Most UNIQUE Middle Eastern Street Food in the GCC!!! ULTIMATE Omani Street Food Tour in Muscat!!!

It's really starting to kind of congeal. The meat's starting to break apart. Oh, it looks really nice. Welcome to Oman. This country has a foodie identity all its own. But before I landed, I knew almost nothing. Plain. It's one of the six GCC countries in the Middle East. It's a peaceful country. A lot of people are living together happily. Maybe that's why it doesn't get as much news coverage. The major religion is Islam. It's hot. Like, really hot. You rarely see people outside during the day, and if they're getting food, they just order from their car. Should we get out? Why would you get out? They're gonna come to us. Yes. What's going on? Its economy thrives on oil, but fish and seafood exports contribute too. How do you decide what shark piece you want? Ahmed, of Official Oman Travels, has offered to guide me through his country. Epic reveal. Here it is, the moment. Exploring the capital's unique street food. It's probably three or four meters down into the earth. Traditional Omani cuisine. I'm gonna drop it in. Three, two, one. Boom, right in the middle. And the rare desert food of Oman's Bedouin people. Oh God, don't bite it. Don't bite me. I can't do it. Ahmed's mission? Show the world why they should visit Oman. I'm gonna speak about people in Oman. They're very welcoming. They're very nice. My mission? Show you all the uniquely Omani food we find along the way. It used to be really sticky, and now it's kind of moving as one unit, like a slip and slide. Let's get started. This is Oman, and this is its capital, Muscat. Today is all about unique Omani food in the nation's capital, starting at the fish market. Right now we are in the fish market in Muscat. This place is wild. There's so much going on here. Al Yazidi has been cooking since she was a child. She ran a food business out of her home, and now she runs this place. Before opening today, we're picking up some ingredients. Shark, fish. Shark. Nice. Did you know that nobody in the USA eats shark? Are you sure? He's asking, are you sure? I would say almost nobody, like less than 1%. This happens every day. Like every day fishermen go to the ocean, catch some shark, and bring it and sell it, and people just eat it every day. Do you know what kind of shark is this? She says whatever comes in the ocean, they'll just take it. Don't really know what kind it is. How do you decide what shark piece you want? Stick, stick one. So as long as it's white meat, it's not dark, it's edible. We're looking for edible. Yes, edible. That's a great place to start. We're taking a shark steak from here. T-bone steak. Like a T-bone. Like T-bone steak, yeah? Yeah, exactly. That is quite a steak, that is huge. So that is the spine of the shark, and then it's all just muscle and cartilage, and then there's thick skin on the outside. You're a chef, you're a restaurant owner. Are there a lot of women in Oman doing what you're doing now? So she's saying there's not a lot, but they are there. Back in the day, like 20, more than 20 years ago, the society would not accept for a woman to actually be doing all this kind of business, all this kind of trade, but now it's the society accept it, it's been equal. So women or men, they're doing the same thing. Also the financial status of homes, there is a need for the woman to actually work. When both the husband and wife are working, they make enough money to hold the house and be living a good life. So it's also just practical. If both people are working, there's more money for everybody. Exactly. What is the hardest part of running a restaurant though? Marketing. That's what we're doing right now. That's great news. With shark in hand, we head to a restaurant where she makes up a traditional Omani breakfast. She just kind of like pushes it on the pan, and it absorbs to some small pieces of the dough. It almost looks like a sponge or something, but it's actually just dough. Rakhal or traditional Omani bread is made simply with wheat flour, water, and salt. Add in an egg and tea, and it's the perfect way to start your day. And then she put the egg on there, spread the egg around, and then you gotta be quick. This is very cool, very thin. Not many carbs at all. This is the opposite of deep dish. Do a flip, we do a fold. Oh, and then she tops it with ghee. Super thin bread. It is very steamy still. She's put some ghee on top. I'm gonna take a big bite. Here we go. Do you want some? No, no, no, no, no. I don't. I want food. Should I offer you some of your own food? Okay, let's try it out. Oh, that's nice. The bread just steams right up from the egg. A little bit of ghee flavor on the outside. It's just really eggy and bready. Yeah, good, I like it. Thank you. Good, yes, but everyone loves bread. I wanna see what she can do with that shark. Right now we have this huge shark steak. So tender. Now, is that gonna go into a soup? She's gonna make it with the rice all together. The shark is cubed and seasoned with chili powder, garlic paste, and her own special blend of seasonings, including turmeric and salt. Then she fires up