After 15 minutes we had not even started to study the tri-lingual menu of the Koroli Vostoka (Kings of the East) restaurant.
We were still admiring the Arabic paintings which adorn the interior of the restaurant, rather than concentrating on the English, Russian -- or Arabic -- descriptions of the dishes.
Lacking is a totally authentic Arab dining atmosphere, where guests would sit on the floor on intricately designed carpets and shun such European manifestations as knives and forks.
But the food makes up in authenticity for what the table arrangements lack.
There was a floor show, Salome by Victoria Ryabukhina on the night we visited, but we missed the opening because we were concentrating on ordering our starters. Arabic salad for each of us at 20,000 roubles ($4.50), a mixture of tomatoes, cucumber, lemon, sesame sauce and parsley with olive prepared in an Arabic style.
The King's salad at 60,000 roubles ($13) might have revealed a few more eastern secrets, but seemed a bit pricey. Also on offer was a vegetable soup for 15,000 roubles ($3); "humus with meat," a mixture of parsley, onion, meat, pine and beans for 30,000 roubles ($6.60); and shrimps with ordinary stolichny salad also for 30,000 roubles ($6.60).
We again neglected the menu, this time to concentrate on the show, 35 minutes of erotic dancing, after which we had worked up an appetite -- for a second course.
I ordered the lamb with pine nuts and spices, with rice, for just 16,000 roubles ($3.50), a choice I had not cause to regret. My dining companion preferred the beans with meat for 30,000 roubles ($6.60), which she said was delicious.
Others might prefer munazaleh, a uniquely Arabic dish consisting of eggplant with meat, tomato and onion, pine and parsley, all for 45,000 roubles ($10). Other options include makloubeh, which is a meat-eggplant dish with rice and yoghurt costing 50,000 roubles ($11). Those with less exotic tastes could opt for the stuffed chicken at 65,000 roubles ($14.40) or stuffed fish with an Arabic taste of falafel for 70,000 roubles ($15.50).
At the top end of the range is the prestigious mansaf at 80,000 roubles ($17), a meat-rice concoction served with dried yoghurt, pine nuts and bread. What a combination -- welcome to the east!
The Kings of the East serves a variety of desserts though nothing memorably oriental stuck out. Typical is ice cream "Koroli Vostoka" at 30,000 roubles ($6.60).
For drinks we stuck to juices at 9,000-10,000 roubles ($2-$2.20). For those wanting alcoholic drinks there is a very wide variety, from Lapin Kulta beer at 25,000 roubles ($5.50) for half a liter, to cognacs such as Napoleon for 38,000 roubles ($8.40) or Remi Martin at 105,000 roubles ($23) per 50 grams. Vodkas include Smirnoff and Absolut for 15,000 roubles ($3.30) per 50 grams. Wines available include Khvanchkara at 10,000 roubles for 100 grams, or French and Italian wines for 22,000 ($4.40) and 18,000 roubles ($4) respectively. Irish coffees are 55,000 roubles ($12).
The Kings of the East features live shows. Apart from the NYMPH theater's Victoria Ryabukhina, whom we saw, there are often Arabian belly-dancers and other erotic shows.
I had heard of the restaurant before my visit, but had not imagined being so completely swept away by its combination of mysterious eastern art, music, history, myths and legends -- and of course food. Best of all, true to their restaurant's name, the waiters pampered me such that I felt like a king.
The Kings of the East is worth visiting for people of all tastes.