Chicken wings, trucks: the surprising Saudi obsession with America

DURING his nine years living in Tennessee, Fahd, a Saudi national, found comfort and consistency at Dunkin Donuts, where he placed the same order every day.

- AFP

Now back in Riyadh, Fahd is doing something similar, highlighting the Saudi Arabian love affair with all things American that many find surprising.

"When I came here, thank God, the same cafe and same order were here too," said the 31-year-old mechanical engineer, who did not want to give his family name.

"I started living the same lifestyle here as I did in America."

Saudi Arabia, often known for its religious austerity, is home to Islam's holiest sites, and welcomes millions of Muslim pilgrims ever year.

It also has as just one example more than 600 branches of Dunkin Donuts, serving roughly 250,000 of its 35-million population each day, according to the franchise.

Despite its image as a cloistered and traditional society, life in Saudi is awash in Western corporate influence, especially from American companies.

Buffalo Wild Wings, Chuck-e-Cheese and Starbucks populate Riyadh's sprawl of office parks and shopping centres, while the capital's traffic-clogged streets heave with hulking American SUVs and pickup trucks.

'Every neighbourhood'