Trying TRADITIONAL MOSUL FOOD for the FIRST TIME! Bazaar Street Food Tour!!

As-salamu alaykum from beautiful Mosul in northern Iraq. Today I'm going to take you to have a traditional lunch here at Dalal and then we're gonna go to a bazaar to see what life is truly like here and maybe we go shopping. Hey my friend, as-salamu alaykum, masha'Allah. Okay let's go inside. So this is Dalal, traditional house right? Beautiful. Oh I love it. So we have like a mini courtyard. We have a few different rooms over there and over here we have the kitchen. As-salamu alaykum. Everything good? Okay, tayyab, tayyab. Okay here we go kitchen, kitchen. Oh dolma. So right here he's making dolma and he's adding I think pomegranate syrup on top. Yes pomegranate, the best. Look guys, look this is the best thing ever. Okay, shukran. Alright so what else we're gonna have here? Anything else here? Oh can I see, can I see what's in here? Can I see? Basically the onion, lamb and the sheep's tail. Okay let's see, let's see. Oh yes, yes this looks amazing. Can I try one? Can I try? Oh, oh it's too hot. So hot with that melting in my mouth. Oh my gosh it's gonna be amazing. So we have lamb, we have dolma, over there I think we have eggplants, rice, bread. Let's eat. That's some yummy fried chicken. It is, it's gonna be good. So what else we're gonna get from here? So we have biryani, we have rice with saffron. This looks good. Kaliya. Taman. Taman? Taman. Fasulya. Fasulya, that's a fat. So it's like noodles? Crispy noodles, and then he added, I'm pretty sure it's date syrup inside it, right? And then over there we got raisins, tons of raisins. That's good, right? He's gonna keep putting stuff on it? Tomatoes, got some lemon. Okay, so this is Kubeh? Kubeh Halab. Kubeh Halab. Halab means Aleppo, the city in Syria. Aleppo, perfect. Okay, so then they froze this, and then they throw it in here to fry. It fries like in a minute or two, really really quick. Wow, scorching hot. They make it for hours, like it takes a lot of time to make it. Potato, rice, and the meat inside of it. So they freeze it. Same thing in my house by the way. Yeah, of course, whenever you're ready, just pop it in the fryer, eat. Yes, exactly. All right guys, we're gonna go upstairs in one of these beautiful rooms, and we're gonna eat some delicious food. So many good things, lots of bread, lots of fried, lots of lamb. Lunch is served, I'm excited. We got four things, plus bread, plus some vegetables. My friend, what are these? Dolma. Of course. Kuba Maslaviya, Uruk Maslavi, and the most valuable paella. Yeah, it looks good. This is the one I tried in the kitchen, super delicious beef. I think we should try the easier ones first. This looks awesome. Yes, let's try Kuba. Kuba. Okay, so I'm going for this one. Oh wow, super soft. It feels like a super soft empanada, right? Ready, let's go. So good. The grains, the spices in the meat. Yeah, so it's rice out of there. Oh my gosh, fantastic. So it's been steamed, so that's why it's different, right? It's not fried, steamed. The inside, it's some nuttiness, some lamb. I'll bring this out. I'm going to go for this too. Put some of this stuff on top. Tomatoes, cucumbers, some parsley. Parsley, right? Yep. That's different from this one, right? Very different. This one's more like crispy, and it's fried, right? So it's fried. That's the difference, right? One's it. The basic formula is the same, but in reality, it's a little bit different. Of course. We're going to see the difference right now. Let's go. Man, I can feel the spices. Oh yeah. Spices, lightly fried, same consistency as this one. Way more flavor here though, right? Yes. You have this nice crust, right? Look at that. Almost like a pizza crust, super crunchy. So much taste. I love this country. The crust, the taste of it, it's smoky, it's good. Mm-hmm. What I love about this country is the lamb aspect. So much lamb. Every dish. I'm going to tell you. And now, just go in here with some parsley. Nice and refreshing. Cucumber. Now this is a nice stuffed pie. Oh, you put that there? Yes, I put that in the bread. Put some of the lemon right there? The lemon? Yeah. I'm going to do that. Okay, let's go. So good. Mm-hmm. The raisins, it has some sweetness. It does. They both do. Mm-hmm. This is truly mussel, right? Mussel. Yes, mussel. Remember, make it longer. Yeah, it's not muscle or M-O-S-U-L. It's