KAZBAH - POTTS POINT, SYDNEY

Kazbah
15 Bayswater Rd
Potts Point, Sydney

Kazbah Potts Point, or Kazbah Souk, is a hidden treasure in Sydney's famous and ever changing Kings Cross or Potts Point area. Once a place full of nightclubs and bars, this area is now sprawling with restaurants, chic bars, and is quickly becoming a popular food hub. Although the name Kazbah is well known in Sydney, Kazbah Potts Point is a new addition to the Kazbah Group. We arrived at 15 Bayswater Road and after going down some steps a very impressive floor space was revealed. As soon as you walk in the foyer you will find Kazbah Bakery, boasting some traditional Middle Eastern sweets and, further in, a stylish restaurant space. Staff greeted us upon arrival and we were offered a drink in the exclusive bar lounge which is tucked away behind the restaurant - what a beautiful and intimate space!

We had never seen a cocktail served with a macaron before but this vodka cocktail called Poussin was amazing and the macaron was totally delicious. Great suggestion from the bartender! The Pomegranate Mojito was a great twist on a classic cocktail and very refreshing. By the time we finished our cocktails, our table was ready so we moved on to a glass of 2013 Petirrojo Carmenere a lovely wine from South America - Chile in fact - while we studied the menu.

Our waiter Peter asked us if we needed any help with the menu and we were so impressed with his knowledge that we decided to let him recommend a selection of dishes for us.

We love figs so agreeing to the Fig Salad wasn't a hard task and it was a smart one too because it was spectacular. The creamy feta and peppery rocket brought out the freshness of the figs so well, it was a great starter for the evening.

Next up, some Octopus. This one was perfectly cooked and the lemon balm mashed potato was so tasty, we were scraping it off the plate. The crispy fried green leaves were like chips, only crunchier.

Numerous eateries offer a citrus cured Atlantic salmon but the pomegranate citrus salad served with the one here at Kazbah Potts Point is a taste sensation. The vanilla cherry tomatoes added a surprising hint of sweetness too.

The crispy fried baby Barramundi here at Kazbah is exactly that - Crispy - and we like crispy!

The tahini cream with garlic parsley was a smooth and creamy addition that went so well with the crispy fish.

We previously didn't realise we liked tahini so much. However, after trying it here it's a must eat from now on as long as it tastes this good all the time!

Peter also recommended we try the char grilled sardine fillets with chilli, parsley, lemon and extra virgin olive oil. We certainly didn't regret that decision. The chilli added a hint of spiciness to a classic dish like sardines. We were very impressed! Next we tried a smoked duck breast like never before. It was served with a fresh pomegranate dressing that made it taste slightly tangy but very fresh. The accompanying sweet potato chips were light and crunchy.

Our waiter let us know our main dish would be about 10 minutes so we took the opportunity to explore the deli-like shopping area and admire the stylish decor (perfect timing as we needed a short break from all that delicious food). We bumped into head chef Quim Hernandez on the floor and we were fortunate enough to say hello and have a quick chat. Quim (El Bulli trained) talked to us about the menu and his Mediterranean take on Kazbah's more traditional Arabic cuisine. We certainly love the menu.

As we said goodbye to Quim, our main dish arrived.

The Casablanca Royale - a tagine with slow cooked lamb shoulder covered in orange blossom sauce, harrisa yoghurt and preserved lemon - is something we will not forget very easily.

The perfectly slow cooked lamb fell away from the bone effortlessly, and was served with fluffy and well seasoned couscous.

Our dessert was just as impressive. 

The Chocolate Bunyols had a creamy chocolate ganache centre that oozed once you pierced them and the cinnamon ice cream can only be described as great. 

We had never had cinnamon ice cream before and we have to say, it was delicious. What a great flavour with ice cream - who would have thought!

Our dessert was teamed with a spectacular 2011 Vidal Ice Wine from the Niagara Peninsular in Canada. Kazbah has a very impressive wine list overseen by talented sommelier Stuart. We also tried their Turkish coffee which was served with house made Turkish Delight.

