Rowda Ya Habibi: 3 Turkish Delight Flavours, Newtown (30 Dec 2010)

101 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042

Delightful flavours

If you're a fan of the rose flavoured Turkish Delight at Rowda Ya Habibi then I suggest you ask them if they have the Lemon or Mint flavoured Turkish Delight as well. They don't usually stock these other two flavours but fortunately for me a friend ordered a box from the restaurant of all three flavours and made up wonderful Christmas gift packs for his family and friends. I actually can't decide which flavour I prefer the most. The lemon seems to be the most subtle in taste and the mint perhaps the strongest. They make a great traffic light dessert too when stacked together if you want to get creative.

Lemon, Rose and Mint Turkish Delight

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Lebanon and Beyond: Lebanese, Randwick (3 Sept 2010)

187 Alison Road, Randwick NSW 2031
http://www.lebanonandbeyond.com.a

Phone: (02) 9326 5347

Popular Lebanese in Randwick

With the new renovations complete Lebanon and Beyond is at least 3 times larger now but you'll still need to book a table, especially on a Friday and Saturday night when they always seem full. To keep the ordering simple you could go for their Chef's or Vegie Banquet for only $28 but if you're a bit more adventuress then pick you own dishes and you might end up paying about the same and hopefully trying a few more things if you have a large group of 8 or more. Our dining party of 7 ended up paying $25 each and we probably over ordered by 1-2 dishes because the portion sizes were fairly generous. The complimentary appetiser of flavoured corn kernals, pickled cucumber and olives will get your taste buds started while perusing the menu. The moist Tabbouli ($17 large) is a must with a Mix Dip Plate ($20 large) of hommous, babaganoush and labne. The babaganoush could be more smokey and robust in flavour for my liking but all goes well with the Lebanese bread as a starter. The crispy shelled Lady Fingers ($12) are presented differently to what I was expecting but makes them even more appetising. My search for Sydney's best Falafel ($10, 5 pieces) still resides at Jasmin's in Punchbowl but they're freshly cooked here and fairly large — I tend to prefer slightly smaller falafels so there's more balance of the outer crunchy shell with the inner minced chic peas.

The Bahtra ($17 large) of warm potato salad is enormous and we should have ordered just a small, even for 7 people. Spinach Pies ($12) are cut like the lady fingers but the tables preference was the lady fingers. Kafta ($18, 6 pieces) was fairly moist and tasty as hoped and Garlic Chicken ($20, 6 pieces) comes with garlic sauce which isn't as strong as what you'll find at Summerland in Bankstown. I really enjoy the dressing on the fresh side salad it comes with. Eggplant cooked with mince lamb ($16) comes with pine nuts and spices in a chef's special sauce. It's quite delicious and one of my favourites on the night. Lebanese-Cabbage rolls ($14) are pretty juicy and filled with rice, mince meat and spicers, cooked in a special lemon based sauce. With little room left I probably didn't appreciate the Shawarma ($20) as much as the others did.

For dessert the Turkish Delight ($4) will get you two pieces of a sugary hit and the Backlawa ($3) is nice although they don't quite match the Efendy versions I prefer. The large bowl of Bouza ($8) containing three generous scoops of Lebanese ice cream looks strangely similar to Neapolitan ice cream with the added joy of crushed pistachios. To finish you can't go wrong with the Cinnamon tea ($2.50) or Orange Blossom tea ($2.50) which is clear and funnily looks just like hot water. The Lebanese coffee ($2.50) is somewhat bitter, slightly gritty and pretty strong as expected. Service was friendly and surprisingly efficient for such a large restaurant located in 3 separate rooms. Toilets are located in the central hotel corridor which separates the dining rooms.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice renovations, Decent portions, Friendly and efficient service, Reasonable prices when sharing dishes in a group

CONS: Very popular so book ahead, Street parking can be limited but it's free

MUST TRY: Tabbouli, Lady Fingers, Eggplant cooked with mince lamb

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Complimentary appetisers

Tabbouli: Lebanese traditional salad consisting of parsley, tomato, onion, crushed wheat, mint in a lemon and olvie oil dressing ($17 large)

