For the Love of Kebab

People who know me (and my appetite) know that I love meat. I can't imagine giving up beef, no matter how many cute cows you throw in my path. (Sorry.) And whenever I get an attack of the meat-munchies at ungodly hours, I head to a kebab place. The following are my regular haunts:

Mr. Kabab
West Ave., Quezon City

Most people mistakenly call it "Mr. Kebab," (I used to call it that myself) but as you could see from its huge sign, it's got an A, not an E. (Who knew?) My teammates and I have been hanging out here a lot lately, for reasons unknown. I've asked them to hang at Ababu, but they still insist on journeying all the way to West Ave. (bigger than the old one along Quezon Ave.).

I've gone to Mr. Kabab before midnight, at 2:00 am, and at 4:30 am...and the busiest time is actually 4:30! There was a long line of people coming straight from their gimmicks at this time, and I patiently waited for a big enough table (as my companions slept in the car!).

I normally order the Special Chelo Kabab--two pieces of longganisa-shaped beef on a serving of buttered rice. It comes with two grilled tomatoes, and is about P120. (The Chelo Kabab, which has just one kabab, is about P95.) My friends recommend their Shawarma Plate as well.

Note: It's vegan-friendly; if I remember right, they've got a vegetarian menu.

Persiana
126 Pioneer St., Mandaluyong

From the outside, this place looks pricey--it's not like those other kebab places because, well, it's air-conditioned and has non-Monoblock furniture. But it's actually pretty reasonably priced.

I normally order two beef kebabs and rice, plus a side order of grilled tomatoes and onions. Their keema's good, and so is their chicken tandoori. If you're made to choose your rice, ask for the buttered one--the other types have fancy, intriguing names, but essentially aren't really anything special.

Note: They've got other Mediterranean offerings like pizza and pasta.

Ababu
Xavierville Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

H and I used to go to Ababu back when it was still in Teachers' Village. This year, they moved to a new location in Xavierville, but essentially kept the same old Monoblock chairs and tables! They raised their prices though--they used to have P7 iced tea in a small plastic cup. Now it's P30 for bottomless iced tea--still not bad. I used to get a full meal for less than P100, but now the prices are comparable with Mr. Kabab and Persiana.

I can't remember what I order here, but I'm guessing it's also chelo kebab! I looove their buttered rice, and their sauce is really tasty.

H normally gets a side order of keema. The Ababu version is just swimming in oil...

...which isn't really a bad thing. Hey, we don't do this every night anyway. Live a little, right?

Note: Among the three, I think Ababu would have to be my favorite. It's not quite as commercialized as Mr. Kabab yet. And any place with bottomless iced tea gets my vote. Plus, I love the goatee-d happy face on their store sign!