Hend Salah, Author at Destination KSA

Affordable & Awesome Eats in Riyadh

best affordable restaurants in riyadh , Having a meal that is both tasty and affordable is something that Riyadh city is capable of offering thanks to its diverse and eclectic culinary scene to you cheap restaurants in riyadh.

affordable restaurants in riyadh

Now you can enjoy a well-executed meal without actually breaking the bank. Whether its pasta you are craving or pizza or even grills, rest assured you will have a full and satisfied tummy for under SR60.

Here we go!

Shawarma house

Serving literally the best Shawarma in town, Shawarma house’s eclectic menu also offers salads, grills, burgers, falafel, pizzas and grilled sandwiches. For only SR15 you can have a deliciously tender and juicy large Shawarma wrap along with golden brown and crispy fries and a soft drink. Rest assured that whether you go for a Shawarma sandwich or a grilled platter, Shawarma house is the perfect choice for a reasonable takeout meal.

Twitter: shawrmahous1

Zaatar W Zeit

Not just like any other typical Lebanese restaurant, Zaatar W Zeit serves truly authentic Lebanese eats that will satisfy your cravings for hearty food. With a puzzling menu that offers a plethora of Lebanese eats from salads, manakish, platters, pizzas, and light meals; Zaatar W Zeit is by far our go-to choice for an affordable yet succulent meal. For (SR39) you will get to indulge in a warm out of the oven and a one-dish-wonder Eggplant and Chicken Marinara platter, and for only (SR17) your taste buds will scream with happiness with the venue’s special and famous Tiramisu dessert.

Website: zaatarwzeit.net

Twitter: ZaatarWzeitKSA

LOKMA

Coming all the way from Istanbul, Turkey; Lokma has all it takes to make your dining experience an exceptional one. The venue serves a wide array of Turkish delights and treats from pastries, clays, sandwiches and grill. At Lokma you can have a to-die-for Shrimp clay pot for (SR59) and for an even more novel experience, try as a side the venue’s well-executed Turkish rice (SR15).

Twitter: LokmaSA

Burgerizzr

Photo Credit: tr.foursquare.com

For (SR20) you can enjoy a hefty meal that consists of one of the juiciest and ingenious burgers in town. The freshly baked bun enveloping a well-made patty is enough to take your taste buds on a roller coaster. Large portions and ridiculously delicious sandwiches are what Burgerizzr promise to deliver.

Website: burgerizzr.com

Twitter | Instagram

Maestro Pizza

Who is better than the Maestro itself to brighten up our days when craving a really good pizza! With the generous amount of delicious toppings along with the perfect blend of mozzarella cheese and different sauces complementing the taste, Maestro pizza serves all types of crusts that suit every taste.

Website: maestropizza.com

Twitter | Instagram

La Casa Pasta

With a menu that serves different types of pasta from beef pasta, hotdog pasta and shrimp pasta to vegetable pasta, Bolognese pasta, and pepperoni pasta; every single pasta dish boasts a combination of flavors that take your taste buds for a spin. For (SR28) you can order their signature Supreme Pasta boasting all sorts of meat and veggies topped with a sauce of your choosing.

Website: casapasta.com

Twitter: Casapastaksa

Top locations of CrossFit Riyadh

CrossFit Riyadh isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life!

There is a new fitness craze in Town and it is known as Crossfit, it’s known in Riyadh so people called it CrossFit Riyadh. For all of you not familiar with the sport, Crossfit is a group of varied functional movements performed at high intensity.

Unlike gym machines, CrossFit’s sole aim is to introduce our bodies to different sets of workouts for optimum results. The sport tackles everything that has to do with stamina, strength, agility, speed, endurance, and flexibility. It’s all about becoming fitter rather than bigger. As you all know, bigger muscles aren’t always better!

Here we introduce Riyadh’s top Crossfit locations for those who want to try out something new.

