Middle Eastern

Probably the best falafel pita I’ve tasted on our sunny shores, this is as close to the real thing you’ll get in Singapore. Opened by a famed MasterChef Israel judge, Miznon has branches all around the world and is known for its stuffed pitas and vegetable-forward modern Israeli cuisine.

Crisp on the outside, incredibly soft and moreish within, the falafel patty is atypical of those commonly found in other middle eastern restaurants here, stained green from the generous amounts of parsley and coriander, and very well spiced and seasoned.

As for the pita the falafel is stuffed in, its wondrously fluffy and is made from a secret blend of six flours in a bakery in Tel Aviv before being frozen and air-flown to Singapore. A beefy, thick slice of tomato, sour cream, chilli, onion, pickles and aioli round out the fillings to make a surprisingly satisfying meal in its own right.

Taste: 3.5/5

Get cozy with a pocketful of fork-tender beef short ribs and fall-apart stewed root vegetables in the Intimate, a hearty, warm hug from Israeli pita purveyors @miznonsg. Throw in tahini, onion, pickles and chilli, and you've got a fair variety of tastes and textures to keep every bite interesting.

Taste: 3.5/5

If it ain’t broke don’t change it. I was duly impressed when I had this previously and that opinion still stands. A sinfully rich coriander, green chilli and split cream sauce sees huge, succulent, smoky prawns submerged in them. The individual elements are excellent, but I’m still not entirely convinced they go hand in hand. Nevertheless, utterly delicious.

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Taste: 3.5/5

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places, and this twice-cooked crispy shredded lamb shoulder by way of adobo flakes from Philippines is a sexy stroke of genius. Salty, savoury, crunchy outside and pleasingly chewy within, the meat floss is served with a salubrious combination of runny hummus, sunny side up, turkish toast, fruity olive oil, grapes and housemade pickled radish. Beautiful.

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Taste:3.5/5

Akin to the lighter Japanese-style cheesecakes with a bouyant fluffiness but possessing all the richness of a New York cheesecake, this new dessert is a decadent tribute to the Baklava. Soaked through with an aromatic lemon rhubarb syrup and topped with toasted chopped pistachios, orange blossom honey, tufts of whipped cream and crunchy kataifi pastry, the variety of tastes and textures came together in harmonious congruence and certainly reminded me of the Middle Eastern dessert it was inspired by.

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The secret to tender and succulent kebabs is apparently to fold ice cubes into the meat before grilling them. Chockful of flavour from garlic, onion and spices, the kebab is served with Artichoke’s signature toum, a potent cloud of Lebanese garlic sauce similar to aioli.

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Taste: 3.5/5

Sometimes you just want a no-nonsense, nicely cooked piece of meat. Artichoke’s steak of the day delivers just that. The rump cap is not the most premium or tender of cuts, but the wood-fire grilled beef is cooked a perfect medium rare and packing flavour, especially so with the butter sauce.

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Absolutely one of the best new things here at Artichoke is this ultra-pimped up version of your favourite Marche rosti in square form. Shredded potatoes are triple cooked – steamed, grated and baked, then shaped and deep-fried. The result? Only the crispest, fluffiest potato cake you’ll ever eat, crowned with a cloud of sour cream and za’ata spice. Insanely good.

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Taste: 4/5

Artichoke’s version of a salad bowl is an exotic combination of deep-fried cauliflower, rocket, lentils, mint, puffed corn, basmati rice and amba dressing. Plenty of texture, refreshing and relatively mild tasting for an Artichoke dish, however my tastes lean toward the restaurant’s bolder flavours.

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Taste: 3/5

9 years still not dead and still coming out with new bangers every year like this killer crab toast. Heaping moundfuls of blue swimmer crab and creamy tzatziki on a fluffy housemade brioche, Artichoke adds that extra special something with briny ikura and the crunch of fried chicken crackling that’ll have you hooked like crack and coming back for more.

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Taste: 4/5

Best hummus in town right here – ultra-smooth, creamy and redolent with the aroma of good olive oil. The locally-grown abalone mushrooms are succulent and flavoured with a Baharat spice mix that’s at once familiar yet exotic.

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Taste: 3.5/5

Artichoke has a stellar repertoire of mezzes, and my favourite is probably this bad mutha of an eggplant stuffed with onions and tomatoes and confit till gooey and soft before being deep-fried. They stack on umami upon umami with a handful of pine nuts, caramelised onions, and bath everything in an emulsified paprika-tinged tomato sauce for an intense flavour bomb you’ll need to eat with Artichoke’s signature Turkish bread.

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Taste: 3.5/5