MILAS Restaurant, The Souk Qaryat Al Beri – Shangri-La, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Welcome
We arrived at Mila’s Restaurant not knowing what to expect, but boy, did they give us an amazing experience. Their motto is “Food is pleasure, enjoying is an art”.
During Ramadan, there is a special Emirati Iftar Menu available or AED 256 per couple! Each guest can choose a choice of soup, salad, 2 appetizers, a main and Ramadan drink.
My husband and I were invited to their restaurant to sample the menu and experience MILAS Emirati Living first hand. Down to the details of their silverware, it was so intricate with the branded ‘M’ which held in place our knife, spoon and fork. Our server Jhesam made our night memorable with the delicious recommendations.
The menu was presented to us on a large slab board that held an illuminating iPad inside. I really enjoyed this menu as it allowed us to see the photos of each dish, their food photography was really appetizing!
Starters
On the table, we were presented with dates and a chickpea dish called “Dango”. This would be given to all guests at MILAS as a way to begin their meal and holds as a tradition from Sharjah owner. We ordered an Ash Soup and a Cream of Chicken Soup. My hubby really enjoyed his Ash soup and it was quite filling for the first starter we had. He devoured it completed. The soups were complemented well with the freshly made bread they given to us. The bread resembled more like pita bread to me, but nonetheless was amazingly fresh and yummy.
For other starters, we opted for the Sem Sem Salad and the Lamb Freed. These items came in large portions and they were more like mains to me! The sem sem salad had a lot of sesame seeds, I wonder if that is where the name came from. It had a lot of tomatoes and was oozing with pomegranate molasses dressing.
The Lamb Freed was meat with bread, It’s a heavy and rich starter and great for family-style sharing. We also ordered the Eggplant Fatteh – it did not have too many baked eggplant pieces in it, but more so of the tender meat pieces. I enjoyed it thoroughly with the yogurt. Would be a great entrée dish served with some rice.
Entrees
For our entrees, my hubby ordered the Marinated Beef from the barbeque section and I ordered the Mbahar Deyay, a popular and classic option at MILAS. I would definitely order this chicken dish again. They serve it with an mouth-watering homemade sauce (made with yogurt cooking cream and Arabic spices) topped with nuts and onion on top. The chicken was tender and juicy! The sauce went well with everything, the rice, the chicken and even my hubby’s marinated beef dish.
Dessert & More
For dessert, the chef surprised us with the “Mystery of Oud” dessert which came in a large domed shaped glass. Enclosed in the glass was smoke infused ice cream, brownies and chocolates!
We thought our night was over but our last surprise came with dates, Arabic coffee and perfume! Yes perfume! Rami, the restaurant manager explained to us that the owner also owns many perfume shops, the closest one being Hind Al Oud shop right beside MILAS. I really enjoyed the scent ‘Amour’ and my hubby picked the ‘Hob 1’. What an amazing experience to have guests try out some of the perfumes and leave feeling refreshed!
