Afghan

Afghan Rahimi Restaurant

Salad, Dips (chilli, mint and yogurt, carrot and yogurt), Naan bread

★★☆☆☆

Mantu

Steam cooked traditional Afghani dumplings made from pastry, lamb mince and onions, served with lentils, topped with yoghurt and tomato gravy.

★★☆☆☆

Vegetarian Ashaak

Steam cooked pastry filled with chives and leek, served with lentils and chickpeas, topped with vegetable gravy and yogurt.

★★★☆☆

Meatball Curry (Kofta)

Lamb mince meatball served with a tomato and pea gravy.

★★☆☆☆

Traditional Afghani Rice

★★★☆☆

Borani Banjan (Eggplant)

Fried Eggplant covered with a tomato and yoghurt sauce.

★★★☆☆

Chicken Korma

Chicken thigh fillet cooked in a mild tomato curry.

★★☆☆☆

Lamb Backstrap and Chicken Tikka skewers

★★★★☆

Overall:

We decided to get the $35 banquet option which was satisfying and extremely filling! The smoky charcoal cooked skewers and the borani banjan were the highlights for me, although the borani banjan could have been less salt-heavy. Service was lovely (the owner of this place is super friendly and we felt very well looked after), and the decor was quite lavish (lots of hand crafted solid wood furniture and Afghan artwork). A good place to come to if you are after a big feed.

Afghan Rahimi Restaurant

23-29 Walker St, Dandenong, VIC

(03) 9793 9981

Home 2

Persian Flavours Takeaway & Eat In

338 Springvale Rd, Forest Hill 9878 3087

‘Dough’ yogurt drink

A traditional Persian drink comprising of yogurt, water, mint, black pepper and salt.

The predominant taste of this unfamiliar drink was yogurt and salt. In fact when it comes to quenching your thirst, this drink does the complete opposite. Nevertheless it is a good accompaniment for spicy dishes.

= ★★

Zereshk Polow

Rice with sweet barberries and smoky fried onions

= ★★

Plain naan, Maast-mose (yogurt with cucumber and garlic flavour), Mixed kebab (combination of chicken kebab, lamb tikka and lamb koobideh)

= ★★

Garlic naan, Chicken masti (chicken marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic, spices), Cheese naan

= ★★

Butter chicken curry (charcoal chicken cooked with onion, garlic, cashew nuts, cream in gravy and butter sauce),

Mixed veggies curry (mixed vegies with cashew nut cream and gravy sauce),

Beef massala (beef cooked with onion, garlic, yogurt, cream, sultana and tomato sauce)

Each curry was light and well seasoned however we found the butter chicken and the mixed veggies curry to be exceedingly sweet.

= ★★

Overall:

I really wanted to like this place but the food simply did not excite me. I couldn’t help but compare the curries we had to the rich Indian curries that I’ve had in the past, and the rice and kebabs we sampled to those that I’ve had at Afghan places. Perhaps Persian/Iranian cuisine isn’t for me. Service was quick and the decor was simple. A nice experience but not a place I see myself returning to.

Shams Restaurant

202 Thomas St, Dandenong 9793 1115

Chicken kebabs

Charcoal chicken

Mantu

Thoughts:

Chicken kebabs – succulent tender pieces of deliciously marinated chicken that was full of flavour = Excellent

Charcoal chicken – somewhat dry and overcooked = Not bad

Mantu – mince dumplings served with lentils and yogurt. Slightly undercooked wonton wrappers were used for this dish making parts of the dumplings quite chewy = Not bad

Overall:

Menu options were limited, service was average and the table that we sat on was rather dirty and stayed dirty the entire time we were there. Regardless of that, I would still come back here for the chicken kebabs. Only next time I’d get it as a takeaway.

Afghan Pamir Restaurant

195 Lonsdale St, Dandenong 9792 0197

Mantu

Meatball kofta

Salad, dips, naan bread

Afghani rice

Borani banjan

Chicken and lamb skewers

Thoughts:

Mantu – soggy tasteless dumplings that were served drowning in yogurt = Bad

Meatball kofta – spiced lamb meatballs served in a mild tomato and pea sauce = Not bad

Salad, dips, naan bread – simple salad, undistinguished dips, hard (almost stale) bread = Bad

Afghani rice – long grained rice blended with bright strands of carrot, barberries and spices = Not bad

Borani banjan – oily fried eggplant topped with cooked tomatoes and an abundance of yogurt = Not bad

Chicken and lamb skewers – tender pieces of smoky meat = Not bad

Overall:

We were completely blown away by the magnificent decor; hand crafted solid wood furniture, marble table tops (albeit covered by a layer of plastic), and stunning pieces of Afghan artwork. It would have been a wonderful dining atmosphere except for the fact that this place was completely empty when we arrived, and would practically remain so for the remainder of the evening. The food at this place is rather pricey in comparison to other Afghan restaurants in the area, and we ended up opting for the $35 banquet which enabled us to try a bit of everything from their menu. Unfortunately the food did not impress me as much as the decor did, and I would most likely not venture here again.

Afghan Salang Restaurant

343 Lonsdale St Dandenong, 8774 6778

Bolani

Kebabs

Afghan bread and salad

Burani bonjon

Mosh palow

Chicken korma

Jalebi

Thoughts:

Bolani – thin traditional flatbread layered with pumpkin or potato, capsicum, onion, coriander, garlic and herbs, served with a garlic infused yogurt dip. The potato bolani was good but the pumpkin one was even better! = Excellent

Kebabs – tender pieces of deliciously smoky charcoal cooked chicken and lamb, served with a fresh chunky dip made from parsley, coriander, jalapeños, 5 types of capsicum, celery and vinegar = Good

Afghan bread and salad – comes with the kebabs. The afghan bread is plentiful and freshly baked while the salad is just a regular salad = Not bad

Burani bonjon – golden fried eggplant topped with garlic yogurt and spice = Good

Mosh palow – brown rice and beans. Recommended by our waiter, this dish was very tasty = Good

Chicken korma – not as heavy as an Indian chicken korma, this chicken stew was filled with a interesting blend of spices = Not bad

Jalebi – deep fried dough soaked in sugar syrup = Not bad

Overall:

The food is freshly made and is actually quite healthy as they do not use coconut milk, cream or cooking wine. Service is friendly and attentive while the atmosphere was dim and average.