Tim Hortons in the Middle East

 For all of you Canadians traveling to the Middle East, know this, you will likely find a Tim Horton's near you. When I first started traveling to the Middle East (Dubai I believe), there were tales of a few Tim Horton's locations in that part of the world (I would seek them out whenever I could). Recently I went on a trip to Oman and Qatar, and there were Tim Horton's all over the place. I've actually learned that there are hundreds of Tim Horton's locations in the Middle East at this very moment.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, or why this is a little bit odd, let me explain. Tim Horton's is a chain of Canadian doughnut and coffee shops. I would argue that if you're in Canada, you're more likely to come across a Tim Horton's over a McDonalds. I've visited very small towns, large cities and even very rural truck stops with Tim Horton's locations. In some ways this coffee shop has become a part of Canadian culture, even if it means complaining about how it isn't as good as it used to be. 

Over the last few years, I've started to notice that Tim Horton's has decided to spread itself out into the world, including the USA, Thailand and apparently Middle East just to name a few places. The great thing is that it never looses its Canadian spirit. In the Middle East however, I feel like there's something extra going on. In most non-Canadian Tim Horton's locations, there's something about them that makes you feel like you're in a Tim Horton's themed restaurant rather than an actual Tim Horton's. Something that makes you feel like it's a place for people to have a Canadian experience almost like Epcot at Disney World. The difference is, in all of the locations I've visited in the Middle East, it feels more like a regular Tim Horton's, as if the people just enjoy Tim Horton's for being Tim Horton's and not a special Canadian place.

Having said that, there are a few differences between Tim Horton's in the Middle East and Tim Horton's in Canada, and I'm going to name a few.

The one thing I noticed is that they don't have a specialty doughnut feature, instead they have many special doughnuts all of the time. At Tim Horton's in Canada, I feel like there's one, maybe two special doughnuts available at any time, each available for a limited time. In the Middle East they have a bunch of specialty doughnuts available all of the time. This includes:

A very serious Oreo cookie doughnut.

And a tasty Lotus cookie butter doughnut.

On top of having a boat load of specialty doughnut available all of the time, they also offer a few unique treats as well. First of all they offer a pistachio doughnut that actually tasted pretty good. It wasn't just pistachio nuts sprinkled on a doughnut, they also flavoured the icing.

Did I mention that they offer many Timbit versions of their speciality doughnuts as well.

They also offer many different mint themed drinks, since mint is a very popular flavour in the Middle East to add to drinks. This includes this very tasty mint lemonade that was made with real mint and very mint forward.

They also have something called a Zaatar Croissant which is available on its own or with a halloumi cheese sandwich. Zaatar is the green herb you see on the outside of the croissant. I'm not really sure what it is, but it adds a nice herb flavour to the croissant.

One of the more interesting differences I found between Canadian and Middle East Tim Horton's is the way they glaze their doughnuts. In Canada glaze is pretty much a hard sugar crust on the outside of your doughnut. In the Middle East they seem to go with a syrup that soaks into the doughnut instead. While I wouldn't call it better than the Canadian version, it's pretty unique and worth giving a try.

I've been very lucky to travel the world, and sample Tim Horton's in many places. Some might find it a little weird to go into a Canadian doughnut shop when you're a Canadian traveling abroad, but I find it a little comforting. First of all I'm away from home more than I'm at home, so it's a little taste of home when I need it. Secondly it's nice to see that people appreciate one of the great Canadian traditions all over the world. In the Middle East they not only appreciate it, but I feel like they treat it very well. Every time I've gone into a Tim Horton's in the Middle East I see people just relaxing, enjoying their drink or treat, talking, or just contemplating whatever has crossed their mind.

CC