Khas Food House @ UP Arcade (Middle Eastern/Indian food)

Location: Arcade, University of the Philippines Diliman (across Ilang-Ilang dorm)

Khas Food House or what we simply call "Arcade" or "Persian" has been one of my favorite restaurants inside the UP campus. According to Diliman Diary, it has been there for more than a decade and is owned by Tony Raza, a former graduate student of UP who is from Pakistan.

Come to think of it, we have been wrong all this time for calling it "Persian." It is most probably of Pakistani cuisine. Anyway, there are a lot of similar dishes in Indian and Middle Eastern food. I still don't know how to distinguish...

What I do know is that they're delicious. :)  I love Ox Brain. Most Filipinos might hesitate at first, hearing the word "brain," but I think they'll find it palatable. Ox brain (P65 single order w/o rice) is usually partnered with ground beef. But even with ground beef, it is very tender.

By the way, what is nice about Middle Eastern restaurants is that they offer vegetarian and Halal dishes (food permissible to Islamic law). Like Jambalaya Vege (P120) as seen below. Instead of seafood and chicken, they use veggie meat. Unfortunately, the veggie meat was too salty. It kind of ruined the taste of the Jambalaya (but don't worry, the non-veggie version is to die for).

Another favorite is Keema (P55). When you're in a Middle Eastern restaurant, don't forget to sample their keema. This unassuming dish which is basically minced meat with peas and potatoes is usually their best seller.

My friends also ordered a chicken lollipop meal (P95) and rice toppings (P60 - forgot if its chicken, beef or squid).

Besides the food, Khas is a nice place to hang in. It's pretty low key (looks dingy from the outside) with eclectic furniture (I love the fact that they have both dining tables with lazy susans and cafe tables made from colorful tiles). During -ber months, it is also just a few steps from the tiangges.

You may click on the menu below (some pages missing):