http://baalbakrestaurant.com.au/
My favourite thing to do on lunch breaks at work is online shopping. That includes online coupon shopping. Brandsexclusive is now my most used iPad app and a day is not complete without a scan through the offers on Allthedeals.com.au. Earlier this week I spotted a meal deal at a Lebanese restaurant in Morningside and I jumped on it. Marc and I ended up going last night for dinner.
The restaurant is called Baalbak located along Junction Road. The premise was more casual than I expected with an almost takeaway store vibe but the menu is comprehensive. Our host (the owner?) was extremely friendly and accommodating. I had a bit of trouble deciphering the menu and choosing what mezze plates to try but he made the process easy and painless.
Dips, falaafel and flatbread
Our meal started with a couple of dips, falaafel and flatbread. I normally like hommos and this version was good but the baba ghanouj was even better. I would have preferred the flatbread to be toasted or warmed up but maybe that's not authentic??
Moussaka and tabouli
We were then served the moussaka and tabouli. I love moussaka and was at first apprehensive when we were informed that the Lebanese version is very different to the Greek version. These fears were unfounded however because this variety of moussaka is delicious. It's more of a tomatoey eggplant and potato casserole then a layer dish but the flavours are all there. I could eat huge bowls of this stuff.
Neither Marc or myself are big tabouli fans. We tried a bit on its own but the taste was just too bitter and strong. I remembered to try a bit with the grilled meat when that arrived later and it was actually quite good.
Mixed Lebanese pastries
An assortment of Lebanese pastries was brought out next. I liked the kibbi best because it was very unique. I didn't love the filling in the fatayer. The rest weren't bad but a bit on the dry side. I think that some kind of dip would have been great to compliment these pastries.
Trio of skewers
We had three types of skewers to try. I normally like lamb skewers best but here, I really enjoyed the chicken skewers. Again, they were a tiny bit dry but the flavours were nice. I used the baba ghanouj and tabouli to lift the meat and the combination worked well.
Baklava
Our meal finished off with baklava fingers and a cup of coffee each. The nutty, flakey pastry was just the right thing to end on a sweet note, and the coffee was pretty good too.
We had a lovely weekday meal at Baalbak restaurant. As mentioned, our host for the evening was warm and friendly and made our experience extra pleasant. I liked the range of food we got to taste and as a bonus, the restaurant is BYO.
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