Wow, I loooooooooove finding hole in the walls. Afghan Chopan Kebab is the latest to make the list of hidden gems in town. Seriously, I’m not sure why I’ve never stopped by sooner. Again, one of those places you drive by all the time but at least it’s been on my radar for sometime now.
DBone and I decided to drop by on a Thursday afternoon for lunch. The place was empty minus one other group of two. I hope they’re more busy in the evenings and weekends because that’s never a good sign when there’s no one there. The inside is a little rough on the edges but you’re not coming here for the décor. I like how they randomly had two tables outside placed in the middle of the sidewalk (not sure who would want to sit there) and then a “patio” with mosquito nets surrounding it. They could try and spruce it up a bit is all I’m saying.
Anyways, even though it was just the two of us, we decided to go beast mode and share the platter. It could have easily filled up a family of four. Yolo?
Kebab platter ($39.99)
This was their special of the day (even though I didn’t see that until we went to the till to pay) and came with an extra lamb shank (sick!) and vegetarian salad with potato curry samosas. The lettuce and dressing was pretty ordinary but they had a couple of interesting toppings on top that gave the salad a light and refreshing taste to each bite. The samosas were also good with a nice, crispy exterior.
The platter consisted of chicken, beef and seekh kebabs, two chaplee kebab patties, three pieces of chicken legs marinated with herbs and special spices served. So much food! The platter is enormous and almost everything was delicious. Great seasoning, unique spices and tenderness. What more can you ask for? My favourites were the lamb shank and kebabs. The chicken legs were also great – they reminded me of tandoori chicken. DBone said the chicken skewers were the only thing that was dry but other than that, we were impressed with the quality and quantity.
Qabeli pallaw ($9.95 small) – seasoned basmati rice topped with carrot strips and raisins. A “small” could have fed an army. Seriously, our draws dropped when the waiter came by and nonchalantly said they had decided to just put the rice underneath all of the meat goodness. The rice was perfect – fragrant, aromatic and delicious. Even though we kept on scooping piles of rice on our plates, we didn’t even make a dent. We ended up having two full boxes of takeout for leftovers!
Our first foray into Afghani food was a good one! Do yourself a favour and check them out if you’re looking for something different to eat. They have a lunch buffet ($14.99) Wednesday to Fridays according to their signs outside but it wasn’t on when we went. That’d be interesting to try. Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with the platter or some of the lamb dishes that caught my eye. Bring along a big appetite!
Afghan Chopan Kebab
10756 – 101 Street
Edmonton, AB
(780) 757-1777
CHERRY BOB-OMBS 