Restaurant Aisyah

We were pretty excited about The first time trying Xinjiang Food as we head down to Arab Street. 

Due to their Geographical Location, Uyghur people majority consume beef and mutton. The grilled meat skewers were seasoned with salt, black pepper, chilli powder, and cumin. Thus we ordered their mutton skewers, it was marinated and did not have strong gamey taste. The mutton chunks were considered tender, marinated with authentic spices then char grilled.

5 pcs Mutton Skewers 烤羊肉五串 - $19

The cooked to perfection tenderness of the mutton told us that it went through a slow-cooked process, not only achieving the kind of soft texture but also in the aromatic broth, infused with a medley of herbs and spices.

Melt-Off-The Bone Mutton Noodles 黄焖羊面 - $16.90

The broth was simple and delightful with hints of sweetness from the radish. Boiled egg was also included as one of its ingredients.  

Boiled Egg

Succulent prawns and wok-tossed fried rice. It was a tad on the spicier side. Enjoy the flavours of the fried rice with their oceanic prawn fried rice.

Oceanic Prawn Fried Rice 孜然虾炒饭 - $15.90

Oceanic Prawns

We have common Chinese beverages like sour plum and sweet herbal tea to wash down the food.

Sour Plum & Sweet Herbal Tea - $2.80 Each

Overall it was quite an experience to have tried Xin Jiang Cuisine. 

Restaurant Aisyah Halal Chinese XinJiang Cuisine 西北香 中国新疆餐厅
Location: 25 Arab Street Singapore 199724

Dong Po Colonial Cafe 東坡茶室

Cafe Hopping? Perhaps we should not forget about our origins by visiting such nostalgic cafe situated in Arab Street with some old school pastries and cakes or even a cup of coffee. Using the authentic recipes back dated into the 50s and 60s centuries, Dong Po Colonial Cafe allowed their customer to have a good feel back dating to the past and savouring the taste of then, surrounded by old school items around.

Facade of Colonial Cafe

The old school interior were pretty well retained, just take a look at the rusty zinc roof like material under decking up below the cashier counter.

Counter

Head deeper to somewhere near the cashier and you will see the nostalgic items all tucked in one corner - the old school movie deck, type writer, plates, photos, amplifier, lamp, coca cola etc.

Nostalgic Area

Not only that, you get to see sentimental stuffs like the old school magazines, old school cameras with bulbs replacement too.

Old Magazines

Too tempted with all the cakes and pastries on the shelves? There were set options to assist diners on the selection through their Menu Set.

Add caption

 We got ourselves a Set D whereby we have the option to select 2 pastries with either Teh or Kopi.

Set D - $5

The first bite of Rum Cake was like travelling back in time via time machine into the 80s days when such cake would make my day. Such feelings were just indescribable. The almond flakes over the medium soft sponge cake with its middle brown portion gave total de ja vu for my childhood. This is perhaps the best rum cake I had right now.

Rum Cake - $2.20

 Strawberry Mousse Cake which was most likely replaced by the Strawberry Cheese Cake nowadays, lookalike. With a beautiful red top layer covered with Gelatine Jelly with alternating mousse and sponge cake. Though it may taste a tad sweet but having such sweet treats is definitely heavenly once in a blue moon.

Strawberry Mousse Cake - $2.20

The coconut tart had a sharp coconut taste however, it tasted abit dry on its pastries even though the buttery fragrance was good.

Coconut Tart - $2

Another old school item for the sweet tooth. The top layer of almond flakes were coated with honey sweet stuff and the bottom layer was like short bread filled of buttery fragrance. Yummy!

Florentine Cookie Bar - $2

 An unusual sight of Pineapple tart! These days Pineapple tarts were either in rectangular or round sizes, never in a little boat shape of this size. Its big and beautifully baked, stuffed with sweetened Pineapple.

Pineapple Tart

Having tried its cake few times by taking away, I have never knew and appreciate its history. Through this visit, I had learnt about its environment and the old fashioned recipes. It makes it a point to be back once a while for such old school indulgence.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Dong Po Colonial Cafe
Location: 56 Kandahar St Singapore 198904

Beirut Grill [Invited Tasting]

Walking along Arab Street, you will be spoilt for choices if you are looking for some Mediterrean or Middle Eastern Cuisine.

Beirut Grill

The Fine Lebanaese Cuisine restaurant is housed in a 2 storey high shophouse whereby patrons get to enjoy both Alfresco as well as indoor seating.

Ambience

Entering up into the upper level of the restaurant, I was amazed and as such enchanted by the environment. Settings boast a change in the atmosphere completely with Lebanese decor setting the mood. Ambiance was romantic with attractive drapes and plushy cushion seating. Not mentioning that the placing of mirrors reflecting the lights had also enhanced the surroundings.

Environment on Level 2

For Muslim Pals who may enquire about the food. Do note that the food they served is certified Halal and their chefs are Muslim Arabs. However, they do serve alcohol too.

Coster

Welcoming our dinner with Beirut Mezza Platter to pair along with their home made pita breads & Falafel. Served in a plate where by each quarter carries its kind of unique tastes, I was pretty amazed by the eye pleasing platter.

