Lebanese on my plate this time! Hummus is bae. I can list out so many great ways to eat hummus.. with grilled bread, khakra, vegetables, khakra, chips, you name it.
Cafe Arabia is an old favourite of mine and I’ve enjoyed many a Falafel Platters here in the last decade. From that 1 branch in Kalyaninagar, Cafe Arabia today has several branches all over the city. So me and a friend headed to Cafe Arabia for a Saturday lunch.We visited the one located in the food court of Phoenix Market City. I tried their all new vegetarian menu, and boy, it was delicious!
Ambience – Being located in a food-court, there isn’t much of ambience to speak about. Very convenient to drop in for a quick bite post a shopping spree.
Service – They have a quick and efficient self-serve counter.
The most striking revelation of eating here this time was that I can actually have an entire meal here, and not just a snack. They have good platters on their menu which are a complete and filling meal by themselves. Not only that, Middle Eastern food comprises of a lot of salad and protein, thus ensuring that you eat healthy. So let’s quickly go over my lunch menu at Cafe Arabia.
FATTOUSH – Pita chips, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, mint, parsley and mix peppers tossed with sumac and herbed vinaigrette dressing.
Absolutely fresh, crunchy and delicious. Perfect summer pick 
🌞Recommended.
DECONSTRUCTED FALAFEL SALAD – Crisp falafels, lettuce, tomatoes, beet, cucumber, mix peppers topped with sesame seeds and lemon tahini dressing.
Well seasoned, tasty salad. Can easily be had as a healthy and filling lunch.
COLD MEZZE – Hummus topped with Seared Mushrooms served with grilled zaatar bread.
The Zaatar bread was 
❤️❤️. The hummus was nice too. The mushrooms though somehow lacked in seasoning.
MUSHROOMS in Zaatar oil & garlic, grilled and served with toum – The most perfectly done mushrooms I’ve had in recent times. And that Toum was so flavourful. Highly recommended.
PANEER SHAWARMA ON HERBED RICE – This is the Middle East alternative to our desi biryani. Buttered rice topped with garlic tossed paneer shwarma. Served with a side of salad and hummus. The rice and paneer were so well made I couldn’t stop eating this in spite of being so full. Highly recommended.
BAKLAVA – Baklava is to the Middle East what Gulab jamun is to India. It is now made and relished all over the world. A rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo topped with glazed chopped nuts & sweetened with syrup.
All the elements of this dessert were done well but the pistachio flavor was totally overpowered by the cinnamon. And I usually stay miles away from cinnamon. So I didn’t enjoy this too much. Otherwise I’m a Baklava fan.
BASBUSA – Traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake made from cooked semolina and coconut soaked in honey.
This was made with it’s authentic recipe, which in reality was excessively sweet for my taste buds. I would give this one a miss.
MY VERDICT – Excellent food. Lots of great options for us vegetarians. Value for money. And the best bit, almost all of the food falls under the healthy category without compromising on the taste one bit.
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THE VEGETARIAN FOODIE 