This Is How They Treat Me in Saudi Arabia! Visiting Riyadh!

Welcome to an extraordinary adventure in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Today we're immersing ourselves in the captivating beauty, rich culture, and delicious cuisine of Saudi Arabia. There are many misconceptions about this country, but in this series we're here to uncover the real Saudi Arabia. From savoring authentic Saudi dishes, to exploring iconic landmarks like the ancient wonders of Al-Ula and the spiritual city of Medina. We'll also be getting to know its welcoming people. We are starting our journey in the vibrant capital city of Riyadh, so get ready for an experience you won't forget. Assalamu Alaikum from beautiful, sunny, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I'm super excited. I just arrived. I've been building up this trip in my mind for over three years since tourism opened back in 2019. And today I'm going to take you a tour on the old town of Saudi Arabia. Right here we have So this is the beginning of the unification of Saudi Arabia. It was built in 1865. It's a mud fortress and also we're going to see some coffee culture inside here to have an exhibit. And after this we're going to go have a traditional Saudi lunch. I'm here with Mishal, Tasos, and we're ready to start our tour. Let's go. You made it. What up? We made it, no? Last minute, but we're here super excited, you know, to get to learn more about this undiscovered place, really. So let's go. And they start to open the old area. Hello, hello. All right. So as you can see we just walked through the entire museum. At the end of the museum they have this Saudi coffee experience. We're going to have five different cups of coffee. And over here we have a Saudi coffee. And this is Saudi coffee, Kahwa. So the way it works here is that you have a cup, right? And you go... Oh man, that is good. Aromatic. Wow, super, super fresh. So the way it works, you drink it, right? It's still boiling hot, but at the end, if you're done, you go like this, right? Like that. And then you're done. But I want more, I just continue, right? I guess I'll have another one. I could do like 20 cups, bro. What is this, coffee? Yes. Kahwa. But I'm so impressed because I expected it to be like darker brown, you know? Yeah, it's like yellow. Scorching? No, but this is like really light, huh? Oh wow, it's interesting. Here in Saudi you will, you can taste different taste in every house or in every family because they make it in a different way. And here in the first room of the exhibit, we learn about where the coffee comes from. So coffee comes from Jazan, right? That's the south. We're going to be there the last day and we're going to experience coffee culture there directly. Here we have a few different tools they use, you know, to make the coffee. And then over here, this is a different process of the beans. Over here we have a gentleman who picked the beans. And over here at the very end, we have the koulani bean tree, that is the coffee bean. So we have different ages, 45 days, two months, four months, eight months, two years, and now we're getting an explanation of the five cups. I'm ready for my cup. Cup number one. This cup is not drunk by you. The host himself, he's the one who will drink this cup of coffee to make sure it's not poisoned and to make sure the taste is good, the quality is fine. It's not poisoned? What if it's poisoned? Then he will die. I will die. Because back in the days, all strangers are welcome into your house. Everyone literally can come into your house and enjoy a cup of coffee. So this one is a sign of trust, that the coffee is fine, the taste is good, and it has no poison in it. Because this is very ancient. That's like an ancient tradition. Yes. So we're not trying five coffees, they're just giving us the history of the five cups, right? And here we have a few of the ingredients, right? So we've got ginger, saffron, anise, cardamom, and behind us we have the traditional setting of where the coffee makers would sit and make coffee. So they come in here, yep, and then they sit down here, and they got the modern pestle, put everything together, and they put it here, boil the water, and then eventually they pour the coffee. So I love the setting, pretty cool, but I think it's time to go to lunch. Let's go. Saudi lunch, yalla yalla. Alright, so after seeing a little bit of the history of Riyadh and Saudi Arabia, coffee, now we're going for a delicious lunch. I'm super, super hungry. I cannot wait. Saudi food is delicious. Let's go eat. Maybe some kabsa? I don't know. Let's go. The best kabsa you will try. Kabsa, the national dish of Saudi Arabia. Have you had it before? Yalla, yalla, yalla, yalla. Let's go. We are in Al Murabba. It's an old area in Riyadh, and in the past it was the famous area. So this part of the town obviously looks very old. What we're going through now is going to look very new. A lot of new skyscrapers. The infrastructure here is incredible. I mean, everywhere you go, roads are impeccable. Everything is like perfect. It feels so good, and you have a lot of air conditioning in every car, of course. And like every major city, lots of traffic. So expect at least 30 minutes to get anywhere in Riyadh. Nice, huh? I like it. And after a 30-minute drive, we're here. Look at this restaurant. Incredible. Love the architecture. Beautiful traditional architecture. You got like mud. You have clay. Let's go inside. Let's eat a kabsah, a national dish of Saudi Arabia. Love this