While this restaurant looks unassuming, the food coming out of the kitchen is anything but.
I read a few articles about Afghan Awasana Kabob House in Fremont and was instantly intrigued as I’ve never had Afghan cuisine. The restaurant is small and when we arrived for lunch, there was only one other party. However people slowly started trickling in and a handful of people were picking up takeout orders. Once again, I didn’t know what a lot of the dishes on the menu were but looked online to get an idea of what’s popular.
Bolani (9/10).
They had three types of bolani (traditional Afghani flatbread) and we ordered the potato filling but the owner gave us half potato and half squash as he wanted us to try the squash. I’m so glad that he did because I ended up loving the squash. When I read squash on the menu, I was thinking of green squash like zucchini but it was actually orange squash like pumpkin which I thoroughly enjoyed. The bread was slightly oily, in a good way, and almost had roti vibes. It was served with an herby green sauce that aded acidity and brightness. Definitely get this.
Trio Kabob (8/10).
We got the trio kabob which came with juicy charbroiled marinated chicken, charbroiled marinated beef, and chapli which was the star of the show. Chapli is a grilled ground beef patty with lots spices and it was so so good. Served with rice and salad, this was a great dish to share.
Mantoo (7.5-8/10).
Lastly we got the mantoo, Aghfan dumplings, that were reminiscent of Turkish manti. These beef dumplings were served with a tangy yogurt sauce, an onion tomato topping, and a sprinkling of dried mint.
The man that took our order, I’m assuming the owner, gave us baklava for dessert and it was so delicious that I ordered more to take home. He was even nice enough to give us a whole loaf of Afghan bread, similar to naan.
Afghan Bread and Baklava.
The hospitality at Afghan Awasana Kabob House was amazing and really made our dining experience even better so my rating is an 8/10.