Singapore Hummus Festival Comes to Life at Beirut Grill

CONTENT: Yiew Kai Jie

In conjunction with World Hummus Day which falls on 13th May, Beirut Grill launched a 6-day festival from the 8th to 13th of May that saw live belly-dancing, drums and saxophone performances along with lip smacking variations of everyone’s favourite middle eastern delicacy, Hummus!

Opened in 2009, Beirut Grill has been serving up authentic Lebanese and Arabic cuisine within its cozy al fresco ambiance along Bussorah Street, and has been featured in several food guides and has played host to several celebrities such as Sheikh Haikal and Jamie Yeo. The restaurant has previously hosted various corporate events such for multinational companies as Unilever, Discovery Channel and even catered to the Parliament of Singapore.

With its quixotic Arabian atmosphere and friendly service staff, Beirut Grill has received much fanfare over the years and serves up popular dishes such as tender grilled Lamb Chops, delectable Shish Taouk char-grilled to perfection and delicious yet fun variations of Hummus and is therefore the ideal restaurant to be hosting the first ever Singapore Hummus Festival.

The festival is aimed at celebrating the savoury and nutritional aspect of Hummus by infusing fun family entertainment and other traditional delectable Middle-Eastern delicacies. Personally I’ve never tried hummus until today and I’ve only heard of the popularity of hummus through one of Adam Sandler’s comedic movies a while back (You don’t mess with the Zohan), where they used hummus in literally everything.

Carefully curated by the chefs at Beirut Grill, the star hummus on the menu include jalapeno, pumpkin with caramelised onion, avocado, red bean, basil, creamy carrot, lamb, paprika and parsley flavour variations of the traditional hummus recipe, each priced at $12++. Patrons were given the option to either to order single dishes or order the Hummus Platter, that allows them to choose any four variations of the recipe, priced at $24++.

Personally I preferred something that had a little spice, so I chose the jalapeno and mint flavoured hummus. The hummus’ flavor was so strong and irresistible with each savoury bite, that I had to take half of the given amount just for myself to dip in the nann bread that was given to us. Unlike the rough texture that one would expect because of its appearance, the hummus simply melts in your mouth when it enters your mouth and its not as greasy as it looks. Taking a page out of the movie’s playbook, when the main courses consisting of various traditional middle eastern proteins included lamb and chicken, I took the chance to dip the whole slab of meat into the hummus and the resulting burst of flavours in my mouth was simply divine.

Attendees not only got to take their taste buds on a succulent culinary journey, but also gotten an opportunity to participate in a Hummus making competition on the 13th of May at 4pm, and several lucky winners walked away with dining vouchers as a gift.

Made with chickpea paste and other ingredients, Beirut Grill’s Hummus use no preservatives and additives, promoting a right balance of taste and health. So if you’re a healthy foodie and looking for something to substitute a really greasy indian curry for your prata or that fatty butter for your morning toast, try substituting it with hummus or simply come down to Beirut Grill for an adventure into the myriad of flavours that hummus has to offer.

Beirut Grill is located at 72 Bussorah St, Singapore 199485