Stavros Tavern

When I hear the word Greek I think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It is a good family movie, which will always make you laugh. Lots and lots of food is a huge part of the Greek culture. I hadn’t eaten much of the cuisine until last week when we all dined at Stavros Tavern in Melbourne.

Stavros opened his restaurant in 1979 and has been running it for thirty-four years. It is a family business offering real traditional Greek food. As soon as you walk through the door you feel you are part of the family. The staff are extremely friendly and attentive, particularly Stavros who is quite the comedian. Isn’t his moustache impressive?

We chose the banquet menu. A selection of house dips and antipasto including pickled octopus, marinated pulses and roasted vegetables are served with home made breads. I liked the dips consisting of melitzanosalata (eggplant), taramosalata (caviar) and tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber). The soda bread was a bit of a let down however we couldn’t go past the pita bread.

Saganaki – a skillet of fried cheese was devoured in seconds! Definitely a favourite!!

Next came a generous plate of tender deep fried kalamari. Each ring of octopus was perfectly cooked. I loved the smaller pieces, which were nice and crispy!

The baked prawns with feta were cooked in a lovely rich tomato sauce. Superb!

I especially liked the fish of the day, which was laid on a mound of rice and topped with spinach. The fish was delicate and juicy.

The Greek village salad tasted as good as it looked. Seasoned well with a giant slice of feta on top.

“Ian’s a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.”
“What do you mean he don’t eat no meat…. that’s ok I make lamb!”

We indulge in a meat platter of spit roast lamb and chicken. The meat was extremely tender and juicy. A side of roast rosemary and garlic potatoes was a perfect accompaniment. I mentioned to the waiter how much I enjoyed the lamb and he said they start cooking it on coals at two in the afternoon. They also buy the best quality meat and not the stuff seen on the rotisserie at Kebab shops.

When you think you are full dessert platters featuring a selection of pastries and fresh seasonal fruit are too tempting to resist. I enjoy a slice of baklava however I prefer the Lebanese kind, which has more pastry and less filling. The diamond of Galaktobourek (custard pastry) was filled with a firm centre of custard. Slices of watermelon and cherries were refreshing to end our meal.

I recommend Stavros Tavern to anyone who wants a fun night with delicious food. We all walked out of the restaurant with big smiles on our faces. ‘Opa!’

missemzyy xox

Yume Sushi

For awhile now Aunty Sue, Chris, mum and I have been meaning to go Japanese. It so happened that the other night we decided to dine at Yume Sushi in North Strathfield, Sydney. It was a good way of celebrating Chris’s job award and the beginning of the school holidays.

Yume Sushi is quite small with a warm friendly atmosphere. The décor is rustic Asian consisting of wooden furniture, cultural paintings, striped wallpaper and colourful chairs. Their Japanese fusion cuisine provides a range of gluten free and brown rice dishes. The staff were lovely, especially our waitress who was cheerful and very attentive.

To start off our feast we cleansed our palates with some miso soup. The silky squares of tofu cooked with nori strips in a hot broth was nice, however lacked flavour. It would have been superb with just a hint more of salt or sugar. We chose to have three different types of flamed grilled sushi consisting of salmon, kingfish and scallop. The salmon and kingfish were beautifully cooked being delicate and slightly raw in the centre. Each sushi looked immaculate consisting of meat carefully placed on top of a mound of rice and sprinkled with bright orange balls of fish eggs. I love how Japanese food is always presented like a work of art. The texture of the scallop was smooth and pleasant however a little bland. Baby cucumber sushi rolls accompanying the platter were refreshing with thin slices of ginger, a dollop of wasabi, oyster and chilly sauce providing extra bursts of flavours to each entrée.

Flame grilled kingfish sushi, brown rice, thin slices of ginger and wasabi

Flame grilled salmon sushi

Baby cucumber rolls

Two metal fryers carrying assorted vegetable and seafood tempura were placed in front of us. The purple yam tempura was delicious consisting of a fried crunchy outside combined with the firm texture of the sweet potato. I also had the tempura filled with crab, which was also lovely as the meat was soft and stringy. In my opinion any finger food that is deep-fried is always tasty!

Assorted vegetable and seafood tempura

We then indulged in eight pieces of wagyu beef sushi rolls that were filled with juicy meat, cucumber and rolled in two layers of brown rice. I especially enjoyed the succulent beef and was happy when mum was kind enough to let me eat her serving 🙂

Wagyu beef sushi rolls

It didn’t surprise me to hear that their teriyaki chicken was a favourite amongst customers. Their homemade teriyaki sauce seasoned the glazed chicken making it delicious with a side order of brown rice. Both mum and I agreed that the BBQ ginger pork was delightful. The pork had a strong ginger flavour however was delectable when combined with the mixed vegetables.

Chicken teriyaki

BBQ ginger pork

Although the food and company were great I would have to say that Yume Sushi wasn’t the best Japanese I have eaten. Having said that, I would go back for lunch to try some of their other sushi rolls and hopefully build up the courage to taste eel! eek!

missemzyy xox