Interval Plus CrossFit

With two branches for men and women, Interval plus is fully equipped with trained coaches with a good mix of professional knowledge coupled with experience in addition to equipment that will help you become a more strong, balanced and explosive athlete.

Web: intervalpluscrossfit.com
Instagram: intervalplus
Location:
For men: Ar Rahmaniya, Takhussusi
For women: Ar-Rabi’, King Abdul Aziz

Beam CrossFit in CrossFit Riyadh

The first CrossFit box for men in Riyadh. The place has what it takes to help athletes gain Stamina, strength, agility, speed, endurance, and flexibility. At Beam Crossfit, rest assured you won’t only get bigger, but also fitter.

Web: beamcrossfit.com
Instagram: beamcrossfit
Location: 6824 Al Bahar Al Arabi

KORE | CrossFit Riyadh

Supporting women’s well-being, KORE offers every woman athlete in Riyadh a chance to alter their life and adopt a healthier and fitter lifestyle. Besides CrossFit, KORE also has a wide variety of group fitness classes for both beginners and pro athletes.

Web: kore.com.sa
Instagram: koreksa
Location: Al Khuzama, Wady al Janah St.

Read more: That’s a Stretch

Iron Hill CrossFit

Established in December 2017, Iron Hill has succeeded in making a reputation as a destination where athletes become CrossFit champs. Join their intense classes and be a part of a strong CrossFit community that encourages you to push yourself past your limits.

Web: ironhillcrossfit.com
Twitter: ironhillcf
Location: Uthman Ibn Affan Rd, An Nada

Read more: Top Five Gyms in Jeddah

Lokma Istanbul: Where each bite offers big flavors and perfect execution

A taste of Turkey!

The Turkish cuisine is where the most common and most favorite dishes are found. Finding a place that serves authentic Turkish food kind of gives you a taste of how eating in Turkey actually feels like and that is why we decided to head to Lokma Istanbul and live the Turkish experience to its fullest.

Lokma’s menu offers a wide variety of Turkey’s popular platters from pastries, wraps, tajines, grills, all of which made us more puzzled, nonetheless, we went for the most talked about ones in their menu.

Upon taking our order, the staff served us with a complementary Simit bread alongside a dip of olive oil, tomato paste and what tasted like almonds. The dip wasn’t our cup of tea, but the bread-ring covered in sesame seeds baked goodness was out of this world.

Assaraya Turkish Restaurant: Delicious food, Quality Service & Chilling Ambience

Where quality food and excellent service meets!

Riyadh’s culinary scene never seizes to amaze us with its wide selection of restaurants that offer a truly unique and authentic dining experience. One of these venues is Assaraya Turkish Restaurant located in Olaya Street with its grandeur external design that can hardly go unnoticed.

The restaurant’s welcoming vibes, eye-catching design and prompt service is something that qualifies it to be one of the go-to venues in Riyadh city. And to top all of that, the venue also offers free food to the needy and encourages its customers to give away their leftovers for those who need them the most.

We like a restaurant that serves food not only quickly, but also tasty and worthy of every penny paid. Assaraya menu is a varied one with many selections that will surely satisfy every craving of yours and make you satisfied.

Warming up our bellies with two generous bowls of soup – tomato soup and lentil soup (9 SAR) – the tomato soup was thick and creamy with a spot on consistency; and likewise, the lentil soup was another hit; however, both soups were under seasoned but nevertheless tasty and succulent.

The restaurant offers an eclectic selection of appetizers such as Taratur, Hummus with meat, Hummus with butter and many more.

We kicked off our meal with an appetizer of Fried Walnut Kebba and French Fries (10 SAR). Hot out of the oven, the kobeba was perfectly executed and generously filled while the French fries were fried until crisp and golden- the perfect start to our meal!

As for the mains, the menu got us puzzled with the drooling choices from pies, sandwiches, flavorsome Turkish platters, grills, sea food, and clay platters.

We finally made our decision and opted for two clay platters, minced meat with cheese (37 SAR) and chicken with mushroom and cheese (37 SAR).

