Restoran Culinary Pleasure @ Cyberjaya, Selangor

It has been a long time since I had Arabic food. There was a phase in my life where I used to be crazy of Arabic food and I would patronise at least two restaurants a week. Gone are those days and after a long time, I had the urge to visit one. Luckily, there are so many of them in Cyberjaya. In fact, after Indian restaurants, the second largest cuisine in Cyberjaya would be Arabic. While looking for a place to visit, I did read some reviews and was told that this place does some of the best lamb dishes. Being a huge fan of lamb, I just could not resist. 

The Restaurant in CBD 2, Cyberjaya

Outdoor Seating Area

A Posh Indoor Seating Area

See Through Kitchen Concept

From outside, this restaurant seemed a little run down but once inside, it was the total opposite. The concept was luxurious and there were sub cubicle like small private dining areas and each one of the had a TV set. The staffs were very friendly and being an Indian, they assumed that I was not familiar with Arabic food and took the time to patiently explain each and every dish. 

Drinking Water On The House

The above are just a few pages from their colourful and illustrious menu. They have an extensive range of dishes and all seemed to be reasonably priced. Another thing that impressed me was that they do not charge for drinking water, be it iced water or warm water. When most restaurants charge for these nowadays, it was just a pleasant surprise that these guys don't. Once we were done with the ordering, the chef got to work and we could clearly see and smell the dishes as he was preparing them since he was behind a semi covered glass partition. 

Lamb Zurbian @ RM 22.90

Lamb Zurbian is one of the top sellers here and a rare dish to find in restaurants. The lamb which is inside the rice is slow cooked over amber for 24 hours and as a result, it becomes so soft and has a cotton like texture. The rice is topped with spices and served with the Arabic version of Chicken Kurma which is what you see in the side bowl. I must confess that it was a heavenly dish. The mixture of rice and lamb was so good and the Kurma was an absolute delight. The Kurma didn't taste like the usual Indian style Kurma. It was slightly salty and tasted something like the Campbell's Chicken Soup, perhaps a cross between that and Kurma. In short, a must try dish here and this deserves 10/10 for sure. 

Wraps For The Fajitas

Lamb Fajita @ RM 29.90

Chili Dip

Do It Yourself Wraps

The Lamb Fajitas were served on a hot grill and the wraps were served separately in a cane container. Along with that, there was some chili dip just in case you wanted it to be spicy. The lamb itself was heavenly. I could go on eating this forever. Seriously, it was that good. The lamb tasted very similar to corned mutton and came with the perfect blend of capsicum, onions, garlic, carrots and herbs. Wrap it yourself and you're done. This was the fastest dish to finish. Each one of us were so much into this dish as it was so good. If I were to rate this, I would give it 10/10. 

Chicken Parmesana @ RM 20.90

Their Chicken Parmesana was another good dish. Rich in tomato sauce and a blend of other ingredients. In fact, the grilled chicken was huge too and it was so tasty. You can't see the full size here as it is mostly covered. 8/10 for this!

Bill For The Day

If you're into lamb and Arabic food, then I would suggest you to give this place a try. Their lamb dishes were simply amazing. Heavenly stuff that's cooked with perfect skills. Even their Chicken dish was good but nowhere close to their lamb dishes. Lamb Zurbian and Lamb Fajitas are two must try dishes here!

Address: CBD Perdana 2, Jalan Perdana, 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1100 -  2300 Daily

Saffron Restaurant & Cafe @ Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya

Saffron Restaurant and Cafe in Damansara Perdana is typically a Middle Easters & Iranian restaurant which recently have added a twist to their menu which have made them a very interesting place to dine. This restaurant is located along Jalan PJU 8/5G in Damansara Perdana and it is somewhere closer to the right end of the first block. 

