- Oh, yeah and then look at this.
This is where it starts.
He's just covering the rocks in sheep fat
from the intestines.
Oh and look at this guys.
Oh, and he's directly adding on,
different cuts of sheep meat.
All right, check it out guys.
It's Trevor James.
I am super pumped.
We just got into south Saudi,
we're in Abha.
This is the land of juicy meat,
and today we're going for a full on street food adventure.
Let's go check it out guys.
(upbeat music)
Today, in part 203 of our ultimate Saudi street food series,
we're going for a full on South Saudi street food tour
of Abha.
With an incredible ending
where we're getting exclusive access into one
of the top camel kitchens in the entire country.
You're definitely gonna wanna watch this whole video.
And by huge surprise, when we asked the hotel
if they knew of any good street food spots
they offered to take us around for a whole day
in their Rolls-Royce, who could say no to that?
Thanks to the Bayat Hotel in Abha.
Let's eat.
Good morning Ali.
Good to see you. Good morning.
Okay, and you wouldn't believe it guys
but the Bayat Hotel is providing us
with an amazing Rolls-Royce today.
And Mr. Ali is an amazing driver.
And guys, he's gonna be taking us for tons of food
for eating today.
Thank you Ali,
- (indistinct) - Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Salim.
- How are you? - [Trevor] How are you?
- Good morning - [Trevor] Nice to see you.
- How was your stay so far?
- [Trevor] Very good, very good.
So we're taking the Rolls today.
- Ah, yes.
- [Trevor] Are we?
- Yeah.
- [Trevor] Really?
- Yes
- Mr. Salim, we're going to be going
for a big food adventure, right?
- That's right. That's right.
- Okay. Let's go.
- Let's go in.
- Okay, thank you.
Okay and we are just driving through, Abha now
super excited to try the first dish of the day, the areekah,
which is an 'Asir region dish, I believe.
Oh, wow, we're just going into the alleyways now.
For the areekah.
This is it right here.
- Yeah.
- Here we are.
- Yeah
- Go in for areekah.
- Yeah (laughs).
- Right in the alley, beautiful.
And we just got invited into the kitchen.
- [Mr. Salim] Oh yeah.
- To see the local breakfast.
- [Mr. Salim] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Assalamu alaikum.
- [All] Salam.
- [Trevor] How are you?
- [Trevor] Oh what's this?
- It's called mefa.
- [Trevor] Mefa?
- Yes.
Now I put milk.
- [Trevor] Oh milk?
- Yes.
- [Trevor] Sesame.
Oh and then on the side, like a tandoor?
Nice.
- (Speaking Arabic)
- [Trevor] Thank you
While we're waiting for our breakfast
we're getting a tour of the, right across the street,
there's a, this is like the old...
- Old, it's old home for the local people.
- [Trevor] Oh, old home?
- [Mr. Salim] Yes.
- [Trevor] Oh, nice, old alleyways.
Look at this.
There's like layers of stone inside the home.
That's for the structure, right?
- [Mr. Salim] That's true.
- Wow, these are just amazing.
So how old are these homes here?
Like the traditional homes?
- It looks like more than 150.
- 150 years?
- Yes.
- [Trevor] And right across the street,
we're gonna have an amazing local breakfast.
Oh, and here's the bread.
Good.
So this, we are going to eat with a famous dish,
the mugalgal I think, right?
- Yes.
- [Trevor] Yeah, thank you.
Okay, and here's our breakfast look at that bread
right outta the oven.
Okay, so we got three special dishes here.
This is the mugalgal right?
So it's a local,
it's kind of like a Saudi lamb breakfast, gravy,
like saucey goodness that you dip your,
you can soak up with your bread.
This one is the ghee here, right?
I think this is the ghee and then honey.
So, okay, let's try this.
Ooh, look at that.
That is the mugalgal.
Let's get a nice first bite there.
Woo, look at that.
And we're in a local little courtyard here.
Mm mm, oh, whoa.
