Tag Archives: mint tea

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Supper at Sufi

After going back to my secondary school for its homecoming celebrations and meeting and greeting all my old retired teachers, I was darn hungry at the end of it. I called Adik after the celebrations and he told me to take a cab to Arab Street to Sufi a new Turkish restaurant. They had already ordered and eaten by the time I arrived there from Tampines at 10pm. They had tried the Tarisik Kebabs, Chicken and Lamb Pide, Meze and Apple Tea. The apple tea brought me back to the days I spent in Istanbul. Being famished especially after hearing what they had eaten for dinner, I ordered a meze platter of dips of my favourite baba ganoush, hummus etc. I also ordered Tarisik kebabs a platter of mix grills which was so much better then the ones I had the night before at Al-Tarrzaq. The beef tenderloins were grilled to perfection and scrumptious with every bite. The chicken pieces were moist and juicy and lamb sausage was yummy! I also ordered the Borek as an entree, crispy filo rolls filled with feta cheese, much more tastier then Alaturka’s. For dessert, I ordered a Kunefe, a dessert that was made from something that looks like vermicelli, perhaps its shredded filo, doused with butter, honey and sugar and baked in a circular form, with sprinklings of crushed pistachios. This wasn’t too sweet at all, shared this with the family. I ordered the ice mint tea, definitely something that I must go back and have this refreshing drink again. It doesn’t taste like the mint tea you get from a tea bag, maybe it has something to do with the good amount of mint leaves in the glass that made it taste so good. Definitely will be back to try the rest of the menu, according to mummy, the pide was so much better then the Kebab Station’s at East Coast Park. Can’t wait to try it all the dishes and I’m wondering if they have moussaka? 2 days straight of Arab Street food, time to find a new makan place next week :) Excellent service and really nice ambience. I especially love the blue tiles so pretty that they remind me of the Hagia Sophia.

Sufi is located at:
43 Arab Street

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Zac Cafe

Tonight after picking me up from Arabic class, my parents and uncle took my brother,my cousin Roem and I to dinner to celebrate Roem’s 16th birthday. Dad decided on Zac Cafe, which we had wanted to check out for a very long time. The atmosphere inside the cafe was cozy, a we plonked ourselves by a long table, my apologies for the seriously not clear pictures for I had left my mju in the car. We had as a starter, hummus which came with a dish of warm bread.  Oh my gosh, this hummous was so delish! Very different from other hummus in other restaurants located within the Arab St vicinity. Dad and Uda chose the Mixed Grill Platters which had a stick of beef kebab, a stick of lamb kebab, a stick of chicken kebab and 2 grilled sausages on a bed of fluffy saffron rice dotted with sultanas and of course salad. They were really happy with their order, it reminded them of the food they had at Open Sesame, the beef was so tender that they couldn’t stop gushing about the Mixed Grill Platter.  Ariff and Roem ordered the Beef Tenderloin, which was juicy and succulent, they were happy boys :) Mummy got the Chicken Doner with wedges, I bit into the Doner and it was so good, it tastes as though there’s a special sauce being added to it, the chicken was cooked just right and it was simply delicious.  I ordered the Lamb Riyah, one word “WOW”, the lamb chops were cooked to perfection. I took my time, savouring each bite. The rice that was served with it was just the right partner for the lamb chops. We were given two complimentary servings of warm vegetable quiche, which I must say was wonderful and should be part of the menu. To wash it all down, we had mint tea, the perfect way to end the evening. The service was great and Madam Hanim was very friendly. I’ll be sure to be back there again to try out the rest of the menu. Certainly a fantastic place to have dinner with friends and family. They really know their meats! If you find the name of the cafe vaguely familiar, it’s because they’re the same people who brings to us the HALAL cold cuts, sausages, meat, poultry etc under the name ZAC Meat & Poultry, or basically the stuff that ends up on my brekky table :)

Zac Cafe is located at:

17 Jalan Pinang
Singapore 199149

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Open Sesame in Long Beach

I found another fabulous halal restaurant in the states that I thought I should share .  Open Sesame serves Lebanese cuisine  in a middle eastern atmosphere, apparently the chef graduated from a famous culinary school in Lebnon.  The atmosphere in the restaurant was  utterly crowded perhaps because of the lunch crowd, but it was a beautifully decorated place. The servings were huge, simply tantalising, we had a huge plate of starters and  tried the lamb chops and the fillet mignon, oh my oh my so sedap! muy delicioso! So different from the middle eastern cuisine in Singapore.  The fillet mignon was so tender and juicy, and the lamb chops were grilled to perfection with a creme sauce that was delightful. Not to forget there’s always salad to balance our meals. One of our best finds in Long Beach and it was just a few streets away from my friend Erik’s place :) One of their best waitress is Mary, she’s very helpful and knowledgeable about what’s best to try and which desserts are the best, she recommended badam khulfi served with baklava fingers for me, too bad didn’t have a picture of it ‘coz everyone started eating it once its served. Their mint ice tea was refreshing and is a must try. if you travelling through Long Beach do stop by and check Open Sesame out, you won’t regret it!
Uda and Me

Uda and Me

Daddy and Uda
Daddy and Uda
Ariff and Me

Ariff and Me

Happy after a really good lunch on 2nd Street

Happy after a really good lunch on 2nd Street

Open Sesame is located at:

5215 East 2nd Street, Long Beach, CA 90803-5316