No great sheikh

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Shish Tawook

BangaloreMirror

| FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011

23

FOODIESFEEDBACK

FAHEEM HUSSAIN

(from l to r) Pradeep Kumar, Maria Shalini, Harish Arabian Knights (and dame): My fellow explorers were Pradeep Kumar, who heads sales & marketing for Malind Properties, Maria Shalini, an independent consultant, and Harish, who operates in the fiscal domain and forced us to pay attention to the region's strife with his Stop Wars T-shirt. Mazeenine: On a broad level, the premises has been categorised to match the three kinds of cuisine being served. There is an outdoor area for the cafe, a slightly more formal dining area for the Chinese restaurant and a semi-covered terrace with loads of oversized cushions that corresponds to Mazeej. However, this is not strictly followed. So you could sit anywhere and order your preference of eats. Mezze n more: The menu begins with shorba options, some familiar, and some slightly more uncommon ones like the Shourabat Mozaat. This is followed by appetizers and rolls to choose from, including the familiar hummus, falafel and shawarma. The main course includes fried items, charcoal grill and roasted options along with gravies with choices in veg, chicken, lamb and sea food. To go with that, you could try various rice items or roti/kuboos Oases: The Shourabat el Qeema was mildly spicy and the meatballs texture complemented the soup well. The Chicken Manakeesh, an Arabic version of the pizza, was the pick of the dishes, with minced and flavoured chicken on flat dough. In the main course, the Shish Tawook, made of marinated chicken cubes was appreciated for the subtle yoghurt and lemon flavours. The Dajaj Alabama was not spectacular, but the tomato-based gravy just about passed muster. Among the desserts, the chocolate walnut brownie was quite good with an excellent chewy texture. Dowdy Arabia: Much was expected of the Chicken Shawarma, but it completely disappointed with its blandness. The hummus was a similar tale with not even a trace of olive oil coming through. The Calamari Fry, though crisp, lacked any flavour whatsoever, and the sauce provided with it did nothing to help. In the main course, the Rubiyan Alabama (prawn) did not even get to the level of its chicken counterpart. The Mutton Nashif was supposed to have tender mutton but that must have been some time back since the consensus was that it was stale. The bigger disappointment was that many dishes were unavailable. This included the Cajun fish, most rice dishes, Umm Ali and other desserts like the Caramel Coffee Bavarian, and its vanilla version. Service: Helpful staff, who also educate you on the days special. But they did decide to bring a couple of the starters after the main course had arrived, and had to be reminded twice to refill our glasses. Verdict: Since the cuisine is relatively uncommon, Mazeejs menu does show potential if they can ensure that they are able to serve all the items mentioned, and serve them well. What also works in their favour is that unlike the regions more famous export, the prices of these dishes wont make you recoil. FOOD AMBIENCE SERVICE
Bangalore Mirror reviews anonymously and pays for meals

INTHEPAN
MAZEEJ

Manu Prasad bmfeedback@indiatimes.com

azeej promises a lot with its Flavours of Arabia tagline and a menu to match, but most of it is only on paper

PARKING:

Considering the portion sizes and the relative scarcity of options for the cuisine, the pricing is just about right. Street parking, and though its not the easiest of streets to find parking in, there are handy side lanes nearby.

ALCOHOL:
and wine.

No, but soon to get beer

VENUE: Mazeej, No: 816, 20th Main, 8th

Block, (opposite Indian Heritage Academy) Koramangala, Bangalore 560095. Ph: 8792143224

Chicken Kabsa

GENESIS:

Roasted mutton leg.

SIGNATURE DISH:

Mazeej is a venture of Fuzion Foodz, owned by Faizal, Sameer and Subein. In addition to Mazeej, the premises also host Blackboard Cafe and Gakko, a Chinese restaurant. The restaurants started operations a month ago. Shish Tawook,

COST: For around ` 900, you could

share a soup, a non-veg appetiser, a main course consisting of rice, kuboos, a non-veg gravy, a dry dish and end your meal with a dessert.

IS YOUR HOME CAUSING ASTHMA IN YOUR KIDS?

THE2-MINUTEREAD

KIDS STAYING in mouldy homes have three times greater odds of developing asthma by the age of seven. Early life exposure to mould seems to play a critical role in childhood asthma development, says Tiina Reponen, professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati who led a study. Researchers analysed seven years of comprehensive data for 176 children

to evaluate the effects of mould exposure in early life, the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology reports. The children were part of the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS), a long-term population-based study that included more than 700 children from the Greater Cincinnati area, according to a university statement. Mould exposure levels were measured using a DNA-based analysis tool developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- the environmental relative mouldiness index (ERMI). Eighteen percent of children enrolled in CCAAPS were found to be asthmatic at age seven. IANS

GENES NOT LIFESTYLE RESPONSIBLE FOR LONG LIFE

THE SECRET behind why some people live for 100 years may lie in their genes and not in a healthy lifestyle, a research says. Centenarians may possess additional longevity genes that help to buffer them against the harmful effects of an unhealthy lifestyle, said Nir Barzilai, professor of aging research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who led the study. These findings suggest that nature (longevity genes) may be more important than nurture (lifestyle behaviours) when it comes to living an exceptionally long life. Barzilai and his team interviewed 477 Ashkenazi Jews who were living independently and were 95 years old and older (75 percent of them women). They were enrolled in Einstein's Longevity Genes Project, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reports. Researchers used data from 3,164 people who were born around the same time as the centenarians and were examined between 1971 and 1975 while participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers found that people with exceptional longevity did not have any healthier habits than the comparison group in terms of smoking, physical activity or diet, according to an Einstein statement. IANS