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Friday, April 08, 2011

Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills


Bunny chow

There were two things I knew I had to have on the menu at Durban Dish: bunny chow and chakalaka. How could anyone resist dishes with names like these?

It was the promise of South African food that led me to Baulkham Hills. This cosy family-run restaurant has been running for six years, but it's received minimal press or exposure. It was the perfect candidate for my monthly food and drink column in Time Out Sydney.


Eat this...
Bunny chow

WHAT IS IT?
Bunny chow ($9.90) is South Africa’s answer to fast food. It's a hollowed out loaf of soft white bread stuffed with curry, normally eaten with hands only.

WHERE DO I GET IT?
Durban Dish - a small eatery specialising in Durban-style Indian cuisine. Durban, in South Africa, has the largest population of Indians outside of India.


Durban Dish

WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Look for the South African flag in the window. Part-restaurant, part-shop, it dedicates half its floorspace to South African products for homesick ex-pats.


Bobotie $13.90

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I ORDER?
Bobotie ($13.90) is a thyme-scattered golden brown omelette over a bed or chicken or lamb mince baked with milk-soaked bread, nuts and dried fruits. The vetkoek ($2.30) is your excuse to have a donut with dinner - it's a deep-fried yeasted bun that's a cloud of fluffiness.


Vetkoek $2.30


Wor and pap $20.90
Boerewors served with pap (putu) maize porridge and chakalaka spicy baked beans

ANYTHING FOR VEGETARIANS?
Chilli Bites are made from a packet mix but are a popular street snack in South Africa. They're small balls of deep-fried chickpea flour, spinach and spices that are best dipped in chilli sauce.


Chilli bites $5.50





Braised pumpkin $12.50
Pumpkin braised in onions, dried chilli and mustard seeds

WHAT’S IN THE SHOP?
Upright freezers are filled with bags of different samosas, lamb curry pies and boerewors sausages. You can also stock up on biltong beef jerky, Tennis biscuits and Zar Mate, the South African version of Vegemite.


South African shop


Frozen samosas


Ouma condensed milk flavoured rusks


Tennis biscuits


Biltong


Zar Mate South African Vegemite/Marmite and Braai Sout barbecue sauce


South African sweets


Durban Dish dining room (total seating is 26)


View Larger Map
Durban Dish on Urbanspoon

Durban Dish
1/6 Old Northern Road, Baulkham Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9639 3872

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Thursday 12pm-9pm
Friday to Saturday 12pm-10pm

This article appears in the April 2011 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This!  

More Time Out Sydney reviews:
ATL Marantha, Kensington (Indonesian fried chicken with edible bones)

Balkan Oven, Rockdale (Macedonian burek)
Hijazi's Falafel, Arncliffe (Lebanese breakfast)
Island Dreams Cafe, Lakemba (Christmas Islands cuisine)
La Paula, Fairfield (Chilean empanadas, lomitos and sweets)
Sea Sweet, Parramatta (Lebanese sweet kashta cheese burger)
Sizzling Fillo, Lidcombe (Filipino pork hock crackling)
Tehran, Granville (Persian cuisine)
Tuong Lai, Cabramatta (Vietnamese sugar cane prawns)
24 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 4/08/2011 06:00:00 am


24 Comments:

  • At 4/08/2011 7:00 am, Anonymous john@heneedsfood said…

    Bunny chow, love the name. I've never seen such small Boerewor as the ones I usually get from some Sth Africans I know are the size of a plate. Woolworths sells them as well but they're not the the real deal. Hmm, now I wonder which of the sweets you bought to take home?

     
  • At 4/08/2011 7:44 am, Blogger joey@forkingaroundsydney said…

    Wow, didn't know that about Durban. Love the sound of the food though. And I thought all of the homesick South African ex-pats lived in the Eastern Suburbs! LOL

    Bunny chow sounds like food for rabbits, but it does look good. :-) And chilli bites made from packet mix? I guess they're only $5.50 after all. And why are the biscuits called Tennis? It must mean something other than the racket sport.

