Occasionally you eat somewhere that leaves you talking and thinking about it for weeks later - and Bedouin Deli
is one of these places. Not only because their labneh and chilli jam
kept our fridge and tummies happy for days afterwards, but because our
visit was, simply, wonderful.
Bedouin Deli is
on Albert Road in Woodstock, and a good reason to venture past the
Biscuit Mill if you haven't yet - there is great food, less crowd and
better value for money - if you're brave enough to drive on. As we
walked in, we were immediately surprised by how light and airy the deli
was - large windows, neutral colours and a little soft jazz in the
background. Thankfully not a tassled carpet in sight.
Having
looked at the menu for days before, I already knew I'd be having the
Mediterranean Platter (to share) and the iconic Chicken Wrap - which we
also shared. As we'd just come from a horrendous morning at Home
Affairs, we needed to attend to the important matter of coffee first - Kamili, roasted to order in Cape Town, is the house blend.
We
started on our platter - tzatziki, hummus, dolmades with chilli jam,
olives and labneh accompanied by freshly baked flatbread. I was planning
on eating it all myself, but was told I have to share. Everything was,
quite simply, delicious. Nutty hummus with chunky tzatziki, the best
dolmades I've had and the labneh - which deserves a paragraph of its own
- a highlight, and at only R48, ridiculously good value for money.
A
note about the labneh - it's a strained cow's milk (yoghurt) cheese
that is fairly new to South Africa - but delicious. A smooth, creamy
texture - similar to cream cheese - but with a more noticeable tang,
it's low fat and a wonderful alternative. We had it as dinner one night -
on crackers along with a dollop of their chilli jam - and feasted.
Another
highlight of their menu is the Bedouin Chicken Wrap - with sumac
chicken, labneh, hummus, chilli, carrot, lettuce and cucumber - it was
perfectly done. It's difficult to get the 'moisture' balance right in a
wrap - either there's too much sauce, which drips down your elbow and
results in a soggy wrap, or it's so dry it gets caught in your throat on
the way down. Bedouin got the balance perfectly right - moist and
oh-so-tasty, it was one of the best wraps I've had.
The
owner, Rachel, popped by our table and stayed to chat for a little
while we enjoyed our lunch - and this was probably also what made it
such an enjoyable afternoon. Passionate, bubbly and oh-so-down-to-earth,
she (like her deli) are a delight. I may have developed a little crush
on both.
Note : We enjoyed our lunch as guests of Bedouin Deli and were not remunerated. All images and opinions are my own.
0 comments:
Post a Comment