By the end of the night we were very full but our experience at Kazbah Potts Point was nothing short of amazing. The food is outstanding  and the service is excellent - everything you would expect from a venue associated with the Kazbah group. Kazbah Potts Point is open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for breakfast. Kazbah bakery is open 7 days a week from 6am.

We certainly will be back.

The Counts, who are now doing reviews for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Kazbah. Special thanks to owners Zahi and Penny Azzi. Big thanks also to Daniella Leona for arranging this visit.

MECCA BAH - BROADBEACH, GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND

Mecca Bah
3 Oracle Bvd
Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Queensland

Mecca Bah is such an exotic venue - in fact it's what you would probably be expecting from the name.

It's a very spacious place with a variety of different areas - with seating inside, outside along the pretty boulevard or in their large covered inside/outside area at the rear of the restaurant.

We chose the inside/outside area as it was a beautiful sunny day and it just looked so nice there.

Mecca Bah is of course Middle Eastern food and their brand and group has grown to now have venues across a number of cities in Australia.

It's obviously providing food and venues that people like.

It was just so pleasant sitting there watching the world go by and eating delicious food.

It's open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner and stays open late so there are plenty of available times to visit.

Make sure you take a look around too - there are so many artifacts and ornaments there adding to the feel and experience - it's lovely.

It was midday and that meant it was time for a drink - actually it was opening time at 11:30am but near enough!

Sir had a tasty Casablanca martini which he thoroughly enjoyed and Mlady had the slightly sweeter Turkish delight martini which hit the spot for her!

We then started to eat - and boy was there a lot of food to try - we only got to a small portion of the extensive menu.

First up was the Moroccan potato cakes filled with goats cheese and pine nuts. These little beauties were a favourite of Mlady's - crunchy on the outside and soft and full of flavour inside.

Pastry and meat are made for each other aren't they? The lamb sfiha was a winner with Sir - but he loves meat and he loves pastry. It was not a heavy starter - made from open pastry with spiced lamb, tomato and mint and lemon. Delicious!

Next was some tangy and tasty hummus topped with spiced lamb, pine nuts and herbs served with Lebanese Za'atar bread. It was a bit more complex than your usual hummus - and the extras certainly went well.

We both like haloumi but we loved this variation - baked haloumi with pomegranate, mint salad and lemon.

Of course lemon is a must with haloumi but this version had even more tang with the pomegranate and mint - the addition of the pomegranate and mint was great.

Next up was Mlady's highlight of the meal (she's the healthier one of us obviously).

It was a pretty and colourful salad of mixed quinoa, roasted pumpkin, snow pea tendrils, asparagus, fetta cheese with a spicy apple balsamic dressing.

Of course Middle Eastern food means meat on a skewer. This was not like any other presentation we'd had previously either.

The Baharat spiced lamb shish came with bell peppers and onions and was served with Lebanese flat bread, tomato, cucumber, fresh herbs and fragrant pilaf rice.The meat was on a skewer  hanging over a dish of hot coals with a mesh grill on top. You then simply slid the meat, onions and peppers onto the grill and slightly "toasted" them a bit more. There was also some fragrant wood chips and sawdust to sprinkle onto the coals - adding even more flavour and creating a lovely "show".

Dessert for some people is the best part of any meal. For us it is certainly important - almost essential in fact!

We had a lovely platter with interspersed sections of cheesecake and ice cream. It was orange blossom cheesecake with pomegranate, raspberry and honey syrup served separated by scoops of vanilla ice cream.

We then finished everything off with some rich and thick Turkish coffee.

The showmanship of the serving process makes it all even more interesting - and lets not forget the sweet Turkish Delight that came with it!

We slowly sipped on a couple of "dessert martinis" to complete the feast! Mlady's slightly sweeter tooth was quenched with a marshmallowtini - garnished with petite marshmallows. Sir had the quaintly named baked apple pie - and yes it did taste exactly like this!!

