Nefertiti Restaurant & Cafe

No we're not here to give you a history lesson about Ancient Egypt (although it's pretty interesting) but we are here to fill you in (and fill you up) about the great food that can be found at Nefertiti Restaurant. And in case you were wondering, Nefertiti was an Egyptian Queen :)

So this restaurant is in the heart of one of our favourite makan areas - Arab Street.
In fact, it's been there for quite awhile and has been serving up some pretty awesome food!

They specialize in Egyptian and Mediterranean food so let's run through what we had.

Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter ($19.50)

The problem with us is that we love to eat and that means as many types of food as we can. So we normally end up trying any sort of platter there might be and if anything is extra special, we'd probably order up and extra serving of it LOL

The Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter is a great place to start here. Gives us a good chance to sample some of the flavours offered up at Nefertiti and gets our tastebuds in tune for the main course to come. So let's run down what we have in this platter shall we? Let's go clockwise!

Vine Leaves

These are actual Vine Leaves and they are stuffed with some rice which has been seasoned.
Most people will tell you that the leaves are a little bitter but it's not that bad. In fact, if you take a bite, you'll get more of a tart and sourish taste which is excellent to get your tastebuds going!

Mirza Gasemi

Mirza Gasemi is actually eggplant with some tomatoes, garlic and some other spices to make up this delicious concoction. When we have eggplant it's normally Baba Ganoush so this was a welcome surprise!

Hummus

Here's something pretty standard and in fact one of our faves ever. We could go through a whole tub of Hummus no jokes I tell you.

Chickpea puree with Tahini (Sesame Seed Puree), Garlic, Lemon juice and Olive Oil is a sure winner in our books! If you want a bigger serving, try the Hummus Bil Laham ($12.00) which also comes with lamb!!

Hummus Bngar

This is actually Hummus (Chickpea and Sesame Seed puree) with some beetroot added in.
That's what gives it a bright pinkish/purplish hue. This also gives it a little bit more of a sharp edge but still delicious nonetheless. Scoop it all up with the pita bread that comes along!

By the way, in that picture (and a few others too!) is another item on the platter- Falafel!
Those little cutlets are made up of chickpea, onions, garlic and some other goodies before being deep fried!

Moutabel

This is also an eggplant based dish. Kinda like the Mirza Gasemi but without so many spices we guess. This one has Tahini and lemon juice added in instead for a milder flavour.

Labneh

Fattoush

Labneh is actually strained yoghurt with a hint of mint and garlic. I didn't really get the mint nor the garlic but yoghurt is always welcome on my plate. Yoghurt and Arab/Middle Eastern food always goes together am I right?

The Fattoush is salad more than anything else. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber with some tasty dressing plus some toasty pita bits makes for a great salad!

Are you with us so far? That was just the appetizer platter mind you. Let's start with the mains!

Mix Grill Platter ($33.00)

If you're a meat eater like us, then this is the one for you!
We're talking about a whole lot of meat to chomp down on and definitely fill you up!!

You get a nice serving of this super fragrant rice which goes so well with the meat platter. Top it off with some light onion and lettuce salad and it's a winner!

And a special mention for the condiments! That's no ordinary sambal and mayonaise!
Try it and you will see why we say it's really special!

So besides the rice, you are definitely gonna enjoy the meat on offer too.
You've got Kofat Lamb, Kofta Chicken, Shish Taouk (Chicken) and Shish Kebab (Beef) and boy oh boy were the all good!

The Koftas were superb I tell you. Even if I were not a meat-lover, I'd still tell you to try this because it's that good! Tasty and seasoned really well. And the meat was still so moist and not at all dry like some place where I've had Kofta before.

There's also a piece of lamb chop for you to dig into. Cooked to perfection. Just cut into it when you order and you'll see what we mean. If you love Lamb Chops then you should get the Lamb Chops dish (coming up in awhile)

But to me personally the winner on this platter were the kebabs and specifically the Shish Kebab which is the beef kebab. The first bite I took of the Shish Kebab and I literally went "Wow". We all know how tough and dry beef can get if it's not cooked properly and it's so easy to overcook especially when you grill it.

Executive Chef Amr Elgohary comes all the way from Egypt with over a decade of experience so it's little wonder that the food is so good!

Lamb Chops ($22.00)

As we have mentioned, the Lamb Chops are superb!
If one small chop on the platter is not enough then you should go for the full monty and satisfy your meat cravings. Plenty of lamb here!

You can also choose from BBQ, Black Pepper or Brown Sauce but as you can see from the picture, we went without any of that and the Lamb Chops were still excellent. Truly the mark of a good dish!
I guess this is a combination of a good chef plus quality ingredients!

But one thing that surprised us is that the menu had more than just your typical Egyptian / Middle Eastern fare. You can find other cuisines with dishes like Fish and Chips, Fajitas and even Pizzas and Pastas on the menu!