Saffron Restaurant in Damansara Perdana

Some Seating Space Available Outside

Interior of the restaurant

I arrived her on a weekday at around 7 pm and it was quite deserted. Perhaps not many people know that there is a Middle Eastern restaurant here in this part of Damansara Perdana. The thing that attracted me the most was the banner at the entrance which said that they now serve Indian Banana Leaf meals and that too prepared by a chef from South India. Being attracted by the fact that a Middle Eastern restaurant is serving Indian food was the main factor that drew me here today. Once I arrived, I was greeted by the staffs and the lady boss. I must say that they were very friendly and nice and when I took my seat and having observed me to be profusely sweating, they went on to make sure that they switched on all the air conditioning units to ensure my dining comfort.  The interior was also very nicely designed and it was kept very clean. 

The Menu

The Menu

Some Iranian Dishes

Some Western Dishes

Mixed Cuisines

Mixed Cuisines

Middle Eastern Cuisine

As you can from the menu above, they have a whole load of variety to offer and I feel that their prices are generally reasonable, especially for Damansara Perdana. Having decided to try their Banana Leaf set, I stuck to that. The Banana leaf set is sold for RM 12.90 during lunch hours and RM 15.90 for dinner which has a few extras. This set also comes with a drink.

Ice Lemon Tea

The above Ice Lemon Tea is already included in the set. Generally, it was a little diluted and would have been way better if the concentration was kept to a notch higher. I would rate this drink at 6/10 .

The Banana Leaf being layed

White Rice

All the items comes in individual silver cutlery and I was pleased to see how neat they were. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that they use real Banana Leaves instead of the paper ones. The rice portion was really huge and I know for a fact that I could only eat a third of it. The only mistake they did was to place the Banana Leaf the wrong way and I corrected them and told them the significance of placing it right which they acknowledged and thanked me for. I do not blame them as none of them were Indians. 

Vegetable Set

In the above tray, there were five different vegetables, Chicken Curry and Sambar. Their Sambar was really nice and I would rate it at 9/10 . The Chicken Curry was just average and that would score a 5/10. The spices were a little off in this curry which gave it an off tangent taste. Generally the rest of the vegetables were quite good and they deserve an average of 8.5/10 . They have gone the extra mile in providing good vegetables instead of the common ones that we get at a typical Indian restaurant. Though each of those containers seem small, they were quite deep and thus the quantity was not as little as it seemed. 

Bitter-guard Perattal 

There was also another small container containing the above Bitter Guard Perattal. This is one of my favourites and I am usually fussy about this, but pleasantly, it was very well prepared. Everything was just right about this dish and my ratings would be a 10/10. 

Coconut Chutney

Papadam & Moor Milagai

The sides did't stop there. It continued with that small plate of Coconut Chutney was I found to be quite decent and also some Papadam and Preserved Chili's. The Coconut Chutney, I would rate it at 8.5/10 .

A Large Plate of Mutton Varuval

With this set meal, you have a choice of Fish, Chicken or Mutton and I choose Mutton. I would say that their Mutton Varuval was nicely prepared. The spices were perfect, the meat tender and the gravy had seeped well into the meat. I would rate this at a 9/10 . 

On the whole, for the mere price of RM 15.90, I got all that you see above which is a very good deal. The environment was also great and you do not get the rush that you get at those Indian restaurants out there. The service level was also very personal and I did not have to shout out to the waiters to top up some gravy of for anything else. I would definitely come back here again for their banana leaf meals. The only setback that I see is that they are closed on Sundays and that is when I would love to have a hefty lunch which would be just nice to head back and sleep through the afternoon. A strongly recommended place!

Address: No. 22A-1, Jalan PJU 8/5G, Damansara Perdana,

                47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1130 - 2100 Daily (Closed on Sundays)

Telephone: +603 7732 3643

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saffron-Restaurant-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B2%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-/210762402385846

Red Onion @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Located in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar is this restaurant called Red Onion Restaurant that serves good Pakistani and Middle Eastern dishes. They are located towards the end of Jalan Telawi facing the houses and right beside the Dominos Pizza outlet. I first heard of this restaurant from a friend of mine who loves Pakistani and Afghan food and he strongly recommended this place to me. Having heard from a fussy diner like him means that this place must be surely good. 