mussel. Yes. So funny, they're correcting my Arabic. But this man, the taste of sourness of the lemon and the taste of sweetness of the raisins. It's so good. Nice contrast. Yes. I love these two dishes. Now I'm going to grab one of these. So they have dolma, right? They have a mix though. Here they have tomato. Here they have onion, this pepper, this cucumber, and then over here we have my favorite, which is the grape leaf. Still super hot. Oh, yeah. If you give me an entire plate of dolma, that's all I would eat. Actually, on Fridays, sometimes usually in my house, we'll do dolma. And we'll do just an entire plate of dolma. Man, I'm going to show you how we eat it. Dude, it's so good. They make it sweet. Wow. And a lot of date syrup. That's what it is. No, sorry, date, pomegranate syrup. Pomegranate syrup. Yes. Guys, probably my favorite dolmas in the Middle East. I literally have to have another one. I'm going to have a tomato one. Look at this. Stuffed tomato. Oh, it's hot. Inside, pomegranate, you got the rice, and then it's been sitting or like simmering in the tomato juices, right? It's the only way, man. Our gifts from God, huh? God bless this meal. I think we have to try the beef next, right? And is it okay if we use our hands for this? Most certainly. Okay. So we get some bread, and then we're going to get beef. Oh, it's hot. Look at that bite. It looks so tender and juicy. Oh, it just falls. I know, I know. Dude, it's like butter. Come on. All right, it's time to eat. That's a small bite. The beef melts. Way softer than it was in there. Oh, this meal is to die for. And right here? Yes, it is. Pure fat. I'm staying away from the bread. I'm going to eat this like this. But look at what I'm going to do. I'm going to make him a sandwich of meats, basically. Oh, wow. Get my crust in here. Oh, the broth. The broth is amazing. This is like the perfect thing to have after drinking. Hangover cure right here. I don't know. I've never tried. That's fine. I've been sober the whole trip. Dry country. I love it. I feel great. That's one of my favorite parts about going to Muslim countries. Literally stay away from alcohol. In America, it's like social norm. Wow. I'd rather be eating all day. This is what we do. We eat all day. We eat good food. This beef dish blew me away. Are you ready to burn some calories in the bazaar? We have the whole team here, by the way. They're going to come in and eat. All right, guys, come. I love this restaurant. As soon as you get into this courtyard, you see all these beautiful decorations, right? This is like the evil eye. This is the one from here, from Iraq. Over here is beautiful like sandals. All the cool things hanging, right? Beautiful decorations. This is the reeds, right? Where they put the bread on top. Got some more cool stuff around here. I love these. All these colorful windows, right? All right, guys. Now, let's go to the bazaar. My friend. Hello. My friend, how are you doing? Very good. You? Thank you so much. No problem. Love the restaurant. The food is absolutely amazing. You have to come here when you're in Mosul. Perfect. That time was perfect. Perfect, right? Perfect. So, bazaar now, right? Bazaar? Maybe a castle? Maybe. Let's go. Let's go. Quick change of plans. We're first going to go to a castle called Bastapia Castle, which is around 1,200 years old. It's right here on the Tigris River. We're going through the old town right now. As you can see, lots of buildings, lots of demolished buildings. Here we go. Let's get there. Here we go. Old school castle. Bastapia. Bastapia. Look at this. Beautiful. So, we're right here over the Tigris River. As you can see, the bridge is being reconstructed. All the bridges in Mosul were destroyed during the war. Wow. Look at this. Incredible. Let's go. Wow. So, to get up here is not a joke, dude. Look at this. You can slip, dude. Oh, wow. I wear sandals, you know? He wears sandals. Oh, my gosh. Mohamed, are you okay? It's dangerous. Are you okay? Grab it, grab it, grab it. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm good. You see this? Yeah. Ceramic. This is here. Wow. This is more ceramic. Yeah. Black? Is he crazy? Yep. Yo, careful, man. It's amazing. Okay, let's go. I'll go first. You gotta run. You gotta run all the way up. That's how it is here. Oh, snap. No. Oh, my gosh. It's your love tonight. Look at this view. We're here. