I had falafel for the first time in 2007. I was in Kyoto, of all places! I had just arrived on the JET Program and after a late night out, several other JETs insisted that the little kabob stand on Kiyamachi dori had ah-may-zing falafel pitas. We got some and ate them on the side of the road (if you've ever been on Kiyamachi street in Kyoto you'll know there are worse places you could be eating falafel!) I had no idea what a falafel was, but it tasted pretty good.
Flash forward to 2012 in Al Ain. A new option had just opened in the food court at Al Ain Mall called Just Falafel. My second falafel wasn't as satisfying as I remembered the first being, even though I'm in the land of falafel. The scenery wasn't near as nice either.
My third falafel experience was back in Japan in 2013 (I know, it makes no sense to be eating middle eastern food in Japan, but let's ignore that for the time being!) I wanted an adventure one day so I sought out Falafel Garden, a popular little restaurant among foreigners in Kansai. It was good, as all non-Japanese food is when you haven't had it for a long time, but disappointing in terms of size and cost. I blogged about it here.
Now here I am, back in the Middle East with a lot of free time on my hands. I decided why not re-visit the falafel and try making my own! I used this recipe from Just A Taste. I halved it since there were only two of us eating, and we still had leftovers. The dough was super easy to put together and we both liked the flavor, although we agreed that next time we will add more fresh parsley for that nice bright green color and maybe even finish them off in the oven after frying them, as they seemed a tad bit doughy in the middle.
Overall my fourth falafel experience was quite satisfying and I think there will be plenty more to come!
Yum this looks so good and so easy to make.
ReplyDeleteMeg | Meghan Silva's Blog
So easy! Give them a try! xx
DeleteThose falafels look so yummy!
ReplyDeleteSaskia / girlinbrogues.com
Thanks! They were VERY yummy! xx
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