Middle Eastern rice recipes take centre stage at Spiced Pumpkin; the highlight is the Palestinian maqlubah - fluffy spiced rice layered with a choice of chicken or lamb, cooked in a pot over an open fire, then flipped upside-down on a plate before being served with raisins and mixed nuts (RM15 for chicken, RM22 for lamb), in a tribute to the late Palestinian husband of one of Spiced Pumpkin's founders. This comes with a coriander-mint dressing and sweet-spicy hot sauce for a hearty, balanced meal.
Maqlubah is available all the time at Spiced Pumpkin, but you'll also find daily-changing specials of other rice concoctions that take cues from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, such as bazella - basmati rice baked with peas in a mild broth, completed with chicken or lamb (RM17 for chicken, RM22 for lamb), for a platter that tastes wholesome and home-made.
Spiced Pumpkin's best bet for dessert is kunafah, soft mozzarella blanketed in shredded phyllo dough and showered with syrup (best accompanied by ice cream for RM12.90), washed down with a pumpkin-and-cinnamon milkshake (RM8.50).
Spiced Pumpkin Cafe
2.0 Kompleks KPPMS Lot 291, Jalan Ru 3/9A, Seksyen 3, Shah Alam. Mon-Fri, 1030am-1030pm; Sat, 12pm-11pm.
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