Skip to main content

Finding a black sheep

Last September, I was shocked by my passport photo. WHO'S THIS FAT LADY??!!!! Then, I rushed my hubby to buy a scale. Damn! Over 50kg! Hoe kan dat!!! I've lost all my pregnancy weight months ago. I had only 1-2 kg left to my normal weight before coming to Jeddah. So, pasti penyebabnya disini nih.

Coba di-trace back. Since I arrived in June, and we didn't have any stove yet, we always dined out. "Celaka"nya all the food here are HALAL. So, we could eat all kind of food without any concern of it's halalness. And they say, as an international city, Jeddah offers a range of international food. Although we haven't explored them yet. Mainly because we don't know where's the good one ;)



Say hello to junkfood world. My oldtime fave BK's Whooper! Trus kenalan ama Hardee's yg punya burger pake spek (bacon). Yummy... Mana ada spek halal di NL. Di toko turki or maroc juga ga ada. Or haven't seen it yet.

Yah itulah akibat hijrah dari negeri yg mostly isi food productnya dari either pork or non-halal meat. Yg kalo belanja, harus melototin isi ingredients, mencari2 kode E nummer en maknanya. Dari nabati apa hewani. Trus kalo ke resto harus ngecek dulu jendelanya, Halal ga. Untung waktu itu nemu KFC Amsterdam di Damrak n deket Albert Cuypmarkt yg  punya sertifikat halal. Lumayan kalo lg males masak.

Moreover, it's also about UUD (ujung2nya duit) :D. Apa sih yang ga mahal di Belanda. For instance, if you want to have a decent meal in a Surinamse resto, at least you must spend at least 10 euros. That' only a bowl of Nasi Soto with tea. In Grand Palace Rotterdam (or Dimsum Palace in Amsterdam), we spent at least 35e for hoofdgerecht (main course) and dimsum. You'll get free rice and chinese tea with that. Let see...

In Jeddah, for 10euros (that is around 48 riyals), you can get ehem... 3 WHOLE grilled chicken completed with kebuli rice (arabic fried rice with some raisins) and side vegetables. Dan yg mungkin ngetop di jemaah hajj/umroh; Al-Baik. For 10SAR, you'll get half chicken with buns and fries. For 35euros, hmmm, indulge yourself in a little bit of luxury. As we are a couple of red meat lovers, we like to try American chain restaurants and Italian restaurant. Well, not every month of course. Jebol dong kantong...

Or once in very special occasion, try fancy Japanese teppanyaki resto. Cost for 2 person? Almost the same as a one-person menu in Okura Hotel's fame Yamazato Restaurant. Anyway, for resto guide of big cities in Holland, you can go to IENS.

Yah, not too different to Indonesia lah. You can find food as low as 1riyals and as high as??? Dunno, haven't tried the most expensive resto here, named Byblos. Udah keder duluan hehehehe...

And last but not least. The Portion Size!!! In Holland the portion is almost 50% more than Indonesische portion. In Arab? Twice the size of Dutch portion! Most of the time, I can't finish my meal. They're just too big and too much. Once, I ordered chicken n beef grill combo in Chili's. They brought me the wrong order by giving me two big ribs. Masya Allah. Ga salah nih. Kayaknya tadi ada chicken2nya. Waar is de kip? En besarnya tuuh... Duh, tangan Rafi yg kecil itu kalah deh. Now I think it was even bigger than mijn hand. Or the Whooper Jr. It's almost as big as the Whooper in NL. Oof!

And to flush down all those food; try margaritas, champagne, sangria, pina colada or any other cocktails, even beer without worrying about the alcohol content. For this particular substance, even 20 minutes before your plane lands on Saudi's soil, it is not allowed to be served to the passengers. And so, this draws the thick line between Indonesia and Saudi on the food & beverages section.

So, why am I fat now? Why my BMI rose to 22s from 18.9. BMI shows fat... And all fat it is. Without having the chance to go out and burn some calories, I'm just a small fat lady.

And the black sheep... Seems yummy to be grilled as kebab :)

Comments