a pot, sauteing some onion and layering in even more flavors, including whole spices like cinnamon. Let all those flavors get happy with each other in the pot and toss in the shark. We have our big shark pieces in here. It smells amazing. Is this on your menu? No. I want to make for you something different. In Oman, you don't see another country. Next, yogurt and tomato sauce. Then a whole lot of lemon juice for its much-desired souring effects. Toss in some fried potatoes, fresh bell pepper, then the rice. The rice is compressed down as she prepares for the soon-to-come flip. Hit it with some cilantro, little bit of ghee, then a quick smoke sauna made by tossing a hot coal into more ghee. Give it a minute, and finally, we're ready for the flip. Okay, let's see it. This high-level, advanced flip move. On the head, off the shoulder. Oh my God. And then onto the platter. Wow. That was stunning. Look at that. That looks delicious. There's a little bit of shark left. We have even more bonus shark. And some ghee. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Lunch is served, including a second shark dish. We're doing it. Begin with your hands. First of all, this dish, what is that again? The dry shark? Yeah. It's made into a salad. So they stir-fried it into a salad. Dry shark salad. Start with dry shark. I'm gonna throw it in. Is this a trick? Oh man, there we go. That's pretty good. Super salty, kind of seafood-y. You can't really tell it apart from other types of dry fish. It's not sharky, you know? I wanna take this home for later. Can I just put it here? Oh, I still have, by the way, I have some shark left. I was gonna give it to you as a gift. I would appreciate it a lot. Thank you so much. She rehydrates the shark, making it soft again. Chop, chop, chop, dump, new bowl, onion, salt, hello salty onion, meet the shark. Ghee, limes, mix, mix, mix, add lime juice, and boom, dry shark salad. All right, should we try it? Go for it. Mm, that is good. It tastes like candied fish. It's salty. It's super salty. Insanely salty, sour, rehydrated shark meat. We really like sour food, though. Why is that, I've noticed that. Strong flavor, everyone appreciates it. So sour is a common theme in Omani food? So sour and spicy, but not too much spice that would cover up the flavor of whatever you're cooking. We're gonna jump into the shark here. Scoop it up, pick it up in your hands. Like this? Yep, use your thumb to push it into your mouth. Cheers. Amazing. There's so much going on here. I mean, there's the rice, the shark, and then the salad on the side with tomato and onions, really sour. Here we have a big chunk of shark. Oh, dude. It's actually good. Yeah, what do you say, actually? I did not think of it, it's my first time. Well, this is your first time eating shark. Yes. It's very soft, it's tender, but not flaky. Look at that, look at this. It looks like a chicken breast, almost. We have a ton of street food left to cover, starting here. We have reached our next food destination, and what's going on? I do see a mound. There's a mound. And if you turn around, you'll see there is indeed a restaurant there. Welcome to Foodies. The owner is an absolute lover of food, and today he's showing us the most unique selections from his menu, starting with whatever is buried here. So he's got some plastic gloves so he doesn't get the dirt dirty. Right now, he's kind of like a paleontologist about to uncover a nice, big, delicious piece of lamb. Underneath this plate, that is gonna reveal everything. Oh, okay. That was a good reveal. This is like a big metal tube, just using the earth around it to insulate it, keep it warm, and inside, a bunch of rice, lamb. Orcia. Lamb, rice, and spices have already been cooked together, but what makes this dish unique is its texture. It's really starting to kind of congeal. The meat's starting to break apart. Oh, it looks really nice. And cool sound effects, too. Sounds schloppy. I like it. It will eventually break down into something not resembling rice or meat, but a congealed fusion of both. Guys, we have stumbled upon their second unique cooking creation right here. It's like a half barrel. Underneath, he's got water. It's kind of like a sauna for chicken. This is river rock chicken, but not everyone can decipher which rocks are best for cooking. What do you look for in a good rock in a good cooking rock? Flat. He already told me that. Oh, that's it? Yes. These river rocks are made hot and used to cook chicken and mutton. The reason they cook it on the rocks is because the chicken is gonna catch its flavor. What kind of flavor is that, though? Rocky, kind of earthy flavor. Is this an Omani thing, or like a U thing? Yeah, this is Omani thing. Really? From Jalan. Is that where you grew up? Yeah. Oh, so you brought kind of the food cooking style of your childhood, and you brought that here to Muscat. Yes. Oh, incredible. I can't wait to try it out. Oh my god, look at this beautiful platter. We're about to have an epic reveal. Are you guys ready? Oh, there's more stuff. Epic reveal. Here it is, the moment. Oh, what? This was rice and mutton. Now it looks like hummus. It looks