It is so aromatic with the lamb aroma and the tomatoes
infused with the bell peppers and onions
the classic aromatics
it's not spicy, it's just smooth.
- Just lick it like this.
- Then dip?
- Yeah, dip.
- So dip and dip, right?
- Yeah, that's right.
- [Trevor] Oh yeah, that's ghee there.
Look at that, that's pure ghee.
Wow.
And then honey, and I hear,
Saudi honey is the best honey in the world right?
Super, super natural oh look at that honey.
Wow.
And the bread is nice, whole wheat bread.
Mm, oh wow.
That honey is seriously
some of the best honey you'll ever taste.
It's super rich and aromatic.
Mm combined with the ghee.
And then the bread has a natural earthy
slight smokiness as well.
So this is just a nice warmup breakfast
with the most famous dishes right?
And then we're going for more food all day.
Thank you so much.
Shukran, shukran.
It's delicious.
And while we didn't find that areekah breakfast
in the first shop,
we continued our adventure
in search of that classic south Saudi street food
and found an amazing shop,
dedicated solely to making areekah.
This is a must try dish in Saudi.
And I think it's just right off here.
Okay, here we are for the areekah.
Assalamu alaikum.
How are you?
And this is the areekah, the special,
Areekahh Reefy.
And we just got invited into the kitchen, amazing.
Assalamu alaikum.
- Salam.
- [Trevor] Oh and this is it?
- [Chef] This is the, uh
- [Trevor] Wheat? - [Chef] This is the wheat,
- [Trevor] And water? - [Chef] and water.
- [Trevor] Oh okay, so here's starting.
- [Chef] Yes we are starting.
- [Trevor] Oh, the areekah.
So that's the wheat porridge.
Ooh look at that.
Wow.
Okay, so this is where it's starting,
he just put the wheat batter down
and this stone here is a special
special stone south Saudi, right?
There's a lot of different things you can make in this,
and we're gonna see what happens.
Oh, there's the flip.
It's like a pancake.
- Yes.
- Like a Saudi pancake.
- [Chef] Yes
- [Trevor] The Abha pancake. - [Chef] Yes.
- [Trevor] Amazing.
- [Chef] It's similar, similar
- [Trevor] Similar? - [Chef] Similar pancake.
- [Trevor] Okay, here's the moment of truth.
Ooh.
This is for the areekah.
Let's see.
Oh.
Wow.
Oh it's totally like hand pressed?
Oh, so, and then he's just rolling it into a ball.
- [Chef] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh, and then into the stone,
into the stone pot here.
Oh.
Oh, and then the, the samneh.
Oh, he's pressing it down.
Oh dates?
Wow.
Oh and Saudi honey, number one honey in the world too?
Wow.
That looks delicious.
Dates, honey, pounded wheat.
Oh my goodness.
Oh, and then more whoa, lots of the samneh.
That is just amazing.
Look at that right there.
Loading it with the samneh,
the honey, the dates.
Oh, and there it is.
That's the areekah.
Wow, it looks delicious.
- Yes. It's delicious food.
- It looks amazing.
- You will like it.
- Thank you for showing us, thank you.
Okay. Let's go try it out.
Okay. And we're just going upstairs to the dining area.
Here it is.
This is the areekah.
Ooh.
Wow.
Shukran.
- In our culture, okay, we eat it like this.
- By finger.
- Yes you can.
- So I don't need spoon.
Look at that.
It's so beautiful,
Saudi dates on there,
I'm so excited.
Actually, I don't think I've had any dates yet in Saudi.
I hear they're the best dates in the world
and the best honey in the world too.
So we've got two of the best ingredients in the world,
honey and dates.
And then this is made with the wheat, right?
The wheat was pounded out that was so unique.
So just go in like a falcon.
- [Man] Yes.
- [Trevor] Let's take some date.
Ooh.
And then take some of that, so hot still.
So hot burning.
Dip it into that samneh, which is like pure, pure ghee.
Ooh.
