The best part of having locals for friends are the restaurants you get to visit that you wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I have been living in Saudi Arabia for quite some time. So last week my Saudi colleagues decided to take me along for lunch to a restaurant in Dammam called Madhina near Othaim mall. It took us a while to get there thanks to all the detours and road works going on in that area.

I was in half a mind to go for the Lamb Kabsa but since I had to work the rest of the day, I shelved the idea and instead settled to have the “Dammamiyah Chicken Kabsa”. We ordered 4 half chickens to be served on a single large platter on a bed of aromatic rice cooked in lovely stock and spices.

We took our place in a private floor seating area and settled down to wait for our meal. The service was very quick and it took barely 10 minutes for the food to arrive. They also served a chickpea soup with the main course and after a few spoonful’s I decided it was not worth wasting my appetite on.

The rice was hot and garnished with what looked like burnt lemons (My Saudi colleagues had a name for it) and chilli. The chicken had been roasted beautifully and had a beautiful golden brown colour and it was just as appetizing as the bed of rice it was served on. Truly a great place to take your friends to. It was more than filling and I was a little sad I couldn’t do justice to the rice.

A plate like that can serve up to 5 people. Do not miss out on this place for it is truly a great local joint.

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Location: https://goo.gl/maps/AGDkLvXmLkJ2