The Persian Restaurant

Two Muslim girls joined my work place recently! Shalalah and Ash., I'm really running out of things to call people with the first name starting with A! Since they're both new to Brisbane I've been giving them recommendations of where to go since I've always gone to halal places with my best Yassmin! This place has always been on the list and so when we had the day free, H., Shalalah, Ash., and I decided to go. It was originally Shalalah and H., going but Ash., and I crashed the party haha.

The Persian Restaurant is on the main strip of Sandgate Road. near Mundo Churrasco if you know where that is. Parking is a bit of a pain since the street parking is limited on a main road the the two car parks for the area are pretty underground and not easily visible from the street. Keep a sharp eye out!

Kitchen!

Haha, even though the restaurant doesn't have halal signage, Ash., and Shalalah both instantly knew it was. Apparently it has that ethnic look to the place? It reminds me of when Yass and I went to Arabellas and she knew it was halal upon seeing it.

Ethnic?

Wall to wall carpets.

Here is their menu! We got this freaking amazing eggplant dip called  kashk-e-Bademjan, grilled eggplant with fried mint and whey sauce. The incredible soft melting texture of eggplant and soft caramelised onions, with the fresh coolness of the mint and whey sauce that added an incredible richness to the dip. Oh it was so, so good! Yeah, it looks like vomit but its so delicious, who cares!

<33333

We got this dips assortment to share as well, it came with flat bread that tasted pretty stale as well as hummus, mast-o-khiyar and mirza ghasemi, the last two being a yoghurt and garlic sauce and then a grilled eggplant, chopped tomato and egg dip. These three dishes don't hold a candle to the earlier eggplant dish, so don't even bother! However, that's only my opinion, Ash., loved the hummus, Shalalah and H., both preferred the eggplant and tomato dish. I wasn't able to try the yoghurt and garlic dish, as you know yoghurt gives me rapid onset diarrhoea with my lactose intolerance.

The colours are easy to figure out

This is the King's Choice, one skewer of the barg, joojeh and koobideh kebabs. Barg is marinated lamb backstrap, the joojeh is chicken marinated in lemon juice, olive oil and saffron while the koobideh is flavoured minced lamb! I felt very strongly about the koobideh being the best, it has the best spice mixture to it and was super tender and juicy. If I were to go back, koobideh x2 for me please! I really like how rice is served in Middle Eastern style restaurants, they have super fluffy rice, with very individual granules and normally serve it with a pat of butter on the side to enrich the rice!

I left out Shalalah's meal because she got the double serve of the joojeh and rice.

<3 fit for a king!

H., wanted to eat something vegetarian and light so I said she should pick this, I wasn't really thinking though so she ended up getting most of what we got earlier. Flat bread, hummus, spicy beetroot dip, dolmades, tabbouleh and pickles. I think she was expecting more of a main meal kinda thing rather than endless nibbles, sorry H.,! 

Although the bread here was a lot fluffier and warmed slightly, unlike the tough bread we received earlier. When I mentioned this, everyone else said that they hadn't noticed any difference?

Hmm

Ash., picked a dud dish as well having gotten the tah chin morgh, chicken cooked with saffron and yoghurt, topped with rice and oven baked. It came with a side salad and more of that yoghurt and garlic dip. It was this giant blob of mushy rice that when she broke apart revealed more yoghurt and then chicken finally. It was a really bland dish, I was expecting the yoghurt to be a marinade not to be included as the sauce/main component of the meal. Looking at google, reveals more a rice crust to provide a textural component. She ate most of the chicken and left the rice behind.

Blergh

The Persian Restaurant
Atmosphere: 7, a lovely place to take photos haha!
Service: 5, average.
Food: 6, what I ate was good, what other people ate wasn't, A bit of a mixed bag! Definitely try the koobideh kebab and that eggplant and fried mint and whey dip!

RJIE: Street Falafel

I've always wondered about Street Falafel because it's in my adopted 'hood of West End. It claims to have the best falafel in Australia which is pretty much what I go to King Ahiram religiously for. The menu, available here, seems decent enough but I've always shyed away from them. I never ever seemed to see anyone there that's why!

So one day I bit the bullet and decided to try some bits and pieces from there. I got a mini chicken sharwarma plate, sharwarma marinated chicken breast, taratoor sauce, beirut fries and toum sauce with a side of fattoush salad, mixed pickles and bread. I also opted to try two falafels just to see what they were like. I didn't receive any bread which was probably good because everything else was startlingly mediocre. 

The chips were quite soggy and I couldn't detect any particular seasoning on them to differentiate them for regular fries. The chicken sharwarma was particularly dry to the point of being stringy, the falafel was dry and cold and the fattoush salad was quite soggy. The garlic toum was the tastiest part of the whole dish due to its super punchy garlic oomph. 

