Bilal

My meal at Bilal marked my first foray into Pakistani-Indian Cuisine and unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. It's not as if anything was really bad or inedible and it's not as if I hated or disliked anything, there just wasn't much to the meal that made me go "Wow!"

Out of 11 dishes (including salad and bread), only 3 items really stood out for me. First, there was the Saag Paneer which is stir fried spinach cooked with homemade cheese. The spinach had a nice earthy green taste to it and I liked the consistency of the cheese, which had a bit of a firm texture to it.

If you're going to order anything at all, you definitely have to special order the Chargha, a whole chicken that is marinated & then barbecued in the oven. Now that dish deserves a "Wow!" In fact, it deserves a double "WOW!" The chicken was amazing. It was moist, juicy and tender and the flavor of that marinade was hot and spicy. I have a fairly good "heat" thresh hold, so I was loving it. However, for those you who have a milder palate, this chicken may be way too much to handle. I would go back just for that chicken. It's just that good.

The third dish that I really liked was the Kheer, the rice pudding. It was light, creamy and wasn't overly sweet. After having that fiery chicken I mentioned above, that rice pudding was nice and cooling to my taste buds.

Other than those three dishes and excluding the bread and salad, everything else just tasted the same to me. There just didn't seem to be a distinction of flavors between any of the other dishes, which was kind of disappointing. I wouldn't go out of my way to return to Bilal, although that chicken is awfully tempting, but I wouldn't necessarily avoid it either if I were asked to go back with friends. Overall, the dishes were solid and sometimes that's all you can ask for.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600226627916/

Bilal
1117 W. Manchester Blvd. #G
Inglewood, CA 90312
(310) 641-4435