like hummus. And then, is this like olives, or? Um, you should try it. Let me know what you think this is. It's hard to say for sure. It feels a little meaty. Some kind of body part. Here we go. I'm gonna guess like, intestine and some stomach inside. Yep. Is that right? Exactly what it is. Yeah. Good job, man. It's like I just won the weirdest kind of game show in existence. A little organy. It tastes like it's been boiled for like five hours. A little chewy. I like it. I like the flavor. The texture, not so much, but the flavor, yes. I feel like this is the most mysterious thing, so we should save it for last. I wanna try some of the chicken to see if it's really rocky. It's served on this hot plate. They've cut open some parts already. Wow, the breast comes right off. All right, let's try it out. Dude. That's some good chicken. I'm so sorry I ever doubted you. Oh, did you know I doubted you? It was pretty clear. It does have a river-y taste to it, which is different than earthy, you know? It's like kind of a fresh well water. And it's just a hint of flavor from the rock. Here, this is kind of what we've been building up to. So what you do is you take some, put it in a bowl shape, dip it in the oil. You just dip it into rendered cow fat? Exactly, aren't you trying to die? Dip it in some beef? All right, let's go for it. That is so hard to describe. That texture alone is so goopy. It's nice though. Half solid, it's half liquid. Half gas. Are you trying to teach me chemistry right now? It's almost like a solid gravy, like you chew into it, but nothing happens. It just stays there. And then the fat, oh my God. It's like dipping it into the spirit of a cow. So good though. It's like cow butter. So today we're looking at some unique dessert made in Oman and Oman only. It's called Omani Halwa, and we're gonna go check it out. How do you feel about it, Sonny? This is like Willy Wonka's factory for Omani people. And today we got a golden ticket to go inside. Yeah, absolutely. Is that all you, well hold on, we can say a couple more things. One important thing might be, what's Halwa? Halwa is a dessert made of the base of Omani sugar. This dessert is mixed with different kinds of nuts, and these nuts are good. Halwa literally translates to candy. It's eaten during many occasions, but especially as an offering when serving guests. Right now, we're gonna see how it's made. It all starts by mixing water and Omani cane sugar. Right now we are here with the owner of the factory. Sir, thank you very much for having us here today. He appreciates you coming to the factory. Anywhere where there's big pots of boiling stuff, I love it. This starts with a base of sugar. This is cane sugar, right? They get it from a city called Bahla. The sugar kind of cooks, becomes this almost like molasses texture. So it's been cooking for two hours now. Just keep in mind, the fire they're using to heat up all of this is not gas. They're actually using wood. Next, they slowly mix in walnuts, almonds, then Omani ghee. Oh, so he just whips it around the edge. Immediately it's changing the texture, really making this slippery. The smell of this glorious Omani clarified butter in the air is so good. Guys, if you see now, the texture, the way this whole glob moves, it used to be really sticky and now it's kind of moving as one unit, like a slip and slide. So this is a family-oriented kind of factory. They've been doing it generation after generation, starting with their grandparents, the older grandparents, from the 1940s. That's the cardamom. That's cardamom powder. Cardamom goes into almost every dish in Oman. Now they're adding the saffron water. Oh my gosh, the smells in here just became insane. This cardamom is extremely fragrant, almost perfumey. They just have a few more minutes left until this is finished, but they're gonna keep adding in some more of this ghee. Oh boy, oh my God. How do you even transport something so goopy? So he's taking this giant spoon. It thickens with time and then they let it just cool a little bit and then it becomes thicker and that's when it's ready to be eaten. We are in basically the lobby, the entryway of the factory here, where they have a little tasting station set up for us and they have a little bit of everything here, including a lot of the raw ingredients that go into making this halwa. The halwa, that is still basically a mystery for me. I have no idea if it's like a soup, a taffy, if it's hard. Maybe it's like a giant Jolly Rancher. Probably not that one. No. So we're gonna start with the coffee. I'll pour you some coffee over here. So this is a common greeting food. Someone comes to your house, you need to offer them some coffee, offer them some halwa. Cheers. So you just scoop some. Oh, it is, it's goopy. But it is goopy chunks. It will separate. Yes. Okay, and then you gotta go around it like a Bugs Bunny sawing through the floor. Oh, look at that nice halwa, slow motion shot. Here we go. Wait, wait, wait. There's something special before you put it. Okay. You eat it with your left hand. Pick it up with your hand. Big, goopy, still warm piece of halwa. Let's go for it. I like