Topped with melted cheese, we started with the minced meat and cheese clay. The meat was cooked to perfection, well seasoned and the melted cheese was just the cherry on top. The mixture of flavors surely made our taste buds scream with happiness.

Moving on to our second main, the strongly flavored chicken pieces were extremely moist, tender and juicy, the kind that just melts in your mouth. Also topped with melted cheese, this platter was exceptional.

Overall, our experience at Assaraya was nothing but superb and it won’t be our last visit.

Location: Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Rd., Riyadh 12221
Tel: +966-11-4636000
Instagram: alssaraya

5 Low-Calorie Snacks to Curb Late Night Cravings

Eat Smart, Lose Weight!

We’ve always been told that eating late at night is what causes weight gain, but that turned out to be an absolute lie and a complete diet myth!

Gone are the days when nutrition experts used to advice us to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Gone are the days when eating before bed is considered a universal no-no for weight loss.

The human body works in mysterious ways and that is what “the calorie in/calorie out” theory came to clarify. See, it doesn’t matter what time of the day you eat. You can eat right before you go to sleep and never gain a pound.

The whole thing boils down to the quality of food you choose to eat from the moment you wake up till you go to bed late at night.

Here we give you a list of low-calorie snacks to curb your late-night cravings without ruining your weight loss plans:

1- Peanut butter and banana on a slice of toast

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Photo Credit: geniuskitchen.com

If your sweet tooth is acting up then opt for a slice of a whole wheat toast, topped with peanut butter and banana. This low-cal dessert is the perfect guilt-free late-night snack to fill your sugar cravings.

2- Air-popped popcorn

Replace your chips with a cup of air-popped and plain popcorn. Rich in fiber, popcorn is a healthy whole grain snack that won’t only ward off cravings, but will also help you relax and unwind for it raises the levels of serotonin which assists in making us relaxed as well as regulating our sleeping patterns.

3- Oatmeal

Oatmeal is the ideal snack to have late at night and go to sleep on a full stomach. A cup of oatmeal in milk topped with fruits will definitely satisfy your hunger and leave you with a full belly.

4- Frozen yogurt

Acting as the perfect low-fat ice-cream substitute, a mug of frozen yogurt won’t add extra calories to your diet plan. Use low fat or non-fat milk and alternative sweeteners instead of sugar and you have yourself a creamy, sweet and tangy dessert.

5- Cottage Cheese

Even though it is not everyone’s cup of tea but cottage cheese is one of the perfect late-night snacks to have just right before going to bed. Apart from being low in calories, cottage cheese is rich in tryptophan which is an amino acid that is helpful in giving you a good night’s sleep. Just mix it with vegetables such as tomatoes and drizzle it with olive oil and you got yourself one tasty snack.

Meals On Wheels

Food trucks don’t only add an excitement and novelty to the entire dining experience, they also add a fun and casual atmosphere.

The streets of Riyadh are full of colorful trucks that sell food and beverages and are run by ambitious and hardworking young Saudi men and women. Now, these food trucks became one of the simplest yet enjoyable hangouts for Riyadh’s residents regardless of their social standard.

We rounded up 6 of Riyadh’s delicious food trucks we just can’t get enough from.

Ice Revolution

Serving ice cream like you have never tasted before, Ice Revolution truck menu features an eclectic selection of ice creams that are smooth, rich in flavors, soft and above all creamy. Their menu also includes heavenly tasted mini pancakes drizzled with a runny chocolate sauce that guarantees to make your taste buds scream with happiness.

Instagram: icerevolution_
Twitter: icerevolution_

The Lab

If you are craving juicy burgers, then The Lab will definitely get the job done. Well-executed burgers with fresh ingredients, their burgers are always served with a twist. It is the perfect spot in Riyadh to unwind and enjoy probably one of the best burger experience in town.

