Archive for the ‘Bondi Junction’ Category
When you’re about to leave a city, you need to savour its simple pleasures. At least, that’s my excuse for a Saturday afternoon pitstop at the Turkish Gozleme stall at Bondi Junction’s markets.
I first discovered the wonder of gozleme during weekend trawls of the Glebe markets. Gozleme are thin savoury dough crepes with a filling. Traditionally they are cooked in a pan, but at the stall they are grilled on a hot BBQ.
My favourite variety is feta and baby spinach. The quick cooking time allows the feta to melt and the baby spinach to heat without losing its freshness or body. To serve, you add a squeeze of fresh lemon to bring out the flavour of the spinach and the saltiness of the feta. For vegetarians, the stall also offers dessert gozleme, with organic banana and raw honey or organic banana and chocolate. Apparently in Turkey vegetarian gozleme fillings can include mashed potato or mushrooms - definitely something to try on the big trip.
V Rating: VVV After our food extravaganza at Ravesi’s, Andy and I were keen on a quiet Saturday night. So, we decided to try the new Red Room DVD store in Bondi Junction. Being in the mood for a night of sloth, we planned to get a quick dinner at Thai Brown Rice on the way home. There was a touch of anxiety to the night because we only had our parking spot for 50 minutes. Figuring out Red Room’s new-fangled system (there are no endless rows of DVD cases - you just choose a movie on an electronic screen, press a button, and an anonymous looking CD case is dispensed with your movie), and then actually deciding on what DVD to hire, took a good 20 minutes.
Thai Brown Rice provides a decent vegetarian choice. There are three vegetarian entrees, and each of the main sauces can be served with vegetables and tofu. The menu shows a hint of health consciousness – the tofu is organic, and you can order a laksa light which comes without coconut milk. Thai Brown Rice’s forte is ‘speed’ food with a healthy twist, not haute cuisine. The food tastes fine, but is unmemorable. The tofu came smothered in peanut satay sauce and was a little too rich for our tastes. The Phad Thai and chilli basil with vegetables and tofu made a good meal, but were undistinguished. I was prepared for a spicy meal, but thought both dishes were mild. The best part of the night was that we were home in enough time to watch both the incredible Howl’s Moving Castle followed by the Iron Chef tofu (pronounced TOOOOOOOOOOOO-fw) battle. Ahh yes, the perfect evening.
V-Rating: Super V Shopping centres are like suburban purgatory. After half an hour I’m lost, cranky and over-stimulated. I start wandering fruitlessly, scared of encounters with fluorescent lights and overly attentive sales assistants. Then I get lost again, mostly when I’m desperate to leave. Amongst the nine circles of shopping mall hell, the food court has to rate near the bottom. Fried food smells, squished leftovers on the table, and screaming kids make me crazy. That’s why I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered Yummba in the Westfield Bondi Junction food court. Yummba is not your typical food court offering. First off, it’s a vegetarian. Second, the food tastes great. Third, all the food, including a range of dips, is made fresh daily.
If you’re not up for a roll you can try the mezze or dip plates. Dare you to try the large size. I’ve had two tries with help and haven’t finished one yet. |
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