I was out on a night photo shoot at Arab street (just to play with my camera before it gets all rusty) and chanced upon a Middle Eastern restaurant that is among the shop houses along Arab street. Business is good to an extent that the restaurant took up another shop house space across the road just for the extra dining area. I decided to be adventurous and was rewarded with a delightful Middle Eastern food experience in Cafe le Caire.

I was seated in the carpeted section where every one sat on cushions laid on the carpets. Cafe le Caire provides the Hookah Shisha pipes to customers who's interested in the "healthier" form of smoking that originates from Middle East. There's a choice of different fruit/herb mixture for the smoke.

I was recommended the .............

Shish Kebab - The chunks of lamb were seasoned with spices and were skewered and then charcoal grilled. Two dips were provided with the dish. One of them is chilli sauce and the other, a tasty white colored bean based dip. The lamb with the spices tasted marvelous. It's no wonder my wife told me that she had eaten shish kebab in Egypt when she hardly touches lamb, if she can help it. I guess the spices did its magic. Else, the raw smell of lamb can be sometimes quite overwhelming. The potato wedges were made just right. The potato was still soft when I sank my teeth into it.

At first, the waiter recommended Harissa (a Yemeni recipe cooked with lamb and white wheat) and Hummus (a mix of chickpea and tahini, sesame paste). Although I would like to try them, I doubt that I can finish them. So I declined. I guess they'll have to be saved for another occasion.

The Khusry tea that was recommended in the menu was nothing spectacular.

I'll be back at Cafe le Caire for more food.............

For more photos and details, see:
http://4-the-love-of-food.blogspot.com/2008/09/cafe-le-caire-al-majlis-middle-eastern_17.html

Arab street actually reminds me of the small streets in Binondo in Manila. The feeling of old, rustic & historic small shophouses. Of course Arab Street is the cleaner version of Binondo. Plus, a lot safer especially at night.

The kebab platter was my favorite. The assorted meat was very tender and tasty and went perfect with the Vermicelli rice

for my full review pls go to
http://the-f-word-blog.blogspot.com/

After shopping at Haji Lane, we came to Cafe Le Caire to rest our tired feet and feed our tummies. This is one of the few Arabic restaurants that i always frequented. With the mystic arabic tunes serenade the place, you immediately felt very relaxed among the rustic environment.

That day, we ordered
1) Karkadeh Fizz ($4) - Hibiscus syrup drink with soda
2) Shawarma Roll ($10) - sliced lamb & beef wrapped in arabic bread
3) Feta Cheese Omelette ($8) - Omelette filled with feta cubes
4) Muhalabia w. ice cream ($6) - Rose flavoured pudding with ice cream and mix nuts

I like the karkadeh fizz.. reminds mi of ribena, tarty but less sweet and sourish. The Shawarma roll was also flavourful but the meat a little dry that day. I like the buttery feta cheese omelette as it was light, fluffy and not overly cheesy as feta cheese is light and still retain its shape quite well after cooking.

For dessert, we wanted the yemeni pudding but was sold out (boohoo) so we shared the muhalabia instead. First taste in the palate may be odd but after a few tries, the mild rose flavour actually calms the tastebuds pretty well after a spicy main course. The ice cream complements the muhalabia well too.

The only thing i can lament of would be the service, very laid back, want to take order and even pay money took more than 20min for waiter to come despite no crowd.

My friend and I ordered the M'ezze, half a Roast Spring Chicken with Saffron Rice and Ice Peppermint Tea. Oh and I also tried the Rose-mint Shisha.

About the M'ezze
- Generous helping. Quite a bit of leftover after the bread was gone but I'm not complaining cuz we can order more bread!

About the Roast Chicken
- Surprisingly moist! I was expecting the toughness of a Tandouri. Very pleasantly surprised indeed...

About the Ice Peppermint Tea
- A unique and refreshing drink. The look of it in the dark reminded me of Cuban Mojito because of the fresh mint leaves. However I prefer this tea over Mojito (which taste disgusting if I play with it too much).

About the Shisha
- Weird... although pleasantly weird. It doesn’t stink like cigarettes but I reckon its still harmful (perhaps even more harmful then ciggy). I was actually "smoking charcoal"... The guy kept refilling my pipe with more fragrant coal until I got too tired to smoke anymore. Dry-throat alert so smoke at your own risk.

Humble suggestion: Would be nice to get more lights for the table. Lighting was a bit too poor to do the good food justice!

Verdict: Good food, reasonable price... I'm going back tonight!! ^_^

I've always found arabic food (as well as other exotic cuisines not involving 'fear factor' elements) an interesting holiday for my palate from the food-courts and typical restaurant fare in Singapore.
Unfortunately, most of these eateries are still concentrated in Arab St and its vicinity, which makes poor sense when you think about profit.
Cafe Le Caire has always been an easy choice for larger group meeting (if i am eating with my wife, i will choose the smaller quieter eatery hidden in the alley at the back of Le Caire), because of its ambient seating area on the 2nd level.
One thing I am not very pleased with is how prices have risen by at least $3 on average in the past 5 years. Clearly, CLC is no longer a place for impoverished students like it used to be.
Drinks go for $3-5 a pop. Appetisers are about $5-9 (the $9 falafel basket had 6 pieces smaller than my palm). Main courses average $10-18. My friend was complaining about the size of the Mixed Grill, which had a piece of steak that shouldn't even be legally called that. My Meshahwi was more reasonably portioned, but I expected to be full after eating an $18 meal.
Desserts were $5-6, and a $5.50 sundae my friend order was 2 scoops of magnolia ice cream with chocolate syrup... not exactly value for money, if you think about it.
The only upside? The food still taste great. Maybe it's time to shop around. Oh, do remember to check your bill. There remains some communication problems with the waiting staff, so check to make sure that you are not charged for things that you did not order.