Having worked in the Middle East for 25 years in the cities of Manama, Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar, I acquired a taste for Middle Easter cuisine. It offered lots of varieties with influences of Persian, Arabic, Mediterranean, and even African and Indian cuisine. I mentioned “acquired” because some of the dishes were not love at first taste.
Having been back in the Philippines for 3 years now, I occasionally miss and crave for my Middle Eastern favorites like kebabs, shawarma, freshly baked pita breads, hommus, biryani rice and other favorites.
Last August 10, I was invited by a fellow blogger, Ross of www.WazzUpPilipinas.com to review Kebabers restaurant in SM City Manila. I was really excited since I love Middle Eastern food.
As I enter the place I was impressed with their settings. It offered a clean, bright atmosphere with looks at par with the well known fast-food outlets found in the Metro. They even have bag hooks under their sturdy tables for convenience and safety.
 |
| The ordering counter |
Here are some of the food that I tried:
Beef Pichos
With other fellow bloggers, we started with the Beef Pichos for appetizers. Can be termed as the Persian Nachos is similar to the Mexican version but instead of using corn tortillas, they use deep fried pita bread as a crunchy base with generous toppings of ground beef, chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and onions topped with tangy garlic sauce and lots of cheese. I definitely enjoyed this appetizer and highly recommend it as a starter when dining as a group. Or alone or shared with someone, you can even have it as your main dish. The garlic sauce with a tiny bit of bite of spiciness really accented the rich flavors of this sumptuous dish.
 |
| Beef Pichos: Php 95 and serves 2 – 3 persons |
Shawarma
Kebabers Shawarma comes in different flavors: Chicken Kebab, Keema, Beef Kebab, and Steak.
It’s a bit different to your typical Philippine shawarma. It even had some potato strips for texture and garnish.
 |
| Shawarma |
Cheese Kebab Rice Meal
Yes, with oozing cheese filling on the inside! It’s not my typical Middle Eastern kebab but it’s quite tasty as well.
 |
|
| Cheese Kebab Rice Meal: Price: Php 95 for 2 pcs, Php125 for 3 pcs. Add Php15 for regular softdrinks |
Shawarma Rice Bowl – Monster Beef
I highly recommend that you try this one out!
 |
|
| Shawarma Rice Bowl – Monster Beef |
Keema Rice
 |
| Keema Rice |
Crunchy Fish Meal
For the ones resting their diet on meat, try their fish meal.
 |
| Crunchy Fish Meal Php 99 pesos |
Dessert from the Desert – Chocolate Fudge
I just love this dessert Chocolate Dessert! Highly recommended. It’s so chocolaty. It’s 50% Belgian chocolate, no wonder why it taste so good.
 |
| Chocolate Fudge: Php 55 |
I enjoyed dining at SM City Manila’s Kebabers! The price is just right for the budget conscious and the place is quite clean and pleasant. It might not be your authentic Persian / Middle Eastern version in the Philippines but given the price and variety, or the variation attuned to the Filipino palette, it’s definitely one of my place to get my fast-food fix.
 |
| Oppps I’m about the eat the Queue dial. Wait for it to light up and it means your order is ready for pickup at the counter. |
 |
| the young entrepreneurs of SM City Manila’s Kebabers |
 |
| Yes, I was but not anymore. I just ate some kebabs at Kebabers! |
