Tags
Australia, fatoush, Food, friends, hummus, lebanese food, mediterranean cuisine, Samaras Lebanese & Mediterranean Cuisine, shish kebabs, tabouli, travel, Wollongong
After running my lunch hour errands today, I wandered into the nearest food court and picked up a simple take-out lunch. As I waited for my order of Greek salad and dolmades, I pondered about a starting point for this post. It then occurred to me that perhaps my choice for lunch today was subconsciously tipped off by this next food write-up.
Perhaps you’re now wondering, after an afternoon at Sculpture by the Sea in the last post, what was in store for dinner? Knowing that we planned to be back in Sydney later in the week and not wanting to wait around only to realize that we wouldn’t be able to have mud crab, we started the commute back to Wollongong.
We arrived in Wollongong around 7 pm and after dropping off our luggage, headed out to grab dinner. V and K suggested going to Samaras Lebanese & Mediterranean Cuisine for dinner. I don’t recall trying Lebanese food before and was keen on checking it out.
As we were dining at a later hour on a Sunday evening, we found parking immediately outside the restaurant. We were seated beside the only other table of guests in the restaurant. After studying the menu and convincing V that she wanted to share an order of salad with me (it didn’t take much to convince her….), we placed our orders and I eagerly awaited the food.
Here’s what arrived at our table:
Hummus
soft drinks
K’s order of …? I think it was chicken skewers and salad…
V and I shared an order of “Fatoush” (as spelled in the menu)
V’s hearty order of Veal Mansaf (I think)
My order of Shish Kebabs (?) … skewers of lamb, served with tabouli, hummus and chips
I enjoyed my meal and was happy to be able to eat so much salad. I must have been craving vegetables. The food was also very garlicky… VERY garlicky. In fact, I’m glad we were all eating the same food because at least the smell of garlic was “universal” in the car and in the house. Waking up the next morning though, I did notice that the garlic scent still lingered in the air.
Lebanese food looks like what I imaged for the other cuisine. Haha.
Not only do I have lack of knowledge or experience of each cuisine, but also, these days, a lot of food is fusion, so when I tag on my post, I can’t even do that any more, unless the website states the exact word which cuisine they serve.
Is there a specific taste or seasoning on your Lebanese dish?
I’m not very familiar with the taste of spices but I did taste garlic, mint and something with a citrus flavour. Curious as to what they use in Lebanese food, I turned to the internet. Here are a couple of website that I came across:
Middle Eastern Spices and Seasonings: http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices-by-cuisine/middle-eastern-spices-and-seasonings
Lebanese 7 Spices: http://mylebanesemarket.com/ingredient-lebanese-seven-spices/
Thanks, shelley!
The links are interesting. For the first one, I probably have tasted only one, which I don’t even remember what the taste was like. :O
I guess, unless you used to the taste, you wouldn’t even know even though you have tasted, eh?
I’m looking forward having Lebanese food somewhere some time.
Very true.. unless you are familiar with the taste, it is hard to identify individual flavours in a blend.
There are some Lebanese food places in Vancouver but I don’t think tried them yet. Let me know if you try any!
(…. or I guess I will read about it as you blog about your experience!)
Pingback: Relaxing in the Gong – Part 1 (No more big breakfast please…) « Food for Thought