Adelaide Feeds A Uni Student: Al Amir

Al Amir is a Lebanese restaurant that is situated along the path that I take to go home from university everyday. Being a fan of middle eastern food (mainly because my Sydney hometown is highly populated with the middle eastern community), I've always been keen to try it. The only problem was that it was a bit of a 'fine dining' type of restaurant, and living on a student budget - it wasn't exactly going to become my new go-to place anytime soon.

So when it was the designated location for one of my friend's 21st birthday, it was the perfect opportunity for me to try out Al Amir once and for all!

Choosing a dish was hard, mainly because I've never dined Lebanese Cuisine before - I've merely eaten the street food that are found in my Sydney hometown. I've heard that lambs are good at Lebanese restaurants so I choose the Lamb Shawarma which is described as "Tender thinly-cut slices of lamb marinated in Al Amir's special sauce and pan fried with onion, herbs and spices. Served on a sizzling hot plate." I thought I couldn't go wrong with something that sounded so mouth-watering. I was wrong.

Lamb Shawarma - $19.90

If I had to describe it in one word - "boring"! It was so plain! It didn't have that Lebanese food aroma that I love so much in Sydney. The flavours were almost hidden! Tasted mainly like lamb cooked in oil - that's it. I could have made it myself without a doubt. What a disappointment.

There wasn't anyone at that table who was immensely pleased with their food. Not looking like it's worth a second visit. A lot of the girls ordered a chicken dish - they presented us with a poorly made chicken salad. That's hardly Lebanese food!

Al Amir has a belly dancer who dances each night as diners ate. I must say it was a highly enjoyable experience, one of the better ones there (not that there was much to compare to).

I had almost forgotten to mention this, but the customer service there was the of the worse I've encountered. The waiter had no idea of the drinks available - one of my friends asked what cider they offered and he looked confused and uttered "Smirnoff Vodka". Really? REALLY? Is that acceptable? He also had no idea what the dishes composed of, hence making it even more difficult for us to choose what to order. The other waiters always seemed in a rush, even though there didn't appear that much for them to do. They looked like they were in a rush patrolling the whole restaurant - not actually doing anything useful!

Luckily, Lisa's cake saved the day. One of the girls made the most amazing cake I've tasted! Every layer, every bite, even the presentation was absolutely a charm to look at! I wanted more!!