Eat Camel Meat at Majlis Café in Oman

“Come, let’s eat something different today,” I said to my photographer colleague as our car meandered on the highways towards Oman Avenues Mall. It was a sort of ‘food baiting’ for him as I knew we were heading to a place where I wouldn’t be eating anything owing to my food reservations. I was so intrigued after hearing about this distinctive cuisine, and I needed someone to taste on my behalf while my eyes feasted upon the entire affair. After all the pleasure of eating is not always about what touches your palate, good or bad, it is also about seeing, smelling, and experiencing something different.

We arrived at The Majlis, Oman’s first and finest camel milk café. Camel milk or camel products have been a part of Oman’s heritage and culture from ancient times, when it was a staple of the bedouin diet, up to the mid 20th century. Loaded with health benefits, camel milk products have always been preferred over cow’s milk in this part of the world, as it is lower in fat, richer in vitamin C, and has been found to boosting the immune system.

But we weren’t at Majlis Café for the health benefits, we were there for a culinary experience. I’d seen camel meat and milk on menus before, but I’d never been to a restaurant whose menu exclusively featured camel products. At Majlis Café, from camel milk caffe latte and cappuccino to milk shakes and milk chocolate, it’s an out-and-out camel affair.

The first item to catch our fancy was the camel meat burger. The café manager Akil Mahdi, explained that some people choose camel meat burgers over beef burgers because camel meat is known to be healthier than other red meats including beef, as it is leaner, tastier, and packed with protein and vitamin E.

The large sandwich arrived in a regular bun with a side of potato chips. My colleague looked at it with a little trepidation, squeezing the bun a few times before sinking his teeth into the dark brown patty smothered in cheese and topped with crunchy lettuce.

“So how does camel taste?” I asked him, before he had even stopped chewing. I was overflowing with curiosity. “It’s a somewhere between the taste of beef and mutton...and it is quite juicy and succulent,” he said, taking another huge bite.

Akil came over to explain more about their meat of choice, which is traditionally prepared during weddings and in some regions, like Dhofar, is even consumed daily. “Camel meat is widely eaten in the Middle East but you won’t find them being sold in supermarkets or served in restaurants. There are specialist camel butchers and the hump of the camel is the most treasured part which is used for eating as the flavour of the meat is very similar to veal,” he said.

Apart from camel burger, at Majlis they also serve camel hotdogs, an array of hot and cold beverages made with rich camel milk, and a not-to-miss Omani halwa made with camel milk. The milk features a slight nutty, smoky flavour that pairs well with almost all the beverages on offer. The café also sells camel milk chocolates.

Cooking with camel may be traditional, but the ways in which the milk and meat are used at Majlis are totally modern, and totally delicious, providing a great first taste of an exotic new cuisine. —[email protected]