Monthly Archives: July 2012

by dk | July 31, 2012

El Jannah, Granville

I’ve heard a lot about the legendary El Jannah, home of some of the best barbeque chicken and garlic sauce that I will ever taste according to some people. Tonight is a cold winters night and some barbeque chicken is exactly what I need!

El Jannah is a relatively large charcoal chicken restaurant that is both eat-in and takeaway. The seating isn’t actually that plentiful but I am used to charcoal chicken places having no seats, so it is ‘relatively’ big in that aspect. When we arrive tonight, there are a lot of patrons already and a bit of a queue to order food. After we sit down, we notice that a lot of the queue were takeaway customers so finding seats wasn’t that bad. At the register, they also only take cash so make sure you bring spare change with you. Otherwise, there is a generic ATM in the corner or some bank branches just down the road.

Large Tabouli – $6.90
Large Garlic Sauce – $4.50
Whole Chicken – $10.90

We start off the night with a whole barbeque chicken. Along with this is a side of tabouli, garlic sauce and bread. Firstly, the chicken is well cooked and juicy, but pretty standard because most barbequed chickens are quite good generally. What takes this chicken to the next level is the garlic sauce. Rich and creamy, this sauce is garlic heaven and one of the most amazing garlic sauces ever. The method I used to eat this was to rip some off the bread, wrap it with tabouli and chicken inside and then smother it in garlic sauce. Delicious.

Skewers – $4 each
Tawouk (marinated breast chicken pieces)
Kafta (specially prepared minced lamb)
Lahme (small lamb pieces cooked on charcoal)
Soujouk (specially prepared spicy minced lamb)

We also ordered one of each skewer which was presented together on a plate with a side of hommous and chips. Our party of four deconstructed each skewer so that we could taste each one. Unfortunately, they all tasted like barbeque and I couldn’t differentiate between the 2 lamb ones, however they were all delicious so there is no problem with ordering either of them.

Large Chips – $4

On top of our meal, we foolishly ordered a bowl of chips not knowing that it came with the skewers. Despite this, these chips were fantastic. They were well seasoned with chicken salt and were crisp and crunchy on the outside, but soft in the middle. Really great chips.

Overall the food at El Jannah gets my two thumbs up. Highlights of the meal included the garlic sauce and the chips – best two menu items. I think next time I come back, I’m just going to stock up on garlic sauce so I can have a stash at home… >:)

El Jannah
4/8 South Street, Granville NSW 2142
Ph: (02) 9637 0977

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6 Comments

Filed under Granville, Lebanese, Takeaway

Tagged as Barbecue Chicken, Barbeque Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Chips, El Jannah, Garlic Sauce, Granville, Hummus, Kafta, Lahme, Soujouk, Tabouli, Tawouk

by Excuse Me Waiter | July 30, 2012

The Village, Potts Point

A fresh new bar has popped up in Potts Point on Kellett Way, a little alley off the main street. The name evokes images of a cosy, homely kind of place but the modern vibe of the bar is evident as soon as you walk through the courtyard into the black walled interior. There’s daily specials scrawled in white on the ceiling and framed black and white images of Marilyn Monroe on the wall, mixing up elements of vintage and contemporary design.

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Filed under Australian, Bar, Bar Food, Potts Point

Tagged as Antipasto, Arancini balls, Margherita pizza, Mozzarella, Pimms, Potts Point, Salt and Pepper Squid, Spinach Salad, The Village, Tomato

by dk | July 29, 2012

Five food trends yet to hit Australia

Last summer, I was fortunate to travel across the majority of Europe and some parts of Asia, trying many of their local cuisines. The way that other cultures treat and consume their food is quite different to Australians, so it was a great learning experience. It was during this trip that I started discovering food trends which were so prominent overseas, but not readily available in Australia.

But since I’ve returned to Oz, I have noticed the early stages of certain international food trends taking off here too. I’d like to share with you some things which I think that the Australian food industry could use and learn from overseas:

1. Food Carts/Trucks

One of the quickest and most convenient ways to enjoy freshly cooked food is from a food truck. They are mobile, cheap and let you enjoy small nibbles on the go without having to be seated at a restaurant. The foods on offer can range from hot drinks to snacks such as waffles, panini buns and dumplings. Recently, Sydney has seen some food trucks roaming the CBD including the Eat Art Truck, which provides night roamers a delicious feast before heading home.

