583382 Sun Dec 28 17:46:07 -0800 2008 31 16 Mid-Atlantic 0 4278537 Thanks to the recent tip ( http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/580443 ) from Tapas52, I made sure to stop in at the Salang Kabab House while I was in the area on Saturday for a take-out lunch. Everything is made freshly and has a nice home-cooked feel to it. I ordered the following from the “daily specials” board: Two appetizers: - Bolany. Fried potato turnovers served with yogurt sauce on the side. This probably would be really nice served hot and fresh from the stove, but was a little bland and chewy by the time I got it home. - Aushak. Very tasty dumplings topped with peas, carrots, and yogurt sauce. I liked these the best of the meal. Two vegetarian dishes: - Eggplant. Kind of a smoky grilled flavor. Cooked with onions, topped with yogurt sauce. Very good. - Chickpeas. Nicely spiceful with onion and small slivers of sweet red peppers. Think chana masala from an Indian restaurant, but not in a gravy. Two meat platters, both served with rice (pallaw), a small lettuce salad, and a slightly zippy green chutney sauce on the side: - Beef kabobs. Chunks of tender, seasoned beef with seasoned rice. The beef was flavorful, perhaps a little gamey, but good. Preferred slightly over the chicken. - Chicken kabobs. Chunks of chicken with a differently seasoned rice (than that served with the beef). The meat had a bit of a smoky flavor, but was not dry. I took a menu with me and will post that separately. There are beef, lamb, chicken, and vegetarian entrees. The owners/operators are a friendly husband and wife couple now residing locally (after living in another part of NJ for quite a while), but originally from Kabul, Afghanistan. This is their first time in the restaurant business, and I suspect business has been very slow for them during these first few weeks of being open. My guess is that it’s not due just to the holiday season, but probably also the area … not sure how much the incidental traffic along Route 9 is inclined toward new and different cuisines, and store-front signage is poor. Chowhounds, however, should be very pleased and make an effort to get to Salang Kabob House. It’s the kind of non-typical ethnic restaurant that most of us wish we had more of in our area. Naturally, whether the chow is deserving of praise is a personal opinion, but I do hope you find the time to try Salang Kabob House and encourage your friends to try it too. …I know I’ll be back to taste more of our private corner of southwest Asia. Salang Kabob House 1616 Lakewood Rd = Rt 9 Southbound at Church Rd; across from the 7-11 Toms River, NJ 08755 (732) 279-6097 Open every day 11:30 AM – 8:00 PM Delivery with minimum of $25 order Sun Dec 28 17:46:08 -0800 2008 198631 njfreqflyer 1 4278717 njfreqflyer Thanx so much for your review..... I will surly try to get myself there in the weeks to come. It sounds very interesting. Happy New Year Sun Dec 28 19:22:00 -0800 2008 4278537 181892 Tapas52 1 4279305 Thanks, NJFreqFlyer! BTW, with what are the Aushak filled? ty. Mon Dec 29 05:53:00 -0800 2008 4278537 238488 lorisueb 2 4281322 According to the menu, the filling is leek and scallion. It was a fairly mild taste, although the combination with the dumpling and the toppings made it all very tasty. Mon Dec 29 16:54:53 -0800 2008 4279305 198631 njfreqflyer 3 4281325 This site was formerly the "GREEN ONION DINER" if I remember correctly. Mon Dec 29 16:57:05 -0800 2008 4281322 181892 Tapas52 1 4283636 I was just about to ask if it was the old Green Onion....you beat me to it! :) Tue Dec 30 13:21:59 -0800 2008 4278537 51540 MartiniQueen 1 4285137 * * * MENU * * * Salang Kabob House New taste. New style. Old country traditional food. APPETIZERS. - Aushak. Leek and scallion filled dumplings topped with yogurt and meat sauce, sprinkled with mint. ($4.99) - Mantu. Steamed dumplings with chopped beef, onions, and herbs topped with yogurt and mixed vegetables. ($5.99) - Bulanee. Turnover filled with potatoes, scallions, and herbs. ($4.99) - Pakawra-E-Katchalu. Batter dipped, sautéed slices of potatoes topped with yogurt and meat sauce. ($4.99) SOUP. - Aush. Traditional noodle and yogurt soup with garbanzo and kidney beans, flavored with mint and dill. ($2.99) PLATTERS. - Aushak. Leek and scallion filled dumplings topped with yogurt and meat sauce, sprinkled with mint. ($7.99) - Mantu. Steamed dumplings with chopped beef and onions topped with yogurt and mixed vegetables. ($7.99) - Kabob lamb. Tender chunks of lamb. ($10.99) - Kabob-E-Murgh. Tender chunks of breast of chicken. ($9.99) - Kabob-E-Tika. Skewer of tender cubes of beef. ($9.99) - Chapil Kabob. Tender lean seasoned