Nuba is Good, ah!

Nuba Restaurant
Lebanese Cuisine
207 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, BC
Canada
ph:(604) 688-1655

There is a prime spot on West Hastings which always attract my attention. It's a few steps below street level and at the very corner of a heritage building, called the Dominion. Even on drunken nights leaving The Cambie, I never failed to look at this spot, it just has something that lures you in, maybe it's the building itself which just spells c-h-a-r-a-c-t-e-r all over it. The old tenant was an interesting Mexican restaurant called The Old Mouse and Bean. I made a mental note to pay them a visit but unfortunately, it closed down before I could sample a taste of their wares. Thankfully, a Lebanese restaurant called Nuba stepped in.

Nuba from the outside looked exotic, cozy and mostly inviting and as curiosity took over me, I googled the restaurant and reviews and found out that their dish called Najib's Special made it on the list of Vancouver magazine's "Things to Taste Before You Die". Finding out about this, I quickly sold this restaurant to my friends and scheduled a Nuba date. Making reservations has become a good habit of mine even dining on a week night. Learning from experience, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Inside, the restaurant was even better with its modern-exotic ambiance which ironically gives it a hint of retro feel with its wooden tables and olive green upholstery. The space is big and on a Monday night, it was packed, thank god for reservations. The hostess was friendly as I was led to our table and was immediately given glasses of cucumber water. Being the first one to arrive from our party of four, I had the opportunity to go over the menu and noticed the two-course vegetarian platter for two called La Feast. This seems to be a good Nuba starter dish so you can have a try of what the restaurant has to offer which included the Najib's Special which is all I cared about really. As long as I get a bite of that crispy cauliflower seasoned with lemon and sea salt, I'll be happy.

When my friends finally arrived, the server gave us the rundown of the specials and most of us made a quick order of the drink special which was a concoction of cucumber, mint and Pimms liquor -- whatever that was and my other friend ordered the organic sangria. The drink special was interesting, it's not something I would re-order but I'll always try anything new and unusual as long as it doesn't involve eating cute, furry creatures (rabbits included). The organic sangria actually suites my palate more but both drinks were refreshing nonetheless. With our hunger pangs making its presence, we ended our order discussion and decided to go for the La Feast, chicken tawook which is a dish of marinated grilled chicken breast and the fire-grilled halloumi cheese with sweet vinaigrette.

After some chit chats, the first part of the La Feast arrived which was a huge platter of hummus (chickpea, lemon, garlic and tahini dip), baba ghanooj (roasted eggplant puree), taboulleh (parsley and burghul salad), some pickled vegetables which I thought were beets but I could be very wrong and of course a bowl of pita bread. Just basing from the first bite of my hummus and pita, I knew it was going to be a good meal. Everything on the plate was delectable and we were still wiping it clean with our pita when round number two arrived. It was a heaping platter of green and brown dishes which could fill up three hungry people especially since we already had a good fill from the first course. Falafel, mjadra (green lentils with crispy onions and jalapeño), roasted potatoes, fattoush salad (greens, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions and roasted pita chips) some black olives and Macedonian feta cheese and of course the Najib's Special make up the second course and these are served with side dips of creamy jalapeño, tahini and tzatziki.

Naturally, the Najib's Special was the first thing I put in my mouth. Drizzled with a bit of tahini for that first perfect bite, this dish was tangy, tasty and every bit memorable and it did deserve to be well-renowned, definitely to die for. The falafel topped with the jalapeño dip for that extra zing will make your taste buds sing. It maybe the best falafel I had, not dry and very flavourful and fresh. The mjadra was delicious as well with the crunchy onions for the added flavour. The salad was also refreshing with a nice crunch from the roasted pita chips, the potatoes very well-seasoned and the olive and feta cheese added a good variety to this must-try dish. Our chicken tawook came as well as the halloumi cheese. The chicken was tender and tasty but was over-powered by the vegetarian dishes. The halloumi cheese was also good but if you just had a dish like the Najib's Special, everything else will be second rate, the cauliflower was hands-down the highlight of our Nuba night.

Feeling very full and satisfied except for my sweet tooth that was annoyingly nagging me, I was forced to call our server for the dessert menu. I opted for the mamoul which was a Lebanese style shortbread cookie with walnut and rosewater filling. My friends ordered the Turkish coffee which looked like a very potent, good-luck-with-sleeping-tonight pot of java which they seemed to enjoy. As for my cookie, it was the perfect ending to my Nuba experience. It was just the right kill-the-craving size and was delicately sweet.

Nuba definitely made Lebanese dining exquisite. Even if this restaurant is not located at my favourite spot, it will still be worth a thousand visits. You can even put it in the worst area of Vancouver where you curse the commute everytime, just as long as the cauliflower is on the menu I would definitely go.

* photo stolen from: www.chowtimes.com