Nilas in the City

[Abu Maryam]

Anyone been? It's the one near Flinders Street station.

[Malik.Shakur]

Anyone been? It's the one near Flinders Street station.

salams..

yeah i have.. i love nilas in brunswick.. its got great food and service.. but the one in the city was horrible.. their food was horrible, the service was disgraceful and the sikh guy behind the counter was so rude.. he didn't even write our order down and he messed it up, then tried to say that we ordered what he said..

he wouldnt even bring the food to our table like they do at nilas in brunswick, when i asked whether it was a restaurant or not he said that it was 'self service'

[Taliban Princess]

I've eaten there once. Food was fine.

You can't expect customer service in these kinds of places. The staff are predominantly overseas students who've had zero experience in customer service.

If I can get a Halal mean sans any body hair, I'm content.

[Majestic_Islam]

Assalaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

There's no substitute for taking down orders on paper - as there is no way in which a waiter can remember the order of 5-10 people, and bring everything as was verbatimly ordered (unless they are people who use peg techniques to remember orders - and have entered the Australian Memory Championships and made progress such as brothers Tansel and Mahmud).

Other than that - they have 'buckley's' chance of remembering your order.

Abu Khadijah

[Abu Maryam]

I went there the other day and it wasn't very nice at all. It was cheap though so I guess you get what you pay for.

Is there anywhere else in the city that is halal and nice?

[Majestic_Islam]

Assalaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

My younger brother mentions to me that Zam Zam restaurant is quite good? I haven't been there, but it is spicy food I believe.

Fi Amanillah

Abu Khadijah

[chickenrice]

Bali Bagus in Franklin Street. Muslim owned, clean, no alcohol permitted or served.

Off topic, but right now they have a photographic exhibition on the left hand wall - amazing nature shots. At least three of the photographs were taken by my friends.

[UmmNRZ]

Is there anywhere else in the city that is halal and nice?

There's Lord of the Fries (it's all vegetarian) but it's YUMM! The vegetarian burger tastes gr8 and the fries are sensational. (it's a stand type thing though, no place to sit and eat, you can park your car close by and just eat in there - that's what we do).

Um, Biryani House is halal too. It's close to ICV.

[Taliban Princess]

Is there anywhere else in the city that is halal and nice?

Biryani House and King's Curry, both in King Street [close to Latrobe], so it's a bit of a hike unless you're praying at I.C.V

Btw, you get a bit more rice at BH for $6.90 and their food is a tad spicier.

At KC you get less rice but I would say I lean towards them a bit more in flavour.

Either way both are a good deal for under $10.00 and you're supporting a Muslim.

Try not to go to either place straight after Jum'a unless you enjoy standing in queues. And going to both places at around 12 noon usually ensures a fresher meal.

[Taliban Princess]

Sorry for repeating myself. Didn't see Um N's reply.

[chickenrice]

I have a close female friend who lives down the road from Biryani House (in an apartment building I used to live in as a student), and I've eaten there often. The chicken 65 rocks, and the Indian brothers there know about great customer service whether I'm alone, with friends, or with hubby.

[Abu Maryam]

There are some non-halal places on that list so I wouldn't advise people trust it. Little Malaysia hasn't been halal for years but still it appears on all these lists.

[Taliban Princess]

biryani house suffers from a lack of Quality Assurance...

Once i had food with friends there... it was amazing...

the next time i went... the food was... uncooked... and didn't taste as good either... and i even know the guy who runs the place as well...

if you's wanna have some indian food... go to Zam Zam... (Lonsdale St, cnr. Lonsdale & Elizabeth)

Yes but at the end of the day @sim, what do you honestly expect?

It's called fast-food for a reason, and unless you're expecting to have quality food, akin to your mother's FRESH home-style cooking, you can't be too picky.

Sometimes I have great food at BH, yesterday I didn't. If I wasn't so damn lazy, I'd cook up a batch of curry and bring it into work. But for the most part, we're a lazy lot and we can't be bothered to bring in our lunch. So if someone's offering you a Halal meal for under $7.00, you hardly have any reason to complain, right?

Btw, did you tell your friend about the food?

[chickenrice]

Seven bucks? What are you guys ordering? I've never paid less than 15 dollars for a meal at Biryani House.

And @sim my experience with them is completely different to yours. Their service is always good, and their food has never differed in quality...Did you complain when your meal was uncooked? It's important to let the place know.

I guess Indonesian food isn't popular...has anyone tried Bali Bagus?

[Taliban Princess]

$6.90 gets you either a Butter Chicken with a good serving of rice or a nice Lamb Korma with rice. Normally I opt for the lamb but it wasn't as nice yesterday.

Still no complaints from me.

Not all of us are high-flyers comme tu

[Asrah]

$6.90 gets you either a Butter Chicken with a good serving of rice or a nice Lamb Korma with rice. Normally I opt for the lamb but it wasn't as nice yesterday.

Still no complaints from me.

Not all of us are high-flyers comme tu

You mean "comme toi"

[chickenrice]

$6.90 gets you either a Butter Chicken with a good serving of rice or a nice Lamb Korma with rice.

Ahhh I gotcha now - I was adding the cost of a drink and some pappadums or relish to the meal. I haven't tried the butter chicken, only the lamb tagosh (? not sure exactly how you spell it), the chicken 65, and the chilli chicken (which cleared out my nasal passages...even with my used-to-chilli Indonesian tastebuds). Man I could live at BH...I'll try the butter chicken next time inshAllah.

[Taliban Princess]

You mean "comme toi"

In my defence I studied French at uni before you were even hatched.

[UmmNRZ]

I've been to Bali Bagus back in the days when it was on Sydney Road. It was alright, nothing great though. I liked their fried banana dessert though

[UmmNRZ]

While we're on the topic of restaurants in the CBD, anyone been to Lebanese House? Is it even Halal?