Edward S.
Yelp
Al Baraka is a Middle Eastern restaurant in Little Arabia in Anaheim. This restaurant serves food from Palestine and Jordan. Upon entering, the fragrance and music are very comforting. I just returned from the World Cup in Qatar and have already been missing the food. The menu has a different special for each day, and on Fridays, it is mansaf.
The owner was very friendly and wanted to take a photo of me and my meal for posting on TikTok. So, if it goes viral, you heard it here first.
Mansaf: This is a dish of lamb cooked in a yogurt sauce served in rice. The bone-in lamb shanks are soft and tender, a little gelatinous at the edges, and don't require utensils. The rice is big, yellow, fluffy, and studded with slivered almonds and parsley. The rice covers a thin flatbread. Raw onions and pickles are provided on another plate. Extra fermented yogurt sauce (jameed) is provided in a separate vessel. The warm yellow yogurt sauce is rich and savory like a cheese soup. It is like a very tart fondue with warm spices such as nutmeg. I like to get a bit of everything in each bite. The onions and pickles balance the richness of the lamb. The sauce is so tasty and unique (it may not be for everyone).
I tell the owner how delicious the food is, especially the sauce. He comes back with a hot bowl of soup containing more of the yogurt, which I quickly finish. The service is so friendly and welcoming here.