Just got back from lunch at Kabul in Sunnyvale. There are two boxes of leftovers sitting on the counter attesting to the huge portions served here. Although we were a little late for lunch, the service was spot on, attentive yet unobtrusive.

We started with two appetizers, the ashak (spring onion-filled dumplings topped with yogurt and meat sauce, sprinkled with mint), and the pakawra-e- badenjan (batter dipped slices of eggplant topped with yogurt and meat sauce.) Both arrived to the table on the same plate, making for more room on the cramped real estate. They were very tasty with an ever so slight edge going to the dumplings in my book simply for the novelty of a meat and mint combination. The eggplant tasted nothing of eggplant, just a light batter and the excellent yogurt. The meat sauce was mildly spicy. Not hot, just enough to put it squarely on your taste buds.

Next came kabobs of prawn and salmon (seafood combo) that were well seasoned and kissed perfectly by the grill. The shrimp were firm on the outside but moist and plump on the inside. The tasty, mildly spicy marinade made you want to lick your fingers. It was served with vegetables and some kind of rice dish that reminded me of fried rice except dryer, with an almost smokey aroma and a not overpowering spiciness.

The salmon was just a touch overdone for me but was also very tasty; ever so crunchy on the outside but steamy and flavorful on the inside. A treat.

We also had the vegetarian special. I'm not a vegetarian but had ordered this dish the last time I came here in deference to a vegetarian table mate. It was delicious then and it was delicious today also. In fact, it was this dish that brought me back. I'd been craving it all morning for some reason.

The sweet pumpkin was like sweet potato covered in a yogurt sauce. The slightly garlicky/spicy tomato sauce that the cauliflower was cooked in made an excellent foil for the sweetness. Also up was a spinach that was at once creamy, salty, and very unspinach like. I've always been told that spinach gets bitter if you cook it too long but even though this stuff looked like it had been cooked to death, it was extremely good! And I hate spinach!

I also ordered the Afghan tea which was, to my mind, Earl Grey. The glass was kept full by the attentive waitstaff along with the water tumblers.

It would be hard to point out a flaw in the whole lunch. The portions were large and the appetizers were a bargain at $4.50 each. However the entrees were just a bit pricey for lunch. The vegetarian dish was $9.95 and the seafood combo was $14.94. We probably could have had smaller portions and paid a bit less. Even though the dishes were expensive, the value was good since there were salads and rice served and of course the service was excellent. Just a bit heavy for lunch but like I said, there's leftovers!