G I N.
Yelp
2019-12-24. Bamiyan Kabob. Markham, ON.
Simplicity is often the recipe for success. Bamiyan has a short listed menu and is my go to place for middle eastern kabobs. Bamiyan is a cafeteria style establishment. You place your order at the counter then go find seating and listen for your number. You also have to retrieve the food yourself once it's ready. This location is in a plaza and has a sizable seating area with capacity for about 120. Outside there is plenty of free parking but the outdoor patio is closed for the winter season. The patio has seating for an additional 30 or so. While there are several locations, I don't think it's a franchise.
Tonight, we were looking for a bite to tie us over until dinner with the family, so we ordered 2 dinners for the four of us. Not having had it in a while, I had to go with my favourites, I ordered a kofta dinner and a Sultani (barg and kofta). To drink I ordered a Mango smoothie and some sodas. Lastly, for dessert, we had a frozen milk to share.
The dinners come with rice, salad, and bread. The Kofta dinner includes a skewer of beef and lamb mix, grilled over an open flame. The meat is cut in half so that it fits on the plate.
The barg is a skewer of tenderloin chunks and the Kofta is a mix of beef and lamb. All meats come thoroughly cooked, and are seasoned with their special blend of spices. While the spices won't knock your socks off, they pleasant to the taste buds. There is a super slight hint of spiciness in the Kofta, so beware if you have little ones, or big ones, that can't handle spice at all.
The frozen milk was new to me, so I had to try it. Three small scoops of sweetened frozen milk, topped with cream, and what can only be the complex spice cardamom. It was dry, gingery, and slightly bitter. Despite it being the third most expensive spice in the world (next to saffron and more recently vanilla), I don't care much for the flavour it adds.
The salad is more a westernized thing and is just iceberg with diced tomatoes, onions, and spices. The rice is basmati, and the bread is Afghani naan. There's not much to say about these, the rice is steamed and the bread is baked. The naan is more dense than Indian naan. Like I said from the onset, it's simple food, and it's absolutely delicious! I have yet to be disappointed at any of their locations. 4 stars overall.
If You would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!