Adventures in Eating out in Saudi
We tried out the new, huge, Applebee's that recently opened up in Al Khobar. Arrived between the Maghreb prayer (5:11 PM) and well ahead of the Isha final prayer of the day (7:11 PM). So everything was open. Very important to catch this window of time between these two prayers if you want to eat out before 8 PM.
The main floor of this restaurant is the size of an ordinary Applebee's in the States, but that part is only for the men. Right inside the front door there is a staircase leading to the massive family section. This staircase rivals the one at Tara in Gone With The Wind. As we were led upstairs by one of the Filipino waiters, he boasted that this Applebee's is the largest one in the world of this chain. I had no reason to doubt him. As we continued to climb and wind our way up to the second level, we were asked where we were from, "England"? We always get big grins when we say the U.S. A.
After we were seated, the waiter pulled out a wad of Riyals (Saudi Currency) from his pocket and asked us if we had ANY foreign currency of ANY kind to exchange with him, maybe something from Canada or the U.S.A. Sorry, all we carry are the local Riyals ourselves. Again, this is not an unusual question to be asked these day. Why, I am not sure.
The Applebee's menu is pretty much the same as in the U.S.A., but because this is Ramadan time, we were served free apple or mango juice and plates of dates were placed on the table. This is the common gesture here at all the restaurants for the first meal, Al-Iftar, after fasting all day.
In general the steaks we ordered were ok, but too salty for my taste. So many restaurants like Applebee's get a bit season-salt-happy with their foods.
When it was time to leave, we were barred from exiting out the front door, and were escorted through the kitchen and out the back door. We left during the final prayer of the day where everything is closed up from about 7 PM until 7:45 PM and restaurants lock their front doors during this time and no one is allowed to enter or leave. But, slipping out the back door is OK for many places because then you are not visible to any lurking Matawas (Religious Police) who may cause big problems for businesses that do not adhere to the laws of closing and staying closed during prayer times. So, we were kindly dumped out onto the alleyway in the back. The area wasn't dirty or nasty in any way, but I always feel like I am in an old black and white movie during the prohibition era when we exit a restaurant this way.
The main floor of this restaurant is the size of an ordinary Applebee's in the States, but that part is only for the men. Right inside the front door there is a staircase leading to the massive family section. This staircase rivals the one at Tara in Gone With The Wind. As we were led upstairs by one of the Filipino waiters, he boasted that this Applebee's is the largest one in the world of this chain. I had no reason to doubt him. As we continued to climb and wind our way up to the second level, we were asked where we were from, "England"? We always get big grins when we say the U.S. A.
After we were seated, the waiter pulled out a wad of Riyals (Saudi Currency) from his pocket and asked us if we had ANY foreign currency of ANY kind to exchange with him, maybe something from Canada or the U.S.A. Sorry, all we carry are the local Riyals ourselves. Again, this is not an unusual question to be asked these day. Why, I am not sure.
The Applebee's menu is pretty much the same as in the U.S.A., but because this is Ramadan time, we were served free apple or mango juice and plates of dates were placed on the table. This is the common gesture here at all the restaurants for the first meal, Al-Iftar, after fasting all day.
In general the steaks we ordered were ok, but too salty for my taste. So many restaurants like Applebee's get a bit season-salt-happy with their foods.
When it was time to leave, we were barred from exiting out the front door, and were escorted through the kitchen and out the back door. We left during the final prayer of the day where everything is closed up from about 7 PM until 7:45 PM and restaurants lock their front doors during this time and no one is allowed to enter or leave. But, slipping out the back door is OK for many places because then you are not visible to any lurking Matawas (Religious Police) who may cause big problems for businesses that do not adhere to the laws of closing and staying closed during prayer times. So, we were kindly dumped out onto the alleyway in the back. The area wasn't dirty or nasty in any way, but I always feel like I am in an old black and white movie during the prohibition era when we exit a restaurant this way.
posted by saudisandy at
6:56 PM
1 Comments:
Exiting into the alley way is always interesting.... at least you can exit!! You might have to order dessert if you were to be trapped in the restaurant until the end of prayer tiime.
By
Anonymous, at Tuesday, October 17, 2006
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