Journal
Never Had Middle Eastern Food? How to Order Your First Meal
If you have never eaten Middle Eastern food, order three things: hummus, one grilled meat and one salad. That covers the whole logic of the cuisine, which is something creamy to scoop, something smoky off the grill, and something bright and lemony to cut through it. Everything else is a variation on that.
This is a guide for a genuine first timer. No assumed vocabulary, no pretending you already know what sumac tastes like.
What should you order the very first time?
Start with hummus, shish tawook, and one salad. Shish tawook is marinated grilled chicken, which is the least intimidating door into a menu full of unfamiliar words, and hummus is the dip most people have already met somewhere.
Then add one thing you do not recognise, because that is where the discovery actually happens. Our suggestion is muhammara, a dip of roasted red peppers and pomegranate molasses that is savoury, tangy and a little sweet all at once. It is the item on the menu least likely to resemble anything you have eaten before, which is exactly the reason to order it on a first visit.
If you want a map before you call, our dish by dish guide to the menu walks through every item in plain language, and the dips compared side by side explains what actually separates hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara.
Sandwich or full meal: which should a first timer pick?
The full meal, if you have the appetite. Every grilled dish on our menu comes both ways, and the meal version brings fragrant rice, a salad and your choice of dip alongside the grill, which means you taste four things instead of one.
| Sandwich | Full meal | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | The grilled item wrapped and dressed | Grilled item plus fragrant rice, salad and your choice of dip |
| Best for | Lunch, eating on the go, a quick first taste | A first visit, dinner, tasting the range |
| Number of flavours on the plate | One main idea | Four, including a dip you choose |
| Easy to share | Not really | Yes, especially with a second meal ordered |
| Available on | Kabab, shish tawook, toshka, sujuk, vegetarian | All of the above plus kibbe, our signature dish |
Note the last row. Kibbe, finely ground beef with bulgur wheat, onions and spices, comes as a meal only, four pieces with rice, salad and a dip. If you want to understand what this kitchen is actually about, read what kibbe is and order it.
How is the food meant to be eaten?
From the middle of the table. Middle Eastern and Armenian meals are served as a shared spread rather than one plate per person, and the assumption is that everybody reaches in.
There is no correct order and no wrong combination. You scoop dip with bread, you take a forkful of salad, you cut into the grill, you go back around. Nothing needs finishing before the next thing arrives, because it has all arrived already. If you have only ever eaten courses, the first few minutes feel slightly unstructured, and then it stops feeling that way permanently.
Health Canada is unusually on side here. Canada’s food guide states plainly that cultures and food traditions can be a part of healthy eating and that eating meals with others is a part of healthy eating in its own right, listing sharing food traditions across generations as one of the benefits. A mezze table does both things at once by design. Our guide to what mezze is and how to order it covers how many dishes to order for four, eight or twelve people.
What if you do not like spicy food?
You will be fine. Middle Eastern cooking is well spiced rather than hot, and those are different things. The flavour in a plate of kabab comes from cumin, paprika, garlic and smoke, not from chilli.
The one deliberately spicy item on our menu is sujuk, an Armenian beef sausage with a genuine kick, described exactly that way on the menu so nobody is surprised. Everything else on the grill is aromatic. If you want a way to think about the two main grill choices, shish tawook or kabab lays out the difference between marinated chicken and seasoned beef.
For the opposite problem, if you actively want heat, order the sujuk sandwich and skip the mild advice entirely.
What should you know about allergies before ordering?
Say it on the phone, and be specific. Three things are worth naming out loud before you order Middle Eastern food for the first time.
- Sesame. Tahini is ground sesame and it is the base of hummus and baba ganoush. Sesame seeds sit on Health Canada’s list of priority allergens, the substances most frequently linked to serious allergic reactions in Canada, so this is the first thing to raise.
- Wheat. Bulgur wheat is in kibbe and tabouli, and muhammara contains bread crumbs. Rice, grilled meats, hummus, baba ganoush and Armenian salad do not use wheat ingredients.
- Dairy. Ayran is a yogurt drink. The dips and salads on our menu are not dairy based.
We are a small family kitchen rather than a certified allergen free facility, so for a severe allergy we would rather have a longer, honest conversation about cross contact before you order than a comfortable one after. Tell us what you need and we will tell you what we can and cannot promise.
How do you actually place the order?
You call. There is no online cart, no app and no booking form, which surprises people the first time and stops mattering the second time.
The script is simple. Look at the menu, decide roughly what you want, then call (819) 743-5953 and tell us. If you are unsure, say so and describe what you normally like: we will steer you. Pickup is from Abbotsford, and everything on the menu can also be ordered as a spread for a gathering, which is covered on our ordering and inquiries page.
One last piece of advice for a first visit. Order one dish more than you think you need. In our family, sending someone home still slightly hungry counts as a failure, and we would rather you learned that from the leftovers than from the phone call.
Frequently asked questions
What should I order the first time I try Middle Eastern food?
Order hummus, one grilled meat and one salad. That gives you the three things the cuisine is built on: something creamy to scoop, something smoky off the grill, and something bright and lemony to cut through it. Shish tawook, which is marinated grilled chicken, is the friendliest first grill for most people.
Should I get a sandwich or a full meal?
A sandwich if you are eating alone or on the go, a full meal if you want to taste more of the menu. At Salma's Kitchen every grilled dish comes both ways, and the meal version adds fragrant rice, salad and your choice of hummus, baba ganoush or muhammara, which is the version we recommend for a first visit.
Is Middle Eastern food spicy?
Mostly aromatic rather than hot. Cumin, sumac, paprika, garlic, lemon and herbs do the work instead of chilli. On our menu the sujuk sausage is the deliberately spicy one, so order it if you want heat and choose kabab or shish tawook if you do not.
How do you eat mezze if nobody explains it?
You reach into the middle. Dishes arrive at the centre of the table rather than one plate per person, and everyone takes a little of each, using bread to scoop the dips. There is no correct order and no wrong combination, which is the whole point of eating this way.
What should I ask about if I have a food allergy?
Say the allergy out loud when you call, and be specific about sesame in particular. Sesame is one of Health Canada's priority allergens and it is the base of tahini, which goes into hummus and baba ganoush. Bulgur wheat is in kibbe and tabouli, and muhammara contains bread crumbs, so name what you need to avoid before you order.
How do I order if there is no online menu button?
You call. Salma's Kitchen takes orders and catering bookings by phone only, at (819) 743-5953, so there is no cart and no form. Browse the menu first, then call with roughly what you want and when you need it, and we will tell you what is possible.
Salma’s Kitchen cooks Armenian and Middle Eastern food in Abbotsford, BC. See the menu, our catering service areas, or how to order. Phone only: (819) 743-5953.