Bamiyan, Five Dock

Bamiyan is one of Sydney’s few restaurants serving Afghani food, a cuisine that fuses Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines. Think Indian curries and Nepalese dumplings kicked up with influences from China, Turkey, Iran and other regions/areas of the Middle East.

With only eight months under its belt (the restaurant opened in August 2011), Bamiyan has fast become a hit with locals. On a Saturday night, the place is chock-a-block with diners, mostly small tables of couples or friends, dotted with a few larger celebratory groups or families with kids. It’s warm and cosy in here, with Afghani prints and tapestries hanging on yellow ochre walls. Linen tablecloths, folded napkins and wine glasses add a touch of date-night fancy.


Ashaak dumplings $11.90

Start things off with ashaak dumplings ($11.90) stuffed with a vegetarian filling of gandana, or garlic chives. The olive oil dumplings are almost hidden beneath a liberal drenching of chunky tomato and chickpea sauce, cool drizzles of yoghurt and a heavy dusting of dried mint.


Kadoo bolanee traditional Afghani flat bread stuffed with pumpkin and spices $9.90

Kadoo bolanee ($9.90) is another house specialty, a soft Afghani flat bread folded around fried pumpkin seasoned with garlic and spices, served with a spicy chutney that has plenty of kick.


Kabuli pallow $25.90
Traditional Afghani rice served with chicken korma

Not everything is spicy here, and the chilli scale on the menu will help steer you in either direction. Kabuli pallow ($25.90) is a celebration of one of the cornerstones of Afghani cuisine: rice. It’s a colourful mound of fluffy basmati rice – each grain long and separate – slow-cooked and scattered with plump sultanas, sweet julienned carrots, almonds and a few elusive pieces of tender baked chicken. The aroma of cumin and cardamom is irresistible. It’s a bonus two-in-one dish, with a bowl of mild and creamy chicken korma included on the side.


Chicken korma


Afghani vegetable pickle $3.50


Banjan boranee traditional Afghani dish with fried eggplant $15.90

Afghani cuisine is known for its affection for meat dishes, but the banjan boranee ($13.90) is a vegetarian highlight. Thick slices of eggplant are deep-fried until soft, sweet and sticky. The smoky nutty eggplant is a perfect marriage with the accompanying dousing of tomato sauce and swirls of yoghurt.


Lamb kabab daggy $21.90
Lamb back strip cubes marinated and grilled over charcoal, served with naan


Afghani pumpkin naan $6


Pomegranate drink $4 and dough salted yoghurt drink $4




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Bamiyan
175 First Avenue, Five Dock, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9712 7801
Opening hours:
Monday and Wednesday 5pm-10pm
Thursday to Sunday 12pm-3pm and 5pm-10pm


This article appears in the May 2012 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This! 

More Time Out Sydney reviews:
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ATL Marantha, Kensington (Indonesian fried chicken with edible bones)
Balkan Oven, Rockdale (Macedonian burek)
Battambang, Cabramatta (Deep fried pork intestines)
Cyprus Community Club Aphrodite Restaurant (Roast baby goat) 
Dos Senoritas, Gladesville (Mexican street-style tacos) 
Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills (South African cuisine)
Everest Kitchen, Marrickville (Nepali cuisine)
Good Kitchen, Hurstville (Hong Kong cafe)
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Kambozza, Parramatta (Burmese cuisine)
La Paula, Fairfield (Chilean empanadas, lomitos and sweets)
Mario Tokyo Pizza, Strathfield (Bulgogi Korean pizza)
Misky Cravings, Fairfield (Peruvian cuisine)
Olka Polka Bakery & Deli, Campbelltown (Polish cheesecake and rye bread)
Rhinedorf German Restaurant, Beverly Hills (German pork knuckle)
Sea Sweet, Parramatta (Lebanese sweet kashta cheese burger)
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The Grounds of Alexandria

There's one thing you must have if you visit The Grounds of Alexandria, and that's patience. A 10.30am arrival on a Saturday nets us a 40-minute wait for a table for three. By 11am we hear latest arrivals face a 60-90 minute wait before they can expect to be seated.