Executive Chef Amr Elgohary explained that they wanted to give diners the option to have some alternatives just in case but they still make the dishes really well! But if you wanna stick to the theme, then you also have other dishes like Wraps, Kebabs, Mandi Rice, Assorted Grilled Meats and even desserts like Baklava.

Turkish Coffee ($5.50)

Or you could just wash down your meal with a Turkish Coffee.
This is Espresso-style by the way so expect it to be really strong!!

Adam's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 4/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 3.5/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 3.5/5 -- Lamb Chops 3.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 4/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 4/5

In the end, I know you might say that there are plenty of makan places in the Arab Street area that serve the same type of food and yeah that's true but I think it's the small details that make the difference.

If you have not yet tried Nefertiti Restaurant, then have a go and you'll see what we mean.

Nefertiti Restaurant & Cafe

No 47 Arab Street

www.nefertiti.com.sg
www.facebook.com/nefertiti.restaurant
Tel: 6294 1135

Operating Hours:
12.00pm til 11.30pm Monday til Thursday
12.00pm til 2.00am Fridays and Saturdays
12.00pm til 11.30pm  Sundays

Cafe Le Caire

First of all, let me apologize for the quality of the photographs.
We used an actual camera but the dining area was very very very dimly lit so the shots turned out a little dark/blur in the end.

If someone were to say Cafe Le Caire, probably a handful of people would say they knew the place. But if I was to say Al-Majlis, I'm guessing more people would recognize the name. To be honest, I'm one of those people who didn't really take note of the actual name of the restaurant when I last visited.

Cafe Le Caire has been around since 2001 and is one of the more popular hangout joints in the Arab Street area. It labels itself as a cafe but it's more like a full-fledged restaurant. Lots of people visit to get a hearty meal and hangout with friends while smoking some shisha.

I've visited a few times in the past and figured it was finally time to feature it because it's definitely still one of the most popular hangout spots.

Hummus Bil Laham ($6.80)

Here at The Halal Food Blog, we love our Hummus to come with some meat. One of the best Hummus we've ever had was the Hummus with Minced Beef from Anar. In fact, we loved it so much that it's our profile pic on our FB page!

Here at Cafe Le Caire, you can have your Hummus with some pieces of grilled lamb.
The Hummus was creamy and quite tasty but unfortunately it was a little dry. Would have been nice to have more olive oil served with it I guess.

I think one of the biggest letdowns was that the roasted lamb was actually cold. It would have been nice if they had at least heated it up a little bit... But that being said, I have to say that the lamb was very very tender. I quite enjoyed it but would definitely have enjoyed it even more if it had been warmed up.

Mushroom Platter ($12.00)

Oh you all know I love mushrooms. And since I'm so greedy I went and ordered a 2nd appetizer! :P

The Mushroom Platter is a nice mixture of spiced and marinated Portabello, Abalone and Button mushrooms. This was at least served a little warm. Nice earthy and woody mushroom flavour. Very very tasty dish and a definite choice for mushroom lovers.

Just make sure you have someone to share with because the serving is bigger than it looks!

Kabsa Laham ($15.00)

The Kabsa Laham is available only on Fridays so we decided to grab our chance.
Hmmmm... maybe we should have thought twice.

Again, we were served a dish that was not heated up. The rice was cold and the lamb was warm at best.
I'm not sure if the server had taken too long to bring the dish to us? We didn't really have to wait that long leh...

Anyways the rice wasn't really that tasty. The lamb was tender but definitely strong on the spices (especially cardamom). If you like a strong spice flavour, this is definitely a dish you might want to consider. And the serving is very generous so you can share between at least 2-3 people and grab some other side dishes as well.

But overall, I think we were really expecting this dish to be the bomb since it's a specialty that's only served on one day of the week. Quite disappointing to be honest.

Cleopatra ($6.00) and Karkadeh Fizz ($5.00)

The Cleopatra is basically a fancy name for a mixture of Pink Guava, Mango and Orange juices.
Nice and strong citrus flavour for those who enjoy.

Karkadeh is actually Hibicus Tea. I remember having it the last time and quite enjoyed it so I thought I'd try the fizzy version this time. Unfortunately the fizzy water really took away from the flavour. I'd recommend to take the non-fizzy version if you wanna try.

Adam's Verdict:
Hummus Bil Laham 3/5 -- Mushroom Platter 4/5 -- Kabsa Laham 1.5/5 -- Karkadeh Fizz 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Hummus Bil Laham 2.5/5 -- Kabsa Laham 2/5 -- Cleopatra 2.5/5

Some of the dishes are quite value for money but I guess you can see that some dishes could be considered a little pricey. But remember, this is quite an upscale place in an upscale area so prices might be on the high side for some things.

