World Food Thursdays

Country No.18: Yemen

 

Date: 7/12/15

 

Venue: The Queen of Sheba, Paddington

 

Attendees: Maor, Poppy, Ben, Kim, Lee, Ellen (venue chosen by Becky)

 

Cost: £21 a head

 

Stop. The. Press.

 

An alarming trend is developing within the confines of the WFT and one that is of great concern to this particular raconteur. A pox is spreading through the gang and nobody can tell who will be next. Struck down this time were Becky and PK, laid low by a dastardly virus. We wish them a swift recovery but the show must go on, and we must continue to fatten ourselves up like the proverbial Christmas geese that we are.

 

As pre-starters become an established part of the WFT process kick off times are getting thrown out of the window. For this particular episode tee off was set for 8pm. The first attendee was seated at 7.15 and the first plate of hummus was on the table by 7.30. Is there a more effective method of eliminating tardiness than the promise of extra food?

 

In another development it seems that Lee has been working on his charm. In the time it took to arrive, order some pre-starters and await the rest of the ensemble he had already managed to get on the wrong side of the sole waitress in the restaurant, a new record. He normally waits at least until the mains have been served to roll out his potent mix of dad-jokes, wild gesticulating and a cheeky, charming, grin. Nevertheless the late comers (note: actually on time by conventional measurement), were warned that the waitress was frosty and that all communication would be deferred to Maor as the most authoritative member of the team.

 

As if often the case ordering was also deferred to the individual with the deepest and widest knowledge base. Coming from a neighbouring country (or by virtue of being a secret agent) Maor was not a first time diner in Yemen heaven and therefore the rest of the gang listened intently as he listed the must-haves.

 

Taking the counsel to heart we ordered some traditional Yemeni bread which arrived on top of a huge basket supporting the thin, slightly charred flatbread that is clearly a staple part of the Yemeni diet and two dips, one spicy (Zahaoeuk) and one mild (Houlba) – made from blendedpumpkin seeds - and designed to complement each other. Being the independent thinkers we are we supplemented the order with another round of humus, a moussaka batinjan (more of a saucy, tomatoey stew than a more familiar moussaka) and some kibbeh. A strong start.

 

Cautious of ending up in a food coma attempts were made to limit the amount of main courses ordered. Yemen is famous for Saltah so that was a must, this was accompanied by Laham Sougar, Lamb cooked with Okra, and Mandi Dijaj. The Mandi Dijaj was a huge platter of tender (but dry) chicken, served with enough rice to feed a Cambodian family. The three other dishes were all lamb based. Most similar were the okra and the Laham Sougar both being tomato based stews differentiated by the way the lamb was cooked. In the okra the lamb was diced however in the Sougar it was cooked low and slow and served in large chunks. The Saltah is an intensely lamby soup, essentially shredded lamb, possibly cooked in lamb stock and thickened with egg. A real crowd splitter as the strong lamb flavour was really quite overpowering. Unfortunately we were foiled in our attempts to order with a semblance of control as another three enormous breads turned up.

 

After some convincing from the waitress and Maor two desserts were ordered, for sharing. The first, Fattat, tasted like bananas mashed into toast and covered with honey. It looked like porridge. It was delicious stodge. The other dessert was more of the same bread topped with honey and covered in black and white sesame seeds. Not exactly what we were expecting and definitely suffered through being the sixth mammoth flat bread that arrived at the table.

 

It’s fair to say that Yemen was not universally popular with some crew members ranking it among the best so far, and other leaving the Queen of Sheba struggling in the relegation zone.

 

Facts:

• Yemen prides itself as the only republic in the Arab peninsula.

• Yemen was ranked last in a 2013 global gender gap report; there is no set minimum age for marriage

• Yemen is part of Biblical tales and legends. Noah knew it as “the land of milk and honey."