Bamyan Afghan Cuisine: A Taste of Central Asia

Price: $$ Service: 10/10 Spice: 🌶 Student Meter: 4.5/5 Tenderness: 10/10

Bamyan. If I were to describe the food here to you in one word, I think it would be tender. I have seen this place sitting on Richmond Row inconspicuously between the Marble Slab and the old Tribal Mountain (RIP) for quite some time now, but never found the time to try it out. So unlike the previous post this place is not a long time favourite, but I can assure you, it's on it's way there.

Bamyan has been on Richmond for about a year now, and although the name says Afghan cooking, after talking with the owners I learned the flavours in the cooking mostly come from Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. I came here with my cousin on a rainy Friday afternoon, and like most restaurants mid-afternoon in London Ontario, it wasn't too busy. However this didn't stop the manager from cooking everything fresh to order; the service is indubitably a 10/10. My Order

Being my first time here, I wanted to order a signature dish, and was recommended the Tandoori Chicken Kebab and the Mantu. Let me start by saying, I don't usually order chicken anywhere. I find it usually comes much too dry for my liking. Needless so say, I was quite thrilled when I took my first bite of the chicken kebab to find it not only extremely flavourful, but dare I say... tender. The kind of tender where you kind of close your eye's as you take a bite because it's almost too good to be true tender. Mantu, I learned, are small, steam cooked dumplings stuffed with ground beef, onions and herbs, with sprinkled lentils and a drizzle of yogurt to finish. They are little culinary treasures. You get 10 in an order, so make sure you're sharing if you order more than one dish. All meals here are served with a salad, rice and Tandoori naan…and who doesn't love a warm complimentary naan with their meal?

What I love about this food is it's not over the top, the flavours are staples of the region, done well, and the food is cooked perfectly. They also give you good bang for your buck, especially for a restaurant on Richmond Row. Five succulent pieces of kebab come with each order. I'm still eating the leftovers as I write this post in fact. So next time you're strolling along Richmond street and want to try somewhere new, I highly recommend you try out Bamyan.