Liyari : the Best Briyani in Dubai?

we went here weeks ago. i overlooked these pictures, as i only took a few - my camera batt ran out! but now that i've stumbled upon them again, it's time to write about, what is arguably, the BEST briyani in dubai.

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liyari restaurant is said to have the ultimate briyani rice in the whole of dubai. google 'liyari dubai' and you only get 'the best' accompanying the name. this pakistani restaurant serves the usuals - briyani with a choice between chicken and meat (mutton), their own brand of dalca and nan bread. come later in the evening, and their grilled chicken and meat are ready to be served.

it is so popular, that it even has its own facebook page! al-tawasol pun kalah ni!

according to its facebook page, it is situated in naif, deira, 'tucked in the right hand corner of florida hotel off nasser square', right next to the bus-stand. it's also close to the famous malaysian-favorite tailor, pulwani.

taken from liyari restaurant's facebook page

it's almost impossible to find any parking space remotely close to the restaurant, so everytime we go, we parked at this murky, low-ceiling parking lot in a building next to the naif police station - which is quite a walking distance from the restaurant.

ok, it's hard to explain in words how you actually get there from where we park, that's why i'm only giving you landmarks, like naif police station, pulwani and the deira bus stand (especially since i'm not good with roads, and most of the time - ok, ALL of the time i would just tag along behind mr. khairul who leads the way!). it's a maze of left and right and going into narrow lanes, passing by small abaya shops and other restaurants - it's complicated!

however, if you ask anyone on the way, they would definitely be able to guide you to liyari restaurant.

mr. khairul tuang nasi dr pinggan kecik ke pinggan besar

mr. khairul said, the interior of liyari restaurant is a reminscent of old penang restaurant - with its marble floor, and thick-wall stairs leading to the family area. the restaurant is brightened only by its lights.

we ordered both chicken and mutton briyani.

now the presentation was a bit new to me - the briyani was served in a very generous portion, in a small hollow plate, and that plate was placed in a bigger hollow plate. so it's like 2 in 1 la. hihi. mr. khairul said the small plate would probably supposed to be where you put your tulang and bits of bunga cengkih and such.

what we did was we pour the rice from the small plate into the bigger plate, and eat from that plate, leaving the small plate of rice for later.

i'm telling you - the portion is huge! you better share the plate if you're not that hungry. each plate of chicken briyani has 3 ketul ayam! the chicken is cooked a bit like curry, and it's placed 'among' the rice, together in the plate. the chicken sort of hides in the rice, so to speak.


the briyani was served with this dalca-like gravy which i love, because it's actually less spicy than the original gravy that comes inside the chicken briyani. in fact, the gravy that they 'pre-put' in the rice was too spicy for me that i would always give the 'already-drowned-in-curry' part of the rice to mr. khairul, and i would take his 'untouched-by-curry' briyani rice!

i know i married the spicy-nut for a reason! hihi.

we ordered the bread separately, but it's a bit chewy and liat. our briyani plates also came with a plate of salad - which probably be the only disappointing part of our liyari experience - it's only cut-up cabbage, sliced onions and carrots! salad and timun pun takde!


this liyari restaurant is so simple, and popular - that it doesn't even need a proper menu. just glance upward, and a 'printed' menu greets you.

briyani sedap gile melimpah ruah, sekali dengan 3 ketul ayam, skali dengan dalcha sepinggan penuh - lebih kurang RM12 - dubai rate. man, it's so worth it!

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the liyari briyani is constantly being refered to as the BEST briyani in town. well, it is no doubt very delicious, especially with its generous portion, and to top it all - cheap! however, my personal favorite, the one i would crown the BEST briyani in dubai is still the one in the restaurant that i called the 'slumdog millionaire' restaurant. read about my fav briyani here.

anyhow, try some briyani today and judge for yourself!