Lebanese bread

Mix Dip Plate: Combination of hommous, babaganoush and labne ($20 large)

Lady Fingers: Delicious pastry filled with mince meat, pine nuts and tasty cheese, fried and served on a bed of lettuce ($12)

Falafel: Spicy balls consisting of minced chic peas and fava beans, special herbs and spices, deep fried and topped with tahini sauce, tomato, parsley, pickles and paprika ($10)

Bahtra: Warm potato salad sautéed with onion and garlic, spices and coriander, in a lemon dressing ($17 large)

Spinach Pies: Delicious pastry filled with spinach, tomato, onion, carrot and fetta cheese, fried and served on a bed of lettuce ($12)

Kafta: Chargrilled mince lamb with parsley, onion and spices. Served with salad and tahini sauce on side ($18)

Garlic Chicken: Chunks of skewed [skewered] chicken breast, marinated and chargrilled. Served with garlic sauce and salad ($20)

Sheikh El Meishi: Eggplant cooked with mince lamb, pine nuts and spices in a chef's special sauce. Served with rice ($16)

Malouf Bel Lahme: Lebanese-Cabbage rolls filled with rice, mince neat [meat] and spicers, cooked in a special lemon based sauce ($14)

Shawarma: Thin strips of lamb, marinated and chargrilled with onion and tomato, topped with tahini sauce, parsley, pickles, tomato and paprika ($20)

Turkish Delight: Two pieces of rich nougat choice of rose or almonds ($4)

Backlawa: Traditional sweet consisting in layers of fillo pastry, filled with crushed nuts and topped with crushed pistachios ($3)

Bouza: Three scoops of Lebanese ice cream topped with crushed pistachios ($8)

Cinnamon tea ($2.50)

Orange Blossom tea ($2.50)

Small cup of Lebanese coffee ($2.50)

Bill $175 for 7 people, $25 each, complimentary chiclets

2nd dining room

Through to 3rd dining room

Wall feature

Light decoration

Designed for comfort?

Alison Hotel corridor between dining rooms and through to toilet

Seating

Salt and Pepper shakers — so cute!

Qantas teaspoon?

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Efendy: 'Meze Journey to Istanbul' Food Bloggers Dinner Event, Balmain (4 April 2010)

79 Elliott Street, Balmain NSW 2041

http://www.efendy.com.au

A slice of Istanbul in Balmain

A big thanks to Somer and Asli from Efendy for generously inviting a large group of food bloggers to dine at their restaurant to learn a thing or two about Turkish culture and it's influential cuisine which is so much more than just pide and kebabs. We sampled cold mezes, hot mezes, a main meal and a dessert platter along with a take away goodie bag which included possibly the best Turkish Delight you'll find made in Sydney. I had the opportunity to sample a few of the dishes last week and it was great to try the Midye Dolma this week which had a really nice aromatic rice and is apparently one of the popular street foods you'd find in Istanbul. I again enjoyed the Pachanga Boregi which seemed to be well received by the blogger guests and the acquired taste of the Koc Yumurtasi (Lambs testicles) strongly found the taste buds heart for Gourmet Rabbit and Richard Elliot’s Blog. One of my favourites of the night was again the Kadayifli Karides (Kadayif wrapped Hervey Bay king prawns).

The Kuzu Kuzu trio of lamb dishes included a very interesting Braised lamb neck in traditional wedding soup of yoghurt, trice and chickpeas. Quite a few bloggers seemed to enjoy this one along with the Tandir style Bultarra saltbush lamb shoulder over dried eggplant skin filled with smoky eggplant puree which hit the right taste bud notes for me. I also enjoyed the flavours of the Ahirdagi Salata which used some pomegranate molasses in the dressing. Somer makes his own Walnut Baklava of 42 layers of hand opened thin pastry which is a must if you can fit in some dessert and the Keskul (pistachio, almond, pomengranate pudding) was also well liked.

Thank you to all the food bloggers who were able to make the time in spending their Easter Sunday at Efendy — it was really nice to meet you all. And a special thank you to Somer and Hope in approaching me and giving me the opportunity to help organise and introduce the food bloggers for this event.

