I was 14 years old when the whole family migrated to Saudi Arabia. My father works as an engineer in an oil-company in Saudi Arabia for many years. He wanted us to be  together as a family  so  his company sponsored the whole family to migrate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Some people find it a very unlikely place to migrate to. But somehow Saudi Arabia grows on you.  I have fond memories during my stay in Saudi Arabia until I went back to the Philippines to start college.

While on college, I still get to travel to Saudi Arabia twice a year to visit my family. One of the things that made me miss Saudi Arabia are their foods.

Here are 5 of my favourite Arabian foods,

1. SHAWARMA

In the Philippines, we have the popular Leylam Shawarma. Yes, I love that one too. But let me tell you that it is a far from the taste of the real shawarma in the Middle East. You get to choose between turkey or chicken. You can also request to leave out the vegetables. It is filled with yummy garlic sauce. My favourite shawarma stand is the one where my brother would buy me a one riyal shawarma with all the regular fillings of shawarma and french fries in it. This our favourite snack on a long drive especially if we are going to Bahrain by our car.

2. KABSA RICE

 

If we area bit too lazy to cook our lunch, we head to the nearby restaurant to buy some Kabsa Rice. The great thing about this rice is that underneath it is a big piece of chicken. We have rice and viand in one dish. Arabians normally would eat this spread out in a paper /plastic on the floor for everyone to share similar to a Budol Fight eating.

3. TAMIS BREAD

When we go about town in an early morning and we haven’t had our breakfast, we usually buy this. My father would queue in one of the crowded shops selling this bread. It looks like a pizza. But it is just a basic bread with melted sugar and sesame seeds spread on top. It is best eaten when it is still warm.

4. SAMOSA

 

Since I am a lover of lumpia-shanghai, this is as close as it can get. It has grounded beef inside and I like the sweet powder that coats the samosa. This is our go-to snacks when we get hungry in the afternoon.

 

5. BROASTED CHICKEN

I am not really sure if this is an Arabian food but by far, this is our ultimate favourite food in Saudi Arabia. It’s a serving of one whole chicken cut in parts, deep-fried in such yummy crispiness. It comes with fries, garlic sauce, kubos bread and lots of packets of ketchup. Initially, we always go for the ketchup. We didn’t like the garlic sauce at all. But it is an acquired taste. After awhile, we can never eat the broasted chicken without the garlic sauce. This is our favourite request for pasalabong from our parents. And we also asked for a jar of garlic sauce which we dip into just about anything.

Any Sandbox kid reading this? Let me know what were your favourite Arabian dishes too.

Credits to my photo-savvy dad who took these picture. I love you, Pa!