And yet waiting is hardly a chore when we start to roam the outdoor dining area. Surrounded by factory outlets, showrooms and light industry, the Grounds of Alexandria is an oasis of charming greenery with a kitchen garden, chicken pen, and sprawl of casual seating. Quirky design chic--like flower pots in rusty wagons, and rusty typewriters hidden in flower beds-- combined with a kids play area and an in-house coffee roastery, make this a weekend utopia for couples and young families. No wonder the place is packed.


Wagons and signposts at The Grounds, Alexandria


Garden chooks


The kitchen garden and flower pots at The Grounds, Alexandria


I agree kiddo, hanging jars for lights are magical indeed! 

We meander past the gardens, admire the ingenious use of recycled rusted furniture and end up collapsing on a bench to soak up the morning sun. The outdoor dining area is for takeaway orders only (which has a restricted menu), but it guarantees happily caffeinated parents and easily distracted kids.

The floor manager circulates the grounds regularly, checking on waiting patrons and providing a reassuring update on waiting times.


Vintage soft drink cans for plant pots, giant chick pea 'cans' 
and a kids play area keep things fun for everyone


Muffins and brownies

Cakes and pastries spill across the separate takeaway counter as the queue for coffee grows longer and longer. The tarts and bread are supplied by Luxe Bakery in Newtown at the moment, but we're told that bread will be baked in-house soon.


Jam jar mugs at the takeaway order counter 


Mini cupcakes and carrot cake slices


Custard tarts, chocolate tarts and lemon tarts in the display counter


Takeaway drinks and breakfast menu board


Takeaway salad and sandwich menu (restricted options on weekends)


Indoor dining area

The indoor dining area is split into two sections, one with a view of the roasters and the kitchen; the other brighter and airier with views onto the balcony and a direct line of sight toward the main coffee counter. This altar to caffeine worship includes a gleaming La Marzocco espresso machine (upgraded with variable pressure levers -- "There are only two like this in the whole word!", our barista declares with pride), a Clover for pressurised filter coffee and accoutrements to make pour overs and Aeropress coffee.


Preparing our pour over coffee

The pour over uses filter paper set in a Kalita 102 ceramic coffee dripper, said to create a clean, almost sweet brew with plenty of body.


Plunging our Aeropress coffee

We also check out their Aeropress coffee, a filter coffee that uses manual pressure to deliver a brew with low acidity.


Aeropress coffee (front) $6 and pour over coffee (rear) $6

I find the Aeropress delivers a little more flavour at the front of the palate, whereas the pour over has a lingering finish. Both are gentle brews.


Hot chocolate $3.50

The hot chocolate has all the makings of a kid's make believe tea party, presented on a picturesque wooden chopping board.


Pouring frothed milk into the melted chocolate

Unleash the pot of thick melted chocolate into your cup and pour out the hot frothy milk from the world's cutest miniature milk bottle. It's not overly chocolatey but wins points for novelty.


Double ristretto macchiatos $4.50

And because we're caffeine addicts we tack on a couple of double ristretto macchiatos that are executed admirably, rich and intense in flavour.


Breakfast boards at the pass

The kitchen is swamped but our meals don't take too long to arrive.


Rolled eggs with crispy quinoa $16

The idea of rolled eggs with crispy quinoa immediately caught our attention on the menu. It arrives as two soft boiled free range eggs showered with golden quinoa that we suspect had been deep-fried until crunchy. It provides a uniquely nutty textural contrast to the eggs, especially with their gooey yolks of sunshine.

Toasted sourdough is unbelievably moreish, a combination of chewy crust and a substantial fluffiness. As we pick through oven roasted roma tomatoes, stalks of asparagus and sprigs of rocket, the addition of truffle oil seems unnecessary in the face of such commitment to seasonal freshness.


Pork and veal sausages and free range fried eggs $17
with a side of crispy bacon $4.50

There's plenty of heartiness in the pork and veal sausages, served with two free range eggs sunny side up with toasted sourdough and a bed of sauteed spinach. We fortify our order with a side of crispy bacon, remarkably generous in size with what we estimate to be four rashers of bacon. It's pan fried until crisp and smoky.


