[Santa Clara/ Fremont, CA] Maiwand Market/ Kabob House- great rice pilaf, delicious, amazing value ($2), and monstrous 3'x1' Afghan bread

Luke Tsai’s recent piece on the Fremont Afghan dining/ market scene prompted me to look up Maiwand Market/ Maiwand Kabob House, one of the place featured in the piece. It turns out Maiwand has a branch in Santa Clara on El Camino between Lawrence and San Tomas, and the market and kabob house are adjacent to each other. So I paid a visit a few days later.

First, the bread. As Luke Tsai mentioned, its baked fresh continuously throughout the day. The flatbread seemed to be made of a mix of whole wheat and refined wheat, with a dash of honey/ sugar. Its thin, but slightly fluffy, with some black and white sesames sprinkled on top. Tasty, and amazing value consider the entire piece, which looked to be about 3 feet by 1 foot, is only $2, which lasted the family about 3 days. Slightly on the dry side but that’s a minor quibble. If I am not getting the food, I’d go get a loaf every time I pass by that stretch of Santa Clara (or Fremont).

I also got the chicken kabob and combo kobideh. The combo contained chicken kabob, tika kabob, and kobideh kabob. The beef tika kabob cubes were juicy, tender, and delicious. The chicken and the koobideh were also pleasantly flavored. Use of chicken breast meant the meat was a little on the dry side. The kabobs on average were a bit made a bit better than the temporarily closed Persian Rose Market in Mountain View.

But the rice pilaf that came with the kabobs, its delicious! Its al dente parboiled seasoned basmati goodness. I’d eat 5 bowls of this without the kabob. That, and the bread, was the highlight for me for this meal and made my week.

The kabobs also came with a small salad. Run by hospitable folks who insist that I have a cup of tea while waiting for the food.

Halal butcher in the market

3 Likes

Forgot the picture of the food:

2 Likes