I did miss the belly dancing It would have added spice to an interesting evening
Mark Laba
Province
Kayan manager Oula Hamadeh presents chicken and lamb kebabs, salad, rice and BBQ veggies. Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
Kayan
Where: 202-777 W. Broadway
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-874-2777 or 604-874-3777
Drinks: Fully licensed
Hours: 11 a.m.–midnight every day
W hat do chickpeas and belly dancing have in common? Nothing really, but for me, the two are indelibly etched in my memory from my old Toronto days. My friend Arthur and I would visit a particular Middle Eastern restaurant for takeout and then linger in the foyer clutching our falafel and watching the belly dancing. So garbanzo beans and gyrating are linked in my synapses like the Clapper light switch is linked to the slap of hands. Goes on in a flash.
Thus when another Toronto friend, The Poet, came to town, I decided this was a good time to rediscover the chickpea-infused days of my youth because newly opened and beckoning like a belly dancer from the 1001 Nights was this Mediterranean restaurant with live music and dancing Friday and Saturday nights. The focus of the food is really Middle Eastern with a strong leaning toward Lebanese and the meat here is both halal and kosher, so both Islamic and Jewish dietary laws are covered.
The Poet is vegetarian whereas Peaches and I are carnivores and we would just about suck the cartilage out of a camel hump if we were hungry enough. But that’s the beauty of Lebanese cuisine — there’s a sufficient variety of dishes to satisfy both factions.
Stepping into this place, which occupies the old Tojo’s space, is like walking into a scene from the Arabian Nights.
Crimson walls the colour of ripe pomegranate, exotic and ornate fabrics, artwork and statuary, plus a spectacular view of the city at one end of the room while the other end houses a private dining area that resembles a sultan’s tent.
We began our Middle Eastern odyssey with hummus, foul moudammas and moutabal bathenjan (all $6.25). The hummus had an especially tart finish, as if it had been hit by a lemon thunderbolt and the moutabal bathenjan, which consisted of roasted eggplant zapped with pomegranate, lemon juice and garlic had a much chunkier consistency than other versions I’ve tasted. The Poet enjoyed this fleshy eggplant mix immensely whereas I prefer a more pulverized variety. When I want flesh I turn to meat instead of veggies. The foul moudammas, essentially fava beans with lemon juice, garlic and olive oil could’ve used a Hannibal Lecter makeover with a nice Chianti and a piece of liver but was still tasty.
Next up was a good shankleesh ($7.50), the famed Lebanese cheese finished with oregano, spices, tomato, green onion and feta. Even better was the fatayer ($7.50), a baked triangular pastry shell stuffed with spinach, nuts, onion and flavoured with lemon juice and sumac. There’s also a feta cheese and black sesame seed species just as tasty with nice flaky pastry and aromatic innards.
Onward we chomped with the falafel plate ($6.25) and the general consensus was just OK. The Poet thought the chickpea balls too pasty while Peaches and I found them as arid as a desert highway. Go figure. But the kibbie ($7.50), a classic Lebanese dish of meat within meat, the close proximity of which made The Poet a little dizzy, was excellent. Ground sirloin, cracked wheat, onion and cinnamon are shaped into ovals, stuffed with beef and pine nuts and spices and then baked.
Peaches and I capped our meat frenzy with sojok, a spicy Lebanese sausage ($7.50) that I found a little dry and the jawaneh ($9), Lebanese chicken wings marinated in garlic and allspice and then baked. Very spicy but I would’ve liked them crispier. As for recapturing the days of my youth I certainly had my fill of chickpeas but we missed the belly dancing that evening and so it remains a mirage in my memory.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Peace in the Middle East via this exotic feast.
RATINGS: Food: B Service: B+ Atmosphere: A-
