Fish Market, Farasan Island, Jizan. "Our fish" December 2013
Fish Market, Farasan Island, Jizan. "the fish cleaner" December 2013
Beach banquet, Farasan Island, Jizan. December 2013
Best meal in KSA
Let's be clear. My best meal in KSA was eaten at midnight (I HATE eating late night) on a mosquito-ridden beach (the little blood-suckers love me) where there was a chance of getting malaria (holy shit!). In spite of all that, it was one of the most heavenly fish dinners I have ever eaten and definitely the best meal I had in the five years I lived in Saudi.
That whole Farasan trip ranged from the horrible to the sublime. We never really were sure what we were doing from moment to moment and the trip kind of came together and fell apart again all in 24 hours. However, embedded in those 24 hours was the famous fish dinner on the beach in Farasan. My Saudi friends no doubt still regale people about it because we, ourselves, talked about it for years after as being a superb meal. Only the fresh grilled fish on the beach in Indonesia or the Philippines approached it for taste. Like having an Italian espresso for the first time and thinking "this is what coffee really tastes like?", so I felt about that fish in Farasan.
After finding a place to sleep upon arrival to the island, we went to a local fish market and picked our fish. We were a big group - I guess there were seven or eight of us. Nabil picked out a BIG fish (note it was colorful to boot). We then took the fish to be cleaned. The cost of cleaning was based on the weight. We hung around in the local market until the fish was cleaned up and ready to go. Note: it was scaled and gutted, no more. Then, we went to another part of the market where we dropped off the fish (and some shrimp) and had them prepare it for us. They gave us a time to return (much later) and we left to explore the island. The process was amazingly straightforward.
We wandered around Farasan City with its old mosque made of coral blocks [see: Farasan Island Mosque] and saw the Cultural Village [see: Farasan Island Traditional Village Museum} just outside of town. Eventually we headed back to pick up our dinner and then found a place on the beach for our repast. It was hot even at night and as I said, the mosquitoes were out in force. I was prepared to be miserable. That is, until I tasted the fish. It was one of the most succulent, well-spiced fish dishes I had ever eaten in my life. Not that I was starving either (again, I hate eating at night), I had to go along with the group. One bite and I didn't care it was midnight on a beach with mosquitos. We were all shocked that we were on an island in a forgotten corner of Saudi Arabia feasting on fantastic seafood!
I have to say, I did like the concept, which probably could easily be copied elsewhere. Go pick out a fish at a local market. Take said fish to be cleaned. Finally, drop it off with someone who will prepare it as a takeaway banquet according to your own specifications. There MUST be a business idea in that! A top food experience for me - any fish thereafter could never measure up.