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Aalia

Spice-fragrant oasis in a corporate precinct.

The Aalia interiors seamlessly blend with the Harry Seidler’s iconic MLC architecture.
The Aalia interiors seamlessly blend with the Harry Seidler’s iconic MLC architecture.supplied

Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20

Middle Eastern$$

Dining at this sweeping, gleaming post-work go-to above Martin Place must be a conflicting time for vegetarians. The menu is rife with plant-centric goodness, from heirloom carrots with carrot top sahawiq salsa, to Egyptian baked rice heady with earthy baharat spice, to carrot ice-cream spooned across turmeric sponge. (Chef Paul Farag really likes carrots.) But a table near the dry-ageing fridge also means looking at a squadron of headless ducks all night, each carcass waiting to be roasted and teamed with a tangy walnut and pomegranate sauce based on Persian stew fesenjan.

That duck, however, is straight-up delicious. See also, black cardamom-fragrant beef nayyeh; zippy fattoush reimagined on a cracker; juicy quail skewers; and cuttlefish enhanced with ummak huriyya, a type of Tunisian carrot salad. More Middle Eastern adventures like this in the city, please. The duck-averse can always request another table.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/nsw-good-food-guide/aalia-20231023-p5eso1.html