The Hills Middle Eastern
57A Gladesville Road
Hunters Hill, Sydney
‘We’re back’! These are the words spoken by Big City Mick (formerly Hungry Diner) Mick Teasdale and back we were! It had been a long haul for everyone and it was so good to see things opening up again and restaurants starting to welcome back dine-in customers.
The Hills Middle Eastern Founder/Owner Nawar and Big City Mick (Mick Teasdale)
We were set for another night of good vibes, sensational food with really amazing promotions which included ‘Offshore Vodka’, speed eater James of JWebby Can Eat, champagne opening with a sabre courtesy of Maison Mumm! So - where do we start? With a drink of course! Mlady went straight for the reds had a nice glass of Shiraz and Sir had a refreshing Heineken beer. Then it was on to the food.
The dips were so tasty. There were three of them - labneh, hommus and baba ghanouj. Scooping these up with the soft fresh pita bread was just so yummy. There was also a crunchy toasted variety of the bread which was equally delicious. They were a perfect start to the meal!
The fattouch salad took pride of place down the middle of the long tables. This salad is almost a meal in itself - with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, shallots, radish all topped with piles of super crunchy fried Lebanese bread. The dressing was made from pomegranate and garlic and had great flavours too.
There was an amazing selection of mezze which included three different sambouseks - filled with feta, lamb and spinach - falafel, fried cauliflower, stuffed vine leaves and of course kibbeh. It was a great selection with so many wonderful flavours and textures. We really enjoyed it all!
Mlady could not stop eating the tabbouleh. It really was so good. She would eat it by itself or wrap some in the pita bread. Sir on the other hand loves meat dishes - and this one was a real winner. The meat skewers were simply divine. The chicken, kofta and lamb skewers were cooked perfectly. They were soft juicy and all had great flavours. He ate way more than he should have but he just couldn’t resist them.
If you want, you can even keep an eye on the kitchen as the food is being prepared. The opening gives a birds eye view of the place where all the action takes place.
Witnessing the very slick opening of a champagne bottle with a Sabre, we could see that our effervescent host Mick has certainly mastered this art. The G. H. Mumm Brand Ambassador in Australia, Emmanuel de Madre provided us with the wonderful story as to why champagne was opened this way. It is a French tradition to open a bottle of champagne which came from the army where soldiers would come back from battle to celebrate victory or defeat or to just forget and they would pop a bottle of champagne with a Sabre.
Big City Mick (Mick Teasdale) and Emmanuel de Madre
Spot that high speed and blurred cork flying out!
Offshore Vodka is the worlds only premium alkaline Vodka and they were also a sponsor for the nights event. The high alkaline water helps neutralise acid that is in the body. This great benefit includes helping to improve hydration and the overall health and balance the body’s ph. It was the first time we’d tried this drop and we were so impressed. It was beautifully smooth with a crisp taste and so easy to drink.
James from JWebby Can Eat was here and set to show his incredible speed eating skills. He is a professional eater and food challenger. If you’ve never seen this happen - then you’re missing out! On this occasion he ate an entire banquet for four people, including drinks in only 15 minutes! He was a machine! James and his girlfriend Kate (who was also here) document his incredible food journeys on pretty much all social media platforms. Check him out! .
This venue is perfect for casual dining or for larger groups. With both an indoor and outdoor area it has separate spaces to cater to all needs. The food and venue would be absolutely ideal for functions too, whether it’s for weddings, birthdays or you name it.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of The Hills Middle Eastern. Big thank you to Nawar and The Hills Middle Eastern and to event guru Big City Mick for a great ‘dinner and show’..