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.