Okay, my first areekah, my first areekah, let's try it.
Mmm.
Oh.
Look at that, because that was on the pan,
it was sizzled on the pan there,
so it brought out the aroma of the wheat
and then it's what got that pure ghee.
Oh, wow.
And it's sweet, natural with the honey and the date.
Amazing, really good.
See you.
- Have a nice day. - Thank you so much.
- Delicious, thank you. See you.
Amazing.
Okay and now we're back on the road in Abha.
Going for more.
Yeah.
And it's just an amazing day.
We are now exploring through the mountains outside Abha,
taking a look at the view before heading to a super special
meat cooked on the rocks dish.
But first we're gonna go take a look
at the viewpoint over Abha.
Here we are, thank you, Mr. Ali.
Beautiful look at this,
tallest point in the kingdom
and it's just refreshing, like cooling.
So I believe Abha is over that way.
We're taking a little bit of a fresh air break
in between the eating in between all of the food.
We're gonna go for another famous, famous dish here,
next we're gonna go try meat on the rocks
but just taking a minute here to enjoy this view
and this fresh air.
Wow, loving it.
Back in the Rolls,
never thought we'd be doing a street food tour in a Rolls.
It's an amazing day.
Amazing experience.
Thank you.
Thank you to the Bayat Hotel for this amazing day.
Okay, here we are next up.
Ooh, You can smell the smoke in the air.
We're going for mandi guys right in here.
Super famous meat cooked on the rocks.
And here we go,
we're going in for mandi.
Ooh.
Assalamu alaikum.
Ooh, this is the mandi station.
Assalamu alaikum.
Wow.
Okay, we're going into the kitchen to see the mandi.
Ooh.
- Meat on the hooks.
- [Trevor] Oh, so it's all the leg pieces, the rib pieces.
All the different pieces of goat.
Oh, and here it comes.
Okay, then it's chopped.
Oh, sharpening.
Oh, wow.
He's a master of the, of the butchering.
Look at the speed.
So they're gonna cut it small.
So it's quick right?
(indistinct)
- Well done.
(indistinct)
- [Trevor] Okay.
Well look at how he's butchering the meat.
So it spreads out all the way, adding in those slices.
So it's a long, almost like a butterfly cut there.
Okay here's the ribs.
Oh, so this whole plate of meat here,
it's gonna go all on the rocks.
And here it is.
That's the pure goat meat, gonna be super juicy.
It's gonna go right onto the rocks.
It's gonna be good.
Ooh.
That's the kidney. - Yeah.
- That's the kidney. - Yeah.
- That's the good stuff. - Good stuff.
- Okay, let's go see how it's done.
- Yeah
- [Trevor] Oh yeah and then look at this.
This is where it starts.
He's just covering the rocks in sheep fat
from the intestines.
Oh, and look at this guys.
We're gonna watch the whole process here.
These are rocks covered in sheep fat
oh, with coals underneath,
and he's directly adding on different cuts of sheep meats.
(indistinct)
- Yeah, I'm just in heaven here in Saudi.
This is real like meat destination.
It's just amazing.
We got two different grill masters going on here.
Here's the flip look at the flip.
Here's the flip.
Ooh. Look at the sizzle.
Rock sizzled with the rock.
There's coal underneath and the rocks stay hot
and they change them every two to three days.
There it is, here it is,
he's salting it.
This is the natural, natural flavor,
that's all there is on it.
Oh. And look, starting with the bread
whole wheat bread right?
- [Chef] Yeah.
- And here it is.
Look at that.
Look, always putting the intestine on first.
Look, oh and then kidney.
Look at all the intestine pieces there.
- (speaks Arabic)
- [Trevor] Oh, look at that,
all the lamb chops, the intestine, liver, kidney.
And there it is guys, right finished.
That's just ready to go.
Shukran, shukran.
(speaks Arabic)
- Wow, smells amazing.
Okay, here we are time to feast.
(background conversation)
So Tahini.
Tahini. (speaks Arabic)
Take some meat.