Instagram: thelabksa
Twitter: thelabksa

On The Go

Succulent burger patties for affordable prices is what On The Go truck pledges to serve. And if your sweet tooth is acting up, OTG serves the freshest chocolate-drizzled zalabia you will ever taste – need we say more? The place also caters events and parties.

Instagram: otg_sa
Twitter: otg_sa

Taste of the road

Offering all foodies out there a little bit of everything from the dynamite crispy shrimp coated with rich creamy sauce to the most eclectic selection of scrumptious sandwiches that tickle your taste buds, that old school bus also serves the most delish pomegranate burgers in town.

Instagram: taste_of_the_road
Snapchat: taste_of_the_road

Wings Wings

Wings in a sandwich! For the love of chicken wings, Wing Wings offers chicken wings sandwiches in freshly baked colored buns. These guys take the chicken wings experience to a whole new level.

Instagram: wingswings.sa

4twins coffee

Where do we start? 4Twins are desserts experts, once you start digging into their sweet dishes you won’t be able to stop. Their mini pancakes that come with four different types of sauces will make your head spin. The perfect fusion of flavors of their well-executed savory crepes drizzled with a mix of Belgium chocolate and white chocolate will leave you asking for more.

Instagram: 4twins_coffee

Top Picks for Iftar this Ramadan

With many options comes indecision!

Although we are almost halfway through Ramadan, yet exploring what Riyadh’s culinary scene has to offer is still going strong. Usually venues get creative with their dishes during the holy month to lure more of us into trying every single one.

And with many restaurants offering a fusion of flavors that promise to give our taste buds a tantalizing experience; we decided to ask our favorite foodies for their top picks for Iftar.

Let’s get started!

Kunafa French Toast

This Kunafa French toast is the perfect sweet mix of the traditional lip-smacking crunchy Kunafa and delicious French toast. Served at Pan Breeza Lounge; the heavenly sweet platter has all it takes to make your Iftar experience a truly unique one. Oozing with gooey cheese melted to perfection; this is one dish that will definitely keep you coming back.

Instagram: panbreezalounge
Location: King Abdul Aziz Road, An Nafal

Wagyu beef sliders

When Japanese cuisine blends with the American, expect nothing but perfection. These mini buns enveloping mini juicy tender beef patties are the ideal choice to break your fast. Flavorful and well-seasoned; the Wagyu beef sliders from Nozomi should be on top of your burger bucket list.

Instagram: nozomi_riyadh
Location: 12234 Aldabab St, As Sulimaniyah

Shish taouk

You’ll never want to eat Shish Taouk any other way! With a slight zesty flavor that compliments the overall taste, Lusin’s Shish Taouk is perfectly cooked and extremely tender. If you want a flawless dish to satisfy every craving, this is it!

Instagram:_lusin_/
Location: Centeria Mall, 2nd Floor, Olaya Street

Club Sandwich

With a side of thin, crunchy, and far from greasy fries; this club sandwich is another signature platter served at Pan Breeza Lounge. In a freshly baked bread; this layered club sandwich is the ultimate definition of a perfect sandwich that won’t leave you bored or hungry.

Instagram: panbreezalounge
Location: King Abdul Aziz Road, An Nafal

Rose Risotto

Topped with thin cut grilled chicken pieces cooked to perfection, Munni’s Rose Risotto is famous for its rich consistency, smooth texture, and delicious flavors. Get your taste buds ready for this platter as this one is super great and the flavors are a perfect match.

Instagram: muunnisksa
Location: Takhussusi, Al Mohammadiyah

Batat Harra (Spicy Potatoes)

An appetizer that is simply irresistible to almost everyone, Lusin’s Batata Harra entree is the perfect start to a hefty Iftar meal. Beautifully presented, the platter has all the bold flavors you are looking for in a starter.

Instagram:_lusin_/
Location: Centeria Mall, 2nd Floor, Olaya Street
Recommendations made by foodbee_riyadh and the Riyadh foodies

5 Things To Start Doing Right Now To Prepare For Ramadan

Get your Ramadan mode on!