Mecca Bah is an exotic escape right on the Gold Coast. The decor is of course Middle Eastern - and nicely done. Service is fast and friendly and the food and drinks are a treat. The biggest challenge is what to choose - the menu certainly has heaps of variety!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Mecca Bah and Platinum Restaurant Group. Special thanks to Mecca Bah Gold Coast Manager Stan for spending time with us. Thanks also to Caitlin, Cathy and Domenica for looking after us so well. A big thanks to Fallon Gomesz of the Platinum Restaurant Group for inviting us.

SUNDWEESH - SYDNEY

Sundweesh
Popping up across Sydney

Ever had a Sundweesh? We hadn't until the other day and didn't know what we'd been missing! It's basically a fresh tasty Middle Eastern bread-wrapped packet of goodness. Started by the lovely and lively Manar, we popped in to try them for the first time at their stall at the Smooth FM Chocolate Festival recently. They were delicious and we're so glad we got to sample them!





















There were four varieties of Sundweesh available on the day we went - and we were lucky enough to try them all.Baroness A was with us and she grabbed the special of the day - prawn with slaw and peri mayo. She eagerly devoured it and was suitably impressed with the flavours and quantity! These suckers are filling! Mlady and I shared the three others - kafta with tabouli and hummus, grilled chicken with peri peri slaw and finally falafel with tabouli and hummus. Each had their own distinct flavour combination and they were all excellent. My favourite though, was the juicy kafta version whilst Mlady found it hard to share the grilled chicken Sundweesh.

Sundweesh are appearing much more regularly at festivals and events, but they also cater for corporate functions as well. They're easy to eat (everything wraps up inside the bread), very tasty (with plenty of filling varieties and sauce options) and affordable.

Sir and Mlady (and Baroness A) tried Sundweesh as guests of Sundweesh. Many thanks to Manar for inviting us to try her tasty creations!

 

EMBERS - DARLINGHURST, SYDNEY

Embers
52 Oxford St
Darlinghurst, Sydney

What an ornate place with so much charm and atmosphere. You feel like you're stepping into another world when you walk in the door of Embers! The heritage of this building is that it used to be a bank - many years ago. It has lovely arcitecture and the interior has made it even more spectacular.


Owners Henri and Elie Azzi have created a beautiful restaurant.

The food of Charles Fisher adds even more taste and style.

The theme here is Middle Eastern food with a modern twist - and presentation is certainly just as important as well!





We started with a tasting plate put together for us to try a variety of their goodies. It had two plump juicy fresh oysters in the shell beautifully garnished. They were lovely. Then there were two spoons with a sampler of one of Embers signature dishes - scorched ocean trout with spiced tahini and fennel. This was simply delicious and had a great combination of flavours and textures. Finally there was a serving of marinated olives.

All three of these dishes were very tasty - but the scorched ocean trout was so nice we greedily grabbed a full sized serving of this as well!

We then moved on to a lovely serving of fried halloumi with honey zaater.

This dish was amazing! The flavours were incredible - such a great combination that worked so well together.

Mlady is not normally a fan of honey dishes - or halloumi to be honest - but she thoroughly enjoyed this and said it was so much nicer than she could ever have imagined.

It's difficult to go to any Middle Eastern restaurant and not have a serving of hommus. The offering here is hommus with Afghani and sesame bread. It comes on a mini breadboard with a generous dollop of hommus and a good pile of lovely fresh bread.

Next up was the cauliflower, chickpea and pomegranate salad.

It came with a dressing of red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses.

It was certainly a colourful dish and so fresh and tasty as well.

Even though I'm not a huge salad eater this one was easy to enjoy - it was very light, fresh and tasty.

We then had a lovely serving of scallop nayeh.

This is basically raw scallop or scallop ceviche.

We are both fans of ceviche and have ordered it from many of the restaurants we have visited.

