Jasmine 1, Punchbowl
Phew! In a weekend that hardly was, never thought how
awesome one day could turn out to be. While Saturday was dark and gloomy,
raining since the morning, and after waking I had no intention of going to
work. At one moment , even after waking up and having my tea, I still went back
to bed, to snuggle next to my brother. Alas, it was short lived and I head back
to work on a Saturday to support a release. While drama unfolded and
eventually, I came back home, and the bomb on the code was uncovered only after
I left. What a wasted Saturday.
Sunday morning, I put the past away, and started with a
quick breakfast, an hour with my personal trainer and then head over to the
Sydney Opera House for a viewing of the Pirates of the Caribbean with the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Well it all
finished eventually at 5: and as I head back to Circular Quay. I made up my
mind./ The celebration would continue at Jasmine 1, Punchbowl. Despite the track work, which meant taking a
bus to Central, and then a train to Sydenham and then a change to get to
Punchbowl.
Eventually I reached and the just across the station was
Jasmine 1. As I entered, it was the same
décor which I had seen two years back. Fully abuzz and the restaurant seemed to
be full with people. Unlike the quite outside of punchbowl, the restaurant was
a different matter.
Décor, - tables and chairs, very basic and simplistic, but
with walls having hand paintings of the desert, which gave it a very middle
eastern feel. A friendly waiter, greeted us and to our surprise in Hindi. They
quickly cleaned the table and got us the menu.
Ordered a plate of falafel, grilled chicken, and another of
the lamb. I asked him to mix the two lamb varieties in one plate- two skewers of
lambs chunks and two of lamb mince. After our order, we waited and waited and
waited. Close to 30 minutes went by and eventually, I started getting impatient
and reminded them a few times. Finally the order arrived. I was famished. At that
moment I could have had anything. The food came quickly, all at once. Where should I begin.
There was plate of falafels. Crumb fried balls which seemed
perfectly crunchy outside. Another two
plates with two thin roti’s each. In each
of the plates, between the roti’s was the chicken and in the other there was
the lamb. A basket with a packet containing simple Lebanese breads I triangular
pieces. Another plate with pickles- florescent pink radish, gherkins, cucumber,
chilli and olives. Another small servings of hummous, garlic dip and chilli.
Let us begin with the food. The falafel's are undoubtedly the
best I have ever had in Sydney. Crunchy on the outside, and soft in the center.
Amazing! The chicken – perfectly grilled. Lightly spiced, well cooked, juicy. The
distinct taste which is amazing- not bland like the usual chickens in
Australia, and not over spiced like the Indian ones. There is this distinct
taste, which is unparalleled. The lamb
skewers- the minced ones were juicy, with onions and parsley and coriander in
the lamb mince. The other lams skewers, with the lamb chunks were equally
awesome. All in all I’d say it just hit the spot. Imagine the feeling, when you
get exactly what you were craving for. When
you forget everything, the past, present and future. All you think about is
your food- the breads with alternative dashes of hummous and chili, and a chunk
of chicken and lamb. For the ending
there was fridge with a milk sweet dish, which looked like firni, but when you
took a spoon, it was more like a custard. Light sweet .
The quantity was quite enormous. Let me tell you, three mains
and three people couldn't finish it.
When I tell you the price, you’ll faint. AUD 34 only. Can
you beat it!!!
Jasmine 1 Lebanese Restaurant
224, The Boulevarde
Punchbowl, NSW 2196
Ph: 02-97407866
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