Food Bloggers and table guests that attended:

• Simon Food Favourites (Simon, Lorraine)

• Almond and the hazelnut (Yasmin)
• Music Munchies Review (Helen, Jorden)
• He Needs Food (John)
• Phuoc'n Delicious (Phuoc)
• Cookbook Maniac (Amy)
• Ohh, Look... (Bel, Will)
• Gourmet Rabbit (Denéa)
• Pigged-Out (Leona)
• Richard Elliot’s Blog (Richard)

• Asli, Omer and Hope

Other visits to Efendy:

• 4 April 2010 - 'Meze Journery to Istanbul' Food Bloggers Dinner Event

• 28 March 2010 - Turkish Meze, Apple tea, Baklava, Dana Sarma, Fava, Hamsi Marine, Kadayifli Karides, Kazandibi, Koc Yumurtasi, Kofte, Kuzu Tandir, Milky gullach

Pacanga Boregi, Patlican Salatasi, Pilic Sarma, Saksuka, Yeni Raki

• 6 March 2010 - Breakfast Meze, Incir Kaygana, Pacanga Boregi, Sucuk, Turkish delight

• 26 July 2009 - Kiymali, Sucuklu, Omlet, Kaygana

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Authentic and tasty dishes, well presented, nice decor

CONS: Not enough authentic Turkish restaurants in Sydney

MUST TRY: Kadayifli Karides (prawns), Pacanga Boregi, Bultarra saltbush lamb shoulder over dried eggplant skin filled with smoky eggplant puree, Lambs testicles (at least once), Somer's Baklava, Kesbul

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Table for 16 setting

Isot (sundried capsicum), Sumac, Nut mix (walnuts, sesame seeds, pistachio crowns), Nar Eksisi (Pomegranate molasses), Olive oil

Turkish bread

Soguk Mezeler – Cold Mezes

Fava: Broad bean paste, onion and dill pate

Hamsi: Black Sea sardines olive oil confit style

Midye Dolma: Tasmanian black mussels, aromatic rice, pinenuts, currant and spices

Sicak Mezeler – Hot Mezes

Pachanga Boregi: Spice-cured, sun-dried beef backstrap, kashar cheese borek

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Koc Yumurtasi: Lambs testicles, garlic almond tarator

SIMON TASTE CHALLENGE :-)

Kadayifli Karides: Kadayif wrapped Hervey Bay king prawns, walnut, capsicum and roasted garlic muhammara

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ana Yemek – Main Meal

Kuzu Kuzu: A trio of lamb dishes

Kuzu Kuzu: Mini Iskender of Dorper lamb backstrap, jus soaked Turkish bread crouton, Iskender sauce of tomato, capsicum and parika, garlic yoghurt.

Kuzu Kuzu: Braised lamb neck in traditional wedding soup of yoghurt, trice and chickpeas

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Kuzu Kuzu: Tandir style Bultarra saltbush lamb shoulder over dried eggplant skin filled with smoky eggplant puree

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ahirdagi Salata: Finely chopped salad of tomato, cucumber, red onion, walnuts, pomegranate molasses

Tatli Tabagi – Dessert Platter

Tatli Tabagi – Kazandibi: Burnet mastic and cinnamon pudding; Baklava: Antep style 42 layers of hand opened thin pastry, walnut; Keskul: Traditional palace recipe of pistachio, almond, pomengranate pudding

Keskul: Traditional palace recipe of pistachio, almond, pomengranate pudding

Baklava: Antep style 42 layers of hand opened thin pastry, walnut

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Real Turkish Delight

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Drinks

Efes Turkish beer

Yeni Raki

Turkish tea

Josef Chromy Pinot Noir 2009 Tasmania, Skuttlebutt Sauvignon Semillon 2008 Margaret River

Efendy

Somer (left) in the kitchen

Food Blogger action shot — heads down, cameras on.

Amy, Phuoc, Leona and Denéa about to try their lambs testicles

A helping hand for Ohh, Look...

Group photo of hosts and food bloggers

Denéa eating/loving her Turkish Delight

Goodie Bag: Apple Tea, Isot sundried capsicum, Pomengranate molasses, Real Turkish Delight

The meaning of Efendy

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