Brioche French toast $13

The brioche French toast arrives as sourdough French toast without explanation, but it's tasty anyway, and probably better for our waistlines. It's a mountain of comforting egginess, built with a mortar of tangy tender rhurbarb and crowned with a quenelle of lemon-tinted mascarpone.

No wonder this place is busy. Luckily some things are worth waiting for.






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The Grounds of Alexandria 
Building 7A, No. 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9699 2225
[facebook page]
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 7am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am-3pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
The Grounds of Alexandria Markets
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Hot Wing Eating Competition at The Dip, Goodgod, Sydney

EDIT: The Dip has closed

How did you celebrate your first birthday? The Dip turned one last night, and just like El Loco, decided to mark the occasion with a competitive eating competition. Where El Loco had the taco challenge, The Dip put out the call to find who could eat the most hot wings and be crowned Lord of the Wings.


Fried chicken burger $12 birthday special

On the celebratory birthday menu: The Birthday Bird Burger, a chicken thigh fillet battered and deep-fried and served on a bun with lettuce and mayo.

Suze couldn't be swayed from her usual, the confuse di mouth hotdog ($12), a smoked frankfurt with melted cheese, dill pickles, grilled onions, american mustard and ketchup that has all the echoes of your favourite cheeseburger (hence the confusion).


Andrew Levins outlines the rules for the Lord of the Wings competition

We were here to support Lex who had bravely agreed to enter the Lord of the Wings competition. Proceedings kicked off at 7pm and Lex lined his stomach with a fried chicken burger before joining the table of all-male competitors.


Lord of the Wings hot wings round one

The rules were simple. The winner would be whoever could eat the most hot wings within the five minute time period. No drinks were allowed, noone could stand, the bones had to be clean, and the wings promised to get hotter with each batch.

You could smell the chilli sauce from the wings as soon as the first round was sent out from the kitchen, a tumble of drumettes and midwings drenched in a fiery chilli sauce.


Lex attacks

Head chef Andrew Levins led the crowd into an eating countdown. The boys charged out of the gates with gusto, using their teeth to rip the flesh straight off the bone.


Eat ALL the wings!

One end of the table demolished the wings with such speed, the kitchen were momentarily caught short preparing the next batch.


So intense! 


Lord of the Wings hot wings round two

The second batch contained some of Dan Hong's infamous chilli bomb, a Mad Dog 38 Special Pepper Extract that radiates an eye-watering 3,000,000 Scoville heat units. Tabasco sauce rates 3,500 Scoville units. Thai bird's eye chilli is 50,000. The habanero chilli is a 'mere' 100,000 Scoville units. 

Go Lex go!

Just smelling the sauce on the chicken wings made my nostrils twitch. The pain on the competitors' faces became increasingly evident with each mouthful.


He be struggling


World. Of. Pain. 

Was it an act of mercy or evil that Levins declared he would extend the eating time for one more minute? The boys plowed on, but there was suffering aplenty.


Hurt City

A quick wing count came up with the final winner. The Lord of the Wings managed to scarf down 19 wings. Our boy Lex came in third with 14 wings. You did us proud!


Lord of the Wings!

And though there were glasses of milk promised to all, relief turned to panic when the precious milk ran out. "Get the cream! Get the cream! It's in the fridge!" Levins implored with urgency, as grown men began to curl up into the foetal position on the floor.


Deep-fried birthday cake $6

But to really celebrate a birthday, one must have cake! Levins delivered with deep-fried birthday cake, a cupcake on a stick dipped in batter and plunged into hot oil.


Cake, batter, strawberry sauce and sprinkles

The cupcake was surprisingly soft inside, drizzled with bright red strawberry sauce and a trail of sprinkles.


Giant hot dog cake made by Suze

And Suze had her own surprise - a homemade giant hot dog cake! The 'frankfurt' was made from blitzed Tim Tams and melted chocolate. The 'bun' was coated in salted caramel icing.


Bianca and Levins

I think they liked it.

The fried chicken burger and fried birthday cake are available all this week at The Dip. 


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The Dip at GOODGOD (CLOSED)

55 Liverpool Street, Sydney

Opening hours:

Wednesday and Thursday 5pm-11pm

Friday 5pm-12midnight

Saturday 6pm-12midnight

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
The Dip, Sydney
Taco eating challenge at El Loco, Surry Hills