Lebanese Food @ Al-Amar, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

sweetish Jallab made from dates and laden with pine nuts and raisins

Ever wondered how time goes by so quickly??? I often do, as the day zips by and next thing I know, it is night-time and I'm staring at my very small notebook screen wondering why I didn't manage to organise my time better to blog more often. The weekend seemed to dissapear in a blink probably because I worked on Saturday and cramped all my errands on Sunday. We did manage to squeeze some time to catch this Lebanese outlet in Pavilion and did a walkaround the Curve and Cathay Cineleisure. It's shocking how many places has closed down there - saw the casualties like Empire Cafe, Nanxiang Mantou Dian, Hollys Coffee and etc.


lovely marinated lamb sausages (RM22)

Back to the Lebanese food, a tiny break from the Penang posts (I still have a few more, even though I've cramped them into categories, so bear with me on those faraway but very memorable posts I need to complete). I've been eyeing this place for a very long time - ever since I read a pretty good review in the Edge (one of my regular weekly reads to keep in touch with the financial world). I also heard they're one of the few places in town that offers tartare. While I was eager to give that a try, Splashie Boy said a firm no, when I mentioned the words, "raw meat"!


1. creamy hummus 2. cheese makouche, kinda like a pizza 3. hot fluffy breads, 4. red seems to be the colour of this restaurant

Instead, we settled on a mix of old favourites and new items. Top on the list was hummus (RM16), that creamy chickpea-garlic-olive-oil-lemon-juice concoction I love with hot and fluffy breads served on the side. Tastewise, if you had to compare with Tajine, the other place we recently ate, there's not much difference in the taste but this version was more creamier and smoother at double the price we paid in Tajine. I guess that is why, we had more breads (4 pieces) here versus the measly one bread we got in Tajine. Refreshments were in the form of the unusual Jallab (RM12) - date juice that was a little sweet but chockfull with pine nuts and raisins sunk to the bottom, which I discovered like hidden treasure.


the aromatic chicken kabsa (RM38)

I also ordered the unusual cheese mankouche (RM14), a Lebanese delicacy that looked like a cheese pizza, which we felt lacked taste and oomph. Maybe we should have ordered the other varieties of thyme and meat instead. However, we struck gold with the Makanek - marinated lamb sausages with Lebanese spices (RM22). Juicy with just the right mix of meat and fat, I loved the tangy taste of the sausages from the marinade that I even ate the shredded cabbage on the side dipped with the sauce. Last but not least, was the chicken kabsa (RM38), which we both shared. I liked the fluffy aromatic tomato rice and the steamed juicy chicken slathered with the tomato sauce given on the side.

Overall, food here is pretty good but prices are on the higher side, especially since it is Pavilion with a plusher atmosphere versus the othertackier looking Middle Eastern joints in town. Service is impeccable too and they also have a nice balcony, you can sit down and drink your sorrows away while looking down on the ever-present traffic at Jalan Bukit Bintang. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.

Al-Amar
6th Floor
Pavilion KL
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2166 1011

(Pork free. I'm not sure if they're halal, as I did spy alcohol items on the menu including their own "arak", a specialty of theirs. For more details, see their website which also has the full menu.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Lebanese Food + Pavilion

Other reviews:

• Eat Drink KL who was a little more adventurous and had the raw meat;
• Jean who had the Chicken Chawarma platter for lunch;
• Luscious Temptations, who ate here when she was back from London.