Rouj

Rouj is a modern lebanese restaurant located at Rosalie, a few doors away from Grill'd Burgers. It was from another blog that introduced me to this place and the positive comments prompted me to pay an early visit to this little eatery opened only 4-5 weeks ago. Rouj is a family run business; the husband manages the restaurant floor while his wife and mother runs the back kitchen.

We were probably the first to arrive for lunch, received a friendly greeting and were shown to the display cabinets shortly after we perused the menu. There we were introduced to an array of dips, salads, savoury bites and pastries, marinated meats and sweets. All of which you can find in the menu and the mere sight of them stimulates the appetite!

We settled with the Shisk Kebab set that comes with a choice of either taboulie or fattoush salad and chips (fattoush we chose), the Eggplant salad, the Silverbeet roll and a skewer each of the prawn and fish.

Wow the eggplant salad was great! This is a definite first for my tastebuds. The smokey mushy eggplant with a good lemon acidity contrasted nicely with the sweet burst of pomegranate. The serve of lightly charred pita was good for mopping up this salad.

The silverbeet roll was packed with more chickpeas than rice and once again had a strong lemon acidity. The labneh (yoghurt dip) served alongside it served as a better accompaniment to the savoury spiced fish and prawn skewers. The marinade was garlicky and the spice blend is different to that of the Turkish and Greeks. "New" flavours are always good! The fish and prawns were grilled beautifuly though there was a little fishy-ness detected with 2 of the 5 pieces.

The Shish kebab i.e. the lamb back strap was tender and juicy. Though it was lightly marinated, the tahini sauce helped with the overall flavour of the kebab. The flatbread was lightly charred, crispy yet soft. The Fattoush salad was fresh with a good flavour punch from the spices used and the fried bread pieces were served atop the salad greens. The chunky chips were an unusual addition but were crispy-good nevertheless!

Good food and friendly service. Will certainly return again with friends!

Rouj Modern Lebanese
Shop3, 21 Nash Street
Rosalie
3367 2210