Arabian Night

My university is filled with lots of international students. When I say lots, I mean LOTS of international students. Its not a handful where you can count them easily. Regarding to that, mamak stalls near my university is getting lesser and are replaced with arabic restaurants. There are still chinese and mamak stalls around, it just takes further walking distance.

One new arabic restaurant caught my attention. Its always packed with diners from the moment it opens at 9am or 10am til the moment it closes at 1am. So I went there to check out what all the fuss is about.

I ordered as below:

Mandy Meat RM17
(Grilled mutton served with colorful Basmati rice)

Mandy is grilled with spices til cooked and dry. The outside is dry but the inside is still moist and juicy. The rice for the Mandy has the grilled smokey taste as well. Besides mutton, there's also chicken RM10. Chicken is cooked so perfectly til the meat just falls off the bones.

Kabsa Meat RM14
(Slow cooked mutton served with Basmati rice)

Mutton is cooked slowly with spices til moist and tender. The meat just breaks apart easily. The rice is also cooked slowly with spices til dry but still very moist. There's also chicken RM8 and the meat just falls off the bones easily.

Traditional Dipping Sauce
(Blended tomatoes, chilli and cilantro leaves)

My comment:

Wow!!! Marvellous!! The mutton is really tender and juicy. The rice is just nice. Neither too dry nor too wet. The whole meal is best eaten with the sauce. Perfect.

Beside these two dishes, there's also one more dish called Pressured Meat or Chicken. This dish is served in a very large portion. There's only two prices. Meat : RM20 or RM40. Chicken: RM15 or RM30. Why is there two prices you may ask? Well the first price is the amount for a 2 -3 persons portion. The second is the amount for 4 - 5 persons portion. The dish is served in a traditional way where everyone eats from one huge plate placed in the center of the table. At first I found it weird that they do that but when I asked a friend who has been to Arab, he said that everyone there does that. He says that they serve the rice with meat in the center on a huge tray and everyone shares. Fun and interesting but of course I wouldn't mind sharing the same plate with someone I know closely. With strangers I'd think twice or even thrice. Hehehehhe...