house, huh? The name of this restaurant is called Naj Village. So as you can see, it's like a museum. When you enter and you walk over here, you have this open, beautiful courtyard. And on the right and left, they have a seating area to the south. This is how you eat traditional Saudi style on the floor. There's a bunch of fans in Oman. I guess we'll get this one. So shoes off. We get inside. And you sit down. Oh, just like that, right? Yeah, great. And then you eat. You have to eat with one knee down, and you go like this. Thank you. What is that? A mat? Yes, a mat for your foot. That's what it's for, man. To relax. Post up here. Literally stretch out. Oh, amazing. Of course, we have to have kabsah, a national dish. Crest rice with light spices. Can't wait. So here, right next to our seating area, we have these gentlemen making some naan bread. So they roll out the dough into these balls, and they put it in the tandoor. So we get super nice. Oh, wow. It's hot. Super hot. Flaky. Oh, God. Flaky. Like a pillow. Nice and doughy in the middle. Super crunchy on the outside. Oh, follow me. There's a food here. Wow, what a way to bring my fast. This is our feast. Huge. Massive feast. We have the kabsah right in the middle. So that is the national dish. We have two different rices. We have some lamb, and then we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine different sides. We have a mixed rice. So some of them are meat. Some of them are bread mixed with tomato. This one is rice with, I guess, like a stew almost with vegetables. This is a potato soup. This one is? That's rice with yogurt. Long time. Then the main thing is this is my up with onion. It's cooked in a special way with black pepper. Okay, and then we also have a spicy one over there. What is that? This is spicy salad. Spicy salad. Then we also have salad on the side like cucumbers, bell peppers. We have samosa. We have this puri. This is their naan, right? And then we have? Laban. Laban. Laban is amazing. So this is yogurt. Actually, we don't drink it now like this. We drink in glass. In the natural way or in the old way, we drink like this. Okay, perfect. And then how do we start this meal? So for me, I will not use this one. Okay, me either. I will use my hand. Okay, so we're gonna move in the capsaicin in the middle. So we can, yes, you have just have one corner. Yes. And go to the another. That's how we always do it, right? So you take it to the corner. For me, I will put salad. Oh, so you add the salad. The yogurt and cucumber. Okay. And I will mix it by my hand. Then I will take it like this. And I will eat it. Just like that. Okay, so I'll do the same thing, right? So I'm gonna add a little bit of this creamy cucumber yogurt. Then I go in. So mine is a little different. She has the red rice over there. I have the white rice with some saffron. Always. And then that yogurt, what it does is it turns it into a nice glue, right? So you try to get this, mix it in beautiful like that. Love all the different colors here. A few different spices in there, right? And then stir it. It's unreal. It's light. And you can't feel the... It's not as strong in your stomach. You know, it's light. You can eat a lot and still you are not feeling full. And with the white rice, there is saffron, you know. And there's also some cardamom, nutmeg. I see some black pepper here. So I'm gonna get a little bit of this side. Yeah, the red one is better, right? And then what I'm missing is a little bit of that. Perfect. And then you just go in here and you get your hands dirty. God gave us these utensils. And you turn it into a little ball. And then straight up. So here in the Arabian Peninsula, rice is king. Super slow cook. And then if you want to, you can get in there, take off the bone, right? And in the bone... Oh, you know it, huh? Yeah, of course. So as you can see, that's bone marrow. That's the best. So usually what we do is... I guess this one's harder. This is the best way to eat it. Exactly. It's like gelatin in there. I'm done. So belafia just means like, I guess, to your health, right? Yeah. Belafia. So I put some lemon in mine. I don't know if I would call it pipe. We actually make it like a ball here. Yeah, I love the way you make the ball. The way you guys do it, it's so unique, right? So they turn it into a nice ball and they put it in and almost nothing falls. You never see any grains fall. This is the whole point that we don't want to lose anything from our hands. Chili? Spicy? You think? Okay, that was spicy. It's good. You have to drink lemon. Lemon, right? So what I'll do is I'll like grab a piece of this. A little bit of fat. Mix it in. It's a good enough bite. Try it, buzz. You take a big chunk. Fantastic. It's still one that I'd say it's like an eight. It's not killer, but you feel it, right? And it goes away pretty fast. And then the kill of that heat is tasting lemon. Wow, it really cools it down. You have to try this one. Oh, so raisins. It's a sweet. That's a sweet, because I like it. You can feel the sweets with the rice. Yeah, very sweet. I guess we'll have black pepper. It's a very homey meal. Yeah, actually, yes. Again, this is the national dish of the country, so you'll eat this in every city. Being here in the Arabian Peninsula, enjoying life, huh? She had some chili. You okay? You have to try this one. With the bread. So we have to try this one. So which is this one, meat? And tomato sauce. So you said with bread? Yeah, eat it with the bread. All right, so I'm gonna mix this with