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Assaf Lebanese Cuisine/Beyrouth Cafe

David Sutton

Assaf Lebanese Cuisine/Beyrouth Cafe G/F Lyndhurst Building 37A/B Lyndhurst Terrace Central Tel 2854 1872/2851 6550

Grub: Middle Eastern cuisine so lots of kebabs and pitta bread.

Vibe: Fairly ordinary as a restaurant. It's not too big so it can get busy at lunch times. Assaf is the sit-down restaurant, while Beyrouth Cafe is the attached take-away.

Who to bring: Bring a group of friends. If you're having take-away you might also bring some tissues, kebabs can get a bit messy.

What's Hot: Two places, one kitchen. This restaurant has been serving Lebanese cuisine for a very long time and even bounced back after a nasty fire destroyed the place a couple of years ago.

Kebabs are the mainstay of its menu and there are several to choose from.

Shish kebabs are made from cubes of barbecued meat - beef or chicken are available.

Shawarma are layers of meat stacked up on a large rotisserie to be cooked. These are the distinctive towers of meat that are always so visible in Middle Eastern and Greek restaurants. The meat is shaved off from the outside prior to serving. Lamb and chicken shawarma are available.

The menu also includes mousaka, a range of salads, stuffed vine leaves and of course the dips. Hummus is pureed chick-peas with olive oil, baba ghannouj is mashed egg plant mixed with various seasonings

The best value for your money is the set lunch. This includes a salad, a choice of dip, a choice of kebab and a soft drink. And you get to sit in the restaurant to enjoy it.

What's not: The problem with take-away is that unless you live near-by there is nowhere pleasant to take it to. But there are half a dozen stools to sit on in the shop itself.

Cost: Most dishes from the a la carte menu are around HK$70 for starters and HK$150 for mains. The set lunch is HK$90. From the take-away side, kebabs are HK$55-HK$60.

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