Saudi dish gains popularity in Canada

Kabsa has gained popularity in a small town in the Canadian province of British Colombia. Two Saudi students from Al-Ahsa have opened a restaurant, Ooh Kabsa, specializing in the Saudi dish.
The restaurant, which serves a variety of Saudi and Arab dishes, has become popular with both Arabs and Canadians.
Although Ali Abdullah was working as a doctor in a local hospital, this has not kept him from participating in the launch of the restaurant.
“We opened the restaurant early last February, after a nine-month process, and I do the administrative part and my partner takes care of the cooking. We now have 16 people working with us, including Saudis, Ukrainians, Canadians, Indians, Palestinians and Brazilians,” he said.
“Our goal is to bring kabsa to the large number of Arab students here as well as introducing it to everybody else.”
Hussein Abdullah, his partner, said they selected the location of the restaurant in Columbus, British Colombia, because of the large number of Arab residents. “I learned to cook from my mother during my time here in Canada. I used to call her and ask for instructions and ingredients. At first, I cooked for myself and friends who missed home-cooked meals. They encouraged me to take this step and open the restaurant,” he said.
Hussein said the obstacles and bureaucratic requirements required by the Canadian government were a challenge as everything had to be licensed. “After the restaurant become popular, our business increased significantly. We were asked to participate in Canada Day organized by the university. We represented the Middle East and had our restaurant publicized in the Canadian media,” he said.
Kabsa, a dish composed primarily of long grain rice, is traditionally cooked with lamb or chicken. Specific mixtures of spices in addition to nuts and raisins are used for flavoring. Over time, however, the dish has evolved and has become an increasingly personalized dish with fish or shrimp sometimes used instead of meat and different spices.