Ohhhh.
So start with the mandi in the honey, right?
And tahini mix is okay.
Mix, oh, look at that, Saudi honey.
Okay, here it is.
First bite.
Mandi, mandi.
Mmmmm.
Oh wow.
Meat and honey.
Mmm.
And that meat there is just amazing.
Definitely a little smokey from the cooked
on the rocks and the fat that steams it and smokes,
gives it a real nice flavor.
Look at that bread.
Wow.
It's huge.
Liwa, liwa bread right?
(indistinct)
- What's this one called?
Abda.
Lamb, potato, onion.
It's almost like a hash of lamb and potato.
Let's try that out.
Mm.
Wow.
That Abda right there,
it's like a lamb mash with the extra upgraded mashed potato
because it's got the tomato, the little bit of potato
yeah mashed up.
(speaks Arabic)
Next up, we should try the fahsah right?
Okay, let's try that out.
Ooh.
It's like a lamb and the tomato stew right?
Let's try it out, the fahsah.
Mm, mmm.
Oh wow.
The stone keeps it so hot
and it feels almost like there's eggplant in there.
Like it's very, it's got that texture
I just want give a big, thank you to Ali, Salim,
and Mr. Sayid from Arab Mandi Restaurant,
what an amazing meal.
Thank you, so good.
Wow that was amazing guys.
Loving it here in Saudi.
Shukran, thank you.
And next up, we're gonna get a local tea at a tea stall.
Amazing day and this is just on the side of the street.
Look at this.
Assalamu alaikum.
Beautiful tea stall.
Look at all these colorful teas here.
You can see we've got some fennel,
we've got some herbal teas here.
Look at this, this blue one,
I believe that is a, actually a blue strawberry,
and then we've got some nice red strawberry here.
We've got some pineapple,
I think that's a saffron, ginger,
and then I think a ginger with lemon,
and then over here, look at this that's karak.
And then here is Saudi coffee.
It's all looking good,
And you can see there's also Saudi dates here.
Look at these.
Maybe I'll try a ginger lemon,
ginger lemon sounds good to me.
And he is just let us in to see the making,
he's just making another pot of the ginger lemon.
Whoa Wow Look at that.
Real fresh orange going in.
Ooh and, and hot water.
Amazing.
And Ting's gonna get one of those too.
Look at the color there.
Wow.
Orange ginger, shukran.
Oh, and look at the blue one.
Okay so we got our orange ginger and the dates
you're allowed to just take one or two
as you have your tea, I believe I was just informed that.
So look at this guys, Saudi dates.
They're just everywhere.
And let's just take, let's just take a soft looking.
Oh yeah, yeah soft.
Look at that soft one.
Let's try it out.
Mm ohhhh, the ginger strong.
It's good if you have a cold,
it'll clear the cold out right away.
And then you can wash it down with a
mm whoa Saudi date.
Really nice.
Mm that's amazing.
And to finish up the night,
we are going for a famous, famous dish here in Saudi, camel.
We're gonna go for a camel platter
and we're on our way there right now.
Oh, and this is it here look at that,
the camel shop.
There's camel on the billboard there,
This is all camel.
Okay, and here we are guys.
We're going for camel, I can't believe it.
I can't believe it,
and I can't believe we're doing a street food tour
in a Rolls-Royce it's insane.
Here we are, assalamu alaikum.
- Salam
- How are you?
- Wow. I'm excited, really excited.
Look at this and take a look at this guys.
There's red and the white, the chicken and sheep,
but this is the one we want.
- [Man] Camel and down.
- [Trevor] The camel, these two are camel.
- [Man] Yes.
- Very nice, we're going right in the kitchen.
Assalamu alaikum.
How are you?
Okay, so here we go,
we're gonna watch the making of the camel dish right here.
This is two
- Two kg
- [Trevor] Two kg camel right here, right?
- Exactly.
- [Trevor] Okay, here we go.
- And there is, there is a measure, measurement.
