Wells visits Mohamed Ali
Reviews Middle Eastern cuisine
Mohamed Ali 177 Duckworth St. St. John’s Phone 754-8313
It has been many months since Ali Al Haijaa opened his own eatery, Mohamed Ali Middle Eastern Cuisine, in the space at 177 Duckworth St. ( formerly Taste of Thai).
Many a downtown late-night habitué will recall that Al Haijaa used to sell his falafels out of the Sprout after regular business hours. Happily, those with a taste for some honest Middle Eastern street food can now enjoy Al Haijaa’s creations in the daytime as well as the nighttime.
Mohamed Ali features a slightly more ambitious menu in this version. Meat sold at Mohamed Ali is halal (meaning prepared in accordance with Muslim law). The casual, family-style restaurant seats about 40. You can order take-out or eat-in from a counter at the back of the room.
Feeling a cold coming on, I decided we’d be better off placing a take-out order. Everything at Mohamed Ali is available for take-out and can be eaten straight from its container if you want.
Aristophanes, a playwright of ancient times, once said, “You, who dare insult lentil soup, sweetest of delicacies.” I share the Greek’s fondness for lentil soup and was delighted to find a delicious complimentary bowl of red lentil soup amongst the items we’d ordered.
I assumed it was meant for us. Otherwise, there’s some unfortunate soul out there none too pleased by not receiving his broth.
Shawarma
“Chicken” shawarma was new to me. That’s why I tried it. Typically marinated lamb or beef is used for this very popular Middle Eastern street food. Apart from the flatbread tasting store-bought and the chicken being less than succulent, the shawarma sandwich I put together with shavings of chicken, hummus, yogurt, tomato and pickled turnip was good. I’d order it again, but I still prefer beef or lamb.
One of the salads ordered was a simple mixture of chopped fresh tomato, cucumber and romaine lettuce stirred with tahini sauce. I liked the salad’s lemony theme.
Another was the iconic tabouleh salad, the essential ingredients of which are bulgur and freshly chopped parsley. Authentic Middle Eastern tabouleh will have at least as much parsley as bulgur. This one did, along with a few shreds of lettuce and bits of onion. Dressed with olive oil and a touch of lemon, it tasted bright and verdant; but you must like the flavour of parsley to enjoy this salad.
Our mixed grill came with a shish taouk (marinated, grilled cubes of chicken) and three skewers of kofta (ground beef). According to the menu, a skewer of barbecued beef was supposed to be included and just two of kofta. Apparently they’d run out of barbecued beef, adding the extra kofta to compensate. The shish taouk was far too dry to be enjoyable and, lamentably, the kofta tasted distinctly of freezer.
Fabulous falafels
The Mohamed Ali fried falafels were an outta-the-park hit in our house. They were about as perfect as falafels can be, firm and glistening brown on the outside, light, moist, flavourful and tender textured on the inside. They made a great sandwich stuffed inside a flatbread pocket, dressed with tahini, pickled turnip and cucumber. Al Haijaa is a prince among falafel makers.
Serving basmati rice with a Middle Eastern meal is common. Mohamed Ali offers a vegetarian biryani of basmati, green peas, what looked like a type of dark rice, and spices with kick and heat. It was almost as fine as the kibeh balls (shaped more like torpedoes, actually). Again, there was a discrepancy between the menu and what was actually served. Mohamed Ali’s menu said the casing was made of ground beef mixed with cracked wheat. Inside a non-meat, tender casing ( flour and bulgur?) was a filling of minced meat redolent of ground allspice. Despite containing less meat than promised, the kibeh balls were remarkable.
We sampled a couple of Mohamed Ali’s desserts (both homemade). The baklava was not quite as flaky as some I’ve tasted but I was more than impressed with the semolina cookie. The texture and taste of the syrup soaked semolina topped with slivered almonds was close to heavenly. It was the opposite of how I felt about the mixed grill, the only significant failure of the night.