ursuline forewent: KY eats ? Al Amar Express, Fahrenheit 88

Thursday, April 12, 2012

KY eats ? Al Amar Express, Fahrenheit 88 | KYspeaks

April 11, 2012

A couple weeks ago a bunch of us were invited to Al-Amar Express at Fahrenheit 88 for the Happy Hour promotion and a bit of food. The event turned out to be a definition of excess, and a textbook reference of good times.

Al Amar Express at Fahrenheit 88

Like most people, I had the unfortunate generalization that Al-Amar Express is a middle eastern food joint (which was correct), and hence must not serve alcohol (which wasn?t).

cocktails at Al Amar Express

In fact, the Al Amar ?lets meet up?? wines and cocktails menu has several selections of Lebanese wines, popular beers, whisky, spirits, and some 10 different types of cocktails.

From 4pm to 8pm, buy 2 cocktails and get 1 free. The same thing applies to beer as well.

wine, strawberry margarita, beer
Lebanese wine, strawberry margarita, Corona beer

Before food was being served, we already got the night started with some mojito, Corona beer, wine, and margarita. Perfect start to the evening if you ask me.

hummus, Lebanese chickpea and eggplant dip, pita bread, haloumi salad

After a bit of chit chat and making sure everyone had something to drink, the food arrived.

We started out with some warm pita bread. Dipping them into hummus (RM 12.90) or those very interesting chickpea and eggplant (moutabal RM 12.90) as you would with chips and salsa, except the experience is quite a bit richer, and definitely more refined (for something that is eaten with hand)

The haloumi salad?(RM 20) is another exquisite dish that I?ve never tasted ? with fried haloumi cheese,?herb crust crouton, cherry tomato, and?vinaigrette dressing on top of a bed of rocket. The fried cheese was a?revelation,?slightly crispy on the outside, and definitely cheesy within. It was very good!

tabbouleh, warak enab, grilled chicken salad
tabbouleh,?warak enab, grilled chicken salad

Tabbouleh is a uniquely Arabic salad with finely chopped tomato, Italian parsley, and mint. The taste was very? refreshing.

Another salad we tried was the grilled chicken salad (RM 20), and this came with a generous portion of grilled chicken breast topped with aioli dressing. The marinate definitely leave a Lebanese signature in this dish.

Warak enab?is these spring roll look-alike with ground lamb, rice, and spices all chopped up and wrapped in grape leaves. I find it a little too sour and salty, perhaps it is an acquired taste, or just a case of Al Amar sticking to the traditional recipe too closely.

spinach fatayer, cheese roll, lamb sambousik,

Spinach fatayer, cheese roll, and lamb sambousik??(RM 8.50 each) were definitely the type of finger food best with some beer or cocktail. I don?t think further explanation is needed.?Deep fried food always go well with alcohol.

Lebanese pizzas, shawarma and flame grilled chicken

And as we thought our collective stomaches were starting to get a bit full, the main dishes came.

First to be served were spicy chicken cheese (RM 17.90) and kafta with cheese manakeesh (RM 17.90) were both very delicious. They looked exactly like pizzas, but the taste was definitely different, a tad of saltiness, a kick of spiciness, and that savory taste from the meat. If I could only get these delivered?

The other main dishes were grilled whole chicken (RM 38) that comes in spicy and non spicy versions. The portion was enough to be shared between 2-3 adults. They too, carry the distinctive Lebanese taste.

Finally, we also tried the chicken and beef shawarma (RM 24.90 each). They were a bit like the kebab meat, but served loosely on a plate with pita bread.

a bunch of guys and gals who are completely full and half drunk

The session at Al Amar was?rather?enjoyable, there were good food, drinks, and excellent company. Ultimately, I thought the food at Al Amar was a little bit too one dimensional if you will. Everything stays very close to a distinctive taste that is undoubtedly Lebanese.

For a food review session, it gets a little bit monotonous, but to have a change of pace from other cuisines, a dinner at Al Amar surely wouldn?t disappoint, just don?t order the warak enab.

map to Fahrenheit 88, KL