Pistachio Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Grill - 1st Aug 2019
Pistachio at Wheelock Place
Three of us made our way to Pistachio at Wheelock Place last week. We pored over the menu, making careful choices. There were three of us this time: three small eaters with limited stomach space, so we had to choose wisely. After spending several minutes flipping the menu front to back, back to front, and front to back again, finally, we settled on the hummus dip, Lebanese Zater bread, spinach borek, tabouleh, chicken soup, Angus beef short rib, and Sultan’s Delight.
Lebanese Zater bread
Spinach Borek
I have tasted Chef Colin West's hummus before at a cooking class he conducted for our members, and have been meaning to make some at home (but haven't gotten around to doing it!). Chef Khaled’s rendition is pretty clean (and green) and as creamy as Chef Colin's. The Lebanese Zater bread is flat bread with sumac, thyme, white sesame seeds and salt. The aroma emitted by the bread actually reminded me of olives. I have been making olive bread recently using the method laid out in the book, Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day. No kneading involved. Simply give the ingredients a quick mix, cover, leave on counter for up to 2 hours, transfer to fridge to proof. That's it! Are you a fan too? The Zater bread took a while to be served and is crispy and perfect with the hummus dip. I doggy-bag the leftovers (told you, we are small eaters), toasted it the two days later in the toaster and it still tasted all right! The Spinach Borek is a savoury Mediterranean spinach crispy roll with a sweet savoury dip. A great appetiser for vegetarians or if you are looking for a boost your iron intake!
Tabouleh
The tabouleh is a freshly-made salad put together with finely chopped Italian parsley, mint, chervil, and diced cucumber, tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. Two of us loved how refreshing that was, how the chervil sends its characteristic notes to our soft palate. My colleague adored the tabouleh, as she found every mouthful ‘green’ and refreshing, with the right combination and balance of freshness, sweetness and saltiness.” However, Brigid thought it was a bit too "green" for her liking.
The traditional Egyptian chicken soup is one dish I will attempt at home. It was very down-to-earth with slightly sweet notes from the diced onions and carrots. You also taste the cardamom in the background, but more pronounced towards the end of every mouthful. There were also chicken chunks in the soup.
Sultan's Delight
The Sultan's Delight (a lamb stew made with fresh tomato and fresh thyme) could perhaps be taken for its word: it may indeed delight any political leader (I cannot be sure since I am no political leader!). The lamb had a slight gamey taste that was still within the tolerance limit for me. It was well-complemented with the tomato-based sauce and was also tender enough. What took my breath away was actually the mashed eggplant that came with the lamb. Eggplants boiled, skin removed and discarded. Then the "pulp" mashed together with three types of cheese. Creamy with a consistency and colour resembling hummus, it could be mistaken for hummus. But it has more layers of flavours, more character, more complexity compared to hummus! Now, don't you look at eggplants the same way again!
200-day grain-fed Angus bone-in beef rib
The highlight for my colleague is the 200-day grain-fed Angus bone-in beef rib with Mediterranean spices, served with Arabic briyani rice. She found the slow-roasted beef absolutely flavourful and tender - that we barely had to put our knife through for a bite. Brigid, on the other hand, enjoyed the briyani. "The golden yellow rice is made with Himalayan basmati rice and is said to be healthier than basmati rice from elsewhere. Sunflower oil is also used in place of ghee."
Pistachio Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Grill is located at 501 Orchard Road, #02-04/05 Wheelock Place, Singapore 238880. Reserve a table now
~ Ariella Lee
Marketing Manager
