Meal #35 - The Arabian Peninsula

Arabesque is, as its name suggests, Arab-esque.

Arabesque
Middle Eastern Grill
Shop 1, 1-3 Carre St
Elsternwick

Lacking the family-run feel and do-it-yourself decoration of recent weeks, Arabesque is a contemporary-style restaurant with a simple, stylish décor; including a large, wall-length, black and white photograph of a busy Arab bazzar. Clearly, the old adage: bad décor means good food, doesn’t apply here. All of Arabesque’s dishes are just as good as a traditional, home-cooked meal.

This week’s dashing diners were Nick, Rami and Caroline.


Arabesque offers a range of banquets that offer excellent value for money, as we discovered after choosing to order the following individual dishes instead:

Entrée/Mezza:


Ma’anek – grilled spicy sausages drizzled with lemon juice and sumac

Vine Leaves – traditional rolled vine leaves with spiced lamb and rice

Main Course:

Shish Tawook – grilled skewered fillet of chicken marinated in garlic and lemon served with almond rice.

Field mushrooms baked with haloumy cheese, chick peas, spinach and Middle-Eastern spices.

Entrée/Mezza:

The Ma’anek possessed an interesting mix of spices, however it was the lemon juice that added the flavour-burst that made this dish jump from good to great. The vine leaves, which were quite similar to traditional Greek dolmas, were strongly benefited by the addition of spicy lamb - giving them an extra kick.

Mains:


Like the Ma’anek, the lemon flavours of the Shish Tawooks were a highlight. The chicken was wonderfully marinated in garlic and lemon, which worked well with the almond rice. The field mushrooms were an interesting dish, however the fact that they were slightly burnt made it difficult to experience the proper effect of the flavours.


Overall:

Arabesque offers great food, and very friendly, and professional, service. The dishes are priced significantly higher than the take-away versions, however, the high quality of the food means that this does not present a problem. We recommend the banquet for anyone interested in trying a wide range of flavours at a better value for money ratio than individual dishes.

Next Stop: The Arabian Peninsula

Originally, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula relied heavily on a diet of dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat, with little variety, with a heavy emphasis on yogurt products, such as leben (yoghurt without butterfat). As the Arabs wandered out of the peninsula, so did their tastes and favored ingredients.

Essential to any cooking in the Arabian Peninsula is the concept of hospitality. Meals are generally large family affairs, with much sharing and a great deal of warmth over the dinnertable. Formal dinners and celebrations generally entail large quantities of lamb, and every occasion entails large quantities of tea.

In an average Persian Gulf state household, a visitor might expect a dinner consisting of a very large platter, shared commonly, with a vast mountain of rice, incorporating lamb or chicken, or both, as separate dishes, with various stewed vegetables, heavily spiced, sometimes with a tomato sauce. Most likely, there would be several, less hearty, items on the side. Tea would certainly accompany the meal, as it is almost constantly consumed. Coffee would be included as well.

There are many regional differences in Arab cuisine. For instance mujadara in Syria is different than mujadara in Jordan. Some dishes such as mensaf (the national dish of Jordan) are native to certain countries and rarely if ever make an appearance in other countries.

Unlike in most Western cuisines, cinnamon is used in meat dishes as well as in sweets such as Baklava. Other desserts include variations of rice pudding and fried dough. Ground nut mixtures are common fillings for such treats. Saffron is used in everything, from sweets, to rice, to beverages. Fruit juices are quite popular in this often arid region.

Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_cuisine