“Most of the time I’m right when it comes to food.” Bedouinfoodie Hani AlMalki on the multi-cultural cuisine of the Hijaz region, why Saudi’s culinary scene is about to pop and the real origins of Hummus
This week we met up with Hani AlMalki aka Bedouinfoodie, Dubai-based restaurant reviewer extraordinaire and food history buff. Hani shares snippets from his multicultural upbringing in the historic port city of Jeddah and his early experiences with Michelin-starred cuisine during business meetings between his parents and master perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain in Paris. Hashem and Hani also discuss the influences of pilgrims in Mecca and Madinah on Saudi cuisine, and how pilgrimage even led to the creation of a famous Indonesian street food, Murtabak. Bedouinfoodie reveals some of the methods behind his reviews, what the future of Saudi’s culinary landscape entails, the ingredients of a foodie destination, and what’s still missing from Dubai’s food scene.