“I love to show off western Sydney,” says guide Araa, a young woman in a white scarf who emigrated from Syria a few years ago. “This is how we are talented in Australia. We can travel around the world without leaving the city.”
She is right Today, I take advantage of that diversity to travel the Middle East via Afghan flavors and Syrian food tours in the city of Merrylands. If you’ve never heard of this suburb of Sydney, I won’t blame you. I hadn’t heard of it myself until I booked the tour. Located west of Parramatta, it is a practical everyday neighborhood that houses diverse communities from Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.
And there are foods that go with it. It is proven at the Alshami Restaurant near Merrylands Station, the first stop on the tour. It is a large light-filled space with plants in hanging baskets, central water features, and wall mosaics.
The food is just as lively and quickly fills the center of the table. There is a crispy donut-shaped falafel soaked in tahini sauce. And fūl, a hot stew-like dish made from beans, pickles and fresh mint. I love these fresh flavors of the morning, as well as the next pistachio-studded Syrian ice cream (known as Boza). This last one is definitely not breakfast food, but what a hell.
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Brook sabin
From cheeseburger dumplings to giant souffle pancakes, there are dishes worth crossing Tasman.
From the Syrian restaurant, take the street to the Green Wheat Bakery first. Green Wheat Bakery bake long, flat, stretchy bread in Afghan style. On the torn mass, Araa spreads a bright orange substance and asks us to guess what it is made of. This is not the first food intelligence test we raise today, but for now we are confused. It’s sweet – and it turns out to be carrot jam from Iran.
Your next destination is Ryan Supermarket, which is packed with Middle Eastern ingredients, including different types of nuts. I love the look of this place. Cans, parcels, and open containers of loose beans are stacked on clean shelves, on which decorative water pipes used for smoking cigarettes are lined up. Our food sample here is a curious Afghan snack that blends olives, pomegranates and walnuts and is eaten like a dip.
At Biber Diner, sit down and savor a selection of Turkish pides made up of bread baked with a variety of ingredients. They are provided in horizontal slices on the board, with lemon wedges scattered on top. The atmosphere of this place makes us smile. It’s a family-owned kebab co-star, playing cheerful Turkish music, and smoke clouds rising in the theater from the hot charcoal bed used for cooking.
Taste cultural food tours / staff
There is no shortage of vibrant food.
Offering Afghan-style kebabs, Kebab Al-Hojat offers more delicious food. The glass counter is full of prepared meat skewers waiting to be cooked. We will try the chicken version offered in sponge-like bread with turmeric. It’s delicious and I enjoy watching it through the window of a nearby Turkish rug shop with plenty of carpets. Next, stop by a supermarket in Afghanistan to sample pomegranate juice. Pomegranate juice is cool and refreshing with a deep tart flavor on this hot day.
It’s getting harder to get food anymore, but we still can’t stop the guides from seducing us. Sit outside the Kabul House, line up the mantu (Afghan dumplings) on a ceramic plate, sprinkle with yogurt-based sauce, and eat copper-treated cutlery. The dumplings are great with spicy lambs and chives. Enjoying with fun friends (everyone relaxing on a food tour) in the sunshine of Sydney is like the perfect finale of our tour.
However, it is not over yet. Alaa will take you to the Asal Sweet Patisserie, the last stop for desserts. A large floral decoration sits on a glass cabinet packed with sweet treats, where our guide collects boxes containing our final intelligence test. A variety of Persian pastries are available and you will be asked to guess the taste when you taste it. It’s great to take a mental challenge to help fight off the shit that comes with overeating, and we finally found the right answer in our hit-and-miss attempt: with saffron. Rose water.
Taste cultural food tours / staff
Afghan-style bread baked in a wood-burning oven.
Full and knowledgeable, I will return to the station. Today I learned something about the city’s wonderful ethnic mosaics, and what’s even more satisfying: eating good food. Maybe Alaa is right, and traveling the world within Sydney is almost as good as the real thing.
Tours
Afghanistan and Syria taste tours cost A $ 119 (NZ $ 130) for adults. See sensetours.com.au
jump
Air New Zealand and Qantas fly from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown to Sydney. See also: airnewzealand.co.nz; qantas.com
Stop
The Pullman Key Grand Sydney Harbor offers harbor views and is easily accessible by train from the Merrylands. See pullmanquaygrandsydneyharbour.com
Take care: See australia.gov.au/international-travel for the latest Australian travel requirements. See covid19.govt.nz/international-travel for rules regarding returning to New Zealand.
Carbon number: Flight causes carbon emissions. Consider other travel methods to reduce the impact, integrate your travels, and if you need to fly, consider offsetting emissions.
The writer was sponsored by the Taste Cultural Food Tour.