Arabella, Newtown

A night out at Arabella,

Won’t have you singing an acapella,

Or turn you into Cinderella,

But you could start writing a novella

On the ‘quieter’ side of King Street you will find Arabella, an establishment that has been here since 2002. Starting with the street completely empty of restaurants, to watching them open and close, Arabella remains standing for 14 years and counting.

Owner: Mohamed mixing tabbouleh

Owner and head chef, Mohamed Zouhour, is passionate about his cooking. We are told he uses organic produces, and through this you see how he hopes to give his customers a great Lebanese experience.

Fresh lemonade

I start with fresh lemonade, while it comes out looking more orange than yellow it was indeed made of lemon. It was refreshing, sweet and sour, a perfect accompaniment for my following dishes for the night.

Fattoush $16

We start the night with fattoush, I am completely in love with this salad, and believe me – I am no salad eater. It was nice to start with, as the tanginess helped my stomach prepare for more food, and the crispy bread was definitely the best way to give me my much needed crunch factor.

Hommous topped with meat and pine nuts $17

HOMMOUS! Now, apart from the fact that this was super smooth and easy to go down with pita bread, the meat and pine nuts really brought this to a whole new level. We loved how the hommous had the sweet juices and olive oil mixed in, and we kept going in for more. We tried not to, as we didn’t want to get full on just hommous and pita bread!

Tabbouleh $15

What Miss CC loved most about this tabbouleh was the fact that she could not see the onions, as she mentioned most tabbouleh she has had she can always see it. However, upon her statement – everything was chopped so finely!

Kebbi $18

Now, the menu states that this is healthy! “If this is healthy, consider me converting to healthy foods!” that statement received a laugh from Miss CC. This is served cold, boiled mashed potatoes with crushed wheat, onions and olive oil, you see where the healthy parts come into play right?

babaganouj $14

This was a hit in the face, it was smokey indeed!  But this was because both Miss CC and I were so eager to try it, until we see the pomegranate. Don’t ask why or how we missed it, we just did. But adding some pomegranate to your babaganouj gives you a pop of sweetness after the smokey hit. It was interesting.

Falafel (4 per serve) $15

Before I continue, I have always wanted to try a falafel but never get the chance to because I get distracted by other choices. So, it was my first time. AND oh my freaking goodness, this was amazeballs! The crumbs fall apart in your mouth like a cookie, “Do not bother eating a falafel anywhere else.” That was a call made by Miss CC. I guess if I ever crave for a falafel, I’ll have to just come back to Arabella. No words, no pictures will ever do this justice.

Lady Finger (4 per serve) $15

Beware of contents, this comes out like a spring roll and reminds me of a spinach and feta triangle. A bite into this, you will have the feta cheese-oozing out from the end, so beware not to lose your cheesy goodness.

Lamb mansaf $28

By this point, we were hugging our stomachs but the smell was simply alluring. I find this tasting like a curry, and the rice looked like it would be hard but was in fact soft. The lamb was tender, and if you wanted you could add some yoghurt.

Shish kebab $26 | Shish tawouk $24

The shish kebab and tawouk were simply divine. The meats were so tender, and marinated in subtle hints of chilli and spices, I kept dipping it in the pureed garlic. But the lamb definitely held a great charcoal flavour which is something I love, as it adds such flavour to the meats.

And how do you end a night of Lebanese food? With Lebanese sweets of course! In the last few years I somehow managed to find my love for baklavas, I just love the nutty traces with the drizzled sweet pastry. Yum yum yum!

Come on a weekend and you will also get the great atmosphere and live belly dance show!

So, what are your favourite Lebanese dishes? Do you love baklavas too, or still trying to find a love for them? As I know they can be overly sweet for some people …

Hit: Falafel

Miss: Lady Finger

Arabella

12/489-491 King St,

Newtown

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday 5pm - 11pm

Sunday 12pm - 11pm

Journey from Within dined as a guest of Arabella. However, all thoughts and opinions are based on her own. Thank you to Mohamed and his team at Arabella for the invite and hospitality.