this like huge puri, right? Just like in India. Made from wheat flour. Just break off some piece of bread. And you put in the meat just like that. Incredible. So it's almost like a meat stir-fry. Juicy. I love the flavors with the onions, some bell peppers in there. Wow, it's incredible. I mean, it's a mix of flavors in Texas as well. When they cook the first onion with the vegetables, then they put the meat up, then they keep moving when they cook. Because of that, there is a mix of the flavors. Yeah, yeah, there's so much flavor. You have to try this one and this one. Okay. Because this one, it's quite similar without the tomato sauce. This one. So what is this one? This one, I told you, it's Iranian rice with tomato sauce and vegetables. And how do I eat this? With a spoon? Yep. I was going to say this, guys. It's like sticky. It's very sticky. Lots of little grains in there. You have vegetables that have literally fallen apart because it's a stew, right? Wow, it's a really, really nice contrast of flavors in here as well. This is unique. I've never touched it like this. It reminds me of some of the dishes that I've had in Asia. That's fantastic. I feel like the next one, I guess I'm gonna have to do this as well. Like you said, this one is similar to rice. So it's almost like a rice pudding. The rice pudding is sweet, but this one isn't sweet. This is not sweet because we have some onions on top. It's like a rice pudding. Not sweet at all. Pretty bland, but the onions on top give it a nice flavor. Nice oil in there as well. No sugar in here. It's not sweet at all. Over here, an incredible samosa or samosa. You usually eat it in Ramadan. Yes. So we break this guy up. This is meat. I don't know. Is it a vegetable one? Vegetable. You should definitely get some of this and dip it in here. It's almost like a spicy salsa. It is spicy. Yeah, it's spicy. The samosa is full of vegetables. You have cucumber, you have carrots in here, but nice and crispy and very little layers, right? So it's super, super, almost just like a pora, this one. Yeah, it's crispy from outside and from inside, it's very soft. And these two over here are bread dishes. This is with vegetables and this one. So same dishes. One of them has vegetables, which this one, the other one has no vegetables. So I'll try this. So they put bread in there and it's soaked up tomato sauce and then mixed with some vegetables. I love it. There's vegetables in there. I mean, this is a pure, like, nice broth. It's like soaking into that bread. And wow, I think the calza is what won my heart today, though. Calza, calza. I'm gonna try this one. That's with meat? With meat. Yeah. Okay, even better. That's the best one. Wow. It's called margoub. Over here we have the other meat. It's pure. Basically just meat and onions and fat, right? Pretty amazing. He was drinking. Oh, I have to drink that? Yeah, that was the drinker. This is the actual... It's fine. Oh, okay. They used to do this. If this is not here, they put laban inside the rice. I'm like a local, man. Tell you. You'll learn. No. Oh, this is good. This is good, man. This is the best, really. The meat is so fresh, right? Yeah. David, you should try this. This is awesome. This is a different one. It's with meat. Wow. Okay, I'll eat the small piece. I'll So you dip it? Yeah. This is good. Your turn. So this is a meat samosa. Just gotta dip it. Some of that nice yogurt. There's something about the meat in this restaurant. It just keeps blowing us away. Me and Tazos won't stop with the meat. The meat's too good. Yeah, like we were so full, but we keep going. We're impressed. I told you, you can't stop. I'm just gonna dip it into this laban. Very smart decision. Is this for us? What is this? This is masabib. It's with brown bread. Brown bread? Yeah. With the honey. And this one, it's called hneni. It looks very grainy and dense. Okay, so this first one is wheat flour mixed with dates and ghee. Oh, it's unreal. Right? Yeah, it's super nice and dense. You taste so many different things in here, right? But this one, similar wheat flour, but this one has honey. A wheat pancake. No? Right. It's a mini pancake. Wow, this paired with some tea or some coffee. Perfect. I'm gonna wait for my coffee. Your daughters would like this. Oh, they would. They would. Here we have some chai. Oh, it's chai. I like this one. This one's without milk. This is the good one. It's still super hot, though. It's with mint. With mint. This almost reminds me of the tea in Morocco. It's still super hot. I have a nice minty flavor. Some mint leaves in there somewhere. There you can see it floating right here. While we pair this with a little pancake. Try this dessert when you come here. What's the name again? Hnani. Hnani. What a combo. Oh, too hot. Too hot. You wait for it. I'll wait. Here we have some Saudi coffee. Yeah, yeah, it's good. So hot. So hot. This type of coffee, it's called shagra. It means blonde. Blonde. Yeah, blonde. Blonde. When they roast the beans, they can choose whether they want it dark or light. So when it's light, it's blonde. So it's called shagra. Let's try this blonde coffee. I love the cardamom. It's light. So nice. For us, more food? No, I'm joking. So the total bill was 475 Saudi Riyals, which is exactly 126 US dollars. Obviously a little pricey, but this is more of a touristic restaurant, a little more high end. And this was for four people. Huge meal. We were taking most of it home. And then it also came with coffee, came with chai, and then also dessert. I think it's definitely something you should try. And I think we're ready. All right, let's go. Let's go. So we were going to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Darya, but unfortunately, because the area is under construction, they are building like a mega complex, the whole area. Every street is closed. We asked, how do we park? Where do we go? No one could help us out. It's very complicated. 