This pop-up CBD stall might just serve Brisbane’s best falafel
You’ll need to pick your day and time to experience this Egyptian take on the vegetarian favourite. But, boy is it worth it.
Look for the sandwich board on Felix Street in the CBD, hang a left into Spencer Lane and you’ve found it.
Ta’ameya pops up in this relatively obscure laneway (which, to give you your bearings, leads to the back entrance of Doughcraft on Mary Street) Tuesday through Thursday.
Don’t expect anything fancy. It’s a simple market-style marquee with a straightforward menu that centres on Egyptian falafel.
But if you like sandwiches and variations thereof, you need to seek this place out.
Wait, what is Ta’ameya?
Ta’ameya, the business, is the creation of Ramay Othman, Dan Henalla and Lewis Hayes. Othman and Hayes are engineers by trade, Henalla a doctor.
At first, it was very much a passion project, making intermittent appearances on the market circuit while the trio tested the waters for its cornerstone product: ta’ameya, the falafel.
Depending on the text you consult, ta’ameya is generally thought to have been created by Coptic Christians about 1000 years ago as a hearty meal to get them through the fasting period of Lent. How does it differ from other types of falafel you find throughout the Levant? It’s made from fava beans (broad beans) rather than chickpeas.
“This makes a huge difference in the texture,” Othman says. “But also the kind of nutrition you derive from it. Also, there’s heaps of it grown in Australia, so we’re utilising an easily grown crop.
“It has these starches that allow it to get a fluffier product, and it’s higher in protein.”
Othman would also like to say it has a better flavour, but then that might just be what’s also mixed into the falafel – in Ta’ameya’s case, parsley, coriander, spring onion and leeks.
The Ta’ameya falafel pita pocket
Ta’ameya punches out some of the best falafel we’ve had in this city, and you suspect it comes down to years of testing the product, as well as Othman and Henalla’s half-Egyptian backgrounds. It probably also helps that Othman’s father worked in restaurants.
At first, Ta’ameya’s pita pocket perhaps looks like any other you can get around town. But the devil is in the detail.
Ta’ameya’s pita bread comes from Papa Pita and is delivered twice weekly, which Othman reckons makes a big difference to the overall quality of the pocket.
“It’s bread you can just eat on its own,” he says, “and it’s in line with our mission of trying to create a meal that you can eat every day.”
Ta’ameya heats the pitas in a grill, toasting them slightly while steaming them inside. Then comes the first smear of a house-made tahini that’s been given extra love with garlic, lemon juice and cumin. It’s a lovely, tangy, viscous creation that creates the throughline for the whole pocket.
“It’s almost like a pâté in a banh mi,” Othman says. “You don’t notice it until you do. And then when you do, you can’t help but notice it.”
Next comes what Othman describes as a classic chopped Egyptian salad, with tomatoes, onions, flat-leaf parsley, crunchy sweet and sour pickles and plenty of mint.
Then there are the falafels themselves, fried discs coated in sesame seeds and cracked coriander seeds for extra crunch. Finally, the pocket is finished with slices of pickled turnips and a few dashes of tahini, this time mixed a little thinner than the initial layer in the pocket.
Optional is Ta’ameya’s own hot sauce, made with Turkish olive oil, pickled cayenne, baby peppers and an Arabian spice mix. It adds a nice kick, although we recommend trying the pocket nude first to wrap your head around what makes this thing so good.
Falafel is easy to make but hard to make exceptional, and Ta’ameya has achieved the kind of balance you’d usually associate with a trained chef. It’s a lesson in doing one thing (well, almost one – the food menu also offers a falafel salad and a falafel snack pack) very well.
There’s the crisp saltiness and fluffy texture of the falafel, the almost syrupy mouthfeel of the tahini, the crunch of the brightly coloured turnip, and the generous amounts of mint, which lends it a lovely extra pop of freshness.
Where to get it
Ta’ameya pops up in Spencer Lane in the CBD every week, Tuesday to Thursday. One of its pita pockets costs $13.90, although we reckon go for the larger size, which is priced $16.90. Order the larger one because you’ll still destroy the thing and have no regrets. Just try to get there before noon, after which the queue gets long, fast.
And if you don’t have any luck in the city, you can catch it on Saturdays at the Powerhouse Markets in New Farm, 6am to noon.
Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.