- [Trevor] Oh, measurement there, yeah.
So we've got two kg camel.
We've got two scoops of water.
- Yes. This is the...
- [Trevor] Oh this is tomato and pepper.
Oh, very nice.
Okay and then it's got the,
- [Man] That's it.
- [Trevor] It's got the, oh, that's it.
Okay.
Just pure camel, some tomato and pepper and some water.
And then these are all mostly camel or camel and chicken
- [Man] some of them chicken.
- Some with chicken.
So we got some camel, some chicken,
and they just put the heat on this one here.
- That's it.
- So how long does it take about like one hour?
(speaking arabic)
- Uh, 35 minutes maximum.
- 35 minutes.
Oh wow and they're all going on.
- [Chef] Yeah.
- [Trevor] It's amazing.
Oh yeah, all the camels getting just started right now,
look at that.
And here it comes.
So it's just right off.
Oh and there it is bubbling.
Oh, and then a dried lime.
- [Chef] Yes.
Lime, black lime.
- [Trevor] Black lime?
Oh and then some spice?
- [Chef] Yes.
- [Trevor] Oh.
- [Chef] For them only.
- [Trevor] Local, secret spice mix.
- [Chef] And they will mix it.
- [Trevor] Oh, and then here's the secret sauce right?
- [Chef] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh look at that.
Wow.
So he is gonna mix it up
and then it puts two scoops rice in.
- [Man] Yes
- [Trevor] That smells amazing, seriously that spice mix.
- [Man] Yeah.
- [Trevor] And then the lid goes on.
- [Man] We'll go back to the pot.
- [Trevor] And then back to the flame.
So then it goes for 17 minutes, right?
- Yup.
- 17 minutes.
And then it's ready.
Ready to eat.
Oh, good.
Should be good.
- Yes
- [Trevor] Okay, here we go.
Look at that steam.
Here we go, this is a camel.
This is the moment of truth.
Oh, look at the big plate.
It's gonna get served.
Oh, it's camel delight here.
Oh, look at the color.
Look at the color.
Wow, look at that.
Oh, that's amazing.
Look at all the spices in there,
that lime you can smell the lime.
All those Arabic spices.
(Speaking Arabic)
Thank you.
Time to eat.
Oh, here we go.
What do we have inside?
Mashallah.
All the varieties.
So we've got the white chicken, right?
- [Man] The white.
- [Trevor] And this is the red camel.
- [Man] That's right.
- [Trevor] And the red chicken.
- [Man] That's chicken, yes.
- Shukran, thank you.
- You're welcome.
(Speaks Arabic)
Okay so this is what we came for, look at that.
So it's traditionally just with hands, right?
- Yeah, usually eat with hands.
(speaks Arabic)
Okay, let's (speaks Arabic)
(speaks Arabic)
- Okay, oh, look at that.
- Try this.
- Oh should I start out with a camel hump?
Oh look at that pure fat.
Oh, look at the juice coming.
So you can just take some with the rice, right?
Bismillah, bismillah.
Mmmm.
Oh.
That is seriously delicious.
The camel meat and the camel fat
is so delicious and juicy.
And the rice is lightly spiced with those Arabic spices.
And then this is the Saudi salsa, right?
Try some with that salsa.
Mmm mmm.
So if you look, we got three amazing sauces here,
The tahini, their secret recipe salsa,
which is spicy and fresh,
and then this is the sumatra,
which is kind of spicy and tangy
and they all just enhance the rice so much,
they bring out the flavor, make it even better.
Shukran.
Thank you.
So tasty.
- I'm glad you like it.
- So tasty.
Wow, so tender.
Shukran, shukran.
- Shukran.
- I'm blown away by the hospitality here in Saudi.
Thank you guys, amazing.
Thanks a lot for watching guys.
It was an amazing day in Saudi,
it's been an amazing trip.
Also, wanna give a big thank you to Bayat Hotel
that has taken us around, Mr. Ali, Mr. Salim
and wow, thanks for watching guys.