Sanaani House – Yemeni Restaurant Riyadh
One of the nice things about living in a country which is home to many different nationalities is the variety of foods they offer. Saudi Arabia is no different. Due to a vast population of different nationalities, restaurants suiting to their tastes are plentiful. However, to know if these restaurants are truly reflective of a certain countries taste, you need to know from a local of that country. Hence, we were lucky enough to be pointed to Sanaani House Yemeni Restaurant Riyadh, by some colleagues, and apparently true to its Yemeni origins.
For the location of Sanaani House please click here.
An Introduction to Yemeni Food
This was our first time trying Yemeni food. We had tried other Arabian dishes before and were expecting more of the same, using a lot of rice, mutton, chicken, that sort of thing. However, on looking at the menu, we noticed that a lot of the dishes were more like what we would call a curry type dish, or a ‘pan’ dish as it is termed in places. It looked good, and we were anxious to get started!
The menu was on a large board over the reception and was all in Arabic, but had pictures of each dish so you had an idea of what it might be. After some discussion with the waiter, (done by Misha in Arabic as I stood there nodding my head thoughtfully as if I understood every word that was being said), we selected the dishes that had been recommended to us.
Eating Arabian Style
We were seated in the family section which is made up of enclosed areas with a curtain for privacy. This is quite normal in a lot of the restaurants in Riyadh, even the fast food joints where they have seating areas so don’t be surprised by it. On entering this little ‘majilis’ it’s customary to remove your shoes so don’t forget this.
The seating area has no seats, (maybe ‘seating area’ is a little misleading), and you need to sit on the floor. The usual way to do this is with your legs crossed in front of you in the Mantis style. Not being very flexible I lay out like a walrus and had to do the best I could that way. They supply you with a little cushion to rest your elbow on if you can do the sitting properly, if you’re flexible give it a try.
What we had to Eat
Now for the fun part! The food! Pretty soon after we had settled down, there was a knock on the curtain, (I know, I know, you can’t knock on a curtain but play along…). Our food had arrived! A large plastic sheet was spread in front of us and our plates and dishes set down. The first thing we noticed was the pots the food was served in. They were similar to clay pots and really kept the food hot while you ate.
Then, our bread arrived. We have never seen a piece of bread this size! (Seriously, we took the leftovers of the bread home and refrigerated they lasted for almost a week eating some every night!).
So what did we actually have?
For our main course we ordered two dishes;
Fahsa – A lamb stew in a lamb broth
Oqda – Which is made by tying or “knotting” all the ingredients together, as implied by the name in Arabic.
Extras that came with the meal included;
Shafuut – Like an appetizer made with yogurt and mixed salad.
Various dips – For our bread, personally I preferred just having the main course with the bread but some people would like the dips too.
And for dessert;
Bint Al Sahn and Chay – Cake and tea in other words. Quite a large cake after so much food but also quite hard to stop eating it!
Was Yemeni Food worth Trying?
I have to admit that I would be back to this restaurant every day if I could! In fact, we both admitted that! The food was really good, the guys working there were very polite, well mannered, helpful, and generally made you feel welcome. The food itself was extremely tasty, and eating it with the bread, even though it fills you up, did compliment it extremely well. It’s the traditional way of eating and you can see why it hasn’t changed in many years. If something works why change it?
After our meal, we asked the waiter to put our left over food into containers so we could bring it with us as there was still enough for a full dinner left.
If you are open to trying Yemeni food while in Riyadh, and you happen to come across this restaurant, then don’t be afraid to call in here. If you don’t know what to order then we can thoroughly recommend the dishes we tried. We promise, you won’t be disappointed!
For the website for Sanaani House please click here.
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