Review: Naabgoosht at Naab Persian Fine Cuisine

Overall comment: This all-time favourite Persian dish calls out to all who love lamb & tomato-based soup! As I'm a fan of lamb AND tomato-based soup, I've no complaints about this dish! :D You'll get to truly enjoy such authentic Persian dish only at Naab! Read more about my previous experience here.
Halal: Yes

Abgoosht, literally translated as "water-meat" is a Persian & Mesopotamian stew. It's traditionally cooked with lamb, tomatoes, potatoes & chickpeas with some herbs & spices in a tomato purée base as its soup. The ingredients are cooked in a small claypot over the stove (even if there's a whole family to feed, this dish will still be traditionally cooked in small individual claypots!) for several hours until the ingredients are soft enough to be mashed. Once done, the meat & vegetables will be strained from the soup, mashed, & served as a separate dish to be eaten with flatbread.

Naab, the Persian Fine Cuisine restaurant is currently having a special "Buy 1 Free 1" promotion throughout the month of November for its version of the Abgoosht, which they call the "Naabgoosht" :) It's actually worth trying if you have not tried any traditional Persian dishes & would like to find out for yourself what's the difference between a typical Persian/Iranian dish compared to the other Middle Eastern dishes.

Just like their FB fan page & you'll get to enjoy this promo!

Naabgoosht Set (RM36.90/set - buy 1 free 1 for November 2012)

The Naabgoosht set is a traditional Persian experience. It takes getting used to, especially the Persian-version of the yoghurt drink. It's not sweet like the Indian lassi, but is rather sour & savoury. It is known to be very good for digestion after a heavy abgoosht meal. I personally couldn't bring myself to enjoy the yoghurt drink in the Naabgoosht set.

Refreshing complimentary lime juice

If I'm not mistaken, every customer at Naab is served a glass of lime juice that's sweet & sourish. I can testify that the Persians are quite health concious! Everything is about being natural, healthy, & balanced.

Components in the Naabgoosht Set - size/portion for ONE person

So, what do you get in the Naabgoosht set? I feel that it's quite a generous serving for a set - a coffee-mug full of Persian yoghurt drink, a platter of pickles & herbs, the Abgoosht, & 2 LARGE pieces of flatbread. The pickles are not your typical pickles in a bottle; these are more acidic/sourish. The platter comes with a stalk of fresh basil, fresh yellow onions, & a slice of lemon as well - all ingredients compliment the mashed meat+potatoes+tomatoes+chickpeas. I shared this set with a colleague & I'm SO glad that we shared 'cause we couldn't have finished the whole set ourselves! Guys could probably finish 1 set by themselves when they're really hungry.

Steps to prepare your Abgoosht

L-R (clockwise): 1 & 2 - Strain the meat & vegetables from the broth. 

3 - Mash the ingredients using the pestle.

4 - Mash 'til it's pretty much pulpish (depending on how "mashed" you want your meat to be)

5 - Transfer the mashed meat + vegetables onto a plate

6 - Serve the dish with the soup & flatbread! :D

Tadaaa!!

Such a pretty arrangement/presentation :D I personally felt that the meat, if left chunkier, would taste better as it would have some "bite" :) I could actually just eat the meat + potatoes + tomatoes from the pot of soup! But this is the TRUE PERSIAN way of eating the abgoosht & I just enjoyed the experience as it was presented to me. 

I love the "full" & "flavourful" tomato-base soup

Unlike our Malaysian Indian & Malay dishes, Persian dishes are quite light with their herbs & spices, yet their dishes are well-balanced in taste. 

How to enjoy the Naabgoosht

Tear a piece of the flatbread & dip it into the soup! The flatbread, I have to say, is also a very commendable ingredient of the set. It's light, fluffy, & slightly crispy, unlike its cousin, the naan :D We could just eat the bread on its own as it's very enjoyable to "crunch" through every bite :)

I varied mine :D The PerutBesi way...

Dip the flatbread into the flavourful tomato broth, load it up with the Naabgoosht mashed meat, top it with some pickles & a leave of basil - fresh (comes from the basil), appetizing (because the pickles are sourish), & just delicious! We ended up finishing every bit of the stew & most of the flatbread :D *yums*

Sekanjebin (RM9.90/serving)

We also tried one of their refreshing drinks, the Sekanjebin. This is an authentically Persian drink, made from mint syrup, apple cider & shredded cucumbers. Very refreshing indeed! It also sounds to me like some "cleansing" drink! Talk about being healthy... 

Naab's branch at Solaris Mont Kiara

Naab has 2 outlets, 1 is their HQ in Jalan Bukit Bintang KL, while the other is in Solaris Mont Kiara. I was at the Mont Kiara outlet since it would be quite crazy to drive to the Bukit Bintang outlet for lunch. Parking at the Solaris Mont Kiara branch is ample & the traffic in that area is also less congested compared to the city centre.

Interior of the restaurant

It's unpredictable when the restaurant has a crowd. That day when I was there for the review, the restaurant was initially peaceful, but after 10 minutes, someone walked in & requested to have a table for TWENTY ONE persons! Talk about unpredictability. This place surely satisfy their customers' every need & cravings with their extensive menu.

Naab Cafe

The Solaris Mont Kiara branch also has a little cafe next to its main restaurant area. The interior & overall ambiance of the cafe is slightly more casual compared to the restaurant-setting next door, which is more "fine dining" style.

Lovely photos of Persia/Iran

These are photos taken of Iran - the different sights, seasons, culture. I didn't know Iran looks so pretty!

Naab's Menu

Basically both Bukit Bintang & Solaris Mont Kiara branch has similar items served in their outlets. The only difference is that the Solaris outlet has slightly more choices of light "cafe-style" food to cater to the crowd at this area compared to their Bukit Bintang outlet.

Only at Solaris Mont Kiara's Naab Branch

You'll find various types of burgers, wraps & sandwiches. The Bukit Bintang outlet has only 1 type of burger, but it has other dishes like pasta too. I've no idea how Persian-style pasta would taste like! :D 

Map to Naab @ Solaris Mont Kiara 

You can find out more about Naab in my previous post. I was invited to the HQ at Jalan Bukit Bintang for a sumptous Persian buffet dinner at that time :)

Don't miss out this "Buy 1 Free 1" Naabgoosht promotion. You still have 3+ weeks this month to try it out!

 Naab Business & Dining Centre (Solaris Mont Kiara branch)

13 & 15, Jalan Solaris 2

Solaris Mont' Kiara

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: (+603) 6203 7647

Business hours: 12:00 noon - 12:00 midnight (Monday - Sunday)

URL: Naab Restaurant
FB: Naab Business & Dining Centre


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:






Enjoyed the gastronomical trip to Iran (again!),