Levant

Meaning ‘the sun rises in the east’, Levant is a warm and intimate restaurant offering eclectic culinary wonders from the Middle East region.

I’ve been to cities in Turkey and Egypt to explore their dining scenes and I fell in love with the food there. A meal at Levant reminds me of just how much I love Middle Eastern cuisine!

There’s baba ghanoush and there’s moutabal. Both are similar, and I was told that higher-end restaurants call their version “moutabal” instead of “baba ghanoush” (don’t ask me why). Doesn’t matter to me; I love all roasted eggplant dips and Levant’s rendition was wonderfully smokey and very satisfying! And of course, when there’s hummus around, you can be sure my spoon will be busy making repeated trips between the plate and my mouth ha.

Mixed Appetizer Platter ($28++)
hummus, moutabal, taboula, green salad

While Levant’s menu is fixed and comprehensive enough, the kitchen does cater to guest’s requests whenever they arise and also when possible. So I requested for homemade falafels and they were indeed delivered fresh and piping hot to our table! Kudos to Chef Hany (the handsome chef who works out in the kitchen with his dumbbells haha) for going the extra mile!

Falafels
chickpea patties, off the menu

Stew dishes also take center stage at Levant and most notably Chef Hany’s lamb biryani with whole lamb shank stewed to tenderness and served with quality light and fluffy biryani rice. The smell was incredible and everyone at the table (except me, the pescetarian) raved about it!

Lamb Shank Biryani ($32++ for 2 pax)

I officially love the seafood platter here! Marinated and cooked in all kinds of exotic spices which I won’t even pretend I know what’s what, everything was fresh and the fish kebab was spectacularly tender and soft, tasting almost like cod fish~ Plus I couldn’t stop dipping all my food in the delish yogurt and garlic sauce on the side!

Seafood Grill Platter ($128++)
fish kebab, prawn kebab, lobster, squid

K was all praises for these two meaty kebabs and he even liked them more than my fish kebabs! Awesome, all the more fish kebabs for me then! Both dishes are also the chef’s recommendations so you won’t go wrong choosing them!

Kebab Koobideh ($29++)
minced lamb, onion, pepper
&
Shish Tawooq ($28++)
boneless chicken, saffron, traditional spices

By now, I already know desserts in Middle Eastern cuisine are more often than not an afterthought. I don’t fancy baklava and Turkish delights so a mere scoop of ice cream was the perfect ending to the meal!

Saffron Ice Cream ($6.50++)

My thanks to Anil and Suresh for inviting and being such entertaining hosts!

Levant
8 Greenwood Avenue
9640 4866

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