharjah today, as most cafes have raised their prices to Dh1. undefined Conَاicularly, although the size of the cups has been slightly reduced – a phenomenon referred to as ‘shrinkflation,’ Hashim has not changed the prices for his tea to keep it a luxury in the city.
This commitment to quality yet affordability concept has earned Mustaqbal Restaurant its loyal and compromising clientele. As a longtime resident of the area, a graphic design professional named Salman Adil uses the services of the store almost every day. ‘I reckon this is my third thousand, isn’t it?’ He said this as he took another sip of his tea. “Even better is that the taste is consistent regardless of the hour in the day that one visits.”
The same opinion was shared by Faizan, a delivery rider from Pakistan. He was found to have been patronizing the store since he relocated to the area in 2022. “Kudos for keeping Dh1 when everyone else has increased theirs,” Faizan said, adding that the difference counts.
However, Mustaqbal Restaurant is not the only tea house receiving attention from the masses. Common food items include the Malabari paratha, which accompanies their tea very well. The restaurant bakes 1,500 parathas per day which roughly equals to 48,000 parathas in a month. Selling at Dh1, these parathas are cooked fresh each morning and use 80kg of flour.
The history of Mustaqbal Restaurant is in itself a story of a family and the ability to stand up. It was established by Muhammad, the father of Hashim who initially aimed at starting a business in Karachi, Pakistan but later shifted to the UAE. Muhammad and his brother Ishaq founded the restaurant, and the current managers are the kids of the founders. Currently, the six cousins have grown their family business, owning two restaurants in the area and having approximately 22 employees.
So, for the future, Hashim and his cousins are eyeing for more expansion. They have recently established another store in the same vicinity but the store concentrates more on food and the first store solely for the lovers of the tea. For instance, the following idea came from Hashim: We are planning to open a branch in a highly populated area especially where there are more young male persons. Propriety is essential in a business, particularly in a tea shop.
