Middle-eastern culinary adventure in Connaught

By Adrian Lai

It can get dreadfully boring sometimes when I go to the same few Chinese coffee shops for lunch. I know most of my friends cringe a when someone suggests a nearby Chinese eatery.

Economy rice, chicken rice and noodles? Quite frankly, the taste and quality of the fare they offer leave much to be desired. To avoid mistreating our precious little taste buds, my buddies and I went as far as to drive out of the campus just to look for a good bite but unfortunately, every food-hunting expedition left me feeling I should have just eaten somewhere near the campus. The reason is simple: I finally realised the search for the best bowl of noodles or chicken rice in KL is just impractical for students like us.

I am not saying the places we went to were bad but if we just opened our eyes and looked hard enough, we would surely notice restaurants that are as good, maybe better, right in front of our university.

So, one day I decided to make a culinary paradigm shift. I decided to do what most local students would not when it comes to food. For 3 days, I avoided the staple diet I was so used to and ventured into another part of Taman Connaught’s range of restaurants. To my delight, I found the two Iranian and one Arabic restaurant situated near the university and had a great adventure!

Are you ready to discover what culinary surprises await you in these foreign eateries? Here we go.

Beep Restaurant

Nearby shops: Oldtown coffee shop and Citywrite stationery store.

Operating hours: 12pm to 12am

Our Review: This Iranian restaurant recently re-opened for business with their delicious kebabs getting their loyal fans head over heels! One kebab enthusiast cued me to order the famous chicken kebab which comes with exquisite basmathi rice, a kind of rice that is very rarely eaten by Chinese Malaysians.

For people who are not accustomed to basmathi rice, it is a high grade rice famous for its unusually long grains and firm texture. As for the kebab, the grilled chicken strips are delightfully juicy and well-marinated. But from what I hear, the tender and juicy flavor of the lamb and beef kebab is just heavenly.

Grilling is definitely a healthier alternative when it comes to cooking red meat because minimal oil is involved but this technique still retains all the juicy goodness. All this adds up to a significantly unique experience for a first-timer like me!

This plate of rice and kebab comes with a grilled tomato, sliced onions, salted butter and limau kasturi. For a mere RM12, Beep Restaurant is undoubtedly the go-to place for freshies who want a little taste of what authentic Iranian food tastes like.

“I usually don’t eat kebab everyday when I was in Iran but Beep’s authentic taste of grilled chicken and lamb reminds me a lot of home, [and] now I appreciate it,” said loyal customer Ehsan Monazami who studies Engineering in UCSI University.

If kebabs are not to your liking, Beeps offers a wide range Iranian cuisine, including braised chicken with potatoes, chicken masala, minced beef with bread, and stew brinjal.

Rating: 7/10 The food is good and comes swiftly but its drinks can arrive as late as after you have finished eating!

Darake Restaurant

Nearby shops: 7-Eleven convenience store, Richie’s Restaurant

Operating hours: Open all day long

Our Review: Although extremely famous for water pipe (sheesha) outlet, Darake is equally popular for its kebab and naan bread. While naan might ring a bell to many Malaysians as a signature Indian bread, Iranians also eat it on a regular basis and claim it as their own traditional bread.

This eatery is particularly popular for its juicy lamb kebab which is marinated overnight and grilled over a huge fire. According to the owner, Persian kebab, or better known as kebab-e koobideh in Farsi, can be cooked in many ways.

Usually, the ground lamb meat is pressed around thick, metal skewers while tomatoes are threaded on another skewer. I observed the chef as he barbequed each side for roughly 5 minutes, turning frequently.

Once it’s done, the hot kebab comes served with middle-eastern bread with some sumaic sprinkled on top. Barbequed tomatoes and raw onions are often included as garnishing. An alternative method to cooking lamb is by grilling it at high temperature in the oven. This way, the juice from the kebab can be used as a delicious dip for the bread.

At a mere RM15, locals can enjoy a very special Iranian staple food that is addictive.

“My Persian friend brought me here to try out the [lamb] kebab and I have been coming here twice to three times a week,” said UCSI University student Kidson Ho. The computing student, however, advised us to de-skin the tomatoes before eating them because they are often barbequed until the skin is blackened.

If you are not a fan of sheesha or smoking in general, visitors are cued to enter the air-conditioned dining area inside which is cool and extremely comfortable. The interior design gives you a very Persian feel and service is also efficient. Definitely the place to go if you are into fine dining of a different sort.

Rating: 8.5/10 Good ambience, friendly service and quality food for a reasonable price.

Machhat Essalam Restaurant

Nearby shops: Al Rajhi Bank, Gading Mamak Restaurant, Fusion Coffee shop.

Operating hours: 9.30am to 12am.

Our Review: The only Arabic restaurant in town, Essalam Restaurant is very popular among students who hail from Arab countries, including Iraq, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The restaurant is currently managed by an Iraqi who has just earned his degree in engineering from Telekom University.

According to him, his most famous dishes that most people order are his roasted chicken, chicken haneeth and chicken kozi. All these dishes include beryani rice, or basmathi rice that is cooked using spices. A common staple diet among Indians as well, beryani is often cooked with raisins and nuts.

For starters, I was recommended to try the roasted chicken with rice and was absolutely impressed with how well it tasted. I have eaten many kinds of fried/roasted chicken before but the meat was almost always dry and no longer held much moisture. Arabic roasted chicken, however, is crispy on the outside but still retains tenderness by locking in the moisture. Bear in mind I was eating chicken breast at the time.

I begged the manager to let out the secret behind this dish but he was adamant at keeping mum. “I’m pretty sure we roast chickens the same way anyone does, just like how we steam chicken in foil like everyone does,” said the manager who returned with chicken haneeth, a cut of chicken drumstick wrapped in aluminium foil that is steamed to perfection.

Again, tons of spices were used to enhance the flavor of the chicken which was delectable to say the least. The juice that came out of the chicken also made a very good sort of gravy that I poured over the rice.

Beryani rice or basmathi in general is generally drier than standard rice so Iranians usually provide liquid butter while Arabs normally provide chicken soup, which tastes a lot like the soup you would get from Malay chicken rice shops.

Averaged at RM16 a dish, Essalam Restaurant is very reasonable for the amount of food that comes along with their signature chicken dishes. A plate of beryani rice and chicken is usually accompanied by a bowl of raw salad, lemon, chicken soup and a variant of ground chili sauce which is a little spicy and sour.

“My favourite food here has to be the chicken kabsa and haneeth. Just come here for these two dishes and you will be more than satisfied,” said Ng Say Yew, a local student from Johor who has eaten here on more than one occasion.

Although they have appetizers and other frills as well but people usually come here for the chicken or lamb shanks.

Rating: 8.0/10 The set-up of the restaurant is not impressive (imagine a cafetaria) but the food is prepared in timely fashion and they happen to serve up one hell of a milk tea, surprisingly.