beirut grill, bugis

decent lebanese food along bussorah street – though I still haven’t found anything in singapore that satisfies nearly the way yalla yalla does. I came here in a group of good friends because two of us wanted middle-eastern food, and despite the fact that we have a sizeable muslim community here (which ostensibly ought to perpetuate the growth of these restaurants), I haven’t really found a place with good hummus or pita – which I think, really, are the basics. this place came up on our incessant googling, and so we took it for a spin – it was pretty decent food, and one of the best in this genre that I’ve had in singapore, but it stands nowhere if contesting with outlets in london.

we started off with a mezze platter – really an amalgamation of appetisers: hummus (mashed chickpeas), baba ganoush (mashed roasted eggplant), a couple of falafel, some spring roll like things – i forget what was in them, and tabbouleh. these were all alright, but nothing special. we also ordered the beirut mixed meat grill to share, and it came as an assortment of grilled meats alongside a pilaf – the chicken was tasty enough, but again, decent but nothing spectacular.

the chicken shawarma was really rather good though, and probably the best thing on the table. one large wrap filled with loads of chicken and a very creamy – and tasty – sauce, we split this amongst the four of us and I thought that was about right for the richness of the thing – any more and it would have been far too heavy going.

we finished with mint tea and a dessert of mouhalabiah, which is a milk pudding type confection. it was topped with raisins and nuts, and immensely comforting. it was very rich though, and quite sweet, but you’d expect that with middle-eastern desserts. not a bad way to end the meal off, even if you wouldn’t want to have this all the time – not the best thing for keeping healthy both inside or out.

so really, this meal was alright – it makes me think mehh if I were to describe it to you in a word. if I did come back, which might be likely since I haven’t found another restaurant that is purportedly better for lebanese/middle-eastern food (please throw in your recommendations if you know any), I’d probably go with a starter of hummus, the chicken shawarma again, and then finish with a pot of mint tea.