Arabic Food @ Al Andalus Arabic Restaurant - Warisan Square

At last my food prayers have been answered, delicious, authentic, Arabic food, right here in the heart of KK. I couldn't be happier!!! For me it's all about kebabs, wonderful flat breads, salads, hummus and lamb, but shock horror, there's much more to Arabic cuisine than this and the menu at Al Andalus turned up some never heard before dishes, that I can't wait to try!

To kick start our meal we decided to try the Hummus Beiruti, a lovely, creamy hummus with the addition of fresh parsley, dressed with olive oil and chick peas.

Initially we were only going to have one starter but then this dish, Moutabel caught my eye. It's pretty similar to Baba Ghanoush were aubergines or eggplant are roasted till soft then mashed with various seasonings and of course olive oil to produce a delicious fresh tasting dip.

Yummy pittas drizzled with olive oil were perfect for scooping up the awesome Arabic starters.

Did I mention I love kebabs? No? Surely! Well there could only be one choice for me on this, our first of many visits to Al Andalus. With lamb and chicken shawarma on full view front side of the restaurant, I opted for the Lamb Shawarma Crispy Set, which comes with golden crinkle cut fries and soft drink. I was in heaven eating this! A mound of spiced and seasoned, sliced lamb on top of  freshly cooked flat bread, with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, a heap of fresh parsley, spicy chilli and sour cream sauces accompany the dish to pour over that delicious meat. Wow! I found the best way to tackle this was, firstly, to eat with my hands. Secondly, eat roughly half of it including all the fries, then lastly, fold everything else up in the bread and enjoy! But hey this is my way, I'm sure you too can find what's best for you!

 The Little Nibbler had a dish that I've never heard of before, Smoked Mandy Rice, with a choice of lamb, chicken or fish. Todays choice was juicy, delicious chicken that just fell off the bone with a mild spicy taste. I've been doing some internet research and apparently 'mandi' style of cooking is traditionally done underground in a tandoor type of oven. Now I'm not too sure if the restaurant has holes in their kitchen floor, but maybe next time I'll sneak a look! The rice was tasty and fragrant too, garnished with peanuts, cashews and raisins. This set also comes with a spicy vegetable soup and spicy sauce. Another happy diner!

Al Andalus Arabic Restaurant is located on the outside edge of Warisan Square. Inside the decor is clean and simple using pastel colours to offset the white walls and bright tile work to separate the booths. I really do hope this restaurant does well, if the food is anything to go by, and the standards don't slip, then it rightly deserves to do so! Arabic food isn't really catered for here in KK as it is in KL and I think it's a great shame. Support your local Arabic restaurant!

 

Check out our Arabic feast!

 

The Bill : 1x Hummus, 1x Mountabel, 1x Crispy Set, 1x Mandy Rice, 1x Ice Lemon Tea = 48 MYR

Killer kebabs and more, right here in the heart of KK!

Buka Puasa @ Bazaar Ramadan - Jalan Gaya

Yesterday I made the mistake of arriving at a Bazaar Ramadan too late, most of the food was gone! Today I wasn't going to make the same mistake! There's amazing food around KK during the month of Ramadan, one of my favourites is Nasi Biryani, and it's great to be able to choose from a few different stalls all conveniently located in one place!

This lady's huge pot of Biryani really caught my eye along with some very tasty looking Chicken Curry. I'm pleased to report that the food didn't disappoint, it was a pure delight, the rice was nice and fragrant and the curry had a lovely spicy kick.

Looks good to me!

Arabian Foods.

This lady's small stall also caught my eye with some interesting looking Chicken Kebabs, they reminded me in looks of a type of Tandoori Lamb Kebab (I forget the name now) that I've eaten in Indian Restaurants back home. Actually all her food looked great and I was tempted to try her Biryani too, but unfortunately I came to my senses and realised that one portion of rice was probably enough!!!

Tasty looking Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Kebab.

Nasi Biryani with Chicken Curry and Achar.

Chicken Kebab.

The Bill : 1x Nasi Biryani Ayam, 1x Chicken Kebab = 11 MYR

For foodies like me the holy month of Ramadan is a gastronomic delight, the question is which Bazaar Ramadan should I go to next?

Arabic Food @ Hubbaba's Arabic Kitchen - Kuching

Kebabs are something I miss here in KK, so when I get the chance to eat Kebab I take it! In Kuching there's a Restaurant called Hubbaba's Arabic Kitchen that specializes in said food. The Little Nibbler loves Hummus and I'm quite partial too! So to start our meal we had Hummus with homemade flatbreads, the flatbreads were very good indeed, though with a little longer cooking time the breads would be perfect in my opinion. The Hummus was nice and garlicy topped with olive oil, paprika, a couple of olives and a wedge of lemon, a great start to our meal.

My Kebab of choice was the Beef Kafta, minced beef mixed with Arabic herbs and spices, threaded onto a stick and grilled to perfection, topped with salad, sauce and wrapped in a flatbread, really tasty, though my only complaint would be that there wasn't enough meat.

The Little Nibbler had the Lamb Shish, tender, marinated Lamb combined with the same ingredients as above, again very tasty but more meat needed!!!

Hubbaba's is nice and clean, it's located along Leboh Wayang around the corner from Tandoori Palace.

The Bill : 1x Hummus, 2x Kebab, 2x Soft Drink = 29 MYR

Great tasting Kebabs @ Hubbaba's, just needs more meat!!!

Middle East Cuisine @ Al Agrahbah - Grace Point Food Court

Being a lover of Kebabs I had high hopes for Al Agrabah at Grace Point Food Court. We were really excited when we came across this newly opened stall as we feel that this style of cooking is missing from KK's food scene. Unlike KL where there is definitely an Arabic food presence.
There's quite a varied menu from kebabs to set meals, I opted for their Kofta Kebab. Ground beef mixed with spices and skewered on sticks then grilled. I have to say I was a little bit disappointed, they were spicy enough but that was all. As the Little Nibbler said 'it's like beefburger with chilli mixed in'. There was no depth of flavour coming through apart from the chilli, if they used other spices I couldn't really taste them. 
Another thing was the bread, microwaved! Now this really is a no no, one of the great things about Middle Eastern/Arabic food is their bread, from pittas to flat breads, freshly made and griddled. If not freshly made then at least griddled, definitely not microwaved! I'm pleased to say the yoghurt dip was good and had a cooling effect.

The Shish Tawouk was better, chunks of marinated chicken skewered with green pepper and tomatoes. Again the only thing that let this dish down was the bread! 

We really enjoyed these, Samboosa which I guess is another word for Samosa. Deep fried pastry triangles filled with cheese. A great little side dish or snack.

Oh dear, I hate to say this but the Falafal were terrible. They just didn't taste right, I can't put my finger on it but they just tasted strange. I have my suspicions that the microwave was involved somewhere here too.

Al Agrahbah the shop with no name!

The Bill : 1x Kofta Kebab     10

                                                                                  1x Shish Tawouk  10

                                                                                  1x Samboosa         6

                                                                                  1x Falafal               6

                                                                       Total : 32MYR

I know microwaves have a place in kitchens and restaurants but they should be used wisely, in Al Agrahbah's case they should possibly be thrown out! I'm sure their food would greatly benefit from it. Even though my initial visit wasn't the best, I am going to return as the other dishes on the menu look and sound great. Hopefully these are just a few teething problems as I think Al Agrahbah shows a lot of promise. My advice would be to make their own flat breads and watch the crowds of happy diners grow!