June 23, 2012

Al-Aseel, Lakemba

I have heard a lot about Al-Alseel from friends and I think it was even referenced in SMH once. A Lebanese friend of mine loves it so it also had that additional vote of authenticity. She assured me that the ‘local’ branches of the restaurant in Greenacre and Lakemba were a lot better than the one in Surry Hills. Needless to say, we ended up at the Lakemba restaurant on a rainy night to undertake a feasting.

For dine-in customers, you receive the customary lebanese bread, pickles etc. I love using the bread to later dip into sauces.
As per usual, we completely over-ordered with our hungry eyes canvassing the menu at the start of the meal.

Baba ghanouj

It was a generous serving size of baba ganouj and the two of us barely made a dent into it by the end of the meal.

Fattoush salad – fried bread, parsley, lettuce, tomato

It was my first time trying fattoush and it was more acidic than I expected. Very fresh and a good complement to the fried dishes.

Mixed plate – chicken, kofta and lamb

The mixed plate was huge! For two girls – there were four kofta skewers, four chicken skewers and two skewers of lamb speared with onions.

We barely managed to make a dent into this too. My favourite was the kofta skewers because they were moist and flavoursome. The lamb skewers were very game-y.

And last but not least, who can resist ordering chips with garlic sauce at a lebanese restaurant?

The sight of that lightly whipped garlic sauce is always a joy. Great to use as a dip for the chips, the chicken, the lebanese bread….everything really, yum! Just make sure to have mints afterwards 🙂

The total price for all of that was a bargain and we boxed up the leftovers to take home.

What is your favourite Lebanese restaurant in Sydney?