I regretted my choice of lunch and wish I had gotten something else. 

What is going on in this box?

Shouk Cafe

SHOUK SHOUK SHOUK! I've been wanting to go here since it opened up and I saw the menu featured on the Urbanlist. I really hate heading north of the Brisbane CBD though due to the one way streets and frantic traffic, so that's been scaring me off for weeks if not months. I also know that parking in Paddington is quite nightmarish due to the zoning laws, myriad of narrow streets and very, very, very steep hills. I actually got the courage to go there again because I had finished nights and T., and myself wanted something to celebrate with!

This place!

Right here!

I got here first and managed to get quite a few nice photos of the area around it. The cafe is very well lit with a large Queenslander style building and large windows showing off the surrounding view.

The front room!

The view from the back room!

A cosy little nook with lots of cook books to read!

Here is their menu! The cafe menu has a few more details on it like where they get their Merguez sausage from and who bakes their challah but otherwise is nearly identical! I got this soy latte which was quite good. I like the different coffee art too!

A star?

I got the shakshuka! Middle style baked eggs with a spicy and rich tomato sauce, green olives, slices of spicy Merguez sausages and two large organic eggs that burst into gooey perfection. It also came with an end hunk of challah! A traditional braided Jewish bread that is a touch sweet, a bit rich and eaten on special occasions. I actually got some reflux after eating this dish due to the acidity of the tomatoes but I thought it was quite tasty. The challah had a hard lump in the middle which can sometimes happen with too much air exposure the chef explained, I got another piece later on to replace my dodgy one!

Yum~

Perfectly gooey

T., got the Jackson! 2 eggs your way, bacon rashers, merguez sausage, garlic roasted mushrooms, herb roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic braised kale, latke, sourdough bread and cherry tomatoes. She also got avocado added on and a side of scrambled eggs.! She said that the merguez sausage was much too spicy for her, so I got to eat that. She had no complaints and was happily eating away.

We both didn't finish our meals. I didn't finish the other half of my challah and I left a lot of sauce behind.

So much

Hahaha T., didn't get very far with hers either! 

Poor effort T.,!

Shouk Cafe
Atmosphere: 9, I love the look of the cafe, its really bright, has a lovely view, great decorations and I absolutely adore the little reading corner! I want one of those please! I'd be happy to bring my friends here for a nice lunch. 
Service: 10, wonderful service, really friendly and welcoming. The waitress had a good knowledge of the menu and was able to offer recommendations as well as smoothly fix my challah issue.
Food: 8, very good food! Definitely go here and try their food!

Saj and Grill

I really enjoy Middle Eastern food, I've had this place on my radar for ages but its opening times are really odd so I've never managed it. I decided to go here for a solo breakfast one day, just out of boredom.

Mmm this place

This place was absolutely freaking freezing, even when I sat on the inside. I can't even emphasise how cold it was that day, I couldn't feel my face.

Grahhh

Here is their menu! This is their little set up, its a very simple little place, a front counter, menus on the cupboards and the saj oven in the corner.

The Saj!

Small!

I picked the chicken saj, it was made out of marinated garlic chicken tenderloin, olives, mushroom, cheese and onion. The saj was a flexible, lightly golden brown but slightly fluffy flat bread. I got an option of homemade hot sauce or sweet chilli sauce and I went with the hot sauce. It was so scorching hot that I couldn't really enjoy the rest of the saj, it was a sweet, fruity and yet super spicy sauce. I was panting so hard in between bites to cool my mouth down, it was tasty but I wouldn't order it again.

Drowning in sauce ):

I came back here a few weeks later for a second meal, this time just their plain herb za'atar. Za'atar is an amazing mix of salt, thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and sumac. It can be used as a topping on pizza with some olive oil to moisten it, as a dip or as a spice rub with meats. Any way you have it, it's an amazing flavour combination, salty, fragrant, lemony from the use of sumac and nutty from the roasted sesame seeds. It does get stuck everywhere in your teeth though, so there's that.

There's another foot of it

Just a peek of za'atar poking out

The za'atar herb saj is amazing, a super skinny but very long roll of freshly cooked saj, spread over with an olive oil and za'atar combination that is intensely flaky, buttery and intensely flavoured from the za'atar mixture. It's a great snack.

Those layers!

Saj and Grill
Atmosphere: 4, freezing spartan in appearance. ): not my favourite of places to sit.
Service: 8, absolutely lovely guys who recognised everyone by name/order and had a joke with them.
Food: 7, utterly redeemed by the za'atar herb saj, I'd definitely avoid the garlic chicken with hot chilli option and try the za'atar. It's one of those flavours you'll find yourself craving months down the track.

