Food in Sydney Part 1

Was away last Thursday night to Sunday as I had cram lectures all day Friday and Saturday in Sydney. It only served to highlight how much I did not know and reassured my fears that I am truly crazy to attempt these exams. Oh well, what is life without putting challenges to oneself (I keep trying to tell myself).

After work on Thursday night, I drove to Sydney by myself. It was a bit of a lonely drive but I had a new 2 CD pack of 80s music soundtracks and after singing on the top of my lungs to hits such as "The power of love", "Day-O" and "Kokomo", the kilometers were quickly eaten and I arrived at my motel in Sydney, opposite the hallowed halls of my alma mater, University of Sydney. (Not that we spent much time on campus anyway)

I checked into room 13, wondering if it was a bad omen. The room was simple and clean and had a 70 style small tiled bathroom and plastic basin and benchtop. It was very reminiscent of Travelodge type rooms in the US.

I didn't stop for dinner so I was starving after checking in. Around the corner was the small Sydney suburb of Glebe. Glebe used to have a shady inner-city reputation when I was living on campus. However, it seems to have cleaned up alot and is full of restaurants, cafes, second hand bookshops and new age shops. A real bohemian atmosphere. A cafe on the corner was still open and looked really inviting with open windows, little booths and magazines. However, I thought I should just grab something and headd back to my room.

I remembered an old favourite pide (turkish pizza) place of mine, Mersin's Pide and kebab near the corner of Glebe Point Road and Parramatta Road. I have tasted a few pides when living in Sydney and I have found this one is the most authentic. They were all around the $9 price but I guess food in Sydney is getting more expensive all around. I chose the "Mixed" which had slices of turkish sausage, diced lamb, marinated minced beef, fresh spinach, fetta cheese, mushrooms and a freshly cracked egg on the top. This type is a 'open' pide as some of them are closed over the top. You can watch it being made and the guy places it on a long paddle and puts it into the oven. 15 minutes later, my pide was ready...

Most places use processed cheese for pide which makes this place unique. The taste was really good and the even though I wanted to leave some of it for the next day, most of it was gone before I realised it. I love a squeeze of lemon over the top as it makes the fetta taste stand out. Stay tuned for the next day as I dined in another restaurant in Glebe.