A Look At Iran’s Fake American Food Franchises

[al-Hasani]

Screw you guys,Lebanese cuisine is the best. The fucking lamb kebabs god damn ima have sex with that shit. The taste only got better when a Lebanese hotty served it . The Shawarmas, the rotissary chicken, humus, mutabbal, all the sexy salads. Heaven.

Arab food is indeed great. Probably the most diverse cuisine in the region due to it being scattered across 22 Arab countries. From Morocco in the West to Iraq in the East. From Syria in the North to Comoros in the South (Southern Hemisphere). But at the same time there are astonishing similarities. Lebanese cuisine is great indeed but there are better Arab cuisines out there but of course it depends on your taste. Yemeni is really unique. I would say it is a mixture of all cuisines in the Middle East, influences from South East Asia, South Asia and Horn of Africa. It is probably also the most flavourish cuisine in the Arab world and most spicy. In many ways similar to Hijazi cuisine just northwards.

Indeed good and also.. these kind of food is inferior when compared to traditional Iranian food. In middle east we should make our own franchise restaurants. We dont need inferior shit from mcdonalds, burger king etc.

The problem is that our food (I can only talk for the Arab cuisine here although I know that Turkish and Iranian is quite similar) is not food you make in 5 minutes. Sometimes it literary takes days to make the right dishes.

But sure you have kebab, falafel, shawarma, flat bread, sweats etc. that can be made relatively quickly but such places are already found in ABUNDANCE in Europe. Probably much more than the fast food chains already. And obviously also in the ME.
I can only think about a few rice dishes that can be made very quickly without losing too much quality.

Also Europeans tend to prefer patatoes or pasta. Rice was pretty much foreign to them. Much like coffee (which the Arabs first started to cultivate on a big scale and exported) and tea (Chinese) first really reached Europe like 200-300 years ago. Just to mention the two most common drinks in the West. Aside from beverages such as beer and wine.

Also most people/cultures in the Middle East and Muslim world always preferred eating at home in big gatherings. Hence when a foreigner visits Arab country x or y you don't take him to the local restaurant but invite him inside your home and host him there - which also obviously includes giving him food.

And obviously it is only human to want to try new things and that is why fast food chains are so popular in the Middle East.

 

[gslv]

So the Iranians and Chinese are brothers! You can see ABIDAS, WOODLAN etc written on Chinese goods in the market.

you forgot to add somy erricsom , Nokla.

 

[al-Hasani]

But at the same time Western fast food chains and processed food is one of the greatest dangers for the overall health condition of a population.

I can make a lot of examples. I can start in the Arab world where obesity just 40 years ago was very uncommon. Today among some of the wealthier Arab states, GCC included and mostly (the smaller GCC countries KSA not as much) are having too high obesity rates that were largely alien just 1 generation ago. It's not all about fast food chains since you can eat plenty of Arab food or any other in the world and get fat if you do not know your own limits and exaggerate like with all the joys of life.

But largely this is due to Western, mostly American, fast food chains and the food served there. Eating outdoors is already EXTREMELY cheap in most Arab countries, especially the GCC compared to the income.

Another clear example is Latin America. They just 30-40 years ago were also mostly unfamiliar with obesity. Today they are the most obese people in general, especially Mexico. Why? Well because American fast food chains have reached them too. Aside from processed food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Mexico

Diabetes is now the most frequent single killer of Mexicans. And we are talking about a population of about 120 million people. Not just a small country with a few million people.

Here is an article about the overall situation in Latin America:

http://www.economist.com/news/ameri...-so-does-fight-against-junk-food-battle-bulge

All countries facing dramatic rises in obesity in the past 30 years. Can't be a coincidence?Yes, and the overall obesity level in the world has probably also gone up everywhere but that is more due to processed food and less physical activity.

Those last two aspects also play a role in the growing obesity levels in Latin America and ME.

 

[SALMAN F]

Shawarma is tasty

 

[Informant]

Syrian shawarma i had in Beirut was one of the most memorable. the arabs were laughing at me when i was eating it. They were like where did this hungry guy come from, i had 8 shawarmas. Yes 8

 

[al-Hasani]

Syrian shawarma i had in Beirut was one of the most memorable. the arabs were laughing at me when i was eating it. They were like where did this hungry guy come from, i had 8 shawarmas. Yes 8

]

8 REAL Arab Shawarmas? The big ones? Are you crazy?

Maybe you should start for Pakistan in this discipline below:

Americans.

