Sherman's Food Adventures: Mangal Kiss

Mangal Kiss

Last summer (2011), we walked past Mangal Kiss on our way to Feastro the Rolling Bistro. For a microsecond, I considered trying out one of their wraps. But no, I wasn't going to eat more than I could handle. Yes, I do have my limits! Besides, how good could a wrap be anyways? Well, it turns out that that I seemed to have missed out according to Whipping Girl. She spent the next year harassing me about trying the place out since it is one of her favourites. Fast forward to late Summer (2012), I finally relented and met her at the VAG (the art gallery!!!) for some Mangal Kiss. I

I got the featured Lamb Kebab consisting of ground Peace River lamb, lettuce, cucumbers, radish, daikon, fresh mint, hummus and sweet pepper & harissa aioli all wrapped in a pita. One bite and the textures and flavours hit me like the HST on a car purchase. The crunch from the greens, daikon and radish added both a brightness and necessary textural contrast to the moist lamb and soft pita. The fresh mint added an extra hit of brightness that complimented (as mint does) the lamb. The lamb itself was super moist and flavourful. The onions and spices really amped up the flavour with sweetness and a slight kick.

Whipping Girl isn't a huge fan of lamb and opted for her standby being the Fraser Valley Rib-Eye with hummus, tahini, purple cabbage, beets, pickled turnips, pickles, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, spice moroccan carrots, radish and tabbouleh. This was an attractive and colourful array of ingredients which danced on my tongue like someone playing DDR. The balance of acidity, sweetness and savoury elements were accented by the herbiness of the tabbouleh. The rib-eye was nicely charred and moist.  Alright.  I'll admit it.  Whipping Girl is right.  Mangal Kiss is everything she said it would be and more.

The Good:
- Pronounced flavours
- Good value

The Bad:
- Limited choices (but they specialize in one thing and do it right)
- Long wait time

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ (Food Cart) on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

KimHo said...

In terms of food, I agree it is good; however, you are understating the wait time. When I visited it, there were about ~10 people ahead of me. When I ordered, I was told there would be a 15 minutes wait. I though "sure" and made my order. And waited... And waited... And waited... By the time my name was called, easily 25 minutes.

I do appreciate they make things to order but that was a bit to the extreme. IMO, it sorts of defies the purpose and can't be considered a "quick" lunch.

Unknown said...

Defently one of the best i had :)

Sherman Chan said...

@KimHo The wait time is kinda annoying yes.

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