Leen’s Middle East Kitchen TTDI — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Irrelevant. Just wanna share my awful dating experience:

1st date, he chose a Leen’s restaurant@TTDI. I bought him a small gift, radish cake. I clearly expressed that I’m on a diet&prefer veggie, chicken&plain water only as I’m into fitness&mindful about what I eat. Despite this, he ordered food enough for 3~4 people. He couldn’t finish and took the leftovers home. Nothing wrong with that, I hate wasting food too. According to him, the bill came to RM180+. I believe that's relatively modest especially compared to the prices of drinks at his bar. He asked for the leftovers to be packed. The waiter politely asked if they could be placed in 1 container. A reasonable request to reduce waste & be environmentally conscious. However, he insisted that the items be packed in separate boxes for a rice, some lamb&hummus. The waiter although visibly surprised they fulfilled the request kindly.

We chatted a bit afterward via IG. He then asked for a 2nd date&suggested Korean BBQ@Sri Hartamas. Again, I bought another small gift, organic apple cider vinegar (big bottle) & garlic breads x 2 about 20cm long each. I mentioned that I’d be fine with just a Kimchi Jjigae. Still, he ordered BBQx2, a rice for himself and a Kimchi Jjigae. When we finished eating, he walked past the cashier & said, “My friend will pay” then left&waiting for me outside the restaurant. I was shocked and had to settle the bill myself.

To me, it’s not about the money. It’s about the way the situation was handled. If I was expected to pay the full bill, that should have been communicated clearly and respectfully in advance. That’s basic respect. If I'm the one expected to pay, then I should get to choose the restaurant and have the final say on the menu! That’s only fair.

I told him: he asked for the date, he picked the venue, made most of the food choices and even took the leftovers. As a mature woman, I never over order, I avoid expensive dishes, I drink plain water and I bought thoughtful gifts on both dates. Not many women do that. I never had any intention to take advantage of him. In fact I tried to be thoughtful & bought him the apple cider vinegar for his health!

When the bill came (RM180+) on the 1st date, I noticed a shift in his facial expression. He clearly wasn’t expecting the cost. It became obvious that he hadn’t thought it through&that the spending made him uncomfortable. On the 2nd date, it upset me that he blamed me for the cost of the 1st date (RM180+). It was clearly his decision to over order. I ate only 1/3 of the food.

Before leaving, I took back the organic apple cider vinegar as it seems my kindness was taken for granted. He was actually reluctant to return it and said he will consume it. Sir, don’t be so cheap!!! He took the 2 pieces of garlic bread with him. He is really a loser. That’s not just greedy! It’s manipulative! He then blocked me right after.

Please be a real man! If your approach is to split bills, just say so upfront. That’s not a problem. But what’s not acceptable is the lack of respect or the expectation that someone else will quietly pick up the tab after you've ordered more than you eat yourself. And to be fair, it wasn't even an equal split! It was far from it.

He showed me exactly who he is. Rude, inconsiderate and lacking basic respect. I’m glad I saw it early. BTW he is smelly. It reflects how he respects himself and others.

He stared at my glutes multiple times on both the 1st & 2nd dates. On the 2nd date, he insisted on sitting next to me. Everyone could see that he’s a big guy and it was really uncomfortable sitting next to him in the narrow Korean BBQ setting. He also touched my thigh intentionally! I saw it! I immediately created space between us and he apologized! Honestly I expected more maturity&respect from someone his age. His behavior didn’t reflect that at all! I didn’t deserve to be treated that way.

Anyway, Food was good and I like the...

Leen's Middle Eastern Kitchen introduces a flair to Syrian cuisine that is unlike what is found in it's country of origin, but brings about the quality and creativity of it's young chef. The restaurant is named after his wife Leen, who acts as the restaurant front of house or manager.

The quality of the food is extremely well made, at a fairly hefty cost. The appetizers cost around RM35++ and the mains cost around RM65++ on average, with shareable sizes easily between 3 to 4 pax. Expect dining costs to average RM70-90 per pax.

I visited Leen's twice in a span of a week to celebrate my birthday. Once on a weekday, and once on a weekend, with two separate group of people. It ended up being an interesting experience, especially since it allowed me to compare both the menu and level of service on the different days.

The menu was slightly different, where on the weekday, the drink menu lacked the option of wine; the dinner menu substituted the labneh pide (pizza) main dish (RM32) with a wagyu dish (RM78). I'm not sure if this was intentional, or an accidental coincidence between the 3-day gap. Vegetarians may struggle to find a satisfying main, although the variety of appetizers compensates for this.