Beirut Mezza Platter - $22

Texture of the Chickpea puree with sesame paste was rather creamy and smooth with extra virgin olive oil added. It was slightly lemony but this spread goes well on the plain Pita bread.

Hummus

Pack of cheese fragrance, initially I thought these little deep fried rolls tasted close to our localized spring rolls stuffed with vegetables. These Lebanese Pastry were crispy and appetizing, stuffed with feta cheese, a hit for cheese lovers. :)

Cheese Borek

Enjoy another well prepared spread, Baba Ghanoush to go with the Pita Bread. Baba Ghanoush is made up of Char-grilled eggplant with mixed capsicum topped with olive oil.

Baba Ghanoush

Last but not least, aubergine puree topped with extra olive oil.

Moutabal

Pita bread was warm and awesome. Made from wheat flour, they were simply soft and fresh from oven. Place some of the above mentioned spread on them and enjoy the simplicity of Middle Eastern Cuisine.

Home Made Pita Bread

Love these Falafel best among the food items in Beirut Mezza Platter. Usually served together with Pita Bread too,wrapped. Falafel is made up of fava beans, deep-fried into croquettes and served with tahina sauce. It's a must try as they were not too oily, crunchy and soft in the inside.

Falafel

Mixed Grilled Kebab Platter that serves at least 2 pax portion is a good choice to start with if you are unsure of what to order. It consists of Shish Taouk which refers to chicken cubes in orange. The chicken had a unique flavour whereby overnight marination had permeated the flesh with Lebanese herbs & spice.

Lamb Kebab Kofta, the char-grilled minced lamb was done up with Arabic herbs & spices with a special taste too.

Tikka Kebab was the Char-grilled beef cubes marinated by their Chef special spices.

Mixed Grilled Kebab Platter - $36

Perhaps the scene stealer would be Beirut Lamb Chops. It is the Chef's special dish, very well done up, with meat being fork-tender & juicy, giving me a total different perspective of a lamb meat.

Lamb Chops

Lamb chops were slightly in red, marinated in Arabic herbs and spices too.

Lamb Chops

Lamb Chops

Rice

One of the highlights while dining will be the Belly Dancing Session organised by Beirut Grill.

Belly Dancing

Be enlightened during your meals every Friday from 8-10pm with Belly Dancing.

Belly Dancing

And be mermerized by performance.

Belly Dancing

Here's some part of the belly dancing for the night.

Marinated Fish cubes were rather decent in Arabic herbs and spices. The fish tasted abit salty in my opinion.

Samak Meshwi - $18

Fish Cubes

Rating this dish as the best of the night, the egg plants based dish were simply inviting and I couldn't resist myself for another helpings. Similar to the creation of Lasagne but in the style of Middle Eastern Cuisine and served in hot plate. Heartily and deliciously done up with char-grilled eggplants cooked with chickpeas & onions, the tangy flavours from the tomato sauce had permeated the mushy soft egg plant. Definitely Memorable! Remember not leave the dish alone without having the vermicelli rice that was served together.

Mousakaa - $16

Rice was fluffy with hints of herbs and topped with fried onions. Under the orange lightings, one of my friends had actually pointed out there was "Bee Hoon" (Vermicelli) in the rice which I found was an interesting combination.

Vermicelli Rice

 The dinner has a sweet ending as we were served with Baklava. With characteristics of the cuisine former ottoman empire, it is not surprising that these pastry are rich and sweet. The charm about the pastry was that it was made from a layers of filo filled with crashed nuts lavished with honey & rose water. Presentation was up one level with beautiful swirls of whipped cream that stood out in the middle of the plate topped with a red cherry.

Baklava - $12

Ambiance was great especially on the second level in Beirut. Besides that, it's hard to find some exotic tastes like this in Singapore as well as being Middle Eastern Authentic. Beirut gave me a better experience and knowledge of the cuisine itself. Furthermore, service was hospitable with friendly servers around that top up our water so frequently.


To dine making money worth, you can simply download the Singapore Entertainer Application on your mobile devices and enjoy a "buy one main course and get another free". Let your Authentic Middle Eastern Fare begin at Beirut Grill now.

Entertainer App

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2) The in built Uber function allow them to drive you to the Entertainer merchant you wish to visit, with rates stated on the screen. (Shown above)

The Entertainer Singapore offers more than 800 Buy One Get One Free offers for Singapore’s hottest restaurants, bars, informal dining, spas, activities, attractions and more. This year’s product includes the Entertainer Travel 2015, which features over 250 free night offers at leading 4 and 5* hotels across Asia and beyond. 

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App can be purchased at S$60 and available on multiple platforms like Andriod, IOS, Windows, Samsung Apps or even BlackBerry World. If you like to have deals in hard copy form, The Entertainer Singapore book, which contains the same coupons in paper format, is priced at S$75 and is also available for purchase at their website or selected bookstores. The promo code "2015ALVIN" will entitle one to a 10% discount upon checkout on the website.  

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Beirut
Location: 72 Bussorah St Singapore 199485