Shaquille O’Neal’s heart was stolen by a distant city!
The former NBA star took on the culinary scene of Abu Dhabi in a short video – Street Bites with Shaq – in which he experiences the flavors and cuisines of the city.
“I was invited to Abu Dhabi. It was a great place. The people there were very welcoming,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE of his partnership with Experience Abu Dhabi.
This wasn’t O’Neal’s first time in the capital, and it certainly won’t be his last. “I was there for the third, fourth time. The place is really like heaven on earth,” he says. “The ocean has no waves. You don’t have to lock the door at night. The streets are clean. The houses are big. Women are beautiful.”
Although it is not his first time in Abu Dhabi, the basketball legend was eager to experience everything he could. “I wanted to check out all of Abu Dhabi. I didn’t just go to the places they forced me to go. I thought, I want to check it all out,” says O’Neal.
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Of course, that also meant trying as many different dishes as a hungry 7′ 1” man could. “I went to old Abu Dhabi and tried some of the local food… I actually tried everything,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE. “My two favorites were the lamb ghouzi and the special shawarma.”
While O’Neal went to the metropolis of the United Arab Emirates for food, he couldn’t help but love the people. “The people there are just – like I said, it’s heaven on earth, but I haven’t been in a place where everything is upbeat,” he says. “You go to the mall, different cultures, different people. Everyone is smiling, everyone is having a good time. I would actually consider living there.”
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Now that he’s back in the States — for now — O’Neal is thinking about what’s next. “Man, we’re just going to keep doing positive things,” says the sports analyst. “We’re working on a lot of things … I haven’t played professional basketball in 20 years, but I’m still working and my schedule is full. I’m grateful for that.”
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Source: HIS Education