King Ahiman's Lebanese Food

I heard this place had the best falafel in town from one of my patients, although that being said, his uncle was the owner so I was a bit dubious. I regularly have a massage in West End at the wonderful Skeletal Harmonics, so I was in the area to check it out. For $4 a falafel roll, it wasn't anything that was going to break my budget if I had it.

Jesus Christ, it was one of the best falafels I've ever eaten. You get about eight densely packed, super crunchy falalel with bright green insides from the parsley, pine nut and chickpea mixture that isn't too stodgy but remains very light and moist, all in one roll. The rest of the roll isn't anything fancy with some lebanese wraps, bean sprouts, grated carrot, shredded lettuce and some hummus spread across the bread to round things out, but its a thick and generously portioned roll for the cheap price of $4.

Since that one faithful day I tried it, I have not looked back and every time I get a massage, I buy myself some of these falafels as a snack.

50 cents a pop

They sell other stuff too and just as cheap, not that I care because its all about the falafel. The chicken, lamb or beef shawamas are just as cheap for only an extra $0.50, and just as generously portioned. I didn't think the garlic chicken shawama was anything to write home about but the falafels definitely are.

Garlic chicken shawarma

King Ahiram Lebanese Food
Atmosphere: 5, its a little hole in the wall restaurant. It has a few tables you can sit and have your meal at but its nothing glamorous.
Service: 5, brisk and non too friendly, you get your food and not a single smile with it. They are super quick and efficient though so that sort of balances things out.
Food: 10, best falafel ever. Disregard everything else acquire falafels.

Ahmet's on Oxford

So November is the birthday month of H., Z., and Mrs. I! They decided to have a joint party to share the love. Mrs. I actually didn't end up going due to continuing celebrations with her family, however, Miss Chatterbox, S., G., and her mother A., L., and D., NZ-A., Beck and her baby, H-Dizzle and Professor J., all came along, not a bad turn out at all!

I was originally supposed to organise the whole thing as ordered by Z., and H., but I only got as far as deciding the weekend it was supposed to be on before H., picked Ahmet's on Oxford. I was a bit irritated at her as I found it hard to get to, being the only non-driver out of all the people who turned up, however S., kindly offered me a lift.

I'm really struggling with how to take photographs of all the food for large groups of people, up to five or six is fine but any larger and I find its really difficult to take all the photos while people are hungrily waiting. I go with friends who are very patient with me but I feel like its really annoying waiting for me when the food is right there. Do I stand up and go over to each individual spot? Do I ask the waiter to present all the meals to me first so I can get a photo?

Lately, I've been getting people to take photos on my behalf and I use that photo no matter how it turns out. It's made for some very interesting or blurred photos recently.

The other Ahmet's!

I'm not sure what to make of Ahmet's interior, it reminds me of an oddly lit bathroom due to all the tiles? I'm struggling to remember what it looks like besides the photos I have here. I didn't get a good photo of their bar due to all the lights they had there. There are lots of water colour country scenes scattered around the restaurant.

Front desk with jewellery

The kitchen service area

The eerily glowing bar

Here is their menu.

Both H-Dizzle and H., ordered the ayran. Apparently this is Turkey's natural drink of unsweetened yoghurt, water and salt flakes. The taste is very strong with that sour, thick creaminess that you associate with plain Greek yoghurt. It has a very pronounced saltiness that emphasises the sourness of the yoghurt and its not as thick as it could be due to the water used to thin down the drink. I was quite surprised as I was expected more a lassi type flavour, a similar Indian drink made from sweetened or plain yoghurt and assorted fruit. When I tasted this, I would not have been surprised if this was a sauce for a particularly spicy main, H., did not enjoy her drink but H-Dizzle did, having had it on previous occasions.

Salty and sour?

I decided to get some cider, it was the Hills Cider and I got an apple one whilst G., got a pear one. I didn't like it, not sweet enough to my taste and with a mildly hops like flavour?

Disliked ):

I have no idea what this was called as it doesn't appear to be on their menu, however it was an absolutely delicious cheese, dill and shallot flat bread drizzled with hummus. I cannot even begin to describe the enticing smell that came from this bread from the liberal usage of dill. We cut apart the bread to share amongst our end, S., NZ-A., H-Dizzle and myself and I was a bit too slow to take a photo of all that oozy cheese. The bread was puffy and crispy, somewhat like pizza dough haha.

What are you called delicious thing!?