Ramadan is only a few weeks away and besides preparing for the iftar menu, we need to be prepared on other levels as well; physically and mentally.

If you really want to make the most out of this month and get things done the right way, then there are some Ramadan prep tips you should consider.

Here is a list of five tips you should start doing right now to prepare for Ramadan:

Practice Fasting

The first couple of days in Ramadan are always the hardest. Our bodies are getting used to the long fasting hours as well as the hunger and fatigue that comes as a result. Hence, the best way to overcome this is to practice fasting before Ramadan starts. Try to fast the white days or Mondays and Thursdays.

Caffeine Withdrawal

To some, caffeine is more important than food, especially in Ramadan. So, to avoid all the mood swings and headaches that accompany not receiving your daily caffeine dose, try ditching it a couple of weeks before Ramadan so you don’t suffer that much during the month.

Psychological Readiness

The psychological readiness for the month of Ramadan is very important. If you aren’t ready for the month then you are in for a roller coaster. To psychologically prepare yourself first start by making your own Ramadan countdown that won’t only make you ready but also excited. Second, seek knowledge about all the charitable events taking place during the holy month. Third, write down your own Ramadan plan (i.e. complete Quran once or twice, study the Tafseer, pray Taraweeh every day at the Masjid etc.)

Adjust your sleep schedule

If your sleep schedule isn’t stable or you are that type of person who stays up all night and sleeps during the day, then you should start adjusting it right away not because it’s healthier to do so but also make the best use out of your fasting hours whether by reading Quran, praying at the mosque or volunteering at a charity event.

Stick only to your main meals

And by that, we mean to cut back on all your snacking habits. If you won’t be able to practice fasting, the worst case scenario to get yourself prepared is to stick only to your three main meals and forget all about snacking and late-night cravings. You can always go the extra mile by making them two meals only instead of three.

Work on yourself

Baby steps! Ramadan can be a start for you to become the better version of yourself. If you really want to welcome Ramadan the right way then start working on yourself right now. Be more kind, preserve praying, control that temper of yours, quit smoking etc.

8 Alternative Workouts to Gym Machines for a Fitter Body

Don’t wish for a good body, work for it!

Whether you juggle a busy schedule or just not the gym’s biggest fan, there is no excuse in the world not to exercise and be physically active.

We give you here a list of 8 alternative workouts that replace gym machines and get you super fit and in shape in no time.

1- Planks

Photo Credits: healthhearty.com

Planks are a core strength exercise that forces you to maintain your body in a specific position for a specified amount of time (30 or 40 seconds). Planks are known to improve one’s flexibility, posture and above all, it burns way more calories than any other conventional core exercise.

2- Mountain Climbers

This exercise gets all of your body muscles moving for it is an intense full body workout. They are an excellent workout routine for those looking to build an upper body strength in particular. By starting in a plank position, pull one knee up to your chest and then switch to the other knee.

3- Sit Ups

Photo Credits: fame4women.com

Focused only on building abdominal muscles, sit-ups are another core exercise that is usually done lying on your back on the floor with bent knees and lifting your upper body up and down.

Step by step instructions for abs: Lie flat on your back and place your hands behind your head. Bend your knees and firmly plant your feet on the floor. This is your starting position. (A) With your elbows flared, tighten your abs, and lift your shoulders and upper back off of the floor. Hold at the top for a second and then retract back down to starting position. (B)

4- Lunges

Photo Credits: gethealthyu.com

Lunges are known to be a single-leg exercise and there are two types, forward lunges, and backward lunges. If you are looking to strengthen your lower body, then lunges will do the trick. This workout mainly works on hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, core, and the hard-to-reach muscles of the inner thigh.

5- Jumping Jacks

Photo Credits: weiodat.blogspot.com

A cardio workout that helps in burning loads of calories, jumping jacks starts by jumping in a position where your legs are spread wide open while jumping and your hands are over your head more like clapping. This workout is used by trainers to warm up our bodies before getting deep with the hardcore and intense workouts.

