Sydney Eat Street: 10 things to eat in Rockdale
THIS South Sydney suburb is a true melting pot of cuisines — you can choose from cevapi and Macedonian burek to Nepalese steamed dumplings. Welcome to Rockdale.
Sydney Taste
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sydney Taste. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THIS South Sydney suburb is a true melting pot of cuisines — you can choose from cevapi and Macedonian burek to Nepalese steamed dumplings. Welcome to Rockdale.
Are you hungry for inspiration? Follow us on Instagram
THE BUTCHER BOYS
COOKING instructions are affixed to the 100-plus preprepared meals waiting to be picked up by time-poor parents. In boxed trays, fresh vegetables are paired with the premium meats sold at this sleek modern butcher shop.
The Butcher Boys are six jovial brothers determined to deliver the best products with the utmost convenience — whether that’s providing the oven-ready aluminium pan with a seasoned roast and asparagus or setting up the spits they rent out for bigger gatherings. With all of them together, you’d expect some squabbling, but instead there are huge smiles and lots of laughter.
“We come from a happy family,” says Ali Hamka, the third son. “It’s what make this a happy environment.” — Al houda halal butchery, 10 Waltz St
SWALLOW COFFEE TRADERS
RIGHT off the train line, Mick and Steph Harrison are used to working the morning rush.
“It’s a fine balance between speed and quality,” Mick says, something that he and his wife Steph have finetuned by learning both their regulars’ orders and respective train schedule.
The pair have expanded their grab-n-go offerings to include jaffles with bacon, egg and caramelised onions.
Once the chaos subsides though, the patrons still fill the seats, lingering over lattes and one of the lovingly prepared lunches. — Shop 1, 1-7 Tramway Arcade
ALEXANDER’S BAKERY
USING ingredients such as ground mince or spinach and cheese, burek is a Macedonian savoury pastry akin to a pie made up of thin flaky layers around a filling. Putting it all together requires patience and skill.
Starting with a piece of dough the size of a saucer, baker Sasha Pardovski stretches it until it’s nearly transparent and about a metre in diameter. This then gets folded around the fillings and repeated three more times.
“It is typically served with cold buttermilk,” says Carla Urosevski, whose family has been selling it since 1953, explaining how the slightly sour taste complements the salt. — 494 Princes Hwy
SPICCIATEVI CAFE
IT’S hard to call cevapi fast food when you’ve just learned it takes three days to prepare. First the meat, usually beef, lamb or both, is seasoned than rested overnight. The following day it will be minced and then finally made into small sausages that can be served on a plate with flatbread, sour cream and onions. For one of the tastiest things you’ll ever try, ask for the bread to be “wet”, which as co-owner Amira Andreaolis explains is when broth is poured over the bread before it is quickly grilled, sealing in all the moisture. — 4 Tramway Arcade
QUEEN COFFEE
TUCKED away in a small arcade is an even smaller shop with just three tiny tables that are wedged between a counter, coffee roaster and pastry fridge. The cramped quarters don’t seem to bother the patrons, some of whom have been coming since Queen Coffee opened in 1998. Try a slice of poppy seed cake or the traditional tulumbe. — Shop 8/2-4 King St
WHEN IN ROCKDALE, YOU MUST TRY
FOOL MODAMMAS (fūl)
This bowl of fava beans cooked with lemon, garlic and olive oil and served with Lebanese bread and pickles is a great start to the day. — Xtract Coffee, 40 Walz St
BELGIAN CHOCOLATE WAFFLE
Melted Belgium chocolate that looks like a decadent fountain when poured over thick and slightly crunchy waffles. — Sir Braxton Chocolate Bar, Shop 2, 13-19 Bryant St
MOMO
Nepalese steamed dumplings made with chicken or mixed vegetables prepared with mild spices and served with a tomato chutney. — Red Capsicum Restaurant, 89 Railway St
CHARCOAL CHICKEN
A few tables inside this takeaway shop barely hold the crowds that come in for the tender chicken that’s been marinated in a tangy sauce and grilled over charcoal. — Charcoal Kingdom, 451 Princes Hwy
PLAZMA BISCUIT
In Serbia, this biscuit is particularly popular during religious fasting times, as it doesn’t contain milk or eggs. — Rockdale Markets Deli, 4 King St
‘Beyond a fire sale’: Criniti’s stores sold for staggering price
Despite its whopping $19 million debt, the remaining Criniti’s stores, including Parramatta and Darling Harbour, have sold for a staggeringly low price in what one broker has described as ‘beyond a fire sale’.
‘I like big buns’: Wacky burgers with a difference
Parramatta’s very own Eat Street is as exciting and diverse as the city itself. Take BL Burgers for example, which brought its premium burgers — including the Blame Canada, Blame Indian and Mac Daddy burgers — to western Sydney.