[Penang, Malaysia] Middle-Eastern dinner at Levant by the City, Burmah Road

Dinner at George Townโ€™s latest Middle-Eastern restaurant, one-month-old ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ on Burmah Road.

Our dinner spread:
๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ด - Arabic lentil soup.

Levantine dips (clockwise from top-left): ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ด (mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic), ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ (Lebanese chopped, fresh vegetables with crisp-fried pita bread), ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ญ (creamy Levantine roasted eggplant, with beetroot, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and yogurt) ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‰๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ข ๐˜Ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ (chopped, roasted eggplant mixed with garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil).

๐˜›๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฉ (originating from Lebanon and Syria) consisting of finely chopped fresh parsley, fresh mint, finely diced tomatoes, green onions, pomegranate seeds, and fine bulgur wheat, tossed in olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Chicken ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช - a traditional Yemeni dish consisting of tender, ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ซ spice-rubbed, 24-hour slow-roasted chicken, served over long-grain Basmati rice.

Mixed grill, with grilled prawns, lamb chops, lamb and chicken kebabs, and ๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜›๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฌ (skewered and grilled marinated chicken cubes), potato wedges, roasted tomato and roasted onion.

๐˜—๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข bread.

๐——๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜€
๐˜‰๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ข with ice-cream.

๐˜’๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง - ๐˜ข๐˜ซ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ (semolina pancake) filled with ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ข (clotted cream) and chopped pistachios. My first time having this dessert, and I liked it best amongst all Middle-Eastern sweets Iโ€™d ever had!

Freshly brewed Arabic coffee - very good.

Some really stellar cooking from its Syrian-born Head Chef, Bashir Khalouf. The very attentive and very efficient wait-staff were all Syrians.

Definitely one of the better Middle-Eastern eateries in George Town, and a serious contender to Syrian mainstay, Halab, and Lebanese heavyweight, Tarboush, nearby on Chulia Street.

Address
Levant by the City
12, Burmah Road, George Town, 10050 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +601170110107
Opening hours: 11am to 2am daily.

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Love the idea of the beetroot houmous

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Oh yes, I agree.
But I think itโ€™s more for the bold, eye-catching colours. Tastewise, beetroot doesnโ€™t really influence the flavour profile of the dish very much.

Yep, great colour. Iโ€™d have hoped that the beet would have brought its earthy sweetness to the party.

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