Farewell Bro Hassanal @ Maraheb Mandi Restaurant

we love mandi rice. and for this special occasion of farewell lunch, mandi rice is still our top choice!

 

 

we held the farewell makan-makan at ‘meraheb madfood & mandi restaurant’. this is a new place for us, recommended by another mckk old boy abg nizalman. we never knew there’s a lovely mandi restaurant in this area with delicious lamb mandi!

it’s near dubai islamic bank in nad al hammar, deira. mr. khairul is not really familiar with that area, but after trying out their lamb mandi, this would definitely be a frequent place to get mandi rice! mr. khairul had better master the streets and roads!

 

from left : kay v96, suhaimi v00, hassanal v90, shon v84

 

farewell for whom?

we are saying goodbye, farewell, see-you-soon to a dear friend bro hassanal who is also another mckk survivor like my mr. khairul and my abah. he’ll be going back to malaysia for good, joining his wife hazleen and two boys who had earlier left dubai last year.

 

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this is a 2-in-1 plate of regular chicken mandi, and lamb zorbiyan. the chicken mandi was as delicious as it could be – soft beads of rice, juicy chicken which is well-marinated. i never did like lamb zorbiyan because the rice includes too much spice, but mr. khairul simply LOVED this. so to each his own! you may like it too. the lamb – need i even say it – was as tender as ever.

 

this is ‘lamb hanith’ served with mandi rice. lamb ‘hanith’ or ‘hanid’ is the ribs and shoulder part of the lamb which tasted so heavenly, with texture that was so soft that it tears off so easily from the bone. i don’t usually fancy lamb mandi because i always eat the chicken one, but the next time i go to maraheb restaurant, i will NOT order anything else.

this dish is superb. the lamb is so incredibly soft and tender, juicy and delicious.

 

the grilled fish is a good try too. not as juicy as the one in aden, but still delicious enough. click here for my review on aden restaurant, sharjah.

 

grilled prawn. not bad. not a fan of prawns, so i could be biased. had one bite just for taste.

 

the dishes came with complimentary salad, but if you want, you can order other salad like this one that we ordered – my favorite arabic salad fatoush. cut-up cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce, with crunchy bits that’s serves as croutons in western salad. yummy as its not too bitter.

 

the complimentary salad. the usuals.

 

comparatively speaking, this mandi restaurant offers more on its menu than any other mandi restaurant that we’ve been to. a lot of different ways of cooking chicken, lamb and seafood. there are a lot of different salads too, as well as appetizers and desserts as well.

 

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looking at the chairs, you would already get the feel of how ‘posh’ this particular mandi restaurant is. it’s not as posh as turath al-mandi in jumeirah but it’s not as lepak as our favorite tawasol.

 

the place is spacious, beautiful in its simplicity. the carved divider between the ‘rooms’, the patterned flooring, the pretty furniture – all classy enough to be called posh.

 

eventhough it looks posh, it’s still a very comfy family-friendly place where kids can be themselves rolling on the carpet and for us adults to have enough privacy. the ‘rooms’ are not as private as tawasol (the tents in tawasol IS like a room where everything is covered) unlike this one which only has waist-length dividers.

a nice place to eat, to bring family and friends. highly recommended.

 

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from left : suhaimi v00, nizalman v90, shon v84, hassanal v90, kay v96

 

..and for these old boys of mckk, this place will be a memory of friends leaving and friends who remain. what are good food for, if not to share with good friends, eh?