Sunday, October 12, 2008

Al Qasr, Holland Village, Singapore

Counterclockwise from bottom right: hommos, kebbeh nayeh, and pita bread

This place (46 Lorong Mambong, 6467-7793) was suggested in a comment not long ago. The huge swath of tasty-sounding items on the menu looked encouraging enough, so a buddy of mine and I came on in to fill our empty stomachs.

We started with our usual hummus and pita bread, which fared fine. But the menu item that really caught my attention was the kebbeh nayeh, or raw lamb meat mixed with spices, olive oil, and bulgur, a semolina-like wheat. Despite how it sounded (or looked in the photo above), it was hard to tell by taste alone that it was made of raw lamb, as the olive oil and garlic mayo powered their way through it instead...in a good way. Throw it all together with the plate of olives and pickles that they provided at the start of the meal, and we got really excited at what would come next.

Unfortunately, the meal hit a wall after that. Granted, I knew better than to order Persian food at a Lebanese restaurant, but the soltani that I ordered came out looking like baby cuts of beef jerky...and almost tasted the same too without any of the richness that makes the dish so wonderful. Well, that's my own fault for ordering that - next time I'll stick to the Lebanese dishes instead. The sheer variety of other items here - particularly the starters - could keep me entertained for quite some time, especially if they are as fun to eat as the kebbeh nayeh.

4 comments:

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

may i know what you do (your job) tt allows you to travel n eat like this?? i would promptly tell my son to change his course choice to yours lol.

Fen said...

Wow, the food you have posted is so different from a typical Singapore food blog.

You seems to like beer don't you...

Anonymous said...

oosh! looks great!

Anonymous said...

No one, and I mean NO in my close or even extented US family likes lamb. I do, though, and have been partial to it since I visited England in 1972, where it was the meat of choice at the time for my mother's family. (chops, roast, whatever, along with some gravy, mash and peas). Sometimes, when every one else is away, and I have the house to myself, I buy a small pack of ground lamb, form it into patties shaped like hot dog buns, and, brush them with a bit of hotsauce (texas pete perfered, but tabasco or crystal is ok, - it reminds me of my recent friends from South America, or more distantly, the guys from the mid east, when I was in nav school for the USAF in the early eighties) Add some dill pickle juice to the marinade. Broil in the oven, and place the done patties on toasted hotdog buns with yougurt/sour cream mixed with diced cuumbers and a litle stanky blue cheese. Serve with several beers and the dvd of your choice, then retire to bed and quiet refelction on how very lucky you/we are all are.