Talking about middle east food, reminds me of one that I've tried when I was in Kuala Lumpur, it's Al-Rawsha Restaurant. It's open for 24 hours, well probably you want to try while visiting Malaysia, read it here. Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Lamb Mandi, I am truly a fan of those foods! So, this week I went to Abunawas Restaurant at Kemang. It's not a new name, you probably have heard about their previous restaurant in Matraman that already opened for more than 10 years.
When it comes to Middle Eastern Food, you should have no problem with big portion!
For me, appetizer is the best part in middle east food, and oh it's mostly vegetarian friendly. I got small Muqabalat Musyakkal (IDR 48.000) consists of Houmus, Mutabal, Tabbullah, Baba Ghanoug, and Yogurt. Let's start with Houmus that widely known as Hummus, the classic one is made from chick peas, tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Tabbullah or Tabbouleh is one of my favorite salad, it's made from chopped parsley and bulgur, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. While Baba Ghanoug and Mutabal are made from eggplant, here, I'm very fond of their Mutabal. To balance out meaty dish, salad is essential, no wonder there are so many variant to select. Fatush (IDR 33.000), consists of fried bread, cucumber, tomato, and ice berg lettuce. Well it's not super green salad, though the fried bread was tasty, maybe I will try another salad on my next visit.
Khobus also known as Pita Bread, soft and light flat bread best company for kebab or to be dipped in hummus. As a bread enthusiast that favor plain-savoury instead of sweet Japanese bread, I was contented.
Mashawi Mushakal (IDR 110.000) it's a combination of Ausal and Kebab. Ausal, chopped meat (it can be chicken or lamb) fried with middle eastern spices. The Ausal was decent but I prefer their kebab as it's moist and infused with rich spices, better to be dipped in yogurt.
Mandi/Baryani Lahm (IDR 85.000) - don't be surprise with the portion, by my experience this was not the biggest I ever had. Anyway it's made from basmati rice which is so much lighter than regular white rice that we normally consume here in eastern Asia. So for the rice dish, you can choose between Mandi or Baryani (Briyani). Baryani has stronger flavor with all the herbs and spices, closely like Indian Curry flavor while Mandi has milder taste. Mandi is my personal favorite, it was lovely. For the protein, I chose lamb instead of chicken. The oven-roast lamb was nice though it was not super tender. One thing that I always get impressed by Middle East cuisine, it's how they prepare lamb, no stink!
If you want to experience Arabian food, Abunawas is surely can be one to be added on the list. Though I believe that middle east food is not for everyone tongue, but their Mandi is definitely worth to try, if you don't eat lamb, don't worry chicken is also available.
Abunawas Restaurant
Jalan Kemang Utara Raya no 15
Jakarta
Jalan Kemang Utara Raya no 15
Jakarta
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