Ground Floor, Alfred Street, Gateway Sydney
Circular Quay NSW 2000
http://bekya.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/bekyagateway/
https://www.instagram.com/bekya_gateway/
Build your own Middle Eastern
“BEKYA Middle Eastern kitchen uses family recipes that reflects the endless hours of preparation that comes from the heart. Using only local fresh ingredients to make flavoursome food, Our food techniques include pickling, slow cooking meats, home-made Egyptian flat breads and a variety of spice mixes.”
I was curious to see what Bekya was serving up. At first I thought it might have been something Greek but soon learnt it was middle eastern cuisine. Interesting to see a middle eastern menu being served by an all Asian crew. Makes me question the validity of the 'family recipes' used in their bio a bit but happy to be educated on who the owners are and they're experience with middle eastern food. The menu options are fairly simple, wraps or boxes. I chose the 'box' option i.e. protein, salad, rice and dip. Egyptian Falafel, Arnabeet and haloumi ($12.90) with fattoush salad, rice with lentils and babaghanouj. Two falafel that I believe were cooked to order although I don't think were made to order so I found it a little denser than preferred but still had a good crunch on the outside. Flavour was OK but have had better falafel in Sydney. Haloumi was quite nice and soft. Arnabeet I learnt is the cauliflower which was nicely flavoured and roasted. Fattoush salad was missing the signature bread component that distinguishes a fattoush salad from basically a garden salad. The babaghanouj pretty good with a smoky flavour. The rice with lentils OK but found it a bit dense and dry. Service was friendly and fairly efficient. Wasn't keen on the cutlery which is that light wooden stuff that feels funny in your mouth — much prefer the smoother biodegradable plastic cutlery.
Ground Level, Gateway, Alfred Street, Circular Quay NSW 2000
https://www.facebook.com/Workshop-Espresso-120204888032058/
Workshop coffee game strong
The guys from Workshop Espresso have brought their coffee game to Gateway Sydney. Cappuccino ($4) using a custom Workshop Blend by Toby's Estate is punching above your average $3.50 takeaway coffee but is fully flavoured with deep rich notes. A tempting slice of Black Forest ($4.50) caught my eye for a sugar hit. Was pretty good. I reckon an extra layer of cream would have made it even better. These guys seem set to do well for the morning and afternoon coffee and sugar fixes with the offerings I see on display.