6- Leg Raises

Photo Credits: femniqe.com

Targeting the anterior hip muscle, leg raises are also good for building core muscles. Start by lying on your back then lift both of your legs to a 90 degrees position then bring them back down till they are above the floor and repeat.

7- Squats

Photo Credits: uplifers.com

Primarily targeting the muscles of the thighs, hips, and buttocks, quadriceps femoris muscle and hamstrings, squats are recognized also as full body workouts that tone your backside, abs and body. Start by standing tall, pushing your hips backward then lowering your body while bending your knees then coming back up.

8- Burpee

Photo Credits: inrivieramaya.com

Burpee is a four-step exercise that combines more than one workout. Known also as the squat thrust, burpee starts in a standing position which then moves to a squat position then it switches to a plank position and ends with a push-up position. An intense full body workout, burpee burns a huge amount of calories as it involves every single muscle in our bodies.

Tricks Food Stylists Use to Achieve The Desired Look

Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean it tastes good!

They say “we eat with our eyes first” and nobody knows this more than food stylists and photographers. When it comes to food styling, nothing is what it seems. It’s all about empathizing on the aesthetics of food rather than its taste.

Yes, we have been living a lie and the food we thought tastes as good as it looks is actually raw.

Here we give you all the tricks that food stylists and photographers have been using for years now to achieve the desired look.

1- Meat Kabsa

When cooked, meat usually shrinks and that is why food stylists never cook their meat. To prevent meat from shrinking, food stylists usually apply blowtorch to the outside of meat then soak it all in oil to give it that succulent and juicy finishing look.

2- Shrimps

Shrimps are easy to cook, but they dry out really quickly. To keep shrimps looking all shiny and prevent it from wrinkling when cooled down, food stylists resort to treating this dilemma by using a mixture of water and glycerol.

3- Basbousa

: Photo Credits: sbs.com.au

Instead of drenching the good old-fashioned Basbousa in a sugar syrup for it absorbs it very quickly, photographers replace the syrup with engine oil.

4- Chocolate Sauce

This insanely crazy good-looking photo of chocolate sauce dripping on a piece of cake is nothing but melted wax mixed with the runny sauce to preserve its consistency and create an eye-popping photo.

5- Grill Marks

We’ve been screwed for almost too long! These grill marks are nothing but paint and eyeliner perfectly drawn to give the illusion of grill marks. Yes! we have been living a lie after all.

6- Steam

A photo shoot can last for several hours and food won’t be hot all throughout this time. Photographers resort to inventive ways to give food that hot, steamy look that makes us drool like drizzling the entire ensemble with boiling water or sponges and cotton balls soaked in boiling water and placed behind the dish to create the steamy effect.

affordable restaurants in riyadh

Interval Plus CrossFit

Beam CrossFit in CrossFit Riyadh

KORE | CrossFit Riyadh

Iron Hill CrossFit

A taste of Turkey!

Where quality food and excellent service meets!

Eat Smart, Lose Weight!

1- Peanut butter and banana on a slice of toast

2- Air-popped popcorn

3- Oatmeal

4- Frozen yogurt

5- Cottage Cheese

Food trucks don’t only add an excitement and novelty to the entire dining experience, they also add a fun and casual atmosphere.

Ice Revolution

The Lab

On The Go

Taste of the road

Wings Wings

4twins coffee

With many options comes indecision!

Kunafa French Toast

Wagyu beef sliders

Shish taouk

Club Sandwich

Rose Risotto

Batat Harra (Spicy Potatoes)

Get your Ramadan mode on!

Practice Fasting

Caffeine Withdrawal

Psychological Readiness

Adjust your sleep schedule

Work on yourself

Don’t wish for a good body, work for it!

Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean it tastes good!

1- Meat Kabsa

2- Shrimps

3- Basbousa

4- Chocolate Sauce

5- Grill Marks

6- Steam

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