Suren Persian Cuisine

Here we go with another nearby restaurant that I have passed over and over again, but I just have not stopped to dine there.  The place is Suren and I've actually stared at the place many times while dining at North King Noodle across the street.  Yep, it was about time I would finally dine on the Persian cuisine there.  I guess an invite from them was really the catalyst for me to check it out.  I'm glad that I did because they really did a good job renovating from the old Greek restaurant that used to reside there.  Now onto the food!

We kicked things off with 2 starters including the Deep Fried Dumplings served atop some crispy fries.  These were more like flaky pastries akin to Cornish Pasties   Inside, the meat & vegetable filling was moist and well-spiced.  That was good, but the Eggplant Dip was killer.  The soft eggplant was sweet and tangy while spiced with bright mint and sweet caramelized onion.  On the side, we found some  Persian flatbread to dip into the eggplant.

Onto the mains, we were served a variety of kebabs starting with the Chicken and Koobideh.  Beautifully-charred and in a beautiful shade of yellow due to the saffron, the chicken was super juicy and tender.  Despite being chicken breast, this was nowhere near dry.  Nice aromatics.  As for the Koobideh (ground beef), it was also well-charred (but not burnt) and juicy.  It was beefy while sweet from the onions and earthy from the spices.  Loved eating these with the yogurt dips on the side.

Off to two more kebabs, we had the Salmon and the Steak.  As you can see, the salmon was seared up well on the outside.  Although not super moist, the fish was not dry either.  As for the steak, it was probably the best of the bunch being charred with a smoky nuttiness.  The marinated meat was succulent and really moist.  It required very little chewing and yet, it still had a natural meat texture.  In terms of flavour, the natural meatiness was complimented by the sweetness of pomegranate.  A similar sweetness and tang could be found in the Barberry Rice (in the background).  It complimented the chewy, yet fluffy saffron rice beautifully.  So delicious on its own!

The fruity rice thing continued with a full plate of Lentil Rice and Lamb.  This was super tasty where we found large tender chunks of lamb nestled in fluffy rice, tender lentils, raisins and caramelized onions.  The raisins really added punch to the dish while the earthy spices (like cumin and turmeric) provided the usual compliment to the lamb.  Loved this dish!  Continuing with the same theme, we also had the Lamb Shank with Fava Bean Rice.  Mostly tender and gelatinous, the lamb shank was flavourful and classically "lamb-tasting".  It was cooked with the usual spices which gave it an aromatic and earthy flavour.  This was best eaten with the jus poured over the rice.

We added on a dish that sounded great on the menu called the Chicken Tahchin. This consisted of oven cooked saffron rice with chicken, yogurt, egg and barberries.  Loved the crispy rice as it was served upside down.  It was also intensely aromatic.  Inside, the rice was fluffy while the chicken was flavourful.  We also had some drinks with our meal including the Torsh, Purple Flower and an orange-coloured drink that was not on the menu.  I really enjoyed them all, especially the Torsh as it was fruity and not too strong.

We ended up with four desserts to end the meal and the Cream Roll was reminiscent of the Chinese version.  We quite liked the thin and fluffy sponge cake with plenty of fresh cream in the middle.  This was not heavy and a great dessert for someone who wanted something light.  Then we had the Napoleon which was shockingly excellent.  It looked really dense at first glance, but after we put a fork into it, the whole thing collapsed.  It ate super light with flaky layers and semi-sweet cream.  Some pistachios provided some nuttiness.

Of course we were going to have some Baklava and you know what?  I didn't hate these.  Most of the time, Baklava is so super sweet, I can't eat them.  This one was still sweet, but not overly so.  Nice crispy phyllo and nutty pistachios to compliment.  Lastly, we had the Cream Puffs that featured light eggy choux pastry and fresh cream.  Another light dessert that also can be shared easily.  Overall, the food at Suren was delicious and made me want to come back ASAP.  The meats are cooked beautifully with a char while remaining tender.  Flavours are impactful and most importantly, the prices reasonable.  

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Impactful flavours
- Meats cooked properly
- Prices are reasonable

The Bad:
- Maybe the salmon could've been just a bit more moist, but it wasn't dry either