Yemen Food and Drink

Surprisingly for a country whose narcotic leaf-chewing habit actually suppresses appetite, Yemeni cuisine is excellent. As well as dishes familiar across the Middle East such as ful, falafel, lamb, chicken or goat kebab, uniquely Yemeni flavours are on offer and a fair degree of regional variation is manifest across the country. Outside upmarket hotels meals are generally consumed communally, often sitting on the floor, sharing bowls and using crisp, freshly baked flat bread to scoop up choice mouthfuls with ones right hand. Sweet desserts precede tea, with or without milk.