If I get a sudden craving for Middle Eastern food in the middle of the night I have 2 choices – Behrouz and Ziggurat.
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Behrouz has been around forever and I remember hieing off to their Kalayaan Branch during my UP days. They’ve also got branches in the Scout Area, QC (the main one I believe), Wilson, San Juan; Metrowalk, Ortigas; but my favorite was the (now closed) Libis branch because the manager was a really nice lady who owned a cute chihuahua that would loaf around the restaurant.

We’ve got ordering down to an art and any of us could order for the group once we got seated.

Beef, Tomato and Onion - ground beef drowning in spice and oil. This is great with rice, and when I eat this I add some yogurt and chili sauce to the mix.

Liver, Tomato and Onion- cooked the same as the BTO, but the liver is in chunks. This is one liver dish I really enjoy because the meat is not malansa, and is soft and chewy in the middle.

Beef Taka - beef cubes grilled on skewers, best if not overcooked

Beef Kebab - ground beef with spice grilled on skewers

Lamb Kebab - this is good, it's got the pungent gaminess of lamb mixed in with spices. Ask the waitress not to overcook the lamb. Only available at the Scout branch AFAIK.

Buttered Basmathi Rice - buhaghag, long grained rice just the way I like it, the butter is the proverbial icing on the cake (and blockage in your arteries). Ask them to serve the butter on the side, so you mix it yourself and make sure you're getting the full cholesterol load.

Shawarma - not the best I've tried... I feel they don't cut the beef up finely enough...but passable. Watch out, sometimes the beef is seasoned too hotly.

Mutable - Eggplants in lemon and olive oil, delicious with pita bread or as a siding for kebabs and the tomato-onion dishes.,

Hummus - Ground garbanzos in olive oil, they do this very well. Although most people order this with pita bread on the side, we sometimes get this to serve as a siding or sawsawan.

Tomato and Onion - grilled on a stick, have the onions cooked a bit more so you don't get too hit by its pungentness

Salad - cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes with lemon, olive oil and yogurt. Good as a side dish.

Yogurt Shake / Lassi - I like mine semi-sweet only, this goes well with the oily meal as it kills some of the oil-shivers you get while eating.
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If you're wanting a bit more ricedish choices you can go visit Ziggurat which is just off Makati Avenue and Burgos Street.


It's at the corner of Tigris and Euphrates Streets, and up to now I am unsure if this is just serendipity, or if the owners of Ziggurat installed the streetsign for more mid-east cred heeh.

The owners made some effort in getting the mood right via the decor, I just wish they would place the same effort in keeping it clean.

I sometimes get the urge to use their low table but get a bit grossed out by the dinky carpet and pillows that look like they haven't been laundered in the last year.

Ziggurat should have had an extensive selection, as their menu shows more than 60 choices. Unfortunately, more than half of them are not available. I always get the urge to tell the waiter to advise the owner to switch menus -- but I've already said it about twice, so I will keep my peace.



Papadums - spicy thin wafers that come with tamarind chutney. Ok lang, Bombay Kitchen does it better

Hummus - again, nothing great, comes with flatbread...which is also nothing great heh

Mutable - quite frankly I prefer the one Behrouz makes, this seems a bit "hilaw"

Tzatziki - cucumber and yogurt with chopped mint. Order this with hot dishes because you it's a nice crunchy way to cool your mouth

Shurabat Adas - aka Dal or lentil soup with cumin and some lemon. Passable (yikes, I'm getting pickier with my food aren't I?) but I feel the soup lacks body.

Samosas - Vegetable filled mid-east empanadas, I ordered this once and feel no strong emotions about it so it must have been ok.

Qeema - ground beef and eggplants. Delicious and spicy. Order this with a lot of rice.

Tabbouleh - I love this. Chopped parsley with lemon and olive oil and other goodies. It's got cracked wheat in it, which gives it a nice interesting crunch.

Moussaka - the one Ziggurat serves is tiny but delicious. Less than an inch thick, so the cheesiness isn't overwhelming.

Beef Tikka - the best I have tried, chunky slices of soft beef with charred fat at the edges

Beef We't - spicy beef stew with butter

Lamb Curry - delicious. pungent and spicy.

Basmathi Rice - comes with white raisins, and I am guessing they cook it with some saffron.

Jasmine Rice - nice and buhaghag, watch out the bowls are very warm, I once dropped a fresh bowl because it was too hot to carry :(

Mint Tea - not your usual mint tea, this one is warm Tempra on steroids. Strangely addictive.

Lassi - nice but a bit pricey, I wish the glasses were bigger. There are fruit lassi's as well, but I have not tried any as I like mine plain or rose-flavored

Turkish Coffee - can I say mud?? This is thick enough for me to consider planting something in it. Very strong, so you'll need to temper with a lot of sugar.


You must end with a Shisha, which is a water pipe that uses flavored tobacco. They usually give you some sort of mouth attachment so you are able to share with your friends without too much exchange of bodily fluids. I like the orange and apple flavored tobacco. A true sugar-free dessert. Heh.

This entry was posted on 9/23/2005 at 9/23/2005 09:52:00 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.