New In Oman

[Lachlan09]

Glory Hallelujah !! A Scottish entrepreneur here in Oman has opened up a food import business, aimed mainly at Western expats. His listing looks pretty good and hits a few of the luxury items as well as the regulars.

On the fishy side, he offers Scottish-sourced uncooked products such as whole lobster (the blue ones), langoustines, prawns, scallops and rock oysters (Loch Fyne - Arkinglas), salmon and smoked salmon. He also has red crab claws (I imagine cooked ?)

Scottish-sourced meaty treats included Scottish pork, Ayshire bacon in various types, pork sausages (various types), black pudding and mealie-jimmies.

They also offer Australian Angus beef, New Zealand lamb, Vietnamese lobsters, Tiger prawns and fish from the Indian etc Ocean/South China Sea.


I won't be looking to buy non-Scottish products as they're all easily got here already. Even then, Scottish smoked slamon and raw salmon are sometimes available.

The pork, well the sausages and bacon look interesting for a change from Kenyan bacon and sausages (or English sausages like Richmond or Walls). The pork itself, well pork is obtainable here, I'm not sure of its origin (maybe Saudi Arabia - LOL joke !).

I asked them about other products in the future, such as red deer (or maybe roe or sika) venison, grouse/pheasant, whole red crab (cruben/partan), haddock, smokies, Loch Fyne kippers (real ones) etc. Also haggis !

I've had the reply that the fish might be available but the venison and birds might be more problematic as they need to be prepared and certified as HALAL for entry to this country.

Yup, I can really imagine a butcher in Blair Atholl trying to tether a big red deer to get near enough to cut its throat ! Halal my a**e !! They're shot on the hill, not dispatched in an abbatoir like a stirk. Surely wisdom would say - don't sell it to locals, only expats, just like the alcohol !! But rules and regs for importing raw meat products - blah, blah blah !

[Duthill]

Originally Posted by Lachlan09

I've had the reply that the fish might be available but the venison and birds might be more problematic as they need to be prepared and certified as HALAL for entry to this country.

Yup, I can really imagine a butcher in Blair Atholl trying to tether a big red deer to get near enough to cut its throat ! Halal my a**e !! They're shot on the hill, not dispatched in an abbatoir like a stirk. Surely wisdom would say - don't sell it to locals, only expats, just like the alcohol !! But rules and regs for importing raw meat products - blah, blah blah !

Is all the pork bacon and ham on sale in Oman halal Lachie ?

[Lachlan09]

Originally Posted by Duthill

Is all the pork bacon and ham on sale in Oman halal Lachie ?

Or it could be kosher, I can never remember - I don't suppose they mind what you call it, Arabs and Jews getting on so well after all

It's all bollocks anyway all this halal (or more like hahaha-lal ! )

These silly buggers living in the past (which permits stoning of adulterers in some places) still think you get food poisoning if meat has the slightest trace of blood near it, so you cut the poor creature's throat and let it bleed to death ! Fine a few hundred years ago, but your average local tends to have a fridge nowadays with freezer compartment, or even have sometimes - shock horror - a full deep freezer !

Meat, even imported Mulwarah etc Angus beef, tends to be dry here as the exporters in Aus and NZ have to kill the beasts according to halal requirements.

Interesting about the pork though. I don't know how they classify it. Someone here suggested that venison should be classified as pork to get it through !

One of the wonderfully recorded local adverts refers to their "freshest, tastiest chicken full of halal taste" So maybe halal is a spice, tasting of bull****

[2blue]

Ok curiosity time! What's a "mealie jimmies"? And are "rock oysters" any different than the oysters in the gulf coast(southern US)? Love oysters,been eatin them since I could walk! Yumyum

I know I could probably google these questions,but then I'd have no fun chatting with ya'll!

[Lachlan09]

Hi there ! No wiki allowed here !

As far as I'm aware, Mealie Jimmies are white puddings (usually a non-meat spiced sausage based on cereal crops, I forget if oats, wheat or barley, almost a meatless haggis in a way). They're popular in Scotland, especially the North-East (Aberdeen) where that nickname is used.

Rock oysters - I don't know why the "rock" but they're native oysters to the British Isles and were popular with the Romans who used to harvest them as a delicacy for Rome's rich and famous. I would just call them oysters.

The company also does scallops on the shell, which in Argyll, if they're the native growing smaller style, are called queenies.