Tag Archives: Beirut

Yalla Yalla, Winsley Street

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My love and appetite for Lebanese food was fuelled this year during my two trips to the Middle Eastern city, Beirut. Lean, fresh and full of flavour, it is a cuisine that never fails to satisfy and delight me. Near my work in South Kensington, I have scouted two suitable Lebanese outlets… Comptoir Libanais for meze platters and juice (and my favourite Lebanese chewing gum!) and Beirut Express for dangerously addictive Chicken Sharwarma on hungrier (less healthy) days.

Yalla Yalla has been on my ‘to try’ list for a while, and with the opening of the temporary branch on Southbank it was prompted in my memory. The Beirut style restaurant chain has grown already with three branches around the Oxford Street/Soho area in addition to the Southbank summer pop-up. I love the punchy and fun name, and the ambience and food we discovered inside lived up to expectations.

The Winsley Street branch is moments away from Oxford Street tube station and when we arrived early on an August Friday evening the place was packed. The restaurant is large and eccentric with large wooden benches to sit on communally. We were shown to a light airy space by the window, perfect for street observing and slightly quieter, away from the main buzz of the venue. The menu was overwhelming, all my favourites stared up at me expectantly: grilled halloumi, hummous, tabbouleh… to avoid disappointment we ordered it all as well as chargrilled chicken wings, Barara Harra, Chicken Sharwarma and Kafta Minced Lamb Skewers. Luckily I had only eaten one little chocolate bar all day, so was famished and ready to feast.

The food arrives at Yalla Yalla as it is ready, rather than a strict starter/main routine. Our smaller dishes all arrived first… melt in the mouth chicken wings with the most delicious marinade, crispy skin on the outside and tender chicken meat inside. Tabbouleh salad was a super fresh and vibrant mix of ingredients and the halloumi was delicious though could have been grilled a little more. The obvious favourite though was the homemade hummous (chickpea puree) topped with marinated slices of lamb fillet. We hoovered it up, it was the perfect combination of salty meat and soft creamy hummous… I wondered why on earth I had never tried this speciality before?!

The main dishes were huge and mounted high on plates. My initial thought was “wow this smells good” followed closely by “how on earth are we going to finish all that food?” Chicken Sharwarma was as delicious as always but in Yalla Yalla it’s not as greasy or unhealthy feeling as I have previously experienced. Piled onto an open pitta bread with rice and salad the only thing it lacked was a big dollop of garlic sauce. The Minced Lamb was richer in flavour, grilled lightly with sweet onion and fragrant parsley and served with rice and Sumac onion salad. Both utterly yummy, so good we agreed to take the remains away with us in a doggy bag… something I never normally feel like burdening myself with!

Full of delicious savoury food, we declined dessert, though the options were varied and attractive sounding. Instead we had a final sweet kick from our sugary drinks. Yalla Yalla offers an extensive list of tempting cocktails, classics that have been adapted using Middle Eastern ingredients. I would recommend ordering the Beiruti, a lovely refreshing gin-based cocktail with fresh strawberry, lime, cane sugar, pomegranate juice and topped with Prosecco, it is not too overpowering and will complement your meal.

Yalla Yalla is perfect for take-away treats or a casual sit down meal… the restaurant has a joyful atmosphere and the best Lebanese food in town.

Visit the Yalla Yalla website here for more information.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 112: The Unbelievable World of Mishmaoul

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I was instantly attracted to the Mishmaoul collection when we stumbled across the temporary pop-up store in the souk in Beirut. The neon-ness and cool Arabic pop-art designs have an exotic appeal and caught my eye in the narrow dusty alleyway of the Lebanese shopping mall.

Designer Rana Salam intends to provide “a feast for the eyes”. She creatively blends and promotes cultures in her quirky collection illustrating her vision of the Middle East: fun, individual with a sense of narrative and storytelling. Although the range can only be seen in the flesh in the Middle East, Rana is London based and very much promoting her products here.

Mishmaoul has an eclectic mix of cushions, jewellery, prints, wallpaper, home-ware and other accessories, each piece is innovative and inimitable. I would love to have my own little flat decorated entirely with these items, I adore it all and feel the products work particularly well when shown together. The pop-up boutique shop I first visited thrilled me: vibrant colours and an overwhelming mix of beautifully arranged items… thoughtful and aesthetically scrumptious.

Alas, when I returned to Beirut a few months later, the pop-up was gone and my beloved Mishmaoul no longer housed at the souk. I did not have time to visit the studio space, but next time I travel to Lebanon it will be top of my to do list. Instead I have browsed the website for hours and was delighted to discover that Mishmaoul ship all over the world… making my dream of owning a few products suddenly possible.

A couple of emails later and I am the proud owner of a funky iphone cover (I don’t own an iphone but couldn’t resist buying the case!), a few of the neon-tastic pretty notebooks tied in ribbon and two of the new tea towels. The products have a real energy and sense of fun and whatever the medium, Rana’s passion for her home city’s street culture. The pieces aren’t super cheap but are affordable with a tea towel costing $20 and notebooks a mere few dollars each.

You can see Rana’s wonderful work at Comptoir Libanais, my favourite Lebanese Lunch outlet near work that I reviewed only a few months ago. It seems the best of Beirut is arriving in Britain and I couldn’t be happier. Hopefully one day soon I will see the Mishmaoul collection in its natural habitat, but for now I will cherish the few pieces of the range I own.

Visit the website here to discover the magical Mishmaoul world for yourself.

http://mishmaoul.com/

THOROUGHLY MODERN MISS: Amethyste, Phoenicia, Beirut

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Legend has it that the tears of the Greek God Dionysus, the god of drunkenness, stained the white quartz statue of a beautiful girl purple creating the amethyste stone. The décor of the stunning Amethyste lounge and restaurant is not too far removed from the Greek gods and goddesses. The restaurant has majestic fountains and huge pillars surrounding the Phoenicia’s outdoor swimming pool, where swinging beds are draped in majestic purple throws. The setting of the restaurant is serene and overlooks the sea so it is the perfect setting for a midday retreat from the sun or a drink in the evening where you can take in the city of Beirut.

The menu at amethyst caters for all palates but the speciality has to be the mixed grill which we had to share. The meat arrived sizzling on a mini barbeque of hot coals. The lamb kafteh and lightly grilled chicken were cooked to perfection. A speciality in Lebanon is the mixed grill which is traditionally shared between two or more people.

It is the sharing of food that provides a unique dining experience in Beirut. We had a selection of side dishes including the humus (a staple of almost every meal) which was smooth and tangy blended to perfection with a drizzle of olive oil. The tabouleh was very fresh and complemented the grill perfectly. I liked the originality of the menu and the fries scattered with chilli flakes provided the perfect amount of heat to keep you wanting more.

After the nightlife in Beirut had taken a toll on us, the virgin cocktails were a welcome refresher. The original flavour of the lemon and ginger mixed with honey were reminiscent of the geek theme of the lounge.The decadence of the bar and pool area is not overwhelming and is the ideal place for a few cocktails before hitting Beirut’s intoxicating nightlife. The outdoor pool area plays black and white films in the evenings, a touch that only added to the laid back glamour of the lounge. Amethyste has breathtaking views of the nearby marina which are only amplified at night – with a cocktail it has to be the only place to spend a fabulous summer evening in Beirut.

Visit the Phoenicia website here for more information.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Miss, Alya Randell-Khan.