The service was a mixed bag. While service was fine on the weekday due to the lesser crowd, the restaurant struggled on the weekend. The waiting staff appeared inexperienced with handling and attending to customers. The waiters neglect the table closest to the windows on the far right side, because it happens to be tucked slightly around a bend, out of the front desk's eye. Dishes are also served without serving spoons, and the waiters need to be constantly reminded to provide serving spoons for evidently shared dishes.

Recommended dishes:

Appetizers Smoked Hummus - The hummus tastes fantastic with an unusual depth in flavor. This dish comes with pita bread sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds. The bread portions are inconsistent. When I visited with 3 pax, I got 3 breads. When I visited with 5 pax, I got 4 breads. No idea what was causing this inconsistency.

Beef tartare - I believe it says something when my friend who is afraid of eating raw food, ate the dish accidentally and ended up loving it. This came with 4 pieces of flat bread on the side too. It was a bit of a struggle to eat 2 sides with flat breads. Wouldn't recommend doing so if you can help it.

Mains Crispy Syrian rice - For a good balance of wholesome rice, grilled chicken, vegetables, and a first time introduction to Leen's, this is the dish to go for. If you're also visiting by yourself, this is it. A dish with balance.

Mariah pide - This is my favourite dish thus far at Leen's, as the thin crust pizza lightly carries the sweet lamb meat decorated with pomegranate. The ingredients dance together.

Samak - Have you ever met a fish happy to jump onto a plate? This is what samak tasted like. An incredibly happy fish laying itself for hungry customers on a bed of light hummus, pomegranate, and a lovely blend of meuniere sauce, olive oil and lemon.

Alright dishes: You can still order these, just that they don't stand out as much as the dishes above.

Appetizers Baba ghanoush salad Haloumi Fattoush Falafel - 4 pieces.

Mains Kebab khashkhash

Side-note: I had a nice experience on my 2nd visit, where the staff kindly got me a complimentary watermelon cake 🍉 for my birthday. It was a really nice gesture. 😊 They remembered the sharing spoons for the this dish too. My friends and I were...

Summary: Modern middle-eastern food that brings some new flavors, and an amazing brick oven that churns out some incredible bread dishes. Worth trying for sure, but it is on the pricey side.

The owners of the super cool Leen's are proudly Syrian and told us they tried to combine some Malaysian, Japanese and French influences with their traditional dishes. I couldn't quite pick those up, but certainly there are a lot of different flavors working in these dishes.

I love the vibe and open kitchen - they even have mini charcoal grills for the meat - and I especially love the amazing gas fired brick oven which they had roaring at before our meal at 5pm when we were the only customers. Can't imagine how much that costs. So it was quite surprising that only a few dishes on the menu even use the oven! So, if you go make sure to try the pides, the arabic bread for hummus and other appetizers, or the khashkash kebab.

Of the dishes we had the Syrian Rice was the best: a festival of flavors with the Muhamarra (a tangy redpepper sauce), Tzatziki, pickled cucumbers and beetroot running riot. I think it has ALMOST too much going on, but I still enjoyed it immensely, as the dish is large enough you can eat them separately or combine them as you like. The marinated chicken thigh was also incredibly flavorful, with the charcoal grill adding a smokey dimension to the dish.

The baba ghanoush salad; chunky pieces of chilled roast eggplant on top of an eggplant puree dressed with fried shallots, nuts and pomegranate, needed more salt in the dressing (i think it's tahini-based). The puree was delicious, but it's secondary in the dish, and there isn't enough to have in every bite. Needs a little more seasoning overall

We also tried the lamb pide which was wonderful if perhaps a little pricey - the lamb is minced to a paste so it doesn't add texture but rather a heavy lamb essence to the incredible freshly baked bread. It's dressed with pomegranates and a yogurt sauce, and the flavors work together well. I would be able to demolish one myself.

The lamb khashkash looks awesome with a bread covering a pot of simmered lamb kebab. However I found the taste just kind of simple tomato and vegetable and it didn’t really pop

Overall, Leen's offers mostly great food, modest but modern decor, and a cuisine you don't see much outside of downtown KL. I just wonder about the value proposition - three dishes for about rm130 with no drinks is a bit steep, considering middle eastern food in KL is usually 60% of that. That said, Leen's packs plenty of interesting flavors and that brick oven makes incredible bread. I would check it out...