Lebanon is seen as one of the smallest countries in the Middle East; its cuisine has Phoenician origins and sahre roots with the Mediterranean cooking and is often considered as father of other Middle Eastern cuisines. We could draw a parallel between Lebanese and Chinese food which is communal style with many sharing dishes on the table.
Kazbar is probably one of the first and one of the best Lebanese restaurants in Singapore, starting out at its current location at Capital Square almost 20 years ago. In this modern day and age of the cut throat F&B scene, where restaurants come and go every 3-6 months or so, the fact that Kazbar has been a mainstay in the Middle Eastern cuisine trade is tantamount to its superb food quality and hospitable service which keeps drawing the regulars back week in week out.
We dropped by one evening to savour their award winning Lebanese cuisine, which was a refreshing change from the usual Western, French, Italian, European, Fusion style concepts in town. It was a full house on a weekday evening with a good mix of expats and CBD working crowd, despote most people still working from home in pandemic times like this.
We started off with some cold starters.
Eggplant $8.50 :
Garlic Spinach (Hindbeh Biel Ziet) $14.50:
Hummus (Fine ground chickpeas with tahini sauce, garlic and lemo juice and extra virgin olive oil) $8:
Zaatar Bread (Arabic Bread baked with Lebanese Oregano and Extra Virgin Olive Oil) $5.50:
Labneh (Yoghurt mixed with garlic, a hint of mint and topped with extra virgin olive oil) $9.50:
Tabouleh (a light uplifting salad of fine fresj parsley, burghul, onion and tomato salad with fresh lemon juice and extra virgin oil dressing) $10.50:
What is a Middle Eastern experience without Lebanese Wine? We have never tried Lebanese wine before, so we ordered the house white wine, Chateau Ksara Merwah $52 per bottle. It was a pale yellow wine with greenish reflections, which offered intense citrus and whte flowers with mineral notes on the nose. It was full of tropical fruit with undertones of guava, lime, and summer melon. It paired really well with the starters.
It was time to warm the bellies with some hot starters.
Chicken Wings (Jawaneh) $16: Arab style marinated and charcoal grilled to perfection served with homemade harissa. It was oozing with juices and flavours when we took our first bite. Once you start, you can’t stop eating this.
Falafel (Chickpea and Coriander Patties served with Tahini sauce) $15: As we are on the Keto diet, this was a keto-friendly healthy dish marinated in natural spices and offers a meatless alternative to traditional meat patties or even the plant based options like Impossible Burgers.
Sambousek (Minced Lamb marinated in Yoghurt cooked in Sumac mixed with onion and Pine Nuts, wrapped in homemade pastry) $14.50:
We were pretty stuffed with the cold and hot starters and dips by now, but we had to make room in the stomach for the mains.
Lamb Kabab Kishkash (Grilled Minced Lamb served on a bed of tomato sauce garnished with onion and parsley) $26:
Kofta Dijaj (Grilled Minced spiced Chicken Breast served with Saffron rice, grilled vegetables, babas and spicy bread) $23:
Seafood Kebab (Lebanese style marinated Fish and Prawns charcoal grilled and served with garlic spinach) $33:
We ordered a bottle of house Lebanese red wine Chateau Ksara Le Prieure $52 to pair with our mains. The full bodied structure and complexity of the red wine paired really well with the smokiness and flavours of the lamb, fish and meats.
To round off the evening with something sweet, the wait staff suggested their house speciality Um Ali (Mother of Ali) $12, which was soaked in rose water, sugar and fresh milk and garnished with pistachio. On first impression, it looked like baby oats or cereal but it tasted really good on the palate.
For Reservations, please contact:
Address
25 Church Street, #01-03 Capital Square 3 Singapore 049482
Telephone
+65 6438 2975
Opening Hours
Tuesdays to Friday
Lunch 12:00pm to 2:30pm
Dinner 5:00pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday
Dinner 5:00pm – 9:00 pm
Sunday – In-house Closed
PH – closed