     
  • At 4/08/2011 8:11 am, Blogger muppy said…

    Wow, i have driven past this place heaps and wondered what it was like inside!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 8:31 am, Anonymous Keely said…

    I had some South African friends trying to explain to me what Bunny Chow was a couple of months ago, but clearly I had no idea what they were talking about because I didn't imagine it to look like this!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 9:01 am, Blogger Mel said…

    This place has been on my wishlist for ages now, so I'm glad to see a preview of the food before we fully commit and head up to Baulkham Hills. Bunny Chow - hee hee hee!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 9:08 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Bunny chow looks like a cake to me, ha! Interesting food, worth a visit!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 10:01 am, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    i'm like, super interested in the condensed milk rusks. and it's friday friday!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 10:17 am, Blogger Maria said…

    That's interesting! I don't think I've tried any of these!

     
  • At 4/08/2011 11:04 am, Anonymous Tina@foodboozeshoes said…

    Mmm, boerewore sausages! With (boom) chakalaka beans... lol - sorry, had to

     
  • At 4/08/2011 2:54 pm, Anonymous Nic@diningwithastud said…

    The treats look amazing! I love trying little sweets from over the world. Stud is Scottish so I am up with all the UK treats by now haha.
    A friend of mine lives over near Kellyville so will tell her we can go here for lunch when I visit next :)

     
  • At 4/08/2011 9:22 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    Hey guess what! I totally saw this on your computer screen THIS MORNING IN YOUR HOUSE. Wheeee!

    I'm just devastated I'm not still there. Because if I was, I would be dancing around your living room singing "chakalakachakalaka" with your Reese's box in my greedy little hands.

     
  • At 4/08/2011 11:28 pm, Blogger Jen said…

    Bunny chow and bobotie...very cute!

     
  • At 4/09/2011 11:00 am, Anonymous paul said…

    omg I just walked past that yesterday! Definitely will pop in next time to give it a try! Great find helen ahha

     
  • At 4/09/2011 1:23 pm, Anonymous sara @ Belly Rumbles said…

    What a great find, something different. I agree would have to order the bunny chow on name alone, even though it does sound delicious.

     
  • At 4/09/2011 7:48 pm, Blogger thang @ noodlies said…

    I'm in LOVE with Wor and pap!!

    What deliciousness! What a great find, Helen.

     
  • At 4/09/2011 8:22 pm, Blogger shaz said…

    He he, I have a song in my head now...boom, chakalaka...boom! What fantastic names for what looks like very interesting dishes. Great read, Helen.

     
  • At 4/10/2011 12:35 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Oohh must try! My exposure to SA cuisine has pretty much only been RnR haha not that I am complaining about ribs and steak mmmm

     
  • At 4/10/2011 9:33 am, Anonymous Melissa said…

    i've never tried south african cruisine before! but all the dishes do look quite interesting and delicious. should give a try someday!

     
  • At 4/10/2011 8:45 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've been wanting to go here with SA friends since I moved here three years ago!! Need to try -- it's just down the road!!

     
  • At 4/13/2011 11:57 pm, Blogger An said…

    The funny thing is, I've recently eaten a "bunny chow", in an overseas Taiwanese restaurant in Hong Kong, with exactly the hollowed out white loaf bread, chicken curry instead. Guess what they served with it? More grilled garlic bread with the scooped up inwards! Love the no-washing up!

     
  • At 5/17/2011 6:48 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Fantastic! I will be there this weekend!!! I grew up in Durban and NEEEED Bunny chow.....

     
  • At 12/14/2011 1:36 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sorry to be pedantic, but it should really be boere wors - not wor. 'Wors' is the Afrikaans word for sausage :)

     
  • At 9/07/2012 7:37 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Bunny Chow with lekker chillie pickle and salad, now you are talking the charous tjoons ekse!

     
  • At 7/14/2013 1:20 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Include the patcha chutney, and you have the most romantic combo ever......sorry kfc and big m!!!!

     

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