2008 Moroccan Christmas Eve

The Menu and my Diana F+

It’s Christmas eve 2008 and I got a text message from an old friend around 5pm, it read “dinner tonight?” I replied, “let me see if I can get a car”. After clearing it with my mom and the rest of the family, I got the car. After confirming my availability, I got another text, “Indian OK?” Fine by me... I have been stuck with Chinese and Japanese food lately so I was dying for a break. Halfway to the restaurant, somewhere in Kuningan, M called, “The restaurant has 3 different cuisines, Thai, Indian, or Moroccan?” “Indian or Moroccan.” “Moroccan then.” “O.K.”

As like its more well known predecessor, Lhanna Thai, the Moroccan wing has floorboard, curtains that made you feel as though you are under a tent and chandeliers. M was waiting for me. Menus ready on hand. I quickly ordered Iced Mint Tea. It was sweet, cool, and minty, just the way I like it. A bit sweeter than I normally like but it was perfect.


The chandeliers sets the atmosphere and ambience which could either be romantic or relaxing

M recommended that we chose 2 dishes to share, so we settled for Lamb Shank Apple and Stuffed Calamari, both are on the speciality list. Even though we didn’t order appetizers, they gave us some bread with hummus like dish and spiced carrots which were delicious. The bread was warm and soft, the hummus like dish was very tasty, cool and garlicky, the carrots were soft, sweet and received a good dowry of spices.


The complimentary appetizers: soft pita bread, spiced carrots and hummus-like dish

The Stuffed Calamari came shortly, it was steaming with curry-like sauce, its savory smell assaulting my nose. The taste was every bit as good as the smell! As I cut through the meat, the stuffing: rice, diced calamari and prawns (from what I can tell or guess) were seasoned nicely to balance out the curry sauce.

The lamb shank too did not disappoint. It definitely lived up to its recommendation. Thanks M! The meat was so tender it breaks so easily at the touch of my fork and knife. The sweet apple puree sauce’s smell wafted to make me wonder whether this will taste like a main course or dessert. The plate included some carrots that are so sweet and had apple taste to it, and apple pieces that taste cinnamon-y almost like the inside of an apple strudel. The sweetness of the apple blends well with the strong flavoring of the lamb very surprisingly. A very nice surprise!


Lamb shank in apple sauce


Stuffed Calamari

Which one was better out of the two, I cannot choose. I loved them both and I would come back for more. Sharing those two dishes was wise, M and I were so stuffed! I of course had to have dessert... even if before I went out the door of my house that night, my dad told me “honey,... don’t eat too much. You’ll get obese.” I thought it was hilarious that he said that, if he had said ‘fat’ instead of ‘obese’ I would have been annoyed... but ah dad, he could be funny at times... Too much indulgence in food can make you fat, but then again, you only live once.


Dessert Menu (separate from the main course and appetizer menu and also from drinks menu)


Strawberry Puff Pastry with Milk Cream

So going back to the dessert, I chose Strawberry Puff Pastry with Milk Creme. After all that good meal, all I wanted was a small bite of sweet to give my Moroccan excursion a happy ending, but I was disappointed. The pastry was too big or maybe I was too full, the strawberries were a bit sour, and there were too much strawberry jelly. If they had layer it layers of small piece of pastry then strawberries with creme and little bit of jelly would have been much nicer. It has all the ingredients to be better, but not there yet. I would definitely come back for the main courses and the iced mint tea.

El Wajh

Jl. KH Hashim no. 112

Jakarta Pusat

+62 21 319 25037