This Filipino chef is behind TikTok’s viral Dubai chocolate

The pastry chef behind one of TikTok’s latest trends featuring content creators enjoying a chunky, crunchy and delicious-looking piece of chocolate known as Dubai chocolate was revealed to be a Filipino.

Chef Nouel Omamalin, in partnership with Sara Hamouda — a creative content expert and founder of the Dubai-based chocolate brand Fix (which stands for “freaking incredible experience”) Dessert Chocolatier — crafted the treat, named Can’t Get Knafeh Of It, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As seen in the videos, it is a chunky chocolate bar filled with pistachio spread and kataifi, a thread-like Middle Eastern pastry. Omamalin’s creation has taken TikTok by storm, with one post by content creator Maria Vehera amassing over 75.5 million views for her December 2023 video.