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Look here, look here, look here. Oh, man. It's worth it, bro. Well, now we know why they built it here, right? The view. It's ridiculous. Look at this. Tiger's River. Woo. Look at that. In shambles, huh? Yeah. Sulfur water. Sulfur. I was gonna say that's why it smells, right? The sulfur water. Come and see. It's very old. Very old. So, FYI, this wasn't destroyed by ISIS. This was destroyed a long time ago. It's been sitting here in ruins. What? Ready? Oh, oh. Don't fall. One, two, three. Hey, granddad. Granddad here. So, right over here where you see the kids bathing in the water, that's all sulfur springs right there. Incredible. What a view of the Tigris, huh? Haven't been in a ruined castle like this in a long time. I've been to some in Portugal that they still haven't, like, fixed yet, but this is intense. Woo. Muscle. Okay, I'm gonna take a photo here. Guys, this is intense. This is, like, insane. Ready? Here? Is that good? It's insane. This is, like, crazy, bro. Oh. Scary, scary times here. You see the stone? Yeah. Just stick to the stones, right? Each stone is like a little staircase. There's the stone. Okay. Let me grab here. That's fun. It's slippery, it's slippery. You want to go first? Oh, oh, guys. You see my legs? I see yours. It's easy. I go low. Watch. I go low. Like Darth Vader walking in here. It's fine. We're good, we're good, we're good. It's all good, it's all good. It's not so bad. Just bring some hiking shoes to get up here. No sandals. Just jump, bro, just jump. Okay, so the way to get down from this castle is either come in here and jump or just go like this. Oh, survived, right? Yeah. Oh, stones. All right, finally, bazaar. Let's go, bazaar. After about a ten minute drive, we're here at the market. Let's go. Here we go. Tassel, you good? Ready, I'm excited. Another bazaar, another exciting experience. Salam alaikum. Another bazaar, lots of fruits, lots of dates, lots of spices. I guess we're going in. Oh, what is he doing there? I guess you're going to be full again in like an hour. I think so. In about an hour. And Ali's back. Hello. What's this? This is the machine that produces sesame oil. Is this? Exactly. No, this produces tahini. I want to try this though. Tahini. Look at this. Salam alaikum. This is how they produce tahini. I saw this in Iran. This is incredible to see it on the street in a market. Look at this. So they put the sesames up here. They put it here. It's like a presser. Goes down and grinds it down into this incredible oil. Tahini, not oil, tahini. And look, look at that. He has a little spoon here. No, no, no, no, no. This one. Yeah. Try that. So fresh. So hot. I can drink this forever. Oh, wow, bro. Wow. On the street in a bazaar. This is incredible. Dude, amazing. How much for one of these? 6,000. Okay, I take one. I take one. I take. So good. Hey, shukran. Alright, we're taking some home. We have to. To America, to Spain. This is so good. Okay. Salam alaikum. Oh, I love your country. America, America. Look at all these spices. Salam alaikum. Right here. Rocking jewelry. It's the way, it's the way. Look at this. More tahini. This is so cool. Dude, I didn't know this. Damn, so what is this? Haji. Haji. No, this is shakariya. Shakariya. Which means sugary. Pure sugar. Here, try, try, try. Shakariya. It's good. It's made from sesame. Of course. So good. Natural food, natural food. Natural food. Natural, yeah. It's amazing. Yeah. It's not from factory products. Oh, wow. Everything here is coolish ta'ib. Very delicious. Coolish ta'ib. Shukran, habibi. Shukran. Welcome, welcome. Oh, I, I, this. It's like water for me. It's very nice. It's too good. Look at this, the sesame. Look at the sesames. Incredible. So where are we going? You want to try? Yeah. Salam alaikum. Salam alaikum. Salam alaikum. Juice? Yes, juice. Juice, juice, juice. Right here. Salam alaikum. Intense. Dude, he pressed my hand too hard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People here are like, their handshakes are like, you know. Yeah, but when you have a ring on, they crack it. Amazing. Habibi, shukran. So, which one are you trying? This is called what? Numi Rasa? Numi Basra. Numi Basra. The dried lime, basically the hot one that we had in Baghdad, this is the cold one, and then right here we have again the grape juice, right? Yes. Or the raisin juice. Yes. So, cheers to myself. We shouldn't be cheering, but it's okay. Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. Oh, this is good. Oh, this is good too. This is better than the ones we had today. Oh, this is so refreshing. Oh my gosh, guys. This one is super delicious. This is good. Wow. This is good, man. I'm introducing him. I'm talking to him. David's been here in your shop. We get a photo. Actually, a good photo. Yeah, yeah. Could be a good photo. That's really filling. I'm going to give this one to somebody else. Never again will I shake your hand. Broke it, dude. And now look, spice galore. What do you think? I think this is awesome. Yeah, it's closing. But isn't like tomorrow's our last day? Damn, I'll stay here. You go back. Your visa only lets you stay another 20 days. What are we buying here, Tasos? We're buying natural soap from Aleppo, Syria. And you know, if you smell it, there's no like real smell because it's natural, right? That's the whole point. It's like a thousand per cube. And that's like, so I think like 20 cents. Three thousand is five bucks. No, five thousand is three bucks. So that's like, I don't know. Take, take, take, take. So it's almost six. The market is completely closed or mostly closed, right? We're going to one more shop. One more, one more shop. Let's go. Mofar? Mofar. There's a huge one. Look at that. Oh my gosh. One meter. This guy has a one meter coffee pot. It's like, it's like hitting everything. Oh my gosh. Look at this. You should put your cold brew in there. Dude, I want to put this on my wall. Just like hang it right there Just like that? Five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars? To sell it for two thousand? Tell him two hundred dollars. Yeah. To get it home is going to be five thousand dollars, dude. Two hundred, two hundred. This guy's shop is amazing. Look at this. Look at all the coffee pots, big pots. You have this for like tallies, right? You serve everything on it. Then we're good. Gum gum, gum gum. Gum gum? Yeah, gum gum. Gum gum. Oh, gum gum. Gum gum. Abu Muhammad, too crazy, dude. Gum gum. This is how you do it, right? Oh, these are dope. Let's go. This is from the sky. From the sky? From the sky. Okay, let's try it. Only in Iraq. Okay, so let me try it. Nice, tasty walnuts. Outside starch, right? Almost like a flour. Very nice. It reminds me similar to the textures of a Turkish delight, but with nuts. Right? And there is also with pistachios. Oh, with pistachios, too? Yeah. Can we try a tiny bit? So it's going to be like similar taste, right? Similar taste? I like this more. Pistachio? Give me a big bite. Which one is more delicious? I like this one more. Pistachio or walnut? The walnut. Pistachio. Everybody has their own opinion, right? I guess so. Well, that's it, right? There is only one more stop in this bazaar. Ali? Yes, so this is the last stop in the bazaar that we should stop at. So it's coffee? Coffee. What kind of coffee? It's incredible. Coffee shop. Coffee store? Yeah, coffee shop, coffee store. And so where is this coffee from? The coffee is from Colombia. Colombia? Habashi means Ethiopia. Brazilian and Indian. Also Kenyan. Wow. All over the world. This is cacao from Netherlands. From Netherlands? Yeah, so here he has the raw beans. Puts it through here, processor. He also has some cardamom, of course. Always cardamom here. And then he sells pots. He sells it as his brand. It's incredible. I have this. This bag? The people I work with, they give me this bag. I have like 20 of these bags. Amazing bags. Do Brazil. I was thinking of buying one of these big pots in my house. I want to make it Arabic style. I love those over there. I love those. And they have all the cups, right? All those cups are really nice. Yeah, man, look at this one. That's beautiful. How much for that one? $2,000 only. Less than $2. Like $0.65. And that's it, my friends. We had an incredible afternoon. We had some delicious lunch. My favorite part was the dolma. So good. After that, I went to the castle. Incredible views. Please be careful if you go up there. Take some hiking shoes, for sure. No sandals. Then we came to this bizarre, incredible experience where you saw how tahini was made. We tried some delicious treats. We had some juice. And then we came here to this coffee shop. What a great day. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, give it a thumbs up. I'll see you next time. Bye.