it. Well, that's a lot to figure out in one bite. Tons of cardamom flavor. A bit perfumey. It's like you taste it through your nostrils. Yeah, I like it, I like it a lot. Some people think, oh, he didn't make a yummy face. He must not like it. With this, it's like I gotta figure it out. It's like putting a Rubik's Cube in my mouth. Love that it's still warm. Look at that texture. It's awesome. It's not gonna fall. It is falling apart. Delicious. I genuinely really like it. Man, if they didn't have the almonds, the almonds makes it for me. I realized you like them nuts. Not any nut, but definitely these nuts. Okay. Yeah. Let us toast. Here is to Halwan. Cheers. By this time, you'd think we'd be done. We should be done, but we're not done. ♪ Cup sack and I never go back, uh. ♪ ♪ One sack with another don't track, uh. ♪ ♪ Jump back to all of it, don't ask. ♪ ♪ Put me in the corner with a cup of Dunkin', uh. ♪ ♪ No ride covers, you go, go, uh. ♪ All right, bro. Let's go. We're here. What are we doing? Oman is hot. At high noon, I see very few locals risking an encounter with the sun. And really, why risk heat stroke when you could just order from your own air-conditioned car? What's special about this place? This place, it serves food with a special ingredient. The one that's just right here on your left? Yes. Oman chips? They're very special potato chips because they're 97 grams and they're chili flavored. Guys, they were rated top in taste by themselves. I've seriously never tried these. I'm gonna open it right now. Take a look inside. They're not just potato chips, they're red. Let's try some chips Oman. Oh, that's a nice chip. Can we get a closeup on that chip? Guys, we're doing a chip review in a car. I would say it's kind of chili flavored, kind of like sour, kind of like top in taste. I think it's a good chip. Eat it in a sandwich? What? Is that what's going on here? Yep, that's exactly what- Shut up! Chip sandwiches. We've all made them at home and we've all never seen them on a menu anywhere. Here, they're delivering chicken and chip sandwiches Omani style. Chicken shawarma, cheese and chips Oman. Would you like to have that? Yeah, I do. It's my favorite. Two Impreza. How long does it take to make that? Three minutes to four minutes. In the meantime, let's bump some music, huh? For sure. It starts with a flat Omani bread, a slathering of local yogurt, then sliced, tender, juicy shawarma chicken. All topped with Oman's famous Oman chips. Roll it up, toss it on the hot sandwich squisher and bang. That's an Oman chip sandwich, hand delivered straight to your window. All right, this is it. Look at this. It looks like a Christmas present. I mean, Ramadan present? What kind of presents do you, when you give presents? Eid. Eid? Just after Ramadan. Eid. It looks like an Eid present maybe. Would it be an Eid present possibly? No, but I'll take it as a present. I like food. All right, cool. Was any of that offensive or can I put that in the video? You can put it in the video. Right here, you can see the chips inside tucked into this little pocket. I can't wait to crunch into it. Let's go. Let's go for it. Oh, bro. Chips Oman. Dude, everyone likes chips in their food, but no restaurants do that anywhere. Like at home, all the time. Make a ham sandwich, put a bunch of chips in there, crush it. That's what they've done here basically. Exactly. Just, you know, the Omani style of that, which is in a shawarma. It is loaded with chippy texture. I'm kind of a fast food connoisseur. I love that they're bringing the food to you. This is my first time doing a food review in a car. But you know what? Hopefully not my last. That was perfect. Guys, before the video ends, I would be remiss if I did not thank Chips Oman for sponsoring this video and for paying me $5 million to speak favorably of them. It was my pleasure. And so next time, you know, Chips Oman. Ahmed, thank you so much. We had a great time. Absolutely. If you are interested in coming to Oman, my buddy Ahmed is running a tour company here called Official Oman Travels. They offer 10 different experiences here in Oman. Check it out. The link is in the description box down below. My brother, again, thank you. I am stuffed. Absolutely. I'm gonna go sleep it off. Also for you guys, if you are headed to Vietnam, I highly recommend a company called One Trip. One Trip is the highest rated tour company in Vietnam, doing tours from north to south in all major cities, including Hanoi, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Saigon. You can experience food tours, adventure tours, and more. To learn more about One Trip, check out the links in the description down below. I will see you next time. Peace. You wanna say peace? Yes. All right, you can say it with me. Okay. All right, it's too late. We'll use that one. ♪ Give me what the people say, uh ♪ ♪ See she wanna be bold face, uh ♪ ♪ We seek for the needle in the hay ♪ ♪ See me get you higher than a needle in your day ♪ ♪ Do you people in the crowd right now say uh, uh, uh, uh, uh ♪ ♪ If you wanna get down right now say uh, uh, uh, uh, uh ♪ ♪ To the girls on the side right now say uh, uh, uh, uh, uh ♪