This version came with chilli and eggplant mixed in with the pieces of scallop.

It tasted delicious and we finished every last bit of it.

This one certainly didn't disappoint us - it really did live up to our expectations - which were high!

I love duck and I will have it almost everywhere I go. Mlady says I "zero in on it" when I see it on a menu. Well this one wasn't even on the menu for Embers - yet. It was going on soon though and we had the chance to get in early to try it!

This was carob glazed duck breast on wilted spinach with Dutch carrots and potato dauphinoise. It tasted great and the carob went surprisingly well. This was also a lovely mix of flavours.

If hommus is a must do for Middle Eastern food then lamb is even more of a must eat food!

Embers has a lovely confit lamb shawarma with tahini sauce and pickled radish that melts in your mouth.

The lamb was delicious and the combination was fantastic. Mlady isn't a lamb eater but I devoured it - scooping it up into the bead that came with it. Just perfect!

Our next course was beef.

It was the carob glazed beef cheek with freekah grapes and sheeps milk labne.

A carob glaze may not leap off the page for some people as their first choice but it actually went really well.

The beef cheek was also slow cooked and dissolved - it was so tender.

Of course a lovely meal needs dessert to finish it off!

We decided to share two of the choices - the tahini and date brulee with figs and the rose jelly sahleb cream and sumac strawberries.

They were both delicious - the brulee having quite a distinct but extremely good taste and the second dessert providing a light and refreshing combination of flavours and textures.

Then just when we thought our meal was done a night cap was suggested.

How could we say no - especially when we chose an Embers Majharita (Tequila blu, coriander, cinamon, lime and orange) and a Beirut Kiss (Vodka O, lychee, raspberry and rosewater).

It was a lovely way to end a lovely evening.

Chef Charles Fisher

Embers Mezze Bar is a lovely place with so much charm and atmosphere from its decor, food and service.

Tables are not crowding each other and the whole place has an open feel to it.

It's one big room with everyone enjoying themselves.

Their food comes in generous servings and has lovely flavours and presentation. It's a restaurant well worth visiting!

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Embers Mezze Bar. Thanks to Henri Azzi for arranging our visit, the whole team at Embers for looking after us so well and to Charles Fisher for his delicious and appealing dishes.

The Embers crew with Henri Azzi far right

KAZBAH - DARLING HARBOUR, SYDNEY

Kazbah
Harbourside Shopping Centre
Darling Harbour, Sydney

Kazbah Darling Harbour is one of three Kazbah restaurants scattered across Sydney - with others in Balmain and Top Ryde. They describe their restaurants as "The Taste of Arabia" but they have Phoenician, Arabic and African through to French, Italian and Spanish influences. It is this diversity that makes Kazbah such an exciting dining experience.

We started with fried cauliflower which came in a fairly sizeable serving. This was a fantastic dish and nothing like the usual bland boiled offerings when this vegetable is served.

The fried cauliflower was done in smallish pieces that weren't at all heavy. They were slightly crisp on the outside (but not crunchy) and they were full of flavour.

The combination here worked well but it was the lightness of each mouthful that was the most noticeable aspect.

The cauliflower pieces came with eggplant jam (which we hadn't tried before), pinenuts and a generous topping of yoghurt tahini sauce drizzled across the top.

Our next starter was kataifi wrapped prawns with muhamara sauce. This looked impressive on arrival with the prawn heads featuring as a garnish on top of the dish. Kataifi is a pastry that is shredded into stringy pieces and often used in Arabic dishes wrapped around seafood but also for sweeter offerings as well. The muhamara sauce - which is red pepper based - went perfectly. The whole combination of textures and flavours was delicious.

Our final starter was shadows of blue cheese stuffed madjool date wrapped with basturma. It was an interesting combination that may attract some while others may not think they are compatible. Basturma is a dried cured beef that is heavily seasoned. It has strong and distinct flavours. I loved it but Mlady wasn't quite as fond of it.

