May 27, 2009

Kazbah on Darling, Balmain

Finally! After what seemed like FOREVER in organising, we managed to gather a group of 9 people to go to Kazbah’s breakfast banquet (minimum is 8 people). The restaurant is easy to find. As the name suggests, it is located on busy Darling Street and afterwards, you can pop (or drive for 5 min) down the road to Rozelle Markets!

The entrance

There are two tables outside the entrance windows but I didn’t see anyone sitting there while we were there.

Once you’re seated, they bring out a jug of water. The water streams out of the jug in a long jet- watch them pour it, it’s very cool!

The jug of water with some mint leaves inside

We ordered some drinks, which aren’t included in the set menu price.

A Mixed Berry frappe ($6.50)

A nice, refreshing drink for a Sunday morning!

I actually can’t remember what this drink is…it was recommended by the waiter as one of their specialties? It was very lemon-y and I think he mentioned that there was mint in it as well. I didn’t like it.

Someone’s big hand getting in the way of my photo of the Mango & Mandarin juice ($5.50).
This tasted really nice!

Lemon & Rose frappe ($6.50)

I think the rose flavour could have been a bit stronger in this

Before we get to photos of the banquet, can I just say that I was very impressed by their crockery. As you know, the restaurant is Moroccan and the tableware reflected this background. It was a nice change from the stark white plates that you get everywhere else.

An example of some plates on our table:

Aren’t they nice?

Once everyone in our group had finally arrived, the food started to come out! I’m not going to list prices because it was a set menu breakfast banquet at $20pp. So the dishes come out and then you pass them around to share. Don’t worry, there is more than enough food and you will be absolutely stuffed! Though if you’re not there for the set menu , all of the dishes below are available on the menu but the banquet is a great way to try out a wide variety of dishes. This is the order in which it comes:

Banana Porridge, Date Compote, Stewed Rhubarb

This was a very thick porridge. It was nice, in the way of comforting warm porridge on a cool day.

Warm Rice Pudding, Saffron Poached Pear, Hazelnuts

Very yum! Tasted custard-y and I recommend eating it straight away while it’s still warm!

Sweet Couscous, Mixed Nuts, Dried Fruit, Stewed Rhubarb, Cardamom Milk

The rhubarb and milk come out separately and you mix it together yourself. I wasn’t a fan of this dish

Lamb Merguez, Bacon, Grilled Haloumi, Baked Tomato, Potato Hash

This also came out with bowls of baked beans, spinach and mushrooms

Eggs Poached, Fried or Scrambled on Turkish Toast

From the fried foods, this was what I gathered onto my plate.
The bacon was really nice, the scrambled eggs were a bit meh, the sausage was nice but the hash browns were overcooked.

And the food kept coming!

Giant tangine! (half ‘n’ half)

One half was Lamb Mince, Sucuk, Feta, Spinach, Capsicum, Caramelised Onion, Tomato, Eggs
The other half was Pumpkin, Feta, Spinach, Capsicum, Caramelised Onion, Tomato, Eggs

The tagine was served with Turkish and Lebanese bread

The tagine was delicious. If I was ordering off the menu, I think I would order the lamb mince tagine for myself.

And finally, dessert! Most people were too full by this point to enjoy the heavy pancakes but I had made sure that I saved room in my dessert stomach for them.

Banana Pancake, Double Cream, Maple Syrup