Well, whether you like the food or not, Cafe Le Caire aka Al-Majlis is still a firm favourite.
There are so many things to try so we will probably visit a few more times. Hopefully the food will be heated up the next time we visit :)

Cafe Le Caire @ Al-Majlis

39 Arab Street

Tel: 6292 0979 / 6297 0573
www.cafelecaire.com

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 3.30am Sundays til Thursdays
10.00am til 5.30am Fridays, Saturdays and Eve of PH

EpiKebabs

Does anyone remember the kebab shop that was situated at Peace Centre along Selegie Road?
It was called Sultan Kebab and it was really popular because it had some delicious kebabs.

Well, for those of you who go to Peace Centre now looking for it (like I did), you'll find out that it's already closed and before you start Google-ing to find out where they moved to, let me save you the trouble.
The owners of Sultan Kebab actually closed shop because they returned home to their native land from what I heard.

But fret not!

Just a little further up, you'll find Wilkie Edge which houses the new incarnation of Sultan Kebab.
They call themselves - EpiKebabs. And before you start thinking that this is just a joint that's trying to capitalize on the popularity of Sultan Kebab in the area, think again.

Photo from EpiKebabs

For those of you who have ever been to Sultan Kebab, you're definitely going to recognize that dude there.
That's Safak - one of the 2 regular faces you would have seen at Sultan Kebab.

The owners of EpiKebabs are good friends with them and obviously there has been some knowledge passed down so rest assured that this is not someone trying to copy the original. Think of it more like... Kebab v2.0!

Kebab Roll ($5.50)

Just like the original Sultan Kebab, they have choices for you.
Roll, rice, sandwich or salad. And of course, either beef or chicken.
If you're really a carnivore (like us!) you can opt for the mix of beef and chicken!

So the roll is as expected. Some veggies, sauce and the MEAT!
EpiKebabs takes a new turn by throwing the roll under a Panini toaster to give the wrap a little go.

The wrap overall does bring back memories of Sultan Kebab.
The first thing I notice is that the size of the roll is a little bigger. The meat DOES bear a resemblance in taste to the original as well but I actually would have like a little more sauce.

My darling wife who normally doesn't go for kebabs actually enjoyed this one. He favourite of the day.

Kebab Sandwich ($6.00)

The Kebab Sandwich also come with your choice of meat (beef/chicken/mixed) with veggies and sauce.
It's basically a kebab with Panini bread instead of a wrap.

I'm not too sold on the Panini though. But still good for those who like something a little more filling than a roll... And speaking of filling...

Kebab with Rice ($6.50)

This is something I used to have at Sultan Kebab.
They serve some meat with veggies and rice. It used to be white rice at Sultan Kebab but they've updated it to a more fragrant and tasty rice here at EpiKebabs.

The reason I always used to order this is because I can really enjoy the flavour of the meat.
I used to get them to squirt some mayonaise over my meat at Sultan but I opted to keep it 'clean' this one time because I really wanted to taste the flavours at EpiKebabs.

I've always preferred the beef at the original shop even though it was always a bit on the dry side.
It had a good flavour and that's still the case at EpiKebabs.

The chicken is still juicy and tender and has a nice flavour to it. If you're like me, then you'll consider yourelf lucky if you get the slices where some of the outer layers have just charred up a little on the roaster.
Nice big juicy bite of flavour right there!

They also have salads by the way!

Adam's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 4/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 3/5 -- Kebab with Rice 3.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 4/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 2/5 -- Kebab with Rice 2.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Kebab Roll 3.5/5 -- Kebab Sandwich 2/5 -- Kebab with Rice 2/5

My brother really misses Sultan Kebab.
He says that everything seemed a little better at the original (like most cases).
But for those of us who still want a good kebab, at least we know we can still go to Selegie and grab one.
Or three.

And here's a tip, they always make less beef than chicken every day so if you're a beef person, make sure you go early to get your fill of cow meat. (Anyways, the chicken is pretty good too).

EpiKebabs

Wilkie Edge, 8 Wilkie Road #01-17
Tel: 8575 6393
https://www.facebook.com/EPIKebabs

Operating Hours: 11.00 am til 8.00pm Monday-Saturday
Closed on Sunday

Anar

I'd recently taken a liking to Middle-Eastern food so for our 6-month anniversary, my dear wife decided to surprise me by taking me to a new restaurant.
So we dressed up and after a scenic drive to RWS, we arrived at Anar.

Now I must say that the location is actually very appealing.
It's not too far of a walk from the parking and the restaurant itself is located right along the waterfront.

The menu was very extensive and packed with some common Middle-Eastern dishes I'm sure you've come across before (ie Baba Ganoush, Shish Kebab etc) but there were some interesting choices to be made.

