A Fabulous Birthday Lunch at Serai

Last Saturday I treated my brother to a belated birthday lunch. We had planned to celebrate earlier but his car was sent for service and would not be ready in time for our date.

Our sole purpose for choosing Serai at Jaya Shopping Centre was to eat the Middle Eastern Medley - Moroccan lamb shank served with spiced rice, cucumber raita and Turkish relish. 

The last time we were there was in 2016 with our mum who was most impressed with this dish.

We were early as usual to avoid peak hour. Especially under current circumstances, it is best to avoid the crowd.

By default, our beverage of choice is more often than not a Long Black for me and a Latte for him.

My brother ordered another drink for himself, an iced Latte. All our three coffees were wonderful. 

For our mains, it was the long anticipated Middle Eastern Medley.

Does that not look magnificent?

The plating is even more gorgeous than before.

The rice was aromatic and delicious and the meat tender and falling off the bone.

Everything on my plate hit all the right spots. The cucumber raita and Turkish relish (warning : it is spicy hot which is why my brother gave his to me) were both perfect accompaniments to the meal.

My only complaint (and so was my brother's) is that the portion of rice was a tad too small. We would have appreciated a little bit more rice to match the portion of meat.

What's a birthday celebration without cake? At the cake counter there were only two cakes available - Pavlova and Hazelnut Roche. So we picked one slice of each.

We loved the Pavlova - creamy, berrylicious and not too sweet. Maybe this is not the conventional Pavlova because my brother told me he disliked the Pavlovas he tried before as he found them hard and dry.

We also loved the Hazelnut Roche, a chocolaty and creamy cake with wafer-like bits for textural contrast. 

I would love to come back for another similar experience. Perhaps for my birthday hee..hee..

Not exactly a pocket-friendly lunch but one worth every Ringgit spent - I would never slave in the kitchen to cook those lamb shanks and I am definitely not up for baking such fancy cakes. Hah!

Besides, it's a birthday lunch for my brother where his sister would spare no expense to ensure that it is a proper treat!

A little update on Belle Belle. This is her, early Saturday morning taking a snooze at Girl's favorite spot outside my room. That is why I have to put her inside her cage (in the evenings) to prevent territorial disputes.

I took her to the vet for a follow up where she received two jabs which would hopefully clear her ear infection once and for all.

There was a whole lot of hissing at the vet's and she finally settled down back in the office.