ground beef served with chutney. ($9.99) - Combination Kabob. Skewer of beef and skewer of chicken. ($12.99) - Quabili Pallaw. Tender pieces of lamb under a mound of pallaw, topped with carrot strips and raisins. ($9.99) All kabobs are marinated in herbs and fine spices, charbroiled on skewer and served with pallaw, salad, and bread. VEGETARIAN PLATTERS. The following entrees are served with challaw. Our challaw is seasoned white rice. - Challaw Badenjan. Stew of eggplant cooked with onions and tomatoes, topped with yogurt. ($8.99) - Challaw Sabsi. Stew of spinach cooked with onion and garlic. ($8.99) - Lobya Challaw. Kidney beans cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices, topped with yogurt and sprinkled with mint. ($8.99) - Dal Chalaw. Slow cooked yellow lentils with onion and garlic. ($8.99) DESSERT. - Firnee. Cornstarch pudding served chilled and topped with pistachios. ($2.99) DRINK. - Chava. Relaxing tea. ($2.50) - Soda, water. Wed Dec 31 06:14:22 -0800 2008 4278537 198631 njfreqflyer 1 4370599 Kabob lamb over the rice is my favorite.......great food Thu Jan 29 14:41:22 -0800 2009 4278537 261650 junobel152 2 4371677 junobel152 Have you dined there yet? Thu Jan 29 21:51:41 -0800 2009 4370599 181892 Tapas52 3 4373880 I pass this place all the time and basically just by the location, I would never have stopped there. But, now that I have read the great reviews I will make it a point to try it for lunch. Fri Jan 30 14:15:40 -0800 2009 4371677 50093 Babs16 4 4374583 Great babs awaiting your review soon...I also will venture there when I have a chance also. Fri Jan 30 19:37:26 -0800 2009 4373880 181892 Tapas52 1 4377876 We passed the place last night; should have gone there. Instead we went to the Indian Place down the Road...Armaatran or something like that. Disappointed. Not that great. Tandoori India in Ocean still the best around if you ask me. Sun Feb 01 11:30:51 -0800 2009 4278537 173234 CatLadyJan 2 4378027 catladyjan.....sorry to hear about you dining experience...could you elaborate a bit on Armaatran....it was on my list would like to hear your review. Salang seems to be one pof those deceptive looking places with good food? Sun Feb 01 12:33:49 -0800 2009 4377876 181892 Tapas52 2 4378088 Catlady -- your experience at Aamantran sounds like mine last year. If you want to post additional comments on your meal, here's the thread from last summer. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/526656 I did enjoy my one meal at Salang Kabob last month. I'm planning to go back this week! Sun Feb 01 12:58:17 -0800 2009 4377876 198631 njfreqflyer 3 4378913 We had the same type of dining experience at Aamantran. We went there for the buffet and it was not worth the price that they charge. We found the food to be mediocre at best. We actually left here hungry. Sun Feb 01 19:41:17 -0800 2009 4378088 50093 Babs16 1 4419127 Wanting to avoid the typical Valentine's Day rip off, the wife and I decided to take a drive over to Salang Kabob House and try something unusual. We were very pleased with the outcome. No need to mention the food here again, just wanted to join those that have said good things. If you do go you must have the Chava tea relaxation drink at the end of your meal and you will be rewarded that night with pleasant dreams for sure. Sun Feb 15 09:33:21 -0800 2009 4278537 169391 JerzeyShore 2 4419192 jerzeyshore....I passed Salang KH yesterday....its on my list to try for sure very soon. any recommendations on some of the dishes. Sun Feb 15 10:00:49 -0800 2009 4419127 181892 Tapas52 3 4421105 Tapas52, The wife and I had both types of dumpling the Mantu steamed with chopped beef and the Aushak filled with leek, scallion and yogurt as an app. Then we had Kabob-E-Murgh w/ chicken and Kabob-E-Tika w/ beef. The next time we will try the lamb. Everything very tasty ... Mon Feb 16 06:40:23 -0800 2009 4419192 169391 JerzeyShore 4 4421188 JerzeyShore thank you ...I love good kabobs & will definitly get there very soon.Is this an Afghan influenced cuisine? Mon Feb 16 07:10:27 -0800 2009 4421105 181892 Tapas52 5 4421419 Yes indeed this is an Afghan restaurant and they are open seven days a week from 11:30 AM. Mon Feb 16 08:32:37 -0800 2009 4421188 169391 JerzeyShore 6 4452447 Finally stopped to try this restaurant. I picked up take out and while the food was Ok not sure I would go back. I ordered an app of dumplings with a yogurt topping. It was tasty but not anything that I would try again. I got the chicken and lamb over a really delicious sweet tasting rice. The lamb was a little chewy and dried out. There were three peices of each. The chicken on the other hand was very moist. It cost me