A cuisine steeped in history and geography. Like most Middle Eastern cuisines, Lebanese food is based on that of the ancient Levant, a region that includes modern-day Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine. The influence of the Levant is most obvious in the use of herbs & spices, for instance, za’atar, mint, parsley, oregano, garlic, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon are the most common seasonings and spices used in Lebanese dishes.
Food plays a vital role in Lebanese culture. It is one of their greatest loves, it is the key to good health, and it is central to their social and family lives. Entering a Lebanese restaurant in any part of the world takes you back on a special journey to beautiful Lebanon. The ambience is filled with magical colours, images of stunning Lebanese sceneries, parts of their history, music, and no doubt the amazing Lebanese aromas that revive the Lebanese tradition and culture anywhere around the globe.
Such is our quest that it drove us down to test the waters of Filful – a restaurant that serves delicious Lebanese street food. We decided to share a couple of appetisers, 2 main courses and a dessert of course.
HE SAID: For our appetiser, we picked Hindbeh and a Falafel platter, Hindbeh is a sour cold vegetarian Mezza made of cooked Dandelion leaves tossed with roasted garlic, lemon and olive oil dressing and then topped with caramelised onions. The combination of onion, garlic and the dressing gave an extra kick to the dish. Falafel is fried patties made of ground chickpeas, herbs and special spices. The falafel was served hot with sliced tomatoes, pickled vegetables, Tahina sauce (sesame paste sauce) and freshly baked bread. The Falafel were well seasoned, crispy from outside and soft from inside. Truly one of the best Lebanese falafels in town.
SHE SAID: It was my first time trying Hindbeh, the Dandelion leaves dish was sour, earthy and everything I thought it would be. I was extremely excited to try something new. Each element came together well but I found the dish extremely sour for my tastebuds. Maybe they could serve lemon on the side while keeping it mild in the dish. The Falafel was pretty good! I’m a Falafel lover and have sampled many, these weren’t dry or clammy. Just right and the Tahina served with it was perfectly tart.
HE SAID: For our mains, we chose the Shish Barak and Kabab Halabi, the Shish Barak looks very similar to ravioli but with an Arabic twist, it is made of fried ground meat-stuffed mini dumplings topped with yoghurt sauce (crushed garlic, dried mint and yoghurt) and then garnished with fried pine nuts. The dumpling tasted really good and the sauce made them even better, extra points to the dumpling size, enough for one bite. On the other hand, Kabab Halabi is minced meat kebab named after the city of Aleppo in Syria- the first people in history to make Kabab, even the word kabab came from the word Kababo in Syriac Aramaic language which means charcoal. Very simple minced meat with basic herbs and garlic grilled to perfection, taste-wise was very good but I felt the salt was way less than it should be.
SHE SAID: Our mains were close to perfect. The Shish Barak is a signature favourite of mine, I’ve often eaten the Egyptian version. Meat in yoghurt, wait, let me rephrase, perfectly spiced meat in yoghurt sauce! I’m sold. Sign me up! The Kebab Halabi didn’t live up to its taste due to the lack of salt. Salt tends to enhance each flavour further. However, the meat was soft and succulent.
HE SAID: For dessert, we picked the Layali Lebanon, a semolina pudding with hints of rose syrup, orange blossom and topped with bananas. We had our reservations about it because we assumed it would be heavy. Such a light dessert deserves a special mention. It was an easy, simple yet delicious dish which we ordered with black Lebanese coffee made the perfect end to a good meal.
SHE SAID: If you love an easy dessert, then this is for you! Layali Lebanon is a semolina pudding that translates to Lebanese nights. It is very popular in Lebanon hence the name but also throughout the Middle East. There are two main layers to Layali Lebanon. The first is the semolina pudding which is then topped with a layer of ashta (clotted cream). This dessert is then topped with an abundance of bananas Lastly, it is doused in a simple syrup which is where the sweetness comes from in this dessert.
WE SAID: Great ambience, lovely attentive service and good food. All these things are difficult to come by together. We thoroughly enjoyed our food and hope to go back again, especially for that lovely dessert.
OVERALL RATING
Ambience: 4/5
Taste of food: 4/5
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value for money: 3.5/5
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DISCLAIMER: The ORR team reviews anonymously and pays for their own meals. The opinion of the team does not reflect that of the newspaper and its editors.
