For a food enthusiast like me, you know what is pure bliss? Going to new places to eat, trying out different cuisines and getting amazed by the startling flavors that a place has to offer. Same was the case when I first went to Souk by Cafe Arabia. Completely dazzled by the aroma of the food and enthusiastically intrigued to try it. I knew my sojourn here would leave me amazed. And that’s what happened when the dishes started coming in. One by one as they would serve us the dishes, I would get enchanted by its traditional Arabian flavors.
Here’s what we had
Drinks
Mojito & Lebanese sunset – Both the drinks were good but the Lebanese sunset took me by surprise. Mango crush with a hint of ginger is what goes in this drink. With every sip, you get a taste of ginger and chia seeds add its nutritional value to the drink. Lebanese sunset is definitely a must-have drink from this place.
Food
Hummus platter with falafel bullets – This platter comes with 4 different types of hummus – beetroot, basil pesto, jalapeno harissa & original hummus and is served with pita and zaatar bread. Incredibly delicious and mind-blowingly addictive, this hummus platter has definitely topped our chart when it comes to traditional flavours and variety of hummus.
Greek salad with grilled chicken – This is the best Greek salad I have had in a long time. Loaded with protein and high in flavour, makes it a delectable diet-friendly salad. With fresh ingredients & perfectly made grilled chicken, this is definitely the best!
Harissa chicken skewers – Spiced chicken strips served with a garlic mayo dip is the next best thing you’ll have from here. If you’re a fan of spicy food, then this is just for you. The harissa makes it a bit spicy but if you squeeze lemon on it, it balances the flavour. The chicken is grilled to perfection with a proper coating of spices.
Turkish pide (fiery chicken and spiced minced lamb) – I have never had a pide that tasted this good before. An incredibly toothsome delicacy from this place, this Turkish pide is a must have. We had half fiery chicken which was a bit spicy as it harissa sauce to the base and the other half was perfectly minced lamb which was evenly spread and topped with half fried egg. The half fried egg enhanced the flavour and made it more delectable.
Sumac chicken tikka & chicken black pepper – Perfect marination is the key in this dish. And such was the case here, the marination added magic to the kebabs making it very soft and juicy. Sumac chicken tikka was slightly on the spicy side whereas chicken black pepper had a cream cheese marination. The two had a very distinctive taste and made our taste buds dance to its tunes.
Desserts
Rose panacotta – Soft, melt in the mouth rose panacotta should be the first thing you should have when it comes to desserts here. Not so sweet, with every bite making you have more. This rose panacotta is topped with pistachio crumble which adds to the flavour.
Skillet baked chocolate chip cookie with ice cream – Crisp on the edges and gooey in the middle, you just can’t leave this place without having this signature dessert. The vanilla ice cream on the top balanced the flavour without making it too sweet.
Our overall experience was simply incredible as the taste is glued to our mouth and will stay for long. Kudos to the entire team for having us and hosting us so beautifully.
Though I am not a poetic person and definitely not the one who can write one but this experience was soo good that here’s my poetic experience on the same:-
This is the place we enter in
filled with the aroma of the Lebanese cuisine
huge tables with comfortable seating
with the nice breeze flowing.
One by one the dishes coming
with mojito & Lebanese sunset, our mood is in the making
where falafel, hummus, and pita do the talking
and three of us thoroughly enjoying.
Our table is now filled with Greek salad, Harissa chicken skewers, chicken tikkas & Turkish pide,
my eyes go big and wide.
With peanut butter shake, rose pannacotta & skillet-baked chocolate chip cookie making our sweet ending
there’s only one thing that all of us unanimously saying,
the food over here is highly satisfying!