Arabian Food

When I went to Korea, I lost ten pounds in the first month. Despite getting exercise every day, I've gained ten pounds since coming to Saudi Arabia. That's the nature of Arabian food.

Arabians love rice and meat. Often that's all that dinner consists of--about a kilo of white rice and a large portion of lamb, goat, beef or camel. Where's the salad, you ask? What about the soup? It's back in whatever pansy country you're living in. You want vitamins? In Arabia, after your two kilos of rice and meat, you can have a pint full of fruit covered with honey.

Honestly, I'm not sure that some Arabians even know what a Salad IS. Besides rice and meat, other staples are: dates, soft white cheeses of all kinds, olives, flat bread, soft baguettes, nuts of all kinds, halva, and a banana-oatmeal mash covered with honey. Common restaurant foods include: fried chicken (inexplicably referred to as "broast") and fries, kebab, and chicken "sandwiches" (roasted chicken and french fries in soft tortillas). It's as if a panel of experts got together, for the sole purpose of creating the most calorie-laden national menu possible.

The aforementioned juices are a real boon. Soft drinks are ubiquitous, but only slightly less common are fresh juices. Common flavours include: orange, apple, pomegranate, guava, mango, strawberry, and avocado. The avocado juice is surprisingly good...and suspiciously sweet. Actually, you have to be careful of theses fresh juices, because unless you tell them specifically not to add and sugar, they're going to add a ton. Fruit juices are also very common at corner stores and super markets. They usually come in small glass bottle, and contain just about as much sugar as possible, while still deserving the moniker "liquid".

Fortunately, for those who wish to avoid early death from diabetes, there are a range of foreign (non-middle-eastern) foods available, to cater to the various foreigners. The most popular are Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani restaurants, although Filipino dishes are not wholly uncommon, and at one of the hotels here, there is even a Korean menu. Actually, some of the Indian food I've eaten here has been the best I've ever eaten--it's made with fresh ingredients, by real Indians...and it costs about a quarter of what I would pay for it in Canada.

One of the perks of the job is that I get free breakfast and lunch...and the lunch even includes the illusive Arabian salad. Unfortunately, breakfast usually consists of flat bread, various sugary spreads, and either cheese, eggs, or the aforementioned banana-honey-oatmeal. Lunch is a little healthier, but it always includes the requisite kilo of rice, sugary drinks, and sugary rice-based desserts. Buying food isn't expensive, but going out to eat isn't either...which makes it all too easy. I think whatever benefit my body is receiving from it's respite from alcohol, it's being made up for by all the white bread, white rice and processed sugar.

I've already started making and effort to eat more healthy--bringing chopped vegetables and brown flat bread for breakfast...but can I persevere? Can I walk out of Arabia without an extra forty pounds and a set of dentures? We will just see.

Also, it's not good to drink the tap water. Everyone drinks bottled water. Something about being full of minerals. I think it's something to do with being desalinized seawater.