20 minute drive, we made it here to Kingdom Tower, and we're going to the observation deck to get an incredible view over the entire city of Riyadh. They say it's the best view in the entire country. Let's go. This is the most insane view ever. I mean, like we're literally sitting over the entire city right here. Endless traffic, look at the cars. Crazy. So these are all like the different districts, right? Different neighborhoods. But all you see is like all these big, huge square houses. It's a traditional style here. It's like they'll have like three or four levels and then different families or like brother gets married. He has a bluff with his family, right? That's sort of how it works. You can see how high you are. It's no joke. Nothing's higher. If you're afraid of heights, I would think twice coming here. But it's worth it. Definitely worth it. Sky Bridge is incredible. It's a must visit when you come here to Riyadh. This is too much. Like, it is really insane. The perspective here. I've been to so many observation decks in my life. You know, Empire State Building. I've been to the One World Tower. Burj Khalifa. But this takes the cake because how high we are next to the perspective. No towers higher than this, right? Yeah, and it's the best view in Riyadh. Of course. So, and the price is not that high. $16. Not bad. Today, I'm taking you to the most legendary shawarma spot in the city. It dates back over 27 years. And this is Mama Noura. This place has so much action. I've never seen a spot with so many massive shawarmas. They have pizza. They have juices. Follow me inside. Okay. This is the huge restaurant. Super, super high-street. We have the shawarmas. Check this out. We got chicken. We have beef. Here we go. Let's go. Look at this. So, right here, we have a huge chicken shawarma. Cut some. Separate to the side. Yes. Oh, it looks so juicy. Then, from there, he'll add the chicken to the pita. He adds, sometimes, he adds some garlic sauce. Sometimes, he doesn't. And then, he adds some french fries. So, we do a mix, right? This is garlic mixed with mayonnaise, right? Garlic with some mayonnaise. He also has a nice little pickle, right? Over here, some more chicken. I guess it's not time yet. It's only 5.30 in the evening. The best. I had both last night. The beef is the best. And they also have like a nice little, like, coriander salad over here. What I love about these shawarmas is they're nice and thin and small. So, 3 is what you need. You need 3 of them, a nice side of that sauce, pickles. Over here, we have, they also have pizza. This is almost like what we saw in Iraq and Lebanon. So, they add some, like, tomato sauce, some sesame seeds, and just keep putting out the rice. Super, super delicious. So, right here, he's making, like, some cheese pizza. Wow, this is like a food factory. Next up, what do we have here? Chicken, fried chicken. So, over here, they have dolma, they have fries, they have saad, they have hummus, they have so many delicious things and pitas. I think I'm ready to go eat. But we also have juice over here, no? Juice. Oh, what is this? Falafel. Falafel. Doesn't matter where you go in the Middle East, falafel is king. Always, always. You cannot go wrong with falafel. Another, another. This is a good one right here. Amazing, it's amazing. Look at this. Look at the juices. Wow, this is like endless juice. Oh, this is what you wrap it. You drink it like water, bro. Okay, okay, okay. Let's see. Wow, I can replace this with water, why not? It's so good. It's great stuff. Now, I cannot wait to eat. Let's go eat. Let's go. Wow, what a feast. This too much? All of it. And here we have our massive feast. So, we have shawarma, chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, and then we also have the shawarma platters. So, that's basically a plate full of chicken, pita, and fries. This is chicken, that's beef, fries. We have a mixed salad here. We have hummus. We have a tabbouleh. We have like a spicy salad. Gorgeous lettuce and herbs here. And then over here, we have as strong as the best thing. So, this is going here, dip. Super strong garlic. You can see how thick it is. Oh, it's so good. This is my new Lebanon. Super strong, very pungent. Very pungent. It's like a smoothie, right? So, it's a mix of herbs. This was pure garlic. I just had two of those there. So delicious. It's a hummus churro with, you know what? The beef. I had this last night, midnight, and I was so blown away. So, there it is. Super nice. You can see it's nice and simple, right? Just tomato, the beef, a little bit of garlic in there, right? And a little bit of tahini. Oh, tahini. They put it to go to the food people and for the delivery guys who come and deliver some food, they give them the clean food. If we didn't touch it, it goes straight to somebody in need. Fantastic. Okay. And Tasos? Still eating. Still eating. It's still good. It's so hard to stop. Much good. Last bite until tomorrow lunch. Hey, shukran, shukran. Too kind, too kind. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Shukran, shukran. All right, guys. All right. Let's go.