July 3, 2010

Habibs, Bankstown

Since I have tried El Jannah, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I tried its rival, Habibs.

Both specialise in charcoal chicken with a killer garlic sauce. Both with its loyal fans, travelling far and wide to Bankstown or Granville/Punchbowl to get their fix.

Which would reign supreme?

Habibs is located a short walk from the Bankstown shopping centres. It is no frills dining.

Clear plastic table covers, plastic plants

Ordering area

My dining companion had done a last-minute bail on me so I was left to try Habibs on my own. All the patrons were sitting down in groups and I didn’t feel like sitting down by myself (Come on, I might as well have painted a LOSER sign on my forehead) so ordered take-away.

Take-away had slightly cheaper prices to make up for the fact that you didn’t get the dine-in inclusions of lebanese bread, pickles etc.

I ordered a quarter chicken and chips, and a small garlic sauce.

Yup, those are grease stains on the top of the box, a sure sign that you’re eating healthy 🙂

I opened the box to find…..

…a small mountain of skinny french fries.

I stuck my fork into the fries to forage for the chicken and emerged triumphant.

Small garlic sauce

The chicken was cooked well, the skin was charcoal-ed but the meat remained soft and tender. I remember the chicken at El Jannah being tougher and I much preferred this chicken.

Soft, white meat

However, the fries were way too salty. I am the first to admit that I am a lover of chicken salt but they had doused the fries with it. Combine the salt with the skinny-ness of the fries and I just thought that thick cut chips would be so much better with the garlic sauce.