Friday, 30 September 2016

Leaving A Hero

First published in Options, The Edge Malaysia, Sept 5, 2016

“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
Business Hours: 11am – 11.30pm daily.


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