The Pyramids

I have driven by the Pyramids many times and each time I tell myself I'm going to stop.  Well, stop I did.

It was the Friday before New Years' Day and I had the day off.  Lucky Me.  That meant that I could visit the Pyramids for their all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for US$9.95. 

Even though I arrived for a late lunch, at 1:15 pm, the place was crowded.  All of the tables in the front half of the restaurant were occupied.

I was lucky.  I got to sit right next to the buffet.  There were quite a number of items on today's buffet.  From what I understand, Egyptian food is much like other foods from areas around the Mediterranean, such as Greek, so it was no surprise that most of the foods on today's buffet reeked of familiarity.  Here's the rundown:

-beef & lamb shawerma
-chicken shawerma
-bamia
-basamati rice
-falafel
-french fries
-Greek salad
-hommos
-tabouleh
-potato salad
-pita bread
-yogurt sauce
-rice pudding

And here's my first plate...

(Clockwise from the bottom right:  basamati rice, hommos, pita bread, beef & lamb shawerma, potato salad, Greek salad and falafel.)

The hommos, is a dip made from garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.  While it was nice, it didn't have enough flavor for me.  Something was lacking, but I really couldn't put my finger on it.

The beef and lamb shawerma are marinated and cooked on a spit.  Once the meat has been cooked, it is thinly sliced.  These strips of beef and lamb were perfectly seasoned and quite juicy.  Taking the strips of meat from the bottom of the pan helped, they were a lot more juicy than those on top.

The Greek salad was crumbled feta cheese, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, and a few kalamata olives on a bed of romaine lettuce.  Tossed with some of the house dressing this was light and refreshing.  The amount of dressing that the salad was tossed in was just right. 

Next to the shawerma and the Greek salad, the falafel was the next best item here.  It was crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.

Didn't realize it was so green on the inside until I took this picture.  Falafel can be made with either fava beans or with chickpeas, and these were made with fava beans which is why they are so green (thanks Jonny for the info!).  It was quite tasty and they actually looked like small meatballs.  I ended up eating about a half dozen of these before I even realized it.

For dessert, there was only one item on the buffet, homemade rice pudding.

It was smooth and creamy with just the right balance of sweet spiciness.  The cinnamon and nutmeg really helped make this delicious.  I also liked the fact that there were quite a few nuts sprinkled on top.  The crunchiness of the nuts provided a great contrast to the smoothness of this dessert.

When I was done eating, the waitress presented me with a little box.

Inside, held the bill for my lunch.  Interesting touch.

After years of driving by, I finally got to try the food here.  I must say that I was quite pleased with the dishes that I had.  I'm actually thinking of returning during dinner time so I can watch the belly dancers while sampling dishes from the à la carte menu. 

The Pyramids
758-B Kapahulu Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.2900

Comments

[AugustusGloop]

Nice post (and hooray for you for getting the camera out at a buffet). I agree - it all looks very greek/lebanese to me.

And are you sure you only had one plate? :P

Felafel looked good. And so does the funky treasure box. Did they have any interesting drinks?

[santos]

wow those falafel look funky but good. were they fluffy? when i make hummus i notice that if i don't add cayenne pepper it doesn't taste right. i don't add enough to make it spicy, but just enough to alter whatever it is that is missing.

[chika]

I have never seen such green falafel!
I wonder what made it look so green...

Happy New Year :)

[Reid]

Hi AugustusGloop,

Well, I wasn't shy about taking pictures because I was the only one in the back.

From what I understand, Egyptian food combines a lot of elements of Greek, Lebanese and Turkish cuisines. Some of the unique elements in Egyptian cuisine is found in Nubian cooking.

No...I didn't have only one plate! But you're not going to find out how much I really ate because I definitely got my $9.95 worth! =P

I didn't have a chance to check out the drinks...I don't drink. =(

Hi Santos,

The green is quite bright and definitely funky! The falafel were not fluffy at all. They were actually very much like meatballs. The only exceptions? That they were very crisp and crunchy on the outside, that there was no meat in them whatsoever and that they were the weird green.

Hi Chika,

Long time no hear! Hope you're having fun in Japan! I've never seen falafel so green either. I need to ask the next time I'm there. I'm so curious now. Happy New Year to you too!

[AugustusGloop]

You mentioned you were right next to the buffet so I presumed you'd have plenty of passing traffic! :)

I meant non-alcoholic drinks like ayran yoghurt drinks etc.

