Ali Baba wants to be more than a refuge for drunks

When they started out, the kebabs were much tastier than now. “Quality control” I suspect is at fault. It values consistency of product over quality and ends up a blander product; something that is meant to be acceptable to more customers. Stronger flavours might be too strong for the kiddies.

It all started with Macdonalds. Good business model but dreadful food.

johnboy said :

Earl, the Earl of Sandwich wanted to be able to eat and play cards IIRC

The Earl of Cardigan was feeling quite chilly one day.

…so he led the Light Brigade in a suicidal charge on Russian heavy artillery.

Ali Babas used to be OK, but it got a bit slick and plastic. Confess I haven’t been there in about 10 years.

Micky_P said :

If their kebabs were anything like a Turkish Halal Pide House (in Yarralumla) kebab I’d buy them again.

+1. Ali Baba seemed OK a few years ago, but now it just tastes a bit average. It just doesn’t compare to Yarralumla, either. Any kebab made with bread they baked about 15 minutes earlier is great.

For anyone who dares venture to Charnwood the Turkish takeaway out there does a very tasty kebab for under ten bucks, and from memory you can tick boxes for whatever toppings are available at no extra cost. It is wrapped in delicious fresh bread, made on site.

I also recommend the lamb and chicken (karisik?) pide… delicious.

johnboy said :

Earl, the Earl of Sandwich wanted to be able to eat and play cards IIRC

Reminds me of when I was in Year 4 in 1969 and the teacher was talking about Captain Cook’s death in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). “And they made a sandwich out of him!” chortled our teacher. Can you imagine the reaction if a teacher said that to his students nowadays?

Bluey said :

Id go there if they put more then 3 pieces of meat in your kebab. I stopped going years ago because for what you pay you get essentially a salad roll with some strips of meat in it.

Give me a roll bursting with tasty, juicy, flavorsome meat and some salad to compliment it, not dominate it AND not charge me for ‘extra’ and then maybe Ill consider trying you again.

+ infinity

Remember when Ali Baba first opened up and you got a decent sized roll, with plenty of meat and salad (in appropriate proportions) with hummus and tabouleh and sauce/s of your choice. Delicious!

Now you get a skinny little sickly looking thing that’s depressing to look at. If you want hummus – that’s extra. If you want tabouleh – that’s extra. If you want it not to be completely insufficient it costs more than a decent meal at almost any other fast food place.

I still eat kebabs regularly, but not from Ali Baba.

If their kebabs were anything like a Turkish Halal Pide House (in Yarralumla) kebab I’d buy them again.

Yeah, Ali Baba describes a previous generation’s experience with this culture.

A good update could be “Chk Chk Boom!”

Ali Baba need to improve the quality of their product if they want to expand their client base. JB summed it up in a review of their questionable “Aussie pack”: “It was the most revolting lunch I’ve had in quite some time.”

Like a lot of chain/franchise stores they have dropped quality in favour of profit and efficiency. As a result their kebabs taste like old boots. Meanwhile there are some supremely tasty doner kebab offerings available from other local eateries.

Great! Now where are the drunks going to go?

Maybe the drunks could get funded to travel to further away Kebab shops now?

Id go there if they put more then 3 pieces of meat in your kebab. I stopped going years ago because for what you pay you get essentially a salad roll with some strips of meat in it.

Give me a roll bursting with tasty, juicy, flavorsome meat and some salad to compliment it, not dominate it AND not charge me for ‘extra’ and then maybe Ill consider trying you again.

“that it is a late night refuge for drunken people.”

Now, now, mouthing off at your most loyal customers isn’t the way to go.

The real question is, why doesn’t it appeal to the masses?
The answer: Because the food is delicious, healthy, BUT messy.
By the time you get close to finish there’s sauce and various other juice pouring out from the paper bag or wrapping and, if unlucky, covering the consumer’s hands.

It just isn’t a meal-on-the-go like hamburgers and sushi.
Let’s look at them both.
Hamburger is a sandwich, and the sandwich was invented because some Count wanted a meal that didn’t interrupt his favourite pass time.
Sushi, or more specifically sushi roll, was invented for the travellers who could tuck away the neat roll in their kimono or their bag to be hand while on the road.

Unless someone can re-invent the kebab roll then it will remain the alternative choice for anyone who wants a meal-on-the-go…

what would make you more likely to partake?

Beer!

What’s better than a lovely, juicy kebab on the way home from a bender.

I would be more likely to partake if the staff of Ali Baba recognised that any person over the age of 45 was a possible customer, particularly if they are standing at the counter waiving at $20.00 note in the air (yes, this happened in Garema Place recently).

But, till the fairer gender, over 45, are recognised as humans (cashed up humans at that) this takeaway will be off my list of dining establishments.

Give me sushi anyday! No overt sexism or racism there, and better for the figure.