2. Food Halls

Imagine a school hall or town centre filled with small food stalls and lots of hungry patrons. It is similar to a food court, but all stalls serve up gourmet style food instead of fast food. I’ve only ever seen food exhibitions in Sydney, but they always have a limited run; the ones in Europe are there perpetually. Great examples are the food halls at Madrid and Stockholm that feature many stalls offering small servings of local cuisine. You can sample multiple dishes all in one convenient location, which is great for picky eaters who can never decide what to choose!

3. Ready-to-eat food at supermarkets

Supermarkets overseas are extremely self-sufficient for all your food needs, especially when it comes to ready-to-eat foods. This includes a lot of sandwiches and sushi which are prepared freshly on the day with a variety of fillings. One particular supermarket in Switzerland offers rotating hot foods which change at breakfast, lunch and dinner times. A large variety of foods are available, such as hot soups, pastries, hot chips, quiches, fried calamari, and roast vegetables! It is an excellent option for those who need a quick bite but don’t want to wait in a restaurant.

4. Christmas Markets

If you ever head to Germany in December, Christmas Markets are a must-do for every traveller. Although prevalent in many European countries, the largest ones are in Germany and offer some wonderful foods such as mulled wine, bratwurst and currywurst – perfect to brave the winter chill. They provide a family-friendly experience and social environment to enjoy snacks. This idea would be easily adaptable for an Australian audience and I’d love to see some ‘Winter Markets’ here in the near future!

5. Recycling schemes at supermarkets

This final trend isn’t specifically a food trend, but a great environmental initiative. Many European supermarkets have a machine at their entrance which encourages people to return plastic bottles for a small monetary refund. This serves to instil recycling into your behaviour and is perfect for people who throw their recyclables in normal bins due to the lack of recyclable bins. Another great thing supermarkets are doing is charging for plastic bags. Although $0.50 doesn’t seem like a lot, it can accumulate over time and provides a financial incentive to bring a shopping bag or backpack on supermarket trips.

What strikes you on the food scene when you go travelling? What trend do you most wish Australians would adopt? Let us know in the comments below.

This article appeared on My Doorstep.

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Filed under Articles

Tagged as Articles, Christmas Market, Food Cart, Food Hall, Food Truck, Recycling, Supermarket

by dk | July 26, 2012

Wowcow, Parramatta

It’s no surprise that we are massive fans of frozen yoghurt. It is a relatively healthy dessert option, delicious with various flavours and toppings and very affordable. Last week saw the opening of four new frozen yoghurt stores; Praus in Eastwood, Yogurberry in Eastwood, a new Moochi branch at Westfield Centrepoint as well Wowcow in Parramatta. Sydney is really going froyo crazy!

In due time we will visit all of them but this week we were delighted to attend the opening of Wowcow in Parramatta. To celebrate, they were giving away a small kid’s size Wowcow with one topping in exchange for a gold coin donation. This money would then go to Oxfam Australia, with every $180 raised buying a cow to support families in Third World countries. I think it is really great to know that businesses are looking out for the less fortunate and are promoting charitable initiatives throughout the community so that we become more aware of just how fortunate we are in Australia.

Located in the heart of Parramatta on the corner of Church and Phillip Streets, Wowcow sits amongst the trendy dining scene near Coco Cubano, Criniti’s and San Churros. On their opening day, Wowcow only offered two frozen yoghurt flavours (chocolate and vanilla) but still had their staple of 18 toppings – a great range of sweet and fruity flavours to enhance the yoghurt. I decided to try something different by opting for a chocolate yoghurt with coconut shavings. The chocolate is surprisingly creamy and rich in flavour – I can’t believe that this is actually yoghurt! The chocolate yoghurt which I am used to from supermarkets generally tastes quite bad, so this is a very pleasant surprise for me. The coconut shavings adds some texture but I think next time I will go for some Oreo cookies instead.

Yvn opted for the vanilla with mango pearls, a combination I chose last time and enjoyed so much that she had to give it a go. The vanilla is as creamy as it was last time I tried it, and the flavour rivals that of Noggi and Moochi. The mango pearls also release bursts of sweet mango juice and gave the yoghurt lovely fruity undertones towards the end.

