“When a guest comes,
he’s a prince, when he sits, he’s a prisoner, when he leaves, he’s a hero” –
Bedouin proverb, seen on a wall painting at The Bedouin
There is a wide range of restaurants in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, from Japanese to French, but no Middle Eastern, until The Bedouin set up shop in a double corner lot earlier in 2016. It’s nice and quiet at night, with ample parking. Within, the décor is neutral and contemporary, with coppery lights casting an even glow, and patterned tiles adding an exotic touch, but nothing such as hookah pipes or carpet wall hangings that shouts Middle Eastern. Paintings of desert scenes lend some bright colour.
Most of the wait staff are from Yemen, with the kitchen
helmed by a Syrian/Yemeni crew. The menu reflects this, with an emphasis on
Yemeni dishes, but also generic Middle Eastern, such as hummus, babaghanoush
and a variety of grills. I have fond memories of Yemeni cuisine from a trip
there many years ago and was keen to reacquaint myself with the food.
We started with a mixture of appetisers in the Bedouin Mixed
Appetizer (Rm28), comprising Hummus (chickpea paste), Tabbouleh, Babaghanoush
(eggplant paste), Muttabal (eggplant, tahini), stuffed grape leaves, and cut
black olives. We had some Mulawwah
flatbread (Rm5, 7, 10 for Small, Medium, Large).
The appetizers were authentic, the Tabbouleh refreshingly
reassuring, with the overtones of lemon, and the bread, when hot, was superbly
crispy and fragrant, although it quickly hardens and becomes stiff after it’s
cooled.
Our Lamb Mandy (Rm28) arrived, being a native dish from the
Hadhramaut region of Yemen. In original form, it involves baking in an
underground oven with a heavy dose of spices. Ours had two chunks of browned
meat, with saffron-tinted long-grained Basmati rice. The rice was very good, being
fragrant and fluffy while the meat, while not falling off the bone, was tender,
coming away easily in satisfying chunks. It wasn’t dry or overdone, fragrant
from the spices, without being overpoweringly so. An accompanying bowl of vegetable stew made
the lot all the more appetizing.
A bubbling hot stew of minced lamb, vegetables and egg
served in a traditional stone pot was the Saltah (Rm20), a traditional Yemeni
favourite. You can’t go far wrong with a
mixture like that, laced with spices and taken with some hot flatbread,
although I thought it was a little light on the spices and could have been
heartier.
The Fasoulia (Rm12), another stew of tomatoes, onion and
chilies with white beans, was similarly robust, served in a stone pot on a
wooden support. It had a keener edge, and was less hefty with the
all-vegetables mix compared to the Saltah.
Rounding out the trio of Lava Stone dishes was a Bedouin
Shakshouka (Rm12), raw eggs cracked into a bubbling hot stew of tomatoes,
chilies and onions, the eggs thickening
The Mixed Grill (Rm43) was a generic kebab, found all over
the Middle East – a combination of skewered lamb, chicken, Shish Tawook
(marinated chicken cubes) and beef, served with some pita bread, crispy potato
chips and dipping yogurt. Also best taken
when hot, for that fresh meaty flavor, enhanced with spices. Although well done, the meat was neither hard
nor dry.
The Fresh Tiger Prawns (Rm60) were a little disappointing
for their size, given the price, although the prawns were fresh and juicy from
the grill, and marinated lightly with spices, served with excellent fried
potato chips.
A meal heavy in meats, stews and breads is filling, and we
finished off with a Baklawa (Rm3 a piece). I would have preferred a flakier
filo pastry, but the filling was nutty and sweet. The Banana Fattah (Rm7) tasted exactly as you
would expect a mixture of bread, banana, honey and cream to taste – sweet and
starchy, traditional but perhaps not the best way to end a carbohydrate heavy
meal.
The food is hearty and heartwarming, the service a little
distracted, although we got our food quickly enough. There is the authenticity
of a Middle Eastern restaurant transplanted from its roots rather than a local
venture emulating a foreign cuisine, and it’s a warm and welcoming place to
spend an evening, sampling the cuisine of a far-off land.
The Bedouin
Sdn Bhd,
6 Jalan Wan
Kadir,
Taman Tun Dr
Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
03-77314712
Email: Bedouin.my@gmail.com
Business
Hours: 11am – 11.30pm daily.
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