Pickled and Fresh Vegetables Appetizer (Complimentary)

The pickled vegetables really works up your appetite with the sweet/sour taste and the fresh vegetables cool you down and cleanse your palette before you start eating proper.

We were torn between having the Baba Ganoush (mashed eggplant) and the Hummus.
In the end we settled on the Hummus (Sorry Baba G... next time okay?)

 Hummus with Minced Beef ($14)

The Hummus (Chick Pea and Sesame Puree) was really excellent!

The minced beef had pine nuts was nicely spiced. It really complimented the Hummus well especially when you mop it up with the bread served along with it (right).

I'm not sure how nice the Baba Ganoush is but I think we made the right choice on this one.


So we actually went to Anar based on the recommendation of my wife's colleague.
He claims that they serve this really mean lobster dish but it's always unavailable due the seasonal availability of the lobster.

And just my luck - they had it available!
So I ordered the seafood and my wife opted for some meat so that we could share.
And boy oh boy what a share it was.

It's normally served separately but since we requested for a romantic setting, they served our dishes together on a special serving dish that had hot coal embers placed in the bottom section of the serving tray to keep our food grilled and hot. It also came with assorted mixed grilled vegetables.

Persian Spiced Grilled Lobster ($50)

Does that look delicious or what?!
I actually thought that for the price stated on the menu, it was going to some slipper lobster or something but it was actually a pretty decent medium-sized lobster.

And boy was it fresh.
The spices were not too strong so the freshness of the lobster was still obvious and it was grilled to perfection so the lobster meat was succulent and tender.
I'm actually quite a sucker for lobster and to have some of this quality at this price was actually really a treat.

Kebab Sultani ($45)

The Kebab Sultani was a mixed platter or a lamb kebab and a beef fillet.
And don't ask me how the hell they get the meat to stay so tender even after being grilled.
Tender and juicy!!

And the Kebab Sultani is served with a Persian saffron rice which was fluffy and complimented the meat well.

But one thing I really didn't understand (or care for) was this little garnish on the plate.

Can you see that long thing in the background?
That's actually a breaded piece of dough.
And I know it's just a garnish probably meant more as a decoration that an accompaniment but I think they could have done better.

I bit into it expecting something but it turned out to be like biting into a piece of leather.

It was damn weird lah.

Okay so anyways. Enough about the garnish.


Well we all know I have a sweet-tooth. So I HAD to order dessert.
And since we were in the Middle-Eastern mood, why not a classic Middle-Eastern sweet?

Baklawa ($14)

Lawa habis.

To be honest, this was actually having Baklawa.
I'd seen it being made and served on TV so many times that I think I had such high expectations.
I imagined biting into the many layers of filo pastry with sugar and honey dripping out while savouring the pistachio filling.

Well so much for that food fantasy.
The first piece you see there is actually a chocolate-covered piece of Baklawa and the other 3 pieces are just normal ones. And I'm not sure if's my imagination but - I think the pistachios tasted rather stale and dull.

Like I said, this was my first Baklawa so this may actually be how it's supposed to be.
And if that is the case, then I'm not gonna be having Baklawa very often.

Maybe I should have opted for the Riz Bel Haleeb (Rice and Honey Milk Pudding) instead.

Okay a bit of a disclaimer here;
A check with the restaurant proved that the kitchen was certified Halal for operations.
But to cater to the masses, they have a wine menu for those people who enjoy a drink with their meal.
We were assured the wine bar and the food kitchen were completely separate but this did not move away from the fact that the kitchen may have been certified but the external restaurant was not.
So just wanted to put that out there for everyone to note.

So how did Anar fare?

Hummus with Minced Beef - 4/5 (Adam) -- 4/5 (Maryah)
Persian Spiced Lobster - 4.5/5 (Adam) -- 4.5/5 (Maryah)
Kebab Sultani - 4/5 (Adam) -- 4.5/5 (Maryah)
Baklawa - 1/5 (Adam)

Overall - 4/5 (Adam) -- 4/5 (Maryah)

I reckon that we will probably be heading back again someday.
I saw some things on the menu that look interesting. All kinds of assorted grilled meats and platters and stews and seafood and desserts and.... okay I'll stop.
And maybe the lobster? Again? Again!

Oh by the way. They also have this belly dancer who performs every 20 minutes.
But it seems she only shakes her stuff inside the restaurant. The diners outside will have to be satisfied with looking at her from afar through the glass.

Anar

26 Sentosa Gateway
#01-291 Resorts World Sentosa
Tel: +65 6884 6989
anarsingapore.com

Operating Hours:
Lunch - 1200 - 1500
Dinner - 1800-2200


***Updated 10 February 2013*** 
Anar is no longer operating at the RWS address listed above.
They have stated that they will be opening again soon at a new venue to be announced soon.
Watch this space!