Sydney Eat Street: Experience cultural foodie delights in Lakemba
Be prepared for some unique taste sensations in this multicultural community of Lakemba, where the heart of locals beat to a shared love of food with family and friends.
Food
Don't miss out on the headlines from Food. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Be prepared for some unique taste sensations in this multicultural community of Lakemba, where the heart of locals beat to a shared love of food with family and friends.
Take a tour of the area’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram.
For a chance to feature your food picture in The Sunday Telegraph, tag #SydneyEatStreet.
JASMINS RESTAURANT
Touted as the first Lebanese eatery in Sydney, family-owned restaurant Abdul’s has been a Surry Hills institution for 50 years.
But like any family, kids grow up and venture out on their own, which is what Abdul Latif did more than 20 years ago when he opened his own place, Jasmins Restaurant, following his father’s example of serving the highest quality Lebanese food.
“The secret is good olive oil,” Abdul says.
At Jasmins, landscape murals adorn the walls of this bright and cheery space with a row of two and four person tables to the left.
On the right tables are pushed together to accommodate families and the dozens of dishes to be shared.
MORE FROM SYDNEY EAT STREET:
Some of the favourite Lebanese dishes include minced meat grilled on skewers (kafta); small pieces of spiced meat (shawarma); fried balls of minced meat, crushed wheat and pine nuts (Kebe); along with requisite dips, bread, pickled veggies and mint. Lots of mint.
It’s much the same for breakfast, which includes foule — a hearty dish of broad beans, lemon juice and olive oil.
“The beans keep you going all day,” Abdul says.
Of course, no meal is complete without their famous falafels, (voted Best in Australia by Menulog), whose recipe had remained unchanged for more than 40 years.
— 30B Haldon St
KHUSHBOO SWEETS & RESTAURANT
Co-owners of Khushboo Sweets and Restaurant, Shamim Abid and Halal Khan, came to Australia together from Bangladesh 30 years ago.
Over the years, they’ve owned a variety of eateries ranging from juice bars to fish and chip shops, but during that time, plans were being put into place to open a restaurant that served authentic Bangladeshi food — both meals and sweets — prepared the old-fashion way.
“Our process is grandma’s process,” Shamim says.
As head chef, he explains how in addition to waiting for the ideal location to become available, a lot depended on accumulating a range of Bangladeshi recipes and sourcing quantities of the corresponding herbs and spices to make even the most basic menu staples such as fuchka — golf-ball sized semolina flour shells semi-filled with a chickpea blend that you pop into your mouth.
Shamim also notes their menu wouldn’t be complete until they were able to offer what he refers to as Bangladesh’s most famous dish, Kacchi Biryani. Made with layers of rice, marinated meat and spices, it is simmered in a sealed pot for four hours.
It’s a tedious process that is typically reserved for special occasions … or restaurants.
Eventually, though, with the recipes they’d collected from around Bangladesh and with the growth of the Bengali community making it easier (and cheaper) to get the necessary ingredients, Shamim, Halal and fellow co-owner and pastry chef Jahangir Kabir brought their dream to fruition.
It even exceeded their expectations and they’ve been able to open separate outlet, Dhaka Delights, a few doors up to expand on their dessert selection.
— 38 Railway Pde
ISLAND DREAMS CAFE
With its marine blue walls, coloured cushions and tropical artwork, it’s easy to see how this comfortable and welcoming cafe was inspired by an island life — specifically Christmas Island and Cocos Island for owner Alimah Bild.
Before moving to Lakemba in 1973, she’d spent her childhood tugging on the apron strings of her mother and grandmother, watching as they prepared “island food” — a fusion of Malaysian, Indonesian and Chinese cuisines.
A popular dish on the islands and now one of Alimah’s signature dishes is rice Ayam panggang — a lemon chilli chicken with turmeric rice.
While the basis for the food here is authentic to the islands, Alimah notes she had to adjust her recipes to suit the locals’ preferences. In the case of her popular chicken dish, that’s meant adding sauce. Lots of sauce.
On the islands, however, it would be served “dry” (no sauce) to appreciate the moist and tender meat that comes from cooking it outside in a sealed drum with hot coals above and below acting as an oven and sealing in the moisture.
Try it with a serving of the rainbow-coloured fish crackers to add a bit of crunch. They’re also native to the islands and particularly impressive as they take a whole week to make.
Of course, no meal is complete without dessert so save room for a piece of the delicious pandan cake.
— 47-49 Haldon St
AL FAYHAA BAKERY
They’re the Usain Bolt of manoosh, Lebanese pizzas. In a mere 12 seconds (yes, I timed it) one person transfers the dinner-plate sized pizza out of the wood-fire oven, slides it on to a long wooden resting board, while the other swoops in, grabs it to either fold it like an envelope or place it in a pizza box.
That efficiency serves them well considering that they open at 4am, ready to sell what in Lebanon is a common breakfast item.
