If you grew up in a family with a strong ancestry to ancient culture, with all the tastes and flavours of traditional food, you’ll appreciate what it’s like going into a restaurant and tasting fresh, authentic food from that particular culture. My experience at Cafe Mint last night consisted of the most amazing modern middle eastern cuisine, and each dish was delicately prepared and presented like a small gift of appreciation for dining at their restaurant.
On this particular night (Wednesday night) I was turned down at Red Lantern because I didn’t have a booking. Fair enough, ever since it’s been mentioned on Masterchef I can understand why this resturant would be so popular. Never mind – just a little further down the road I came across Cafe Mint where no booking was required, and staff instantly greeted me with a welcoming smile.
The interior of Cafe Mint is warm, intimate and cozy, with wooden, earthy furnishings and glowing ceiling lights that hang low over the table, creating a personal space between myself and the food I was about to eat.
Between myself and my friend, we ordered quite a few entrees, including:
- honey beetroot with goat’s curd and caramelized walnuts
- chicken and olive meatballs with spicy tomato sauce
- hummus with chickpeas
- eggplant dip
- stuffed squid
Though I’m familiar with the flavours of middle eastern dishes having eaten countless meals in my lifetime, the contrast of flavours in these entree dishes was exciting and new. Honey beetroot? A decadent sweetness I hadn’t tasted before, with each slice of beetroot as thin and delicate as paper. The candied walnuts added crunchy texture and it was a welcome relief to enjoy beetroot without the usual pouring of oils and over-peppery rocket.
The eggplant dip had a deep smoky flavour and although I haven’t visited Turkey or Morocco it evoked a feeling of what it might be like to travel there.
The chicken and olive meatballs was very spicy which contrasted well with the other entrees.
The stuffed squid was so tender and velvety smooth (note to self – I must learn how to cook seafood like this!)
And the hummus dip tasted familiar and yummy just like a hummus dip made at home.
For the main, I shared a saffron and lemon chicken with a pistachio jus. Sounds fancy? Well if you like chicken, especially chicken cooked to absolute tenderness, then I highly recommend this dish. The chicken was unbelievably soft and yet perfectly cooked through, with smoky, Moroccon flavours sitting in the bed of cous cous beneath it. We easily finished off this dish and couldn’t wait for dessert.
For dessert, we shared a chocolate and apricot tart, with honey yoghurt on the side. The chocolate tart had a soft, fruity texture, and the honey yoghurt complimented it perfectly.
For drinks I ordered a Turkish apple tea infused with cinnamon. The tea tasted like hot apple juice, which was surprisingly refreshing given I had a bit of a cold and was getting a little bored with hot lemon drinks (note to self - I want to know where I can buy Turkish apple tea!) It was served in a beautiful Turkish glass, and again I had the sensation that I could be in Turkey right now, sipping on fresh, locally made tea.
I didn’t know what to expect when I set out to dine in Surry Hills that night, but for entire time I was in the restaurant, I had the pleasure of feeling like I had been transported to an exotic destination, fulfilling every fantastic culinary desire.
Cafe Mint is located at 579 Crown Street Surry Hills Sydney. My meal for two people (including wine) came to $112.
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