This was D., and L.,'s entree mujver, vegetable fritters. They're not the most attractive of entrees but they are incredibly delicious, being made of a light, creamy interior and a crunchy chickpea batter. I can't remember what was in them but I remember wanting to eat more of them.

So ugly, yet so tasty

Quite a few people got Turkish bread and dips to share as a starter. Me? I just ate what was offered to me haha. Both A., and G., got some as well as L., and her husband, D. The bread was soft, thick and puffy with a slight chew, it was very good stuff.

Soft and puffy

So much bread and dip!

From left to right, we tried the jajik, avocado, beetroot, hot and spicy, baba ganoush and hummus dips. The jajik is a creamy, yoghurt, cucumber and garlic dip which I avoided due to yoghurt upsetting my lactose intolerance like a bull in a china shop. The avocado was also surprisingly creamy and bland, I was expecting a guacamole type dip but it was quite bland. The beetroot was sweet, earthy and super pink. The hot and spicy relish was like an oven roasted capsicum that had a good heat behind it, it was a favourite. The baba ganoush was my pick of the lot with my love of smokey eggplant. The hummus was surprisingly average, with a very, very smooth texture, it wasn't bad though.

Dips in all the colours of the rainbow!

A., the house special pide consisting of salami, chicken, capsicum, mushroom, mozzarella and egg.  I didn't get to try this but A., remarked that she has had better and didn't really enjoy it. How can I say I didn't try this and still know what the pide base tasted like? There was one down my end! This picture was taken by H., as I was pinned against the wall and couldn't get up to take a photo.

Its so darn dark

Here is another pide, this time a vegetarian one. Z., ordered this are remarked that the mushrooms were very good, there was also capsicum, spinach, onion and feta. I found this one to be much cheesier than the tavuklu one for some reason, the cheese was so stretchy. Z., didn't really like her meal, stating that it was nice but she wouldn't go back.

So blurry

This is the lamb shish that Professor J., ordered, it came with a few pieces of flatbread, very buttery, garlicky and super fluffy potato mash and a tasty rice pilaf. I didn't see her afterwards so I was unable to ask her how her meal was.

Two thick skewers of meat

G., got the lamb iskander, a drowned looking combination of slow cooked lamb, Turkish bread and tomatoes with a tomato sauce and a dill and yoghurt sauce on top. It looks very, very saucy in my opinion. G., remarked that she didn't like it as the flavours were very bland.

It does look a bit struggle plate to be honest

My end of the table ordered the tavuklu pide to share, a garlic chicken, capsicum, mushroom and mozzarella topped Turkish style pizza. The pide base was delicious! Like the best deep pan base you've ever eaten, super fluffy, with a slight chew and crustiness.

This the chicken shish which came with turkish bread, mashed potato and rice pilaf. I can't remember who got this but it must've been someone sitting nearby as I've got a clear photo of it.

Much blur.

I was gunning for the king's mixed grill which had a little of everything on it. L., and D., got one to share and H-Dizzle and I split ours since we wanted to try lots of things. It came with turkish bread, rice pilaf, mashed potato, two prawn skewers, lamb, chicken and adana shish as well as a lamb cutlet. Delicious! A perfect size to share between two people. The prawns were a touch on the small size, bursty, sweet and garlicky. The chicken shish was also garlicky, so juicy and tender. The lamb was also very, very tender and I enjoyed that the most out of all the meats on this plate. The adana was mildly spicy and very tasty. I didn't get to try our sole lamb cutlet cause someone else at the table pinched it.

All the food!

H., once again, ordered the worst thing out of the menu. Not so much so, in terms of deliciousness but in size. She received about eight or ten garlic and lemon marinated prawns on top of some mashed potato and rice pilaf. She was highly disappointed and said that she was expecting more, especially with the price of the meal.

Much sadface.

The last dish that ordered to share was the ali nazak which came with your choice of chicken, lamb or adana shish. We got the lamb to compliment what we already had. This was a thick, slow roasted and very hearty stew of eggplant, capsicum, tomato and onion topped with lamb cubes and garlic and yoghurt sauce. I really enjoyed this dish as did NZ-A, H-Dizzle and S.,

So delicious

Ahmet's on Oxford
Atmosphere: 6, busy, dimly lit but with very comfy tables and seats.
Service: 5, ordered and got our food, nothing much to say.
Food: 6, the food at our end of the table was much better. I think it's because we all choose very different dishes and decided to share amongst ourselves. The other end ordered stuff that was a lot harder to share out and found their dishes very repetitive. I'm not sure if I would ever go back here again with that being said. The turkish bread was very good as was the pide, I think the flavours of the meat can be a little plain at times but they are very well cooked, always tender and juicy with a lovely smokey, charcoal laced flavour from the bits I sampled.