We enjoyed a lovely Merlot from Zema Estate in the Coonawarra wine region.

Our first main course was chicken breast stuffed with sucuk resting on top of a large corn fritter.

Sucuk is a sausage made from spiced beef and pork that is allowed to dry over several weeks. It was certainly stronger in flavour than the chicken breast but combined really well. The corn fritter - with Kasseri cheese in it - also added to the textures and flavours of this tasty dish.


Many people may shy away from choosing camel if they saw it on a menu. It's certainly a meat that isn't commonly found!

Kazbah offers camel kafta with brown lentil moujadara, Tunisian style ratatouille, date sauce and crispy fried onions.

It was wonderfully presented. The skewer is removed on arrival at the table leaving a long shish kebab of tender spiced meat that was delicious.

The dessert that captured our attention straight away was the "Kazbah Bomb for Two". It consisted of Turkish delight ice cream coated in soft meringue, garnished with blueberries and then flamed with Kurrant vodka. It was a dessert and a show all in one with the dish being ignited at the table. And then there was the taste of it! Wow - it was amazingly delicious. You could really taste the strong Turkish delight flavour of the ice cream. We loved it and devoured it all!

It's hard to eat at any Arabic restaurant and not have some baklava or Turkish delight.

We had the baklava and petit fours to share and had the best of both worlds with sweet almonds there as well.

Even though we were pretty full at this stage we still finished it all - and why not!

Kazbah has interesting and different food that will certainly delight food lovers. It's a place that gives you more than just great food though. The atmosphere is true to it's Arabic origins and the entertainment follows this theme as well - the music is traditional and they even had a belly dancer while we were there.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Kazbah. Special thanks to owners Zahi and Penny and to Daniella Leona of the Kazbah Group. Thanks also to Serdah and Matt for looking after us so well on the night.

KAZBAH - BALMAIN, SYDNEY

Kazbah

379 Darling St
Balmain, Sydney

Kazbah in Balmain was the first in a series of successful Arabic restaurants by this name that have opened up across Sydney - with more still expected. If the bustle and popularity of this one is anything to go by its no wonder more are on the cards!

It does not appear to be a huge place from the street yet it does stretch back a fair way and fits plenty of people in - which is just as well. We were there on a Sunday for brunch/lunch and it was busy - but tables were constantly being cleared and new customers were being seated, particularly for the smaller groups.

The great thing about this time on a weekend is that the breakfast and lunch menu's are both available.

The coffee here is nice and strong but not bitter. It also arrives quickly after you order it - which is important all the time - but more so perhaps on a Sunday brunch!

We both decided on the breakfast menu - despite heaps of great options available for lunch as well. I liked the sound of the chickpea fritters with pork belly shish kebab. This was served with crème fraîche, baby spinach, roast tomato, poached egg and capsicum sauce. It was a colourful dish that had a great variety of textures and flavours. It was a substantial quantity as well and the rich mixture tasted fantastic. This wonderful dish was a full meal on a plate and good value at $22.00.

Mlady decided on a more traditional breakfast option and chose the bircher muesli. It was again a very large serving and came nicely garnished with orange segments (with all the pith carefully removed), pitted dates and cinnamon salad. It was a sweet but healthy combination again packed with colour and flavour. At $16.00 for this substantial breakfast it was again great quality and value.



They also do several fresh juice combinations at Kazbah as well. They all sounded very appealing but the watermelon and ginger particularly grabbed my attention.

While I'm not normally a huge fan of ginger in drinks it turned out to be a wonderful combination for a Sunday pick-me-up. I could have had two of these. It was so nice and only cost $6.50.


The award winning Kazbah is clearly popular. Husband and wife team Zahi and Penny have created a place with great food and a lively charming atmosphere. The menu provides enormous variety and the service was pleasant, attentive and helpful.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Kazbah. Special thanks to Zahi and Penny and to Daniella Leona of the Kazbah Group.