Arabic Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur : Hadhramawt Palace @ Jalan Bukit Bintang Review

Arabic Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur : Hadhramawt Palace @ Jalan Bukit Bintang

It's been nearly 3 years of staying (and eating out) in KL.. after the initial euphoria of trying out different arabic restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and being sorely disappointed ,we have been playing it safe with Naab Restaurat and Tarbush for quite a bit. A few weeks back after the Eid holidays, we wanted to eat out for dinner but of course most local malay eateries are closed due to the festive season, so the only restaurant that we can safely assume to open is an arab restaurant -of course! isn't Eid supposed to be on the first day of Syawal only?- 

So, off we went to Hadhramawt Palace at Jalan Bukit Bintang. Hubby said that this restaurant is different from the Hadhramawt Restaurant at Jalan Raja Chulan and I hope that it's better cos I don't really prefer Hadhramawt Restaurant at Jalan Raja Chulan, the bread there tasted factory-made rather than authentic. 

It was slightly drizzling when we got there, the fairy lights look inviting, the kids of course zoomed straight to the fountain and I like the big area, good for kids so that they don't knock into tables when playing and the staff didn't even seem to mind when some group of young kids from another table played "catching". We didn't mind either, there was enough space and they were not disturbing. 

We weren't feeling particularly hungry that day so not much pictures of food, we ordered Chicken Mandi (hubby) Lamb Kabsah (just trying it out for fun) hummus and bread. Drinks were mango juice and mint & lime juice. I didn't snap a picture of the drinks but the juice is fresh and the lime and mint was something new and refreshing for us. 

Hadhramawt Palace: Chicken Mandi

Chicken Mandi was a safe option. It came quite bare and with no chili tomato sauce as usually served. But, it was provided for when we requested for it. Rice was fluffy with mild spices and just a hint of butter, suitable for kids and the chicken was tender. I guess if you have ordered this and did not order the Kabsah Lamb, you would have been totally satisfied with this dish BUT if you did taste the Kabsah Lamb, huhu be forewarned that everything else pales in comparison -well to me n hubby's taste buds that is- 

Hadhramawt  Palace : Lamb Kabsah

My Lamb Kabsah was a pretty surprise :) Am really glad that I didn't listen to hubby when he tried to dissuade me from trying it. The spices was amazing, milder on the fluffy rice, more full bodied on the tender meat. It felt like I was immediately transported to a middle eastern kitchen heaven haha.. I love the fact that the rice is accompanied by sliced fried potatoes, aubergine and fresh carrots. The "earthy" potatoes (got that term from Andrew in Bizzare Foods ;Embassy Row episode where he used the term 3 times to describe 3 different dishes that he tasted in 3 different embassies - didn't he think that the viewers would notice?) Ooops back to my description.. the earthy potatoes together with the sweetness of ripe aubergine and crispy fresh carrots goes hand in hand with the aromatic rice and just like that Kabsah Lamb has supplanted itself among my favorite middle eastern rice, a very close contender to the amazing lamb kebab butter rice of Naab Iranian Restaurant (ok.. so I love lamb.. it's that obvious :p )

Next dish please: 

Hadhramawt Palace: Hummus

This is actually an appetiser, ground chickpeas with olive oil and ermm.. I don't know the other ingredients.  This is an ok version, not too much olive oil and lemon.

Hadhramawt Palace: Arabic Bread

Now, this is auhentic oven baked arabic bread. Nothing factory about it.. warm.. and soft.. reminds me of Cairo all over again :)

Prices at Hadhramawt Palace Jalan Bukit Bintang is quite reasonable, our rice costed less than RM20 and the portion is just nice fr 1 person so that you don't have to share or force yourself to eat too much. Service is also good and there is quite a number of local waitresses so that you won't have to play a guessing game with the waiter when ordering.

Map of Hadhramawt Palace:

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