Hiba, High Holborn

After  trying and falling in love with Persian food, we couldn’t resist entering this outlet called Hiba located in High Holborn. Hiba serves Lebanese food. A quick glance at the menu tells us that it looks similar to Persian food. Lebanese cuisine, I was told, is a cuisine that respects the riches of nature.

This time around, we left the choice of food to the waiter. He recommended that we take the platter for two (£35), as in doing so, we would be able to savour a variety of Lebanese food. We agreed and waited anxiously for food to be served.

While waiting we sip our drinks. These are  fruit cocktail (£2.45) and mint tea (£1.95). Mint tea is served in a normal-sized teapot but is drunk in what I call a rather tiny glass. Mint tea is said to be a good cure for indigestion.

Mint tea

These are what we ate:-

All in all, it was a perfect meal.

Dessert

Address:  113 High Holborn

London WC1V 6JQ

Tel : +44 20 7831 5171

Alounak, Westbourne Grove

It is not difficult to locate Alounak, a restaurant in Westbourne Grove that specialises in Persian cuisine. As I walked in I noticed that the place is filled with lots of people, and based on my observation, hail from the middle east.

We ask for some mineral water and are given 2 bottles of Evian which cost £1.30 each. The tiny bottles are of course insufficient to quench our thirst. Hence we ask for more water, but this time we opt for simple tap water. It arrived in a jiffy – in a jug that looked a little unpleasing to me.





Hot pepper sauce

Since there were only two of us, we decided to order 2 main course to share:-

I ordered the Alounak special (£13.80). I figured out that since it was their signature platter, I should be safe. I was given the choice of bread, salad or rice. I chose rice as I haven’t eaten rice for well……let me count…a few days! Even before the platter reached my table, the fragrant aroma did. Wow! I just couldn’t wait. A skewer of mixed lamb and chicken fillet and some minced lamb served with grilled tomato. As I sunk my teeth into the mixed lamb, I knew instantly that it was no problem wiping clean the entire platter!

This is chicken on the bone (£9.10). Once again we had a choice of bread, rice or salad. For this, we chose salad. Consuming the well-marinated pieces of chicken was such a delight. We enjoyed every bite of it! The salad made the meal more balanced. With olives, tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon, it was indeed one of the better and healthier salads that I’ve had.

I’ll definitely remember this place. And if I have the chance, will come back for sure.

Address : 44 Westbourne Grove

London W2

Tel :  + 44 20 7729 0416 / 4158

Fig & Olive, Sunway Pyramid

The restaurant looks quiet on a Sunday afternoon, probably due to the fasting month. With an ambience that somehow calls out to me, I walked in to this restaurant with no expectation, whatsoever.

The waitress looked as if she had just awaken  from her sleep and has not had any breakfast! What a put off. Anyway, she showed us to our table and gave us 4 menus…..yes, 4 menus for a total of 10 people. Of course, we requested for more menus and she obliged.

These are some of the drinks we had :-

Strawberry milk shake (RM7.90) . Topped with  whipped cream, I love the velvety, creamy concoction before me. The smell of strawberries hit my nose as I slowly slurp up my drink.

Monkey business (RM7.50) – monkey’s favourite fruits are bananas and this is what this drink is all about – banana smoothie!

Iced blackcurrant tea (RM4.90) – the colour just looked a little off to me.

Blue salmon salata (RM12.80 ) – this is actually smoked salmon salad. With a very generous serving of salmon and greens, I would highly recommend it.

Chicken BBQ pasta (RM19.90) – the pasta was only sufficient to feed a kid as the portion was quite small!

Chicken with olive rice – as this was my first time having olive rice, I noticed that basmathi  rice was used and the aromatic rice hit my taste bud, I felt a great sense of satisfaction. Love it!

Fish and chips (RM15.90)

Figo Fish Oglio (RM18.90)

Seafood carbonara pasta (RM19.90)

Fish melted cheese (RM19.80)

Garlic bread RM4.50

Mushroom soup RM4.90

Tripe scoop gelato (RM13.80) – this is our choice of mint, chocolate chip and vanilla…oops..no more vanilla left, that was what we were told. And so we had to settle for mango. The ice cream were on the verge of melting when it was served…and for this, I really need to deduct some points!

All in all, we all agreed that it was a memorable meal and that we will return someday to try out the kebab as well as the skewers

Address: LG2.92 Sunway Pyramid

No 3 Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway

Tel:+6 03- 7492 0955

Amex, Visa & Mastercard accepted