Updated June 25, 2020.

Okay, so I ate a LOT of incredible food in Qatar! So much, in fact, that I decided to break down my usual “What I Ate” blog post into five: Beverages, Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, and Snacks and Sweets! There were just too many pictures and descriptions to fit into one blog post, so here it is, What I Ate in Qatar: Breakfast!

Lebanese Fatayer

I’ve had Lebanese food before, but this was a new experience. It’s called Fatayer, and it is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. And you know I like to eat! The bread around it tasted to me like a thin pita bread, and inside there was either beef, spinach, or cheese. I think my favorite was the beef, but I should probably have more before I decide!

Eggs

Shereen’s maid fixed me breakfast the second morning I was there. She asked if I wanted eggs, and this is what came out! From the top and going clockwise, it’s eggs, coffee, pita, feta cheese with olive oil, and labna, which is like a thick yogurt with olive oil. Food is mostly eaten with the hands in Qatar, and you use the pita bread like a scoop. I would tear off a piece of bread, pick up some cheese with it, tear off some egg to go in the pita, and dip the whole thing in the labna! I couldn’t quite finish, and I was still full hours later! Talk about your hearty meal.

Post-morning Swim Breakfast: Sfiha (“sfee-ha”)

OK, so I said the Fatayer was one of the best things I ate in Qatar. I made that distinction because this was quite possibly the best thing I ate in Qatar. It’s called Sfiha, and from what I could tell, the dough was rolled out into a long strip, filled with cheese or beef, then rolled over so the fillings were inside a tube of dough, then spiraled into a circular pastry. WOW! I could not believe how good it was. As you can see below, it was served with feta and olive oil at the bottom, falafel in the middle, and cucumbers and tomatoes at the top!

Traditional Arabic Breakfast

I originally went to Qatar to visit the Assaf family, but all of their friends wanted to meet me, too! Sharifa’s sweet friends, the Al Ghanim family, wanted to show me a large, traditional Qatari breakfast, and I was so impressed with all of it! Not only did it taste wonderful, it was also presented very beautifully!

World’s Best Foul (“fool”)

My last day in Qatar, I was a little late to breakfast! But the Assafs didn’t seem to mind. They just scooted over and made room for me! Mrs. Assaf is a phenomenal cook, and everything I ate in their home was flavorful and delicious! And this meal here was no exception. At the top we have pita bread, cucumbers and tomatoes, olives, and feta with olive oil. And in the middle we have Egyptian Foul, pronounced “fool.” Mrs. Assaf is Egyptian, so we had some cuisines from her homeland on my visit. Foul is made with cooked fava beans, spices, and olive oil. She took some pita, stuffed it full of cheese and foul, and handed it over to me. She can fix my food anyway she likes–I think I will always love it!

Is it time for breakfast where you live? How about a falafel? For all my foodie posts, visit my World Foods Page!

For everything and more about traveling in Qatar, check out my Qatar Page!

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