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Aladdin

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Liam Hetherington
Liam Hetherington
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4 out of 5
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51) Aladdin - Legendary

51) Aladdin - Legendary

Syria – 22/09/09

Everyone knows the story of Aladdin. However, this particular Aladdin is much less well known. Despite it sitting practically directly across the road from my flat I had never stepped inside its doors. In fact, I cannot recall ever seeing anyone enter or leave this restaurant. However, it seems to be reaching legendary status amongst Manchester’s congnoscenti – and with very good reason!

I had not even particularly noticed the place’s existence with its brick exterior and dated yellow awning until a couple of foodies at work mentioned it. Checking out the menu they had I was shocked to realise that it was located just down the road from me. And when Paul and I finally visited, at 6 o’clock on an unfashionable Tuesday evening, during what is supposedly a recession we were shocked to find the place buzzing. As the waiter checked his bookings sheet to see whether he could fit the pair of us in I realised that we should have booked.

Still, they found a space for us upstairs. This confirmed my decision to come here. Posters, photographs and prints of Syrian landmarks hung on the walls – the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, the norias of Hama, Palymyra, the amphitheatre of Bosra, grainy black and white images of Aleppo’s Souq al-Attarine from the 1920s. I had been in Aleppo at the start of Ramadan; now that it had ended (it had been Eid the previous day) I was revisiting Syrian food.

And there is certainly enough choice – 31 starters, 25 mains, and 6 desserts. Once again, like Petra, I think this would be a place that would reward a party grazing on mezze. A lot of them were ones I had eaten during my week in Syria – dips like hommus and baba ghannouj, cold appetizers like tabouleh and stuffed vine leaves, and hot hors d’oveures like falafel and cheese bourak pastries. So first off I went for a starter I had tried in Damascus - kibbeh makli. Kibbeh are a little like meatballs in that they are minced lamb. However they are rolled in a crushed wheat mixture and deep-fried. The end result is that they look something like potato croquettes. The favourite story about them is that during the second world war British servicemen nicknamed them ‘Syrian torpedoes’, and indeed these two did resemble torpedoes in shape somewhat, or conceivably thick cigars (by contrast that in Damascus was more pear-shaped). The other big difference between the Damascus kibbeh and their Mancunian cousins was the taste. These were nicer. The mince was dry, the coating was crisp, and flavouring was provided by parsley, onions, and pine kernals. The latter in particular added a lot to my enjoyment. Okay, so they were served plain and ungarnished in a bowl (though with a basket of warm pitta bread), but they were very tasty. The cost was £4.50 for two. Paul had chosen for his starter sujok. These were four chipolata-esque lamb sausages, spicy and pimento-red. The taste was reminiscent of chorizo – or more accurately for British readers, a Peperami Hot. The price for these was £3.80.

In general the main courses were more of an unknown quantity for me. Of course there were kebabs (but sadly no Aleppo kebab). There was maklobeh. But instead I went for a hot stew by the name of bameah (£9.00). This was pieces of lamb and okra, cooked in a garlicky tomato sauce. The combination of pulped tomato and soft okra gave it a taste not unlike like gumbo. Paul went for pretty much the same main as he had enjoyed during our Jordanian meal, stuffed artichokes (£7.50). There was a vegetarian filling to the artichokes, which had been topped with a ‘lid’ of a halved beef tomato before being oven-baked. It was lovely and had a very lemony tomato sauce. Each was served with a plate of long-grain rice (with thin pieces of vermicelli mixed in) to make the most of the sauces.

We went without desserts. While I am a fan (in small quantities) of levantine delicacies like baklava, katayf and kenafi, the problem for Paul is that the art of the Arabic sweet seems pretty much to be based around chopped nuts, which is no good for someone with a mild intolerance. So instead we just finished up our drinks. Aladdin does not have a liquor license, and only serves soft drinks (fizzy pop, coffee and tea and the like). However, you are welcome to bring your own alcohol for a small corkage charge (£1.00 for a bottle of wine, 50p for a can of beer). Corkage used to strike me as cheek, but I now consider this very reasonable, and much cheaper than it would have been to buy drinks in a restaurant normally. So for £1.00 we had a perfectly nice Fairtrade South African sauvignon blanc from the Co-op.

The end bill came to around £26.00 (we put in £30.00 to include tip). Obviously this was more than I would have paid in Syria! However, I would say that in general the food we tried was at the higher end of what I ate over there. And while Aladdin may not be the most glamourous place in town, I found it perfectly charming and it brought back happy memories. It reminded me of the old story of Aladdin in which a battered old dusty lamp contained wonders within. The moral would be to not be taken in by exterior appearances. This restaurant may not look like much but it serves up some good grub to its discerning patrons. But book in advance before word gets out!

From journal Around The World In 80 Meals! (part 6)

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