Hussam Middle Eastern Restaurant: A Trip Into Authentic Syrian Cuisine At Ayala Center Cebu

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The last time I ate at a Hussam Middle Eastern Restaurant branch last year, I couldn't give a good assessment. I haven't been to Hussam's main branch at Il Corso, so I didn't formally meet its owner, Hussam Alfakeh Alkourdi. The branch I ate was in Ayala Center Cebu instead.


This is the interior of the restaurant. Ayala Center Cebu has Persian Palate on the third floor, above Timezone. Hussam is near one of the entrances of Ayala Center Cebu--near a Chinese restaurant. Persian Palate was my entry point to Middle Eastern cuisine. 


Hussam serves authentic Syrian food. There are dishes similar to those from the Persian Palate. They serve Syrian bread, different from my favorite Pita bread served at Shawarma Gourmet (read my review here), a Lebanese restaurant. So far, I tried their mixed meat platter with Syrian bread. My second dish there was actually baked Arabic rice with grilled beef kebab. I love their tomato sauce (which I mistook for ginger sauce) and garlic sauce. The rice wasn't basmati rice (more commonly used in Indian restaurants) but jasmine rice. I love the way the Arabic rice was cooked to perfection.

I still want to try and see the Il Corso branch for myself. I haven't been there yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to the Il Corso branch soon., 

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