Tucked away in a quiet corner of the Holiday Inn Dubai at Al Barsha is the newly opened Lebanese restaurant Al Sarab.
Walking in, I and my dining partner for the evening (one of the fussiest eaters I've known) were greeted with smiles brighter than the dim lights in the restaurant. Once escorted to our table, leaning against the backrest of the comfy couch, we were ready to let loose our palates.
Traditional starters
Being traditional Lebanese fare, we had to start with the favourites: cold mezze items such as hummus, moutabel, tabouleh, a fattoush salad, stuffed vine leaves and muhamara (crushed nut, onion and chilli paste), all of which came with hot pita bread.
While I was drawn to the fatayer, my partner in this crime of gastronomical over-indulgence, ordered traditional Lebanese makanek sausages. Tangy and tempting, she ate every single one on the plate, while also sampling from my mix of spinach, cheese and meat fatayers, and kebbeh, a sumptuous offering of fried Arabic-style dumplings containing a mixture of ground meat, onions and pine nuts. To our delight, they were cooked just right.
As is the case with any Lebanese restaurant in the city, Al Sarab lives up to the overly-generous-portion motto.
Moving on to the main, while my dining partner decided to go the adventurous route with a 1-kg serving of mixed meats grilled to juicy perfection, I opted for the slightly less intimidating (or so I thought) fillet of hamour in a creamy butter-lemon sauce.
AWE at first sight
While exquisite in taste, the serving size was overwhelming. My first thought was I needed to pace myself out if I was to partake in the joys of this Mediterranean-influenced Arabic cuisine.However, a tentative first forkful of fish had me convinced I was up to the task of wiping my plate clean. And with staff encouraging diners to eat to bursting point, it's relatively easy to feel the need to be carried out after indulging in kilos of meat, fish, cheese and vegetables.
After a meal of such proportions, I was slightly envious of my friend's ability to sample the dessert, a creamy custard-like dish (mouhalabieh), which seemed too sweet to stomach. Playing it safe, I munched my way through some of the juiciest melons I've had in a while, their bright colours tempting me far beyond the pale hues of the custard.
Post dinner, one can indulge in some shisha, while listening to modern Arabic tunes.
The only hitch was overly loud live music by the restaurant's resident performer. However, 30 minutes into the blaring tunes, and we suddenly understood. The pianist was setting the stage for the in-house belly dancer, a woman who gracefully swirled and twirled her way around the diners, clearly the highlight of the evening for many.
Open till 3am, with food served until 1am, this is the perfect haunt for those late-night eaters who want to belly-up before bed.