Prepped in the small kitchen in back, the flatbread-base gets topped with a variety of ingredients ranging from basic sesame seed or oregano ($2), to more loaded ones with varied combinations of za’atar (a custom blend of Middle Eastern spices), cheese, meat and veggies.
A manoosh spread from edge to edge with lamb mince will set you back a whopping $4.
Although they make more than 1000 a day, it’s not uncommon for them to sell out by early afternoon, so run, don’t walk, to make sure you don’t miss out.
— 137A Haldon St
KING OF SWEETS
It’s wall-to-wall sweetness at this popular Lebanese bakery where the shelves and benchtops are lined with cellophane wrapped gift baskets and plates piled high with a variety of sugary treats.
It’s customary never to go to someone’s house empty-handed, and while a big box of chocolates will suffice, it’s the traditional treats that ensure a warm welcome.
Specific to the Lebanese cuisine is the moderate use of sugar such as with Baklawah, a light and flaky pastry with a ground nut filling drizzled with syrup, compared to the Greek version, Baklava, which is quite sweet and, being bound by a rich honey-based syrup, also much stickier.
Same goes for the knafeh, a sort of Lebanese version of cheesecake with a kind of ricotta cheese layer between either crushed filo or semolina dough cake.
The sweetness comes about from the orange blossom syrup that is lightly poured on top making it moist but not so much that it becomes soggy.
However, the only way to truly taste the difference is to try it for yourself. Of course, for the sake of accuracy, you’ll need to repeat the tests a number of times.
— 129 Haldon St
MUST TRY
LEMON AND MINT ICE DRINK
Whether it’s a hot day or merely time for a break, treat yourself to an ice-blended drink with lemon juice and mint or for something a bit more complex, a version with dates, pine nuts and almonds.
Stay a little longer and share a mix-plate to sample their delicious food, which may just bring you back around for dinner.
— Lazeez Lebanese Cuisine; 135 Haldon St
FRESH PRODUCE
A healthy diet may whittle your waist but it can also wreak havoc on your wallet. Rather than ditching the meal plans, stock up on fresh produce at Lakemba’s local grocers. You’ll pay half the price of mainstream shops and get twice the variety.
For the aspiring chef or the curious home cook, here you’ll find those seemingly elusive ingredients used in Arab cuisines plus friendly staff to point you in the right direction.
— Big Fresh; 131 Haldon St
TURMERIC POWDER
Every country and region has its own unique flavours but finding the appropriate spices all in one spot is a tough task.
Fortunately, at this rather eclectic shop, you’ll find small and large packets of spices (specifically) suited to the cuisines of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka and Fiji including turmeric.
While the golden-orange hued powder has been used in cooking for centuries, it’s recently been touted in mainstream circles for its apparent health benefits, so if you’re looking to buy in bulk, add in the price of a return train trip from Bondi, and you’ll still come out ahead.
— Variety Video CDs and Spices; 147 Haldon St
ARABIC BREAD
There aren’t many places where you can get a bite for barely $1 but at this Afghan and Arab bakery not only can you pick up a serving platter-sized piece of light and airy Arabic bread, you can marvel at how it’s made.
The dough is first stretched over what looks like a firm pillow before being placed by hand, nearly shoulder deep into a tandoor oven. It’s baked for a bit then pulled out and stacked on the wire shelf.
Grab some to take home or order it with a freshly grilled skewer to make it a quick meal. Dinner and a show.
— Afghan Sufra; 122 Haldon St
BEEF RENDANG
Walk into this friendly no-frills eatery and you’ll be treated to a genuinely home-cooked Indonesian meal.
Every day, co-owner Hilda Nazar helps to prepare 15 different dishes that will go into the bain-marie unlabelled.
It’s like pulling up to the dinner table where you may not know what will be served, but you know it’ll be good.
One dish she can never skip though is the delicious beef rendang, slow-cooked meat in a spicy coconut milk based sauce.
There is no menu, instead, a simple sign indicating the three-choice meal — a scoop of rice in the centre of the plate surround by a good helping of your choice of two meats and one vegetable. All for a mere $12.
— Warung Ita; 168 Haldon St
CRAB SALAD WITH MELTED CHEESE
It may sound a bit unusual but owner Pontip Khan swears that the crab and cucumber sushi topped with melted cheese is a big hit with the kids.
It’s a big hit with the Lakemba community as it’s the only sushi joint in the whole area that serves purely Halal food.
While you may not think of it straight away, it’s actually rather obvious in that most sushi rice contains a semblance of alcohol — rice wine vinegar — but not here.
— Sunshine Sushi; 99 Haldon St
Originally published as Sydney Eat Street: Experience cultural foodie delights in Lakemba
Grim sign in window as cafe closes for good
A much-loved local spot has left customers stunned after sticking a short note on their front door.
Major update on Aussie Crumbl plans
Australians could have a taste of the real famed cookies in a matter of months following a ‘scam’ pop-up.