Yes, we’re back, with another Alphabet Adventure! It was hard enough for us to meet up when we were all just working, but adding kids into the equation for two of us means there is an additional layer of complexity when trying to find a suitable time to meet up. But we finally managed to get a date in the diary, and are already planning our next adventure for ‘M’.
So, for L we decided on Lebanese food, and picked Yalla Yalla near Oxford Circus tube station. They class the cuisine as Lebanese street food, and offer a relatively simple menu of both dishes you would expect to see (hummus, kebabs) and some more unusual options, so we had lots of lovely things to choose from.
As Charlotte was running late, Jo and I picked a few starters to share and keep us going, but luckily for Charlotte she arrived just as they did, so we couldn’t be little piggies on our own. We picked baba ghanoush (smoked aubergine dip) with flat bread, kibbe lahme (lamb confit mixed with spices and pine nuts and deep fried), samboussek jibne and chicken (parcels filled with feta and halloumi, and chicken).
My absolute favourite were the cheesy parcels – I could have eaten piles of these crispy, salty, chewy parcels of goodness – the mint freshened them up and they were not at all greasy despite being essentially fried cheese.
For mains, I chose the mixed grill, Jo picked the lamb sharwarma, and Charlotte picked the prawns. My mixed grill included a chicken skewer, a lamb skewer, and a minced lamb kofte, served with rice, flatbread and salad.
Jo had an enormous portion of sliced lamb with the same sides:
Charlotte had a pretty measly portion of unshelled tiger prawns:
I thought my dish was overall the tastiest, but value for money wise you couldn’t beat Jo’s. However, we all said that our preference would be to share lots of starters as a mezze instead of having a main course each, so that’s what I’d recommend to anyone else who goes there.
We finished off our meal by sharing a selection of baklava with mint teas and coffee.
Charlotte’s traditional coffee was pretty strong!
By the way, I ordered a glass of Lebanese white wine to have with my meal. Lebanese wine is to my knowledge not particularly well known, and … let’s just say I can see why!
Sounds like you had a great time. I find it difficult enough to find time for meals with friends without a baby so can’t imagine how difficult it is when you have to book baby sitters too. The food looked fab though. I am a huge Lebanese fan and often go for the mixed grill the first time I try a new place out. Shame about the wine though…you’re right Lebanese wine isn’t famous but I had a delicious red at our local Lebanese not so long ago. Speaking of which have you ever been to Warda in Southgate?
Thanks for the tip about Warda – I haven’t been but will have to give it a go. I did have a good time thanks – always nice to catch up with friends. Merry Christmas!