Middle Eastern cuisine is one of my favorites, wringing maximum flavor from just a handful of main ingredients enhanced by herbs and earthy spices.
Habibi Tasty brings Arabic cuisine to Moiliili, in the King Street space that formerly housed Hula Supply Center.
Husband-and-wife owners Moha and Susan Arekat were operating out of a food truck in Waikiki before making the move to the brick-and-mortar space.
The dining room seems underutilized, with just a handful of tables that accommodate only about 20 diners at a time, but the empty space closest to the entrance reflects plans to set up a Middle Eastern market once they get settled in with the flow of food service.
There’s no divide between kitchen and dining room so diners have a view of prep and plating. The most dramatic moment comes with orders of kebabs that have Moha grab bing softball-size rounds of lamb or beef meatballs and running them through the pointy tips of swordlike skewers before shaping the ground meat to the thin blade and grilling it.
It’s good to study the menu thoroughly and decide on your entrée before looking at appetizers to prevent duplicating dishes because most entrées come with an option of hummus or Arabic salad that are both included in a tempting appetizer platter ($20). The platter also includes the eggplant dip baba ghanouj, four falafel and two pieces of saj, their unleavened flatbread.
The a la carte price of adding baba ghanouj is $10; flatbread, $5; falafel, $10 for eight pieces; and $6 for the Arabic salad of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives and olive oil.
There’s also a mixed falafel selection ($15) that includes six of the couple’s regular fresh-ground, deep-fried chickpea fritters, as well as a couple of stuffed falafel I haven’t seen anyone else serve on Oahu to date. One version is stuffed with cheese; the other is stuffed with a flavorful mix of sweet red onions and tangy sumac. It’s worth the splurge if you’re a falafel fan.
The opening menu is quite small and for now represents a meat lover’s paradise. There is no fish, and besides the dishes on the appetizer platter, nothing for vegans and vegetarians, although I would find the platter thoroughly enjoyable without adding on a meat entrée. They are working on a vegetable platter that might one day include potato salad, cumin-scented cauliflower and spiced green bean-and-tomato salad. Grilled fish would be a nice addition but waste is a consideration when demand is unknown.
For the most part, people who appreciate Middle Eastern fare know it’s all about lamb, and Habibi Tasty goes all out with a lamb mix plate ($65) for two (or one really hungry person) that features two lamb kebabs, two lamb chops and two lamb seekh comprising grilled cubes of meat. The platter includes grilled onions, tomato and garlic, as well as sides of basmati rice, hummus, Arabic salad and two pieces of saj.
Individual rice plates with two lamb kebabs, three lamb chops or cubed lamb are respectively priced at $32, $35 and $25. I particularly love the flavor of the kebabs, seasoned with onions, parsley and Arabic spices.
There are also beef kebabs ($28) and chicken seekh ($20). For something different there is the chicken shawarma. I loved the bite-sized morsels of chicken thigh, made tender by a marinade of yogurt and spices.
For now, you’ll have to go elsewhere for dessert but in a city where people love a sweet finale, I hope they’ll be able to add on baklava and other dessert options soon.
Habibi Tasty
2346 S. King St., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ***½
Value: ****
Call: 808-728-4115
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays
Prices: About $65-$75 for two
Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).
