DIET AND EATING
RESTURANTS:
Hundreds of typical Yemeni restaurants, that are very simple, but, with good Yemeni food, are available throughout the country. In the main towns like Sana’a, Taizz, Aden and Hudaida there are also some good Western and Oriental restaurants. Many 4 and 5 star hotels serve a mix of Western and local cuisine.
FOOD:
An important feature of Yemeni food is that it is always prepared fresh. The Yemeni diet is simple and differs from regions to region, but basic dishes are the same.
It includes bread, rice, vegetables, beans, chicken, fish, beef and lamb. |
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BREAKFAST:
A typical Yemeni breakfast consists of full (a stew with brown beans, tomato, onion and chili), fasuliya (fried beans), beyth (fried eggs with onion and tomatoes) or kebda (liver cooked with spices). Yemenis usually eat them with hobs, big, flat, pancake shape bread, from wheat flour, sometimes covered with black sesame seeds.
LUNCH:
Lunch is the main Yemeni meal and it is served between 11.00 and 13.30. After this hour you’ll hardly find any restaurants open.
The national dish that is usually served for lunch is a thick, fiery, spicy green stew called salta that basically consists from lamb or chicken with lentils, beans, chickpeas, coriander, fenugreek and some other spices.
In some places you can find fatta, a dish made from dry bread soaked in honey, soup or milk. The one prepared with milk is a common meal that they eat before the sunrise prayer in the month of Ramadan.
DINNER:
Dinner is usually a light meal that is served after the sunset prayer.
DRINKS:
The everyday drink in Yemen is shai (tea), drunk from small glasses at every occasion. It is usually very sweet, but after some days one gets used to it. There are two kinds of tea: the one prepared with milk is called shai ma halib, without milk it is called shai ahmar.
Yemenis drink two kinds of coffee, one is prepared from coffee beans and it is called bohn. A more common drink is kishr or khahva which is prepared from coffee bean shells, cinnamon and ginger. Bottled mineral water, soft drinks and juices in tins are available everywhere in the country.
ALCOHOL:
Yemen is an Islamic country and alcohol is prohibited. Tourists should avoid drinking alcohol in public places, or in the car while traveling out of respect for the Yemenis. Alcohol can be obtained in some five-star hotels in big cities but the prices are very high.
Non alcoholic bear (Becks and Amstel) can be found in many places.
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