Saturday, April 27, 2024

Restaurant review: House of Mandi unites Bruins with homey atmosphere, shareable food

house of mandi

Head over to Khalid Bin Waleed branch to enjoy your weekend breakfast. House of Mandi is bringing authentic Yemeni cuisine to the Westwood community. Pay affordable prices for eating at House of Mandi - Yemeni Restaurant -مطعم بيت المندي اليمني. The good decor and exotic atmosphere let visitors feel relaxed here.

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A core clientele of families and friends gravitate to the Yemeni-style floor seating in one corner, relaxing on cushions patterned in red, black and white. They linger over platters, often finishing with sips of black tea piney from cardamom or strong coffee served with dates. These design choices undeniably play into the restaurant’s strengths.

Kabsa Rice

Jose Rivera, another first-time customer at House of Mandi, said he appreciated the friendliness and knowledge of the staff at the restaurant. For the fascinating history of Biryani, please see //localfoodeater.com/mandi-biryani-at-home-in…/. Floating atop the stew, melting but also astonishingly intact, is hilba, a scallion-flecked condiment made by soaking ground fenugreek in water and then beating it to the fluffy consistency of Cool Whip. Dairy-free cooks in search of an improbably creamy, savory garnish might want to experiment further with this miracle of science. I noticed instructions for hilba in “Sifratna,” an excellent cookbook on Yemeni food by Amjaad Al Hussain.

house of mandi

Our Food

The same wait staff did not serve the table’s lamb mandi for around an hour. Their apology after being asked about it implied they had forgotten about it. Luckily, each table can grab the attention of a waiter using a service button attached to each napkin dispenser. While potentially uncomfortable to use, they are certainly useful in the restaurant’s relatively large floor space. Customers will certainly want to order a variety of items. The Hrada of Seltah, a vegetable stew with finely chopped potatoes, okra and ground beef, came out of the kitchen still boiling.

Take the little guy in a high chair at the next table. He had already redone the wall of artifacts behind him and the plate of food in front of him by the time his family was leaving, all of which were now on the floor under the table. Cube of cotage cooked in tandoori mixed with onions, tomatoes and spices in tawa. The first House of Mandi opened in Anaheim four years ago with the Westwood location serving as the restaurant’s second, Alkabass said.

4 Haneith Chicken

Al Seragi, who is also from Yemen, said both Arab and non-Arab students have enjoyed House of Mandi’s menu. Alkabass said despite the presence of Yemeni restaurants in the United States, he could not find an authentic Yemeni flavor at any he had tried. Noting the difficulty of finding a chef, he said the restaurant decided to hire chefs Om Fayad and Zumzum Omer, who moved directly from Yemen and Eritrea, respectively. The restaurant, which opened March 15, features traditional Arabic seating and music along with its Yemeni menu. Located on Gayley Avenue, the interior of House of Mandi displays colorfully patterned cushions and tables. Their modern adaptation of mandi might lack the smoldering fragrance of the original method, but the meats emerge uniformly lush and a hint of smokiness threads through the spices.

Mandi Chicken NO Rice

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He added that he has seen limited authentic cuisines available in Westwood and hopes students will explore food from Yemen. If you want to remember Little Arabia District, come to this restaurant first. Have a nice time here and share tasty mandi, lamb and chicken with your friends.

Bar added that he sees the restaurant’s space as a great place for dates and parties and for UCLA students to enjoy a meal. He added that he thinks the location could be one of the best upcoming restaurants in the Los Angeles area. House of Mandi is just a happy place to be with the continuous buzz of families and friends of all ages sharing food. Week-end chaos, kids and clattering trays, even between lunch and dinner service is somehow both inviting and satisfying.

house of mandi

Sliced, seasoned chicken meat served with baked and fried basmati rice. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m.; its breakfast options appeal any time of day. (Al Hussain notes in her book that her family frequently enjoys morning dishes for dinner.) Ubiquitous shakshouka comes in scrambled form, the medium-firm curds gripping diced tomatoes and onions. A soothing, pureed version of foul (dried fava beans) with a generous glug of olive oil is ideal for dipping bread. In this mix I also love an order of spiced lamb liver sauteed with onions and tomatoes. Its iron richness rings strong and true among the other flavors.

Lamb Haneeth was the second version of the special traditional dish with lamb from the city of Sana’a in Yemen. A very young fresh lamb is gently roasted in an underground oven until the ultra-tender meat falls off the bone. It is served hot, wrapped in foil, and served over Mandi rice, that is dotted with slivered almonds and yellow raisins. Little tubs of Yemeni sauce and Yogurt are on the table. The huge platter arrived at the same time as a pretty woven basket of bread.

Chicken in a unique blend of mixed pickle and spices, prepared to a special authentic recipe by our chef. House of Mandi opened its doors on March 15 near the corner of Gayley and Kinross Avenue, a brief walk from the university apartments. Owner Faris Alkabass developed the restaurant as a space for authentic Yemeni cuisine in the United States. It captures this vision with style, offering a focused menu in a welcoming atmosphere.

The broth, which was hearty and meaty without being overly salty, paired well with the slightly fluffy chapati flatbread, served a la carte or as a fitting accompaniment to several items. The potatoes perfectly absorbed the flavor of the broth and other ingredients, while pieces of pepper gave some bites a sinus-clearing spiciness. Prices may initially seem steep for college students’ budgets. For example, portions of the restaurant’s signature mandi dishes range from $26 to $35.

But these dishes are meant to be shared, with plates typically served to the center of the table rather than as entrees for individuals. A group of three or four diners can satisfyingly share a main dish, a couple smaller items, and some drinks for less than $100, making it House of Mandi comparable to other sit-down restaurants in Westwood. Between family visits to theme parks or HR summits at the convention center, there’s a good chance that, if you’re in Anaheim, you’re with a lot of people. And that makes finding a big group dinner spot important. This Yemeni restaurant in Little Arabia is a community tentpole where showing up with a crowd is almost mandatory.

We say that because the menu centers around namesake mandi spreads that feed 3 to 18 people. You’ll find them made with tender whole roasted lamb, chicken, or fish, piled on a mountain of fragrant rice with soft Yemeni bread you can measure by the yard. Also, it feels like a typo, but this place is open nightly until 4am. I mentioned most customers come for an unhurried meal. The pace of the restaurant is leisurely in general; if you need to be in and out in a flash, call ahead for carryout. Most of the dining space has Western-style tables and chairs.

So many meaty, half-buried forms jut out from the grains that the eyes have trouble landing. Probably with a chicken leg, its skin crisp-soft and nearly orange from a cumin-forward spice rub. Next, reach for a forkful of lamb tugged from a shank and coupled with a stray almond sliver. Spoon sides of minted yogurt and tomato-chile chutney over the rice, making it as saucy as you like and tinkering with interplays of hot and cool. Mixture of chickpeas and fava beans finely ground with fresh herbs and mixed with spices.

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