If/the day you come to KSA and eat 8 full plates of Kabsa with additional food then I will have to arrange a lifelong supply of Najdi sheep.


البرد في منطقة حريملاء - حفر الباطن by Talal Qatar Ձ͏0͏1͏Ʒ͏, on Flickr

I am sure that @Hyperion wants a similar deal.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

LOL india...

 

[al-Hasani]

View attachment 10160

Why are you making fun of Arab dresses worn by many Iraqis inside Iraq during its occupation as a supposed half Iraqi and half Arab that claims ancestry to Hijaz? You do realize that it is an American "soldier" right? Makes sense indeed. You are only, excuse my language, pissing on your own food table here. Nobody else. Keep insulting yourself.

I also struggle to see what that picture has to do with KSA anyway, LOL.

 

[Informant]

]

8 REAL Arab Shawarmas? The big ones? Are you crazy?

Ate the meat and had the tomatos from the shawarma turning thingy on my laham.

Yeah buddy. I also love mandi you guys have. And UAE local baddu biryani and harees.

I grew up in UAE though. So i have the taste. The fish my god that stinks, you guys fail on fish

 

[al-Hasani]

Ate the meat and had the tomatos from the shawarma turning thingy on my laham.

Yeah buddy. I also love mandi you guys have. And UAE local baddu biryani and harees.

I grew up in UAE though. So i have the taste. The fish my god that stinks, you guys fail on fish

That's good.

Dude, who are we? I am not from the UAE. KSA and UAE are worlds apart in terms of cuisine and most other things. Besides the cuisine differs greatly in the KSA from region due to a lot of factors such as history, geography, culture etc. Only thing they have in common is both being Arab and located on the Arabian Peninsula. But that does not mean much since going from Qatar on the Peninsula to Yemen is like going from one total opposite to the other.

Man, Hijazi and Saudi Arabian fish dishes are excellent and there are a LOT of them. We have among the longest coastlines in the world and a rich seafarer tradition and fish cuisine although it is not as popular today as it once was. Fish are also not that cheap compared to regular meat.

You should try Yemeni cuisine. But growing up in UAE you probably already know how popular Yemeni cuisine is in the GCC.

Mandi is a Yemeni dish originally btw.

 

[Contrarian]

Arab food is indeed great. Probably the most diverse cuisine in the region due to it being scattered across 22 Arab countries. From Morocco in the West to Iraq in the East. From Syria in the North to Comoros in the South (Southern Hemisphere). But at the same time there are astonishing similarities. Lebanese cuisine is great indeed but there are better Arab cuisines out there but of course it depends on your taste. Yemeni is really unique. I would say it is a mixture of all cuisines in the Middle East, influences from South East Asia, South Asia and Horn of Africa. It is probably also the most flavourish cuisine in the Arab world and most spicy. In many ways similar to Hijazi cuisine just northwards.

You make all of that sound really good.
Unfortunately, in India, the only Arab cuisine that has gained popularity is Lebanese. I personally love Lebanese! We dont have Moroccan or Syrian restaurants!

A question:
Are there international Arab cuisine restaurants?

 

[al-Hasani]

You make all of that sound really good.
Unfortunately, in India, the only Arab cuisine that has gained popularity is Lebanese. I personally love Lebanese! We dont have Moroccan or Syrian restaurants!

A question:
Are there international Arab cuisine restaurants?

Well, I am not sure where India came into the picture? I have never been to India so I can't tell how popular Arab cuisine is for obvious reasons. But I can tell you that Indian cuisine is largely unknown in the Arab world outside of the GCC. And the latter is thanks to migrant workers from India and Pakistan and trading relations that date back to 5000 years.

In Yemen there are also some Indian influences.

Personally I like Indian cuisine although the basis of many dishes strike me as being the same = rice, the same mixture of spices and flat bread. Although I have to say that I really like Indian food myself and spicy food in general. So that is not a negative thing at all. I know that you guys also have a lot of vegetable dishes.

I mean do you Indians use olive oil for example like we Arabs do greatly or do you mostly just use butter - which we also use a lot btw?