Given that last week was Wowcow’s opening week, they had several special surprises for customers. This included non-stop samples of churros dipped in chocolate which were a warm cinnamon welcome to our yoghurt. They also had face painting for kids and a pen containing three cows wearing Wowcow visors – cute!

Source: Didier Cohen’s Facebook page

Later in the day, Didier Cohen even made a stopover. I guess even models eat yoghurt!

I’m glad that Wowcow has opened a new branch much closer to where I live and are cross promoting a charitable initiative in the process. I was very happy to support Wowcow with my gold coin donation and wish them the best of luck. If you visit, get the vanilla with mango pearls along with some churros – one of the best combinations!

P.S. A sign in-store stated a Burwood branch would be opening soon. Great news for all you who live in the Inner West

Wowcow
279 Church St (cnr Church and Phillip St)
Parramatta 2124

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3 Comments

Filed under Dessert, Parramatta

Tagged as Churros, Didier Cohen, Frozen Yoghurt, Mango Pearls, Moochi, Noggi, Parramatta, Wowcow

by Excuse Me Waiter | July 24, 2012

Croutons Soup Bar, Wynyard

Winter is upon us here in Sydney, which means that it is finally soup season! I love soup because it is the ultimate lazy person’s meal – there’s generally no need to chew, you still get to taste delicious flavours and end up with a full stomach.

I recently heard about a place in the MetCentre at Wynyard that is solely dedicated to different kinds of soup – the appropriately named Croutons Soup Bar, tucked away next to the Jamison Street entrance. I’m a sucker for crunchy croutons with my soup so how could I resist? I trekked over during one lunchbreak with a friend and we spent around 5 minutes wandering the MetCentre food court looking for it before I realised it was actually on the ground floor of the centre and not inside the food court itself.

Unfortunately for us, there was already a massively long queue when we got there during the lunch hour peak. But as a credit to the soup bar team, they worked very efficiently ladling the various different soup flavours they have and the line moved quite quickly.

I had my heart set on the Boston Clam Chowder while my friend decided to be a bit more adventurous and try the Indonesian Chicken soup with mixed vegies and pasta. You can upsize to a large, but we both opted for a regular and to fill up my carb quota for the meal, I added an extra piece of Italian Schiacciata bread for $1. You can choose from 4 types of bread loaves made by Brasserie Bread – sourdough, rye, schiacciata, quinoa and soya.

Breads for $1 per piece

You can choose extra condiments/toppings to go with your soup and while they have the usual suspects (croutons, shallots, parsley), they also have more wacky things like fried onions and wasabi peas! On a whim, I asked for the wasabi peas and it tasted just as I expected it to – like I was a kid again and decided to chuck whatever snacks I had into my soup. I appreciated the novelty factor even though it didn’t really complement the flavours of the soup.

The Boston Clam Chowder was quite chunky and filling; I couldn’t really see any clams on first inspection and when I eventually found some swimming amongst the diced vegies they were quite small. Based on the seafood chowders I’ve had before, I expected it to be cream-based rather than tomato based which it was but luckily, it still tasted hearty and flavoursome.

Boston Clam Chowder, Indonesian Chicken Soup, both $8 regular

My friend’s Indonesian Chicken soup was described as fragrant and was full of exotic herb flavours that spiced up the chicken broth base and had pieces of chicken and bits of pasta thrown into it too. It was also quite filling and fairly delicious, although not as thick as my Boston Clam Chowder.

If you’re out on a lunchbreak in the Sydney CBD and feeling like some soup, join the suited masses who already flock to Croutons Soup Bar for their interesting soup flavours and toppings. You can also mix your own soups and add in pastas/brown rice to certain soups if you’re after a more filling meal.

UPDATE 8/8/2012 – For those readers who were wondering why the Boston Clam Chowder was so red, it turns out that Croutons was experiencing a temporary issue with the red colouring from their carrots changing the colour of the soup. But rest assured that this has been fixed and the Boston Clam Chowder is back to its usual creamy coloured self now and the taste has even been tweaked a bit so that it’s even tastier than before!