Glad you hear you got your money's worth though. I like to take the Homer Simpson approach to buffets personally--although I've yet to be taken to court! :P

[Julia]

Good for you that you enjoyed the food at The Pyramids. Unfortunately, my first (and only) experience with Mediterranean food put me off totally. The hummus had a weird taste, plus it was gooey. Very unnerving. The falafel didn't taste like meatball; they were hard and horrible. Only the pita bread was delicious. Anyway, it's still hard to convince me to eat Med. food. Or maybe my Asian palate not used to the taste and texture of Med. food.

[Jonny Angel]

Reid:

The interior is green because its made from fava beans. This means that your falafel is authentically Egyptian, because in Egypt fava beans are used in falafel. In the others of the Middle East, chickpeas are used which are off-white in color.

I agree about the Pyramid's hummus. They don't use enough lemon juice, which is what gives hummus the proper level pungeancy.

I ate there a while back, and while I was super pleased with the ambiance and level of CLEAN, I thought the food was lackluster.

[MrsT]

The food looks very interesting.. :) thank you for the review.. :)

[fish fish]

Gee... Mediterranean buffet? Fish Fish wants try!! *drooling*

[Reid]

Hi AugustusGloop,

Sadly, I didn't check out the drinks. =(

Hi Julia,

I don't think this type of food is for everyone. For example, I don't eat tabouleh only because I don't like onions in it. When I lived in the States, I used to eat Greek food and the owner of the shop used to make tabouleh for me with no onions. He said it wasn't the same.

The falafel didn't taste like meatballs at all. In fact, I don't think I could really tell you what it tasted like. It was quite crunchy though...and that's what I liked about it.

Hi Jonny Angel,

Thanks for the information about the fava beans. I knew that Egyptian cooking used them, but I also knew that most places in the US used chickpeas. That means the falafel gets high marks for its authenticity.

I'm wondering if they should have used some paprika to give the hommos some flavor. More lemon juice would have been good as well.

The ambiance and cleanliness are both huge positives in my book. I'd have to say that I disagree with the food being lackluster. Some of the dishes, in my opinion, were done quite well in comparison to other Greek/Mediterranean places that I've been to. Hawaii has such a small selection of these types of restaurants that I would put this one in the top 50 percent of the ones that I've eaten at.

Hi MrsT,

You're welcome. The food is a lot more common than you think. In fact, all of these dishes can be found in any Greek/Mediterranean restaurant.

Hi fish fish,

The buffet concept is actually interesting, especially for Mediterranean food. We also have Indonesian buffets, Indian buffets, Chinese buffets, and Japanese buffets as well. I'm waiting for an all-you-can-eat Thai restaurant. =P

[Jo]

Greetings! I love MED food, unfortunately you don't really get ALL the different MED foods & flavors in restaurants. I never see Spanish food represented and that really twists my knobs.

That said, I am a huge fan of falafel. I make my own and I like the fava beans as well as garbanzos. Trick is to used canned beans (you can get garbanzos anywhere), favas you might have to get in a speciality store. You would also want to peel the thick, tough outter shell of the favas before using them. You can get a great recipe from Emeril Lagasse's page. It's the one I use. Word of caution, DON'T put the beans in the blender. Hand chop them VERY fine OR put them in the blender goodie of the Braun handmixer/chopper. Putting them in a blender or food processer takes them to fine and your paste cooks up like just that, paste. A fine chop; however, gives you the wonderful meaty texture that allows the balls to cook to juicy delicate perfection. I stuff the balls into pita then slather them with a "salad" of chopped seeded cucumber & tomatos in a tahini dressing. The recipe for the dressing is also from Emeril.

Gads, I'm getting hungry!

[Grace Toy]

Happy New Year Reid!

Love the falafel ball picture -- what an AWESOME green! I've never seen falafel balls like that before, will have to try it sometime...and I don't think I like fava beans either!

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Happy New Year to you! I enjoy falafel quite a bit as well...thanks for the information about the recipe on Emeril's website. I'll have to check it out. Since I've never made falafel at home, the information you provided about chopping them will prove useful if I decide to make these at home.

Hi Grace,

Hope you don't mind, but I relocated your post here. It was originally posted under the Thai Green Chicken Curry post.

Happy New Year to you too! Long time no hear. The falafel here were quite delicious and GREEN! I enjoyed them quite a bit. Hope to hear from you again!

[Jo]

If you can't find it on his site, let me know & I'll retype it and send. Glad to pass on the chopping tip. I used a processor my first go... YUCKO! ::laughing:: I had to explain to my husband why my favorite food in the world was more fit for hanging wallpaper than eating!

[santos]

wow, i can't believe i get to use this line on an island guy:

hey, reid, you are in the states. ;-)

[Reid]

Hi Jo,

Thanks! =)

Santos,

LOL! Nice try! =P