El Phoenecian is a Lebanese/ Middle Eastern restaurant located on the busy Dining precinct of Parramatta. Staff are attentive and the food is good. 
Archives for : parramatta
Merrylands isn’t the typical place you would chose to go out for dinner, and with the abundance of cafes and restaurants available in Parramatta only 5 minutes away it is easy to see why. However, if you venture out of your comfort zone, you will discover a place rich in culture, and probably some good food while you are at it too.
I decided to try out an Afghan restaurant called Mazar. This first dish is called ” Mahecha Palaw”.
Tender lamb shanks combined with a delicate palawi rice topped with carrots and sultanas.
The servings are massive! And bursting with flavour.
The mixed platter. Pretty much contains a little of everything. Definitely try the mantu dumplings.
Steamed lamb mince dumplings with a tomato, onion and garlic sauce topped with yoghurt and dried mint.
Bulani – Afghani bread pockets with fillings such as potato, chives, pumpkin and more. (Not sure what the and more part entails…)
Delicious bread served with your meal. Massive size.
Finish off with a little Afghan Tea.
Forgot to mention the Dough. It is a cucumber and mint yoghurt drink. The restaurant next door makes it a little thicker and ‘yoghurtty’, whereas this version is little less thick and saltier. I prefer this version as it tastes a little more refreshing.
The feast. (Banana peel not included)
Mazar is conveniently located just a short stroll from the station (for those non-drivers). Some areas can be a little quiet, so bring some friends along and enjoy a traditional Afghan feast.
Sabu is located within the main food precinct of Parramatta.
Quite nice looking inside.
James Ninja -mixed berries and sweetened apple juice.
GREEN TEA COOLER
A summer infusion to refresh the body with apple
juice, green tea, mint, strawberries and cucumber.
I liked this one very refreshing.
CHERRY BLOSSOM
This lush blend of fresh pink grapefruit and
cherries served tall with orange and mango nectar
will help you kick those shoes off and unwind.
Mixed Vegetable Tempura
Mixed seasonal vegetables with blue cheese espuma.
Scallops
Seared scallop with pickled seaweed, shiitake and rich dashi espuma. 2
I think the sauce was overbearing. Way too much of it. The scallops were okay, but would have been better if they were a little more seared/browned on the outside.
Mushroom Skewers
Mushroom and zucchini skewed with truffle mayonnaise and tarragon.
Sauce was nice. Vegies were a little overcooked though.
Pork Belly
Slow cooked pork belly, carrot purée, pop pork skin, cumin crumble and ginger
glaze.
The carrot puree has quite a sweet flavour, which is quite a common pairing when it comes to Pork Belly dishes. In this instance, it did not work for me (subjective). The Pork Belly was okay. It could do with some sides to balance to dish a little better.
Kasuka
Crispy brick pastry with strawberry Ice Cream, chocolate soil, assorted nuts and rasberry anglaise shot.
Quite a unique and pretty looking dessert. Could do with a little more strawberry ice cream, to compensate for the generous chocolate soil provided. Could do with a little more fresh berries.
Overall
The staff are super friendly and helpful, however unfortunately I do find the food does need a little refining. I think simplicity is the key in this instance. I would rather eat something basic and well cooked rather than something that is confusing and complicated…
Perhaps my experience will be different next time round, but for now it was just okay.
Finally Paparich opened a restaurant in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.
Expect to wait a while to get in. So make sure you dress warm.
Paparich uses a buzzer style system of ordering accompanied with a sheet of paper.
Basically you write down the menu number (which is listed on the menu) , quanity, table number, and number of people, press the button and a server comes and collects it off you.
Mango Mania. Basically a fruit Frappe, with Lychees on the top.
Ribena Melon. Fruit frappe with fresh lychees, jelly, and melon balls.
We started off with Hainan Steamed Bread & Kaya. Kaya is a sweet creamy, coconut spread. Nice dish, wish it was a little less soggy though.
Vegetarian Dim Sum.
Roti Canai, Tandoori Chicken. Delicious. Should’ve gotten another serve of Tandoor Chicken.
Biryani Rice with Vegetarian Curry Mutton..
Biryani Rice, Grilled Prawns, Fried Chicken, Sambal Eggplants. The Sambal Eggplant is delicious.
Macha Soya, red bean, and green tea ice cream. Classic combination of asian flavours. Very nice.
Ice Blended Bandung with Glass Jelly. Banddung is condensed milk and rose cordial.
We finish off with 2 plates of Banana Fritters. We were stuffed by the end of it, and realised we should have just ordered the one plate. They have an option to get the ‘premium’ ice-cream. The standard option is more like a soft style ice cream.
