My Lebanese pals rave about the manakeesh at Shoo Fee Ma Fee (Lebanese for what’s up) telling me it’s the closest thing to what they get at home and the best on the island, so I decided to give the place a try for myself.

Not content with just the manakeesh, I ordered falafel as well, mainly because it comes with tahini and I’ve been suffering from withdrawal since my local take-away stopped serving it.

I wasn’t disappointed, the tahena and the hummus ordered by my pal were both delicious, unfortunately the same can’t be said for the falafel.

The description ‘fried crushed beans mixed with parsley and our special herbs’ sounded good but the reality was somewhat disappointing – the crisp, golden exterior promised great things but the inside was pretty much a tasteless mush, inoffensive but bland.

We fared better with our main courses which did exactly what it said on the tin.

Having overindulged somewhat on the tahena and hummus, I chose one of the outlets most popular dishes, jarjeer with djaj – grilled chicken breast on a bed or rocca with fresh mushrooms and parmesan and a lemon dressing.

I have to admit that I picked based on the picture in the menu and, when it arrived at the table, it looked exactly the same.

My only complaint is a good one, and very common, there was just too much. In fact the portion of rocca was so big as to be off-putting but the taste was good with the tangy greenery well offset by the tartness of the lemon dressing.

My pal had djaj fillet, a tender grilled chicken fillet with sautéed vegetables and potato wedges topped with fresh mushroom sauce.

The veggies were crisp and tasty, just the right side of overcooked, and the sauce was smooth with a delicate flavour.

She declared it a success and said we must come back, so much so that I’m calling in on the way home to pick up some of those manakeesh for supper.

The bill (for two)
Hummus BD1.500
Falafel BD1.600
jarjeer with djaj BD3.200
djaj fillet BD3.600
2 water BD2.200
Total BD12.100