Red Onion Restaurant in Jalan Telawi

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

As always, we had a great problem finding a parking bay. Jalan Telawi is an area that is buzzing with activity be it day or night. I have had to park at a distance and walk up to this restaurant. This restaurant is fairly new and has been designed beautifully. I specifically liked the extremely warm reception given at this restaurant by everyone there. The design and ambiance is also lovely and the tables are well spaced to give the diners some decent privacy in their conversations. There is also a TV that continuously plays Pakistani channels. 

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Cutlery

The above are just photographs from some of the menu pages. They serve a wide variety of dishes which covers Pakistani, Arabic, Middle Eastern, Western and Afghan Cuisines. Not to forget they also offer a small number of Vegetarian dishes. I think their specialty lies specifically around the Pakistani, Arabic and Afghan Cuisines. This is based on my observation from the number of people in the restaurant ordering these dishes. It did not take us long to decide on the dishes as my friend had already recommended some good dishes here to try.

Chicken & Corn Soup @ RM 10.00

This was the first starters that came and Angie had ordered this dish. It is Chicken & Corn Soup, Pakistani Style. I tried this soup and my verdict is that it was absolutely great. It was lightly flavoured but with great amounts of black pepper and that makes it quite spicy. There is also some eggs in it. I have never tasted anything like this before in all the Pakistani restaurants that I have visited. It's simply fantastic. I would rate this at 10/10 .

Salad @ RM 10.00

Okey, yes I know what you are thinking. There was no photograph of this dish in their menu and I had ordered this Salad as the starters. I don't really know how to call this a salad but it is and it is priced at RM 10.00 . To me, this looks more like fresh ingredients that would be added into another dish while cooking and chili....that's a little too much. Maybe this is the Pakistani style? I do not know and because of that I would not rate this dish at all.

Naan Basket @ RM 10.00

This is by far one of the best Naan that I have ever tried. It was on the thick side and yet it was extremely soft and fluffy. The Naan Basket comes with two huge Naan breads. I would rate this at 9.8/10 .

Lamb Dopiaza @ RM 20.00

This is a Pakistani dish which is made out of Lamb and Onions in Gravy. It is not spicy but is was well spiced and was really good. The only setback which I felt was that the amount of lamb was a notch too little for the price paid but hey, this is Bangsar and everything is expensive here. Nevertheless, the dish was really good and went extremely well with the bread. I think it would be a good dish to have with rice too.  I would rate this at 8.8 / 10 .

Special Chicken @ RM 22.00

The above dish is called Special Chicken which is Chicken that is marinated overnight with Yoghurt and is then cooked with Salt, Pepper and spices along with some gravy. You can choose which part of the chicken that you want for this dish. It was a pretty good dish and not spicy although there was pepper added. The Yoghurt had been absorbed well into the chicken and has made it very soft. I would rate this dish at 8/10 . Between this and the previous lamb dish, it would prefer the previous. 

Angie All Set For Dinner

Pista @ RM 11.00

This was the desert that we had after dinner. It was typically Almond Pudding with nuts. Even between us, we had different opinions on this dish. Angie did not like this dish but I found it to be just okay. Well, it was not sweet enough and tasted somewhat like oats. I would rate this at 5.5 / 10 . 

Masala Tea @ RM 6.00

Just as the last touch for dinner, I ordered a cup of Masala Tea. It was not bad and came boiling hot. I know many would love it this way but I for one never like hot drinks to be too hot and so for me I had to wait for a while till it cooled down. But I know that most people would love their hot drinks really hot and this would be just perfect for them. I would rate this tea at 7/10 .

Their Other Outlets

I was surprised to learn that they have other outlets too in the Klang Valley and therefore the response from the public must be surely good. I find that their prices are slightly high for the portion size but the food is reasonably good. Another thing that I like about this place is that the owners and waiters keep coming to us asking about how the food was and if we had any complaints or recommendation. This is good customer service.  Definitely worth a try at least once.

Address: No. 4, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 1200 - 0000 Daily

Telephone: +603 2201 6674

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedOnionBangsar