Vapiano

Vapiano is on Tahalia, right next to Localiser Mall, is an Italian Restaurant.

The wooden staircase curving its way to the Vapiano dining area is an indication of the setting you'll meet once at the top - casual, relaxed, open, stylish

The blackboard above the kitchen with its chalkboard art and food related sayings and proverbs provides a bit of a talking point.  "Never eat more than you can lift" or 'The belly rules the mind".  I especially liked 'Don't let love interfere with your appetite".  All very relevant to how we approach food and this night, with Mr Finland paying, we were hungry.

Being a person who loves wood, I quite liked the whole set up with the wooden floor and, around the corner from the open eating area, little wooden dining corners with various plant settings - from fresh flowers to young saplings - adorning the center of the tables.

Being Italian, Vapiano serves up, among other things, pizza and pasta.  On a shelf in the kitchen are a selection of pasta's available.  We decided to try a pizza and a few other delectable nibbles on bread.

It was all quite scrumptious and fresh and tasty and, as I said to Hubster, 'Why do we not come in here more often.

Mr Finland, after eating his fill, lay back on the roomy bench style seats and contemplated the bill.  He needn't have worried.  At Vaipano, along with quick and friendly service and fabulous food, came reasonable prices.

Directions to Vapiano

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Ka Kite,
Kiwi

Hediards

Hediard was plunged into darkness in Riyadh this evening.

Someone turned all the lights off. Sure it was salah but does that mean we need to be completely hidden while the Hai'a cruise the streets shooing everybody off to the mosque with their loud speakers.

It turns out, thankfully, that someone made a blue and much flicking of switches behind the cake display unit meant the mood lighting was soon taking the edge off the darkness, though a torch was still needed to read the menu.

This welcome, plus the smell of fried food assaulting the nostrils as soon as we entered what is supposedly a French restaurant, made us consider reconsidering our decision to come here.  We were, early on a Friday evening, the only two customers in the circular shaped family section with its large windows leaning out over Tahalia St.  The lack of other customers meant service was rapid.

Hediard must have been a beauty in its day with its French style chairs of dark wood and white upholstery against red decor and heavy timber dividers.  It has, of recent times, been going down the gurgler due, so we heard, to a falling out between Hediard HQ in France and the local Saudi partner.

The menu was more Middle Eastern than French.  We were after a light meal so decided to settle for starters only.  Hubster had Mushroom Soup that he described as 'nothing outstanding'.  I had Kibbeh - an Arab dish that is basically a minced meat croquette.  Having been raised on minced meat in all its many forms, Kibbeh is a food that reminds me of my childhood so I'm quite comfortable consuming it. The accompanying sauce was thick and fruity.

Our drinks, a lemon mint for myself and juice for the other half, were served in quirky glasses that Hubster took a fancy to because they were shaped so you could, literally, pour the liquid into your mouth.

The weather outside was cold, so we decided to stay for dessert and coffee.  The coffee, I have to say, was very nice and a decent sized serving in chic cups.  However, the Tiramisu was out of the frij and still damp in places.  Hubster's caramel slice was better quality - it must have been, he ate it all.

Hediard used to be a happening place on Tahalia.  We have passed it many times over the last three years, its cone shape towering over the single section patio has quite an imposing presence.  Perhaps the cold weather was keeping everyone away this night, though I tend to think people vote with their feet when food quality is not up to scratch.

There is an upstairs terrace at Hediard's which, for thermal reasons, we didn't go and investigate though, because I do like a good coffee out in the open air, I'm prepared to go back and suss it out when the current cold snap has settled down.

Maya for Chocolate.

If you're a chocoholic then I suggest you visit Maya Chocolaterie, at the eastern end of Tahaliah Street.

Although I'm not a chocolate lover Maya is one place I would go for chocolate treats.  I find most chocolate products these days are sickeningly sweet because they're loaded with sugar to try and disguise the cheap palm oil they're made with.  

Hubster, who loves chocolate, encouraged me to try a morsel of his dessert the night we decided to stop in and I was impressed.   Maya chocolate tastes chocolaty - obviously there is a bit more cacao in the mix than can be found elsewhere, resulting in chocolate that tastes the way I imagine chocolate should.

Everything on the Maya menu has chocolate either in it or on it.  No carrot cake to be found.   There's hot chocolate drinks, cold chocolate shakes, chocolate pastries and a Maya signature chocolate fondue.  The least chocolate item on the menu was the babka, but even it didn't escape chocolatation.

The first night we went to Maya the eating area was packed with young women. Maya, a friend informed me after I told her we went there to satisfy Hubster's chocolate fancy, is a family only eatery - no Singles Section available.

As one of the few males, and the only westerner in the diner this evening, Hubster was not hard to miss in the crowd! There are no booths (at least none that we saw) but screens can be provided.  The lack of space between tables meant those behind the screen didn't get much elbow room to relax and enjoy.  Suffice to say, there was only one screen in operation the night we went and the staff were kept on their toes though, by then end of the evening, found time to stop for a collective photo.

The decor at Maya is chocolate related, hardly surprising, with two large vats of chocolate - one milky white the other a rich dark brown, greeting you at the entrance.  The restaurant has large panels of black glass surrounding it and little else dressing the windows which means the lighting is kept dim.  Perhaps this is meant to create an ambiance of chocolate romance, but for those with failing eyesight it makes it difficult to see the menu.

Romance and loving eyes aside, if you're a chocolate lover and plan on heading to Maya for chocolate desserts you will not be disappointed.

The Villa Restaurant

Mr Finland loves The Villa Restaurant in Aruba St.  He is of the opinion that The Villa Restaurant serves the best Thai food in Riyadh.

Not being a Thai food connoisseur I couldn't tell you if he's right about that, but the meal we had, which was considerable, was certainly consumed rapidly enough, always a good indication of whether or not the food is up to par.

My favourite because I love prawns

Hubster is a rice kind of guy.

Mr Finland had the rest.  Seriously!

The Villa Restaurant resides in a rather unassuming building located a long way from the main restaurant and shopping strip of Riyadh.  It reminds me of the busy Vietnamese restaurants you can find down Victoria St in Melbourne - a small place with hardly enough room to swing a cat,  no attention to decor  (it's certainly not fancy), busy, quick turn over of customers and great tasting food.

Our meal all on a small table squished on a corner of the family section.

I'm guessing The Villa Restaurant  used to be a workers local and has undergone a huge surge in popularity over recent times  Their increased fame, however, has not gone to their heads - the place still looks like a local,  and, though the food is presented simply, its flavours continue to please the patrons, as do the prices.  In fact, knowing Mr Finland as I do, if this place didn't provide value for money, he wouldn't have a bar of it.

Mr Finland is actually a bit of star at The Villa Restaurant.  We discovered that he usually rocks up on his loudly revving Harley, gunning the engine, just a little, as he parks outside the singles section.  The night we tagged along with him the waiters were calling him Mr Vroom Vroom and were rather shocked to see him in the Family Section with guests.  As I mentioned earlier, he loves this place and is a frequent visitor.

The Villa Restaurant has the typical separation of the sexes to be expected of a dining establishment in Riyadh.  The Family Section spans through two rooms and it appears that increased volume of patrons required knocking down a wall into the neighbours place.  If the Family Section is a little crowded, the Singles, according to the boys, is more so.  Both can get very busy, especially on weekends.

The staff are kept on their toes filling orders, carting meals and piling the dish trolley to the rafters as they scurry about clearing away tables.  Even being so busy, they still manage to crack a joke, smile and wave as they realise they're in the line of fire of my camera as I'm taking pictures of the opening hours sign.

Yes, if you are looking for a change from the glitter and cost of Tahalia St dining but don't want to miss out on tasty food, then The Villa Restaurant is definitely worth a visit.