about $23 for lunch for the two dishes. I think that I will spend my money elsewhere Wed Feb 25 18:01:26 -0800 2009 4421419 50093 Babs16 1 4461941 On the way to work I passed by tonight around 6pm & they were pretty full with diners. I have to get a chance to try it soon. I love a good Kabob! Sat Feb 28 21:17:49 -0800 2009 4278537 181892 Tapas52 1 4498240 ive stopped today for lunch because i heard good things about the place and i had the mantu appetizer with the lamb kabob platter over the rice it was juicy and delicious. it was something diffrent the sauce chatney was nice and spicy and gave it i nice kick to the rice and meat. also the bread was very tasty with the meal. i ended my lunch with a relaxation drink called chawa ive never had anything like it. i definitly recommend the food and drink. it was worth spending my money. i will definitly be back with family and friends. i could keep on going all day about this restaurant Thu Mar 12 11:21:54 -0700 2009 4278537 273857 armw 2 4504076 We went to the kabab house lastnight with some friends the food was delicious we drought our own wine .we had the balonee, manto, and aushak app. it was a different taste but very good . We all ordered different kabab platters plus 2 side of eggplant and potato dishes all i can say is that the food was magnificent the meat was juicy the rice i love i recommed salang kabab house to everybody that wants a good meal i will definitly be back there to dine and also to try there relaxation tea Sat Mar 14 07:50:06 -0700 2009 4498240 274304 mw08 2 4617017 Stopped for lunch yesterday. The owner was complaining they just weren't drawing the crowds they need and it seemed like they might not last. No one was there at 12:30 when I went to lunch. Nice people. had the Lamb Kabob over rice and salad and one of the appitizers, I think beef. The outside looks as bad or worse then when it was the green onion. My other issue and it's just me because I'm probably cheap but for a $20.00 meal for lunch, I'd almost rather go to the India buffet down the block which I do like or have sushi in town. They really need a lunch priced menu and that might have been the problem. BUT I DID LIKE THE FOOD and wish them success. They just need a kick ace sign out front to drive traffic. Painting the word Salang Kabob on the walls was a little too authentic for me. Tue Apr 21 20:34:38 -0700 2009 4498240 285054 recordweb 1 4850042 The owners are so warm and friendly, the food is terrific too. If this restaurant had a different location it would be full. Unfortunately, I think too many people are reluctant to stop in and try it. If you are one of those people, trust me.... stop in, you will be greeted with a smile and be glad you did. Sat Jul 11 18:32:07 -0700 2009 4278537 125496 franrtr 2 4850288 franrtr can you elaborate a bit on what you had to eat there...it's still on my list ? thanks Sat Jul 11 20:51:16 -0700 2009 4850042 181892 Tapas52 1 5140978 stopped in last night with my bf the food was delicious--had the soup and potato appetizer and the chicken kabob and the dahl were incredible the chava tea is a must have--its sweet but not too much and just perfect blend of seasonings Thu Oct 29 13:18:22 -0700 2009 4278537 1120182 fogR 2 5148071 I was recommended by someone at work to go checkout this "hole in the wall". I looked it up and found this review, which got me motivated and excited. Unfortunately, I had a REALLY bad experience. The lady (or her husband) were not in the restaurant when we arrived. There were two people there. One African American, who was from Philly and was somehow related to the owners, and the other who was also related and had been in the country for only a week or so. He didn't speak a word of English. Bottom line is that the owner(s) were nowhere to be found and the two apps we ordered were "already prepared" (as was told to us by the guy from Philly). The food seemed stale and had no taste to it. So, we simply paid for the apps, left the place disappointed and went to the Jamaican food place not too far away from Salang. I'm all for trying out such places and supporting the owners as much as possible, so I might give them another chance, but just a FYI to anyone trying to go there -- make sure to call ahead and make sure the owner/chef are available when you get there. Sun Nov 01 19:33:16 -0800 2009 5140978 1106419 rukna 3 5150688 where & how was the jamaican restaurant ? Mon Nov 02 17:28:10 -0800 2009 5148071 181892 Tapas52 4 5150983 I assume .... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/638474 Mon Nov 02 19:51:12 -0800 2009 5150688 31617 bgut1 5 5151062 Thanks Bgut1 Mon Nov 02 20:40:01 -0800 2009 5150983 181892 Tapas52