Good Eats: El Jannah, Granville

I don't think I've ever had Lebanese food prior to El Jannah. I do remember my first prom date being half Lebanese. But obviously, we didn't have Lebanese food at prom nor did we get to talk about Lebanese food. Oh, prom. Time to digress? Okay.

I'm so ignorant sometimes. Is there some Scarlet letter to bear for shameful pretend-foodies like me?

Behold!

Touch-typing here and there, click, click, backspace, click. Bingo. I just fed my brain with some more information on Middle Eastern food, more importantly Lebanese. However, this post isn't meant for readers to gain insight.

Only perhaps envy.

Lady Luck was surely by my side that day as we were headed towards the same direction embarking on our pre-Christmas road trip down the South Coast.

I found that going to El Jannah means only business. You come in, queue and buy yourself some charcoal chicken. 

Hmmm. I don't know. I think I was being built up to this moment so much that my expectations fell short? The chicken was very dry. But that's what happens to any protein cooked too long. Let me say though that it lives up to its name. You're really in for a party with some heavy charcoal taste and smell. I know many people love it but I wasn't won over like I imagined I would have been. I thought it'd have more depth in flavour but the predominant taste was just...of charcoal. But then again, what do I know? (Holding up my Ignorant Card)

I'm a Charcoal Chicken, duh? (Karen Smith voice)

I still prefer the Filipino Lechon Manok. I'm all class, you guyssssssss.

A couple years back, I think this was around PHP150, roughly JPY300. I love SEA.

But I'm a person with ambitious conquests when it comes to eating and I did not look at the chicken through a defeatist perspective.

Not a first date kinda place, nope. But wow.

How pink is that

Instead, I washed my hands clean and got handsy! It was a Chicken Wrap party! The Leb bread + the chicken generously brushed with some garlic dip + the salty pickles = Good Lawwwwd! It was very good.

How my heart aches for chicken salt. How is it I find Himalayan pink salt everywhere but not Chicken Salt? Y U GOTTA BE SO SELFISH, AUSTRAYA!

And though the wraps were already keeping our mouths preoccupied, we all used the When In Rome card and ordered "regular chips". This was the first (of many) chip encounter we had during our South Coast road trip. Every time, as in without fail, we ordered chips, it always came in a ginormous serve! The photo above is Exhibit A. I guess my sister and I find it shocking that the Western "regular" is 5 times the "regular" we get in Asia.

Potatoes will always be potatoes. However, only in Australia did I realise they could be everything you need in life with a generous dusting of Chicken Salt. Have I not gabbed about it? I have no qualms bellowing out its goodness but it must have been pretty life-changing for someone to start an entire blog about it.

We couldn't do anything about that annoying gap between the tables that were bolted down on the tiled floor.

Research enlightens me that Lebanese flat bread is a staple to every Lebanese meal and can be used to replace the usage of the fork. Made sense. Screw you, unedible forks!

It was great value for money having only paid AUD20 for the whole chicken plus all the sides (save for the chips). I wish we had ordered less though. Nothing breaks my heart more than wasting food and I wish I could say that we learned to order better after that but the range of our eyes far exceeds the capacity of our stomachs. It's something I hope to reconcile.

If ever I do get a chance to go back, I'll probably order one of their chicken wraps.
And if possible order just a separate tub of their garlic dip to take away. That was sensational.

In other news, I'm pretty damn excited about reliving my broke-university days through a whole Chooks-To-Go chicken. Only a few weeks until my next holidaze.