Mama Halima’s Kitchen is a small and friendly restaurant in Muscat. For breakfast, it offers a single buffet of simple Arabic/Indian-inspired dishes at unbeatable prices.
As soon as I entered Mama Halima’s Kitchen, I saw a table of Omani ladies with their children enjoying breakfast together. The atmosphere here is warm and family-friendly. The service we received was one of the kindest I have experienced in Oman, with the waiter going out of his way to make us feel welcome.
The dining area is tiled – like a traditional kitchen. The walls are decorated with colourful ceramic plates. There is a terrasse for the winter months.
The waiters really go out of their way to make sure customers are happy :).
The breakfast tray which includes several small dishes is around 2 OMR. You can pick the dishes you wish or choose to have an array of all of the dishes served that day.
Mama Halima’s Kitchen is in Al Qurum, in a complex of cafés and restaurants. It is 1 or 2 minutes drive from the beach (and not far from Ramssa Restaurant!). You will have no problem to park your car in front.
I asked the owner about the name. She explained to me that the name of the restaurant is connected with her mother, Mama Halima. She added that all the dishes are based on her mother’s very own recipes, aiming to offer home-made cooking to all the guests.
Each morning, staff serve a variety of dishes. When we went, we had spicy dhal, shakshuka, vegetable curry, chicken liver, shawya, served with a copious amount of flat bread. Not all of these dishes are traditionally Omani. But they offer food with Middle Eastern and Indian flavours.
Sawya, also called Balaleet, is a traditional Omani dish.
In terms of drinks, they serve several kinds of tea. I enjoyed a cup of flavourful Karak. This is a spicy tea originally from India but found everywhere in Oman these days.
You can drink Karak with or without sugar but traditionally it is served very sweet.
The ceramic tables, light green chairs, and Arabic-style objects make it feel cosy. The place is small and light.
WELCOME to JOUSSOUR to OMAN
Hello and welcome to Joussour to Oman! I’m Christine van den Hogen, a Franco-British writer, teacher and watercolourist. I’ve been living in the Middle East for 7 years and 4 years in Oman.
I’m passionate about helping independent travellers interested in cultures create immersive journeys.
Joussour to Oman is my cultural travel blog and it’s my hope to share my first-hand experience as someone who lives here as well as insights from local people. I want to share insiders’ tips with you so you can plan your trip to Oman efficiently and truly EXPERIENCE Omani culture when you come.
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Christine is a Muscat-based writer, watercolourist and teacher. She's been living in Oman for 4 years and she's also lived in Jordan and Dubai. She shares resources and stories to help independent travellers plan creative trips and truly experience Middle Eastern cultures.
