Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Al-Amar Express @ Bintang Walk

Located right outside Fahrenheit88, opposite Pavilion, alongside Coffee Club and Sephora.. you wouldn't miss it. My company shot pictures of their food for their video presentation (you can watch it in the restaurant). Funky did mention that when he's shooting, he will let me know so we can eat for free! But he didn't.. =___=  His pictures proved that they look awesome-licious so Xen and I decided to go give it a try.

Lahem Bi Ajin MYR12
Mix Chawarma Platter MYR26
Lamb Mechwi MYR14

And.... a bottle of 1L mineral water which costed us MYR10  =___=

Portions were decent, but I have to say, I wasn't taking in the flavours too well. The thin crust pizza with minced meat actually tasted sour. The mixed platter was not fantastic either. Im bad at wrapping my own food. Either too much meat or too little sauce? :D

I preferred the lamb mechwi best, as it was nicely wrapped and didn't have a sour taste to hehe. 

I felt a little uncomfortable while lunch-ing, as it felt pretty warm :C 

what's your review on this, Xen?

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Xen's Review:
I was actually down with a really bad sorethroat the day I ate here. Okay I know most Asians would stay away from 'heaty' food (ie: fried, baked, grilled, too strong tasting.. basically ANY tasty food!) for fear of further aggravating the condition but I figured Lebanese people (or any other 'heaty' cuisine for that matter- Korean? Italian?) probably DIDN'T eat plain porridge or clear soup when they were sick, so I should be fine. It was just a matter of getting used to it, plus it wasn't like I was chomping down chillies and swallowing them.

The interior is really bright and spacious, while it wasn't hot when we sat down- it gradually did as the Sun started to shift- however please note that both XC and I are not very tolerant toward the heat. On our way out, I saw people seated outside, who were happily eating and didn't even break a sweat. So, it could just be us.

The platter was a bit of a let down, I felt the meat was a bit dry and though it tasted nice, the marinade was just a bit too much for me. I like to be able to taste the chicken/beef that I am eating as well. I enjoyed the minced meat "pizza" the most- it was sour, tangy, a little spicy but tasty! I haven't tasted flavours like these before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Don't order this dish and expect it to taste like an Italian/American pizza cause you are dining at a Lebanese restaurant. For me, there isn't really a right/wrong dish in any cuisine. Taste is very subjective so it isn't really fair to say 'Oh this dish SUCKS.. or is DISGUSTING' etc. So you either like it, or you don't. We don't all have the same taste-buds and no two chefs cook the same. Okay, I digress.

Back to the review- the Lamb Mechwi was a bit like a kebab to me, but with huge chunks of meat. Again, this didn't stand out to me. Most of their dishes were served with yoghurt and they already tasted sour-ish to begin with, so I think it is safe to conclude that Lebanese food is curved towards sour-ish, tangy tastes?

I might be back for the minced pizza, it's a different taste from what I am used to and I quite enjoy it. Oh and as a follow up, my throat did not, I repeat, DID NOT get any worse after eating grilled meats and spices. 

Fahrenheit 88
Al-Amar Express
Tel : 603-2141 3814