Ethiopian food @ Nyala African Restaurant, Melbourne (Australia)

We met up with some of my Melbournite friends when we were in Melbourne a couple of months ago. We had gone to primary school together in Perth, and we've all since moved away from our home city. One of the things I love about Australia is the multiculturalism which results in a rich variety of cuisines available. I particularly appreciate the dining scene in Melbourne, which seems more diverse than other Australian cities. When one of my friends suggested we met up for dinner at Nyala African Restaurant, I enthusiastically voted "yea" (and no one said "nay"). I've had a bit of exposure to African food previously, but not very much, and I still remember our interesting experience at an Ethiopian restaurant in New York city. Injera, a sourdough flatbread with a spongy texture, made a particular impression on me, and I was please to note that injera was on the menu at Nyala.

I quite liked the African-themed decor of the restaurant, and even the ceiling lampshades had African painting on them. The owners were quite obviously African, which added to the authenticity of the experience. Service was friendly and helpful, and the owner did his best to accommodate my son's allergies (though the poor kid who has severe sesame allergies accidentally touched the tahini dip when he reached for the bread and suffered allergic conjunctivitis as a result). The food was simple and rustic (as one would expect traditional African food to be), but tasty and full of flavour, and there was something on the menu for meat-lovers, vegans and everyone in between. For main courses, Nyala offered combination sets which allowed diners to choose up to four dishes on one plate, and this was a good option for first-time visitors to sample a variety of food.

A combo of all three dips accompanied by mahloul (mountain bread): Tahini (sesame paste, yoghurt, lemon juice and olive oil), deberja (egg plant with turmeric, coriander, cumin, capsicum and garlic blended with natural yoghurt) and lentils (with berbere chilli, onion, fresh garlic and spices) - AU$12.50 for the combo:

Hubby and I went for the Beyay-Netu (Ethiopian Platter), which gave us the choice of any four dishes from both the meat and vegetarian menu, and served with salad and injera. Between the two of us, we ordered eight of the nine dishes from the meat and vegetarian menus. The vegetarian dishes were tasty and richly spiced, and I also enjoyed the two chicken dishes. However I thought that the red meat dishes were quite unremarkable. Looking back at our experience at the Ethiopian restaurant in NYC, I also wrote that the vegetarian dishes were better than the meats - so perhaps vegetable dishes in Ethiopian cuisine are prepared better than the meat dishes. Or perhaps I like vegetables and chicken more than red meat!

Injera, a national dish of Ethiopia. Traditionally, injera would be spread on the table like an edible tablecloth, food would be ladled out on top of the injera, and we would be tearing off portions of the injera with our hands to eat with the food:

My plate: Keke-Wot (split pea with onion, garlic, peri peri and other spices), Kuku Na Nazi (Kenyan chicken curry with coconut and mild spices), Defen-meser (brown lentils cooked with garlic, chopped tomato, tumeric and coriander), and Beg Tibs (marinated and spiced lamb cubes sautéed with fresh tomato, rosemary and white wine) - AU$25 for the combo:

Hubby's choice of four: Doro Dibs (boneless pieces of chicken marinated in herbs and spices, sautéed in mild chilli, served with Nyala’s Awazi sauce), Futari (a Tanzanian vegetarian dish with cabbage, potato, carrot and seasonal vegetable cooked with mild spices, and topped with coconut milk), Nyala special (a traditional Ethiopian stew using lean boneless beef, ginger, garlic and homemade peri peri with other spices) and Domeda (a Gambian dish with beef, smooth peanut butter, potatoes, herbs and spices) - AU$25 for the combo:

I had a great time catching up with old friends (one whom I hadn't seen for over a decade!) over delicious African food.

Nyala African Restaurant
Level 1
356 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
Australia
Tel. +61 3 9419 9128

Ethiopian @ Ghenet, New York

I remember a few years ago reading about Ethiopian cuisine. I was intrigued by the fact that food is served on the tablecloth, and the tablecloth is then eaten! Of course, the 'tablecloth' is not actually cloth, but injera, which is an unleavened bread from Ethiopia. Needless to say, after reading about Ethiopian food, I was yearning to try some. Alas, although the Perth restaurant scene is quite diverse due to its multicultural population, African food is unfortunately not very popular. Who would've thought that I would one day actually get a taste of Ethiopia without stepping inside Ethiopia?

(When I mentioned to Rob about trying Ethiopian food, he made a funny comment that it'd be strange eating food from a country that he related with famines. Famine or not, Ethiopian food is yummy!)

There are a few notable Ethiopian restaurants in NYC, and Ghenet is one of them. We went in at 3pm on a Saturday to avoid any lunch crowds, and sure enough, the place was quiet. Our waiter was perhaps affected by the mid-afternoon slump because service was only so-so, but there's not much to complain here because he did his job satisfactorily. We asked for recommendations, and he suggested trying one of the combinations, where each of us could choose 1 meat dish and 2 vegetarian dishes (i.e. altogether 2 meats and 4 vegs). Great for trying a variety of dishes, all for $31.50 (excl tax) for the both of us.

For meat, we chose Doro Wett (spicy chicken) and Siga Wett (spicy beef), both of which came with a side serving of split peas. For vegetables, we had Gomen Wett (spicy collard greens), Atkelt Wett (cabbage, potato and carrot with caramelised onion sauce), Misir Wett (spicy lentils) and Shiro Wett (spicy beans). As you can tell, Ethiopian food features a lot of spices, but not spicy in the chilli sense. As expected, the food came out served on top of a big piece of injera (on a huge plate), with additional injera on the side to scoop up the sauces into your mouth.

The sauces for both the chicken and beef were different, despite having the same "wett" in their names, with the chicken dish having more of a milky, buttery taste. Both of the meat dishes were rich, and it didn't take long before we'd had enough of either. On the other hand, the vegetarian dishes were done very well, particularly the spicy beans. We both agreed that the vegetarian dishes were better than the meat dishes.

Our plate (unfortunately not very photogenic); and a closer look at injera, which is a spongy sourdough pancake-like bread that is very floopy:


This was a good experience - there's something beautiful yet fundamental about eating with your fingers. I used to eat with my hands when I was younger, because it was the traditional way my mum would usually eat her food (strangely I haven't observed her doing that much since migrating out of Malaysia). The Indians and Malays also traditionally eat with their fingers.

Like I said before, Ethiopian food is good, famine or not. I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to try this cuisine.