Job Discussion Forums

[huntjuliehunt]

Any suggestions on nice places to find organically grown vegetables, fruits?

Do they sell any safe (or known brands) of kombucha tea in Riyadh?

Where can I find whole flax seed?

And how about wild caught fresh grilled/baked salmon-serving restaurants?

Whole grain (not enriched) bread?

Healthiest restaurants?

Any help is appreciated.

[dareva]

Hi,
I suggest you contact 'Linda467'. She's just arrived in Riyadh a few days ago. She's a nice lady and is into health food etc. She's also sharp and is likely to find these things very quickly. Good luck and bon appetit!

[Stephen Jones]

[Cleopatra]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[Mia Xanthi]

In my experience, there were health food stores all over the Eastern Province. GNC outlets were everywhere, and there were several independent health food stores around. I feel quite certain that there would be even more in Riyadh.

Whatever can't be found in KSA can certainly be found in Bahrain. Al Osra supermarket there has a huge selection of health food products.

Yes, I did see kombucha while I was there, but I can't remember where I saw it or what brand it was.

[huntjuliehunt]

Yes, Cleopatra, as opposed to unsafe and unknown brands, considering the fermentation risks with making kombucha.

Someone died from fermenting it in lead, and many people have gotten sick from making it in environments that were not pristine. That is why there are trusted brands, such as "GT's kombucha" and "High Country".

Unless this was a grammatical question, in which case I validate your knowledge of antonymns.

[trapezius]

May I suggest these 2 threads (one of them is yours!) where you can find lots of information by me and by... yourself!

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=60729
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=51524

But here are some brief answers to your questions. You must read the 2 linked thread for my detailed posts.

1) Local organic fruits and vegetables:
http://www.watania-agri.com/home.asp
http://www.abazeer.com (only in Jeddah AFAIK)

2) I doubt you will ever find Kombucha tea in Saudi. However, Danube has a Japanese food section, so check there. Go to the biggest branch.

3) At the following places:
GNC
Health food aisles of Danube, Geant, Giant, Carrefour, etc.

4) All the 'fresh' Salmon found in grocery stores and restaurants here is "fresh frozen". Most upscale restaurants (and Chili's/Applebee's/etc) have a salmon main dish. Just go to various restaurants and ask where they get their salmon from. Also do the same at Japanese restaurants, and sushi places. And please never eat Scottish farmed salmon. (which I am sure you don't!)

5) You have seriously never seen whole wheat bread here? It is easily available in the bakery section of any large grocery store (and not just sliced loaves, but several kinds of flat bread as well). Not only do they make it there, they also sell bread (white, whole wheat, pita, loaf, etc) made by the various commercial bakeries in Saudi. All the large chain grocery stores also make and sell German bread. Just ask for it. (or you can spot it from a mile away, as it is very dark in color, uniquely shaped, and wrapped in saran wrap)

6) I don't live in Riyadh, so I wouldn't know. I know most [good] restaurants in Jeddah.

[The Lathe of Heaven]

As they said in boot camp after morning drills: You got five minutes to get your food eat it and wash your dishes and be formed up in front of the mess hall.

That basically meant that you have to eat while you are walking/running to your seat.

Hey man I know you may have the life of luxury and developed first world conveniences but if you're going to look for recycling, composting and energy conservation you've come to the wrong country. The health food market in KSA is not too great. Personally I would expect to change diets quite radically like chicken and rice or rice and chicken. If you want you can buy energy conserving light bulbs that last five years, they have those there.

TLOH

[huntjuliehunt]

Thanks Trapezius.

As for the other doomsday post- I've lived in Riyadh before. They do have health food. I just haven't been there in quite a while and want to know about what's going on today. I also wasn't as big into organic as I am now.

Chiles is one of the top 10 unhealthiest restaurants in America, and as far as I remember, they use the same recipes over in Saudi, so I'm not too keen on them. But if they have fresh baked or grilled salmon, I'd give it a go.

Trap--- When I say whole grain, I mean whole grain and nothing else. Every baked good and bread I found in Saudi had high fructose corn syrup, hydrogentated palm oil, enriched flour... in short, it's deadly crap. I hope you're right about whole grain bread... Otherwise, maybe I'll buy a bread machine and make my own.

Energy conserving light bulbs... nice Are they the ugly fluorescent lights used in schools? I'll get them and put one of those big lovely balls diffusion balls around them. Smile.

[The Lathe of Heaven]

doooomsday?
who meeeee?
nooooo. Neverrrrr.

I gave up healthy eating 50 years ago as everyone else did after the first nuclear tests + Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Chernobyl)

TLOH

[scot47]

I rather like the salmon in the restaurant at IKEA. I try not to think of the political orientation of the guy who set it up.

Do you think this salmon is produced locally ? Why not ? They produce wheat in KSA - and export it ! And the largest dairy farm. Why not a salmon production facility ?

[trapezius]

Yes Chilli's and Applebee's are quite unhealthy in many ways, but their baked and grilled fish dishes are not bad at all.

Yes scot, the salmon at IKEA is very good actually, one of the best if I might say so, and it is just SR. 20, with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed veggies!!! I don't know where it comes from. It might be farmed Scottish salmon, which is nasty (npt because it is Scottish, but because it is farmed). I will ask next time I go there. scot, don't be silly... there is no salmon found in the waters here, nor can it be farmed here.

As for bread, if you want truly good bread, you will not find it here unfortunately. However, I have a loaf of whole wheat bread sitting next to me, and the ingredients are:

whole wheat flour
wheat bran
salt
yeast
water
milk powder
refined palm oil
calcium propionate (mold inhibitor)

And it tastes very good actually. It is made by "Al-Rashed Bakeries" in Jeddah, so I don't know if you will find it in Riyadh or not. Just go to the major grocery stores and check out the breads in all of them and read the labels on all. I am sure you will find one you like. HFCS is not found in any locally made products, as it pretty much doesn't exist here. They add sugar here to a lot of things. But if you are just getting plain bread, whether white or brown, most don't have any sugar in them.

One type of bread which is excellent here is flat bread. Go research the various kinds in the major grocery chains. Many of the available ones are just whole wheat flour, water, and salt. And it is a lot more versatile than sliced loaf bread.

EDIT: Forgot to say, you can get good whole wheat bread without much added stuff at DeliFrance, a chain restaurant. I don't know if they have branches in Riyadh, but they probably do. Also check out other independent bakeries and patisseries. A really great place is Al Forn, but unfortunately they are not found in Riyadh AFAIK. Their authentic Italian style pizzas and amazing desserts are to die for! As well as the handmade chocolate truffles! Check out their list of breads and other products at http://www.alforn.com/

[scot47]

As usually I forgot to post my IRONY ALERT. I know that Saudi Arabia does not produce salmon. Yet.

Trapezius seems to be incapable of detecting irony - rather like some of my translatlantic cousins

[trapezius]

You know, when a white fluid comes out of a cow's udder, you would probably think it milk, won't you?

So when humour/irony comes from an almost-self-professed curmudgeon, it is something you are not expecting, and hence, you take it seriously!