Do you mean fast food chains like McDonalds? Well, I don't know such ones. But if you mean kebab, falafel and shawarma "restaurants/pizzerias" that you see all over Europe then yes.
But Arab cuisine is not really a cuisine greatly designed for fast preparations and thus fast food. I can refer to my post number 31.

Neither is Indian from my own experience.

Chinese more so. At least here in Europe you have quite a lot of Chinese takeaways. But that is not "real" Chinese food in my opinion. No fast food dishes are that if you ask me.

 

[Hussein]

You make all of that sound really good.
Unfortunately, in India, the only Arab cuisine that has gained popularity is Lebanese. I personally love Lebanese! We dont have Moroccan or Syrian restaurants!

A question:
Are there international Arab cuisine restaurants?

Arab doesn't mean much. from countries it is very different.
North Africa, Lebanese, Iraq, Emirates.
Lebanese are not only famous for food, they are famous for design, for good tastes. it is a great country

 

[al-Hasani]

Arab doesn't mean much. from countries it is very different.
North Africa, Lebanese, Iraq, Emirates.
Lebanese are not only famous for food, they are famous for design, for good tastes. it is a great country

Yes, it is wrong to talk about a homogenous Arab cuisine which I already wrote. Hence that being a strength due to the diversity. But despite all that there are astonishing similarities between all Arab cuisines and several dishes that go again in all Arab countries just under new names and slightly local modifications. One has to study the Arab cuisine more closely though or just be familiar with Arab cuisine whether Arab or non-Arab. For example I can without problem go to Morocco and order Arab dishes that are famous in Oman as well and people will know what I talk about.
And at the end of the day then the cuisines of all Middle Eastern countries are largely similar. At least you have more similarities than total opposites.

Many European Mediterranean cuisines such as the Spanish and Portuguese one for example also have many Arab/Moorish influences besides using many of the same ingredients and also bordering the Mediterranean Sea as many Arab countries do.

I have also noticed many similarities with South Asian and South East Asian cuisine and Horn of Africa cuisine. That is probably due to the common trade etc.

Lebanon is a great little country indeed. HizbAlShaitan just need to leave it and stop occupying the South if you ask me but that is another discussion, LOL.

 

[Contrarian]

Well, I am not sure where India came into the picture?

Food is a topic that interests me. I wanted to try authentic Arabic food!

I have never been to India so I can't tell how popular Arab cuisine is for obvious reasons. But I can tell you that Indian cuisine is largely unknown in the Arab world outside of the GCC. And the latter is thanks to migrant workers from India and Pakistan and trading relations that date back to 5000 years.

In Yemen there are also some Indian influences.

Well yeah. Indians are practically present in almost every country in the globe and wherever there is a substantial number of Indians/Pakistani/Bangladeshi's, Indian food is available.

And there are a substantial number of Indians working in UAE as well as KSA. I am not aware of whether or not they are present in some numbers in the other Arab countries like Yemen, Jordan, etc.

Personally I like Indian cuisine although the basis of many dishes strike me as being the same = rice, the same mixture of spices and flat bread. Although I have to say that I really like Indian food myself and spicy food in general. So that is not a negative thing at all. I know that you guys also have a lot of vegetable dishes.

I mean do you Indians use olive oil for example like we Arabs do greatly or do you mostly just use butter - which we also use a lot btw?

Nope.
Indian cuisine does not use olive oil at all. Olives not being native to India. And very less butter as well.
Most Indian cuisine is made in Mustard oil/Refined oil or if its South Indian then coconut oil.

Do you mean fast food chains like McDonalds? Well, I don't know such ones. But if you mean kebab, falafel and shawarma "restaurants/pizzerias" that you see all over Europe then yes.
But Arab cuisine is not really a cuisine greatly designed for fast preparations and thus fast food. I can refer to my post number 31.

Neither is Indian from my own experience.

Indian food is not fast food. Chinese can be made into fast food.
I did not mean falafal,shawarma though. I meant fine dining restaurants. Are there some Arabic fine dining chains? If there are any present in India, I would like to try!

Chinese more so. At least here in Europe you have quite a lot of Chinese takeaways. But that is not "real" Chinese food in my opinion. No fast food dishes are that if you ask me.

Well yeah. Food is always adjusted to the country.
The Shawarmas you get in India are nothing like the ones I have seen in Gulf countries. Same for Chinese food. Its 'Indianized' to suit the Indian palate.
Same for Indian food. Its taste is changed to suit the local palate in other countries.