mandy is my new favorite food ever since living in dubai. i simply love it. the juicy beads of rice. the soft chicken flesh. the fresh cut vege. the semi-spicy chilli-sambal. the whole combo just gets to me. read about my addiction to mandy here.
abah really wanted to bring mr. khairul here too, but he's already back in dubai - therefore having access to the real thing! so abah asked my bro-in-law din to check out the direction to go there, and he led an entourage of 4 cars down sri petaling to where the middle eastern restaurant is.
the surrounding area is ordinary, that you don't expect to see a mediterranean restaurant in the middle of it all. but once you see it, you'd definitely look twice - standing out strong amidst plain colored shophouses, this restaurant with huge arabic writing in yellow over dark marroon signboard is very eye-catching.
the ground floor is where the sell arabic sweets such as baklava and kurma, while the restaurant is in the first floor. there's ample parking space at the corner side of the shoplot with just a short walking distance. a lift can take you up to the restaurant if like me, you have a baby stroller, or you can just take the stairs.
oh did i mention that the decor of this restaurant is just gorgeous? even the little corners of the left has items from the middle east. the paintings, ornaments in the glass casings, mirrors, and side tables spell middle east all over. kat dubai pun tak pegi tempat makan lawa macam ni!
our lift door opens to the entrance of the restaurant.
"wah...!"
it was just awesome!
white square tiles on the walls reflect the lights from the ornate lamp hanging from the ceiling in a row. paintings from egypt and such adorn the walls. rich wooden chairs invite patrons to relax and have a meal while the side plants around the pillar add to the charm.
and the real charm was indeed the decor. tons of glass ornaments from the middle east were placed high on the shelves and even arranged nicely against a mirrored wall. (this however, proved to be dangerous to have around kids with itchy fingers yearning to touch!)
unlike al-rawsya with its warung feel, al-diafah offers a true dining experience at a middle-eastern restaurant because the ambiance with arabic song on the background take you to a middle eastern location in the middle of sri petaling!
however, according to my sister syima, al-rawsya provides more choice in its menu. but generally they have pretty much what you'd expect in a mid-east restaurant. we ordered mandy - coz that's what we're here for!
i guess yong was the most excited one as this would be the first time she tried mandy rice!
while waiting for food to arrive, the waiter served us plain water that tasted plain with a hint of rose. really! he poured it from this aladdin jug and i thought it took forever for him to pour just one glass of water with that thing with the narrow spout!
food arrived, and the first thing i was excited about was the chilli-sambal as it looked similar with the one in dubai, unlike in al-rawsya where the chilli looked pekat like the chilli sauce from the bottle.
next, the mandy rice. again, it tasted nice - but it's no mandy dubai, guys. the chicken was nearly perfect though. and abah loved the bbq chicken. there was no plain cut-up cucumber vege but a complicated salad with lotsa barang-barang yang i would put aside!
mr. khairul upon looking at the pictures of the food i posted on my facebook has only this to say : "poor attempt!" but hey, i'm just saying it's no mandy dubai - but it is still delicious and enough to get you wondering about what the dubai one really taste like!
after we're done eating, (except khaleef who was still eating even after our table was completely cleared) i dumped kahfi with yong and walked around with azi taking pictures. as you can see azi pouring out from the aladdin-like jug - nice, eh?
khaleef, wash your hands! and his mak su led him to the 'ladies'. its restroom is clean, comfy and nicely decorated. even the trash bin was a matching metal kerawang thingy.
abah yang excited because he finally got to go here, and yong yang excited because finally got to taste mandy rice. yay!
No comments:
Post a Comment