With precautions still in place and no end in sight to the Covid-19 dilemma, we decided to visit the ancient city of Al Hassa and explore the sights and sounds of this wonderful city. I had bookmarked a few of the sights I intended on visiting and first of these venues was the Al-Qaisaryah market.
According to historians, the market was built in 1822 AD-1238 AH and was later overhauled in 1334 AH during the reign of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud. The souq has over 422 stores but for whatever reason there were barely 20-30 stores operational that day so we made the most of it to admire the architecture and take pictures. While we explored this historic venue, we came across a tiny little cafe within the souq called ‘Alsayid Cafe’ that was open for breakfast. We didn’t have to think twice since we were already quite starved by the time we reached Hofuf.
The cafe’s interior matches the architecture of the souq, with souvenirs from the area in full display. We got ourselves the best spot in the house and proceeded to order from their very simple menu.
- Scrambled Egg with Tomato – SR. 10
- Scrambled Egg Plain – SR. 10
- Lentil – SR. 10
- Shaeriah with Egg – SR. 18
- Tea Pot (M) – SR. 23
I don’t think I’ve enjoyed eggs this much in a long time and with the lentils lightly flavoured with lemon, made for a scintillating combination.
The ‘Shaeriah with Egg’ tasted quite like ‘Balaleet’ which also happens to be a breakfast dish made with sweet vermicelli and served with an egg. This sweet and savoury combination makes for a delicious meal and to give it an edge, I would recommend adding a bit of ‘Shatha’ (Hot Sauce).
We washed all this down with sweetened black tea after having thoroughly enjoyed our wonderful meal.
If you ever plan on visiting the souq, make sure to visit “Alsayid Cafe’ (@mrcoffeeq) for a wonderful breakfast experience.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/pshiXiv3FHoQprEm7
FOOD WITH SHAYNE 