I was delighted to read about Aaboll cafe, an Ethiopian eatery that opened in Merrylands just over a year ago. Sadly Sydney hasn't had a real Ethiopian place until now (there is a place run by a Somali-Ethiopian guy with a Swahili name.. one can make up one's own mind about that!), and I'm so excited to find that the flavours are authentic.
The shopfront is unpretentious, with a black easily overlookable sign . From the outside, it looks like every other bog-standard cafe with a coffee machine and a selection of cookies & muffins. When we got there mid-afternoon on a Saturday, there were lots of Ethiopian people lounging around drinking coffee and chatting - a good sign!
Entry through a little doorway leads to the backroom decked out in a huge mural. All around are Ethiopian knick-knacks like traditional servingware, scarves and paintings. It felt like my living room when I first got back from Ethiopia with all my souvenirs scattered around!
The owner comes from Addis and tells us that they had been thinking about opening up an Ethiopian place for some time, to serve the original flavours. His wife is a good cook, and they found this affordable prime-time spot in Merrylands. As they say, the rest is history! He was delighted when we told him about our Ethiopian trip and even more so when we showed him some of our photos.
The regular fasting days in the Ethiopian orthodox calendar mean that the cuisine is well accustomed to vegetarians. The beyanetu (selection) is probably the best way to try out all the different flavours. I would challenge any carnivore to appreciate the differences in the way the legumes are cooked in Ethiopian cuisine - the variety of flavours is just incredible. From left there is cabbage, collard greens, yellow lentils, green lentils, red lentils, vegetable curry, and down the bottom shiro (chickpea puree). How I missed shiro.. the buttery gloop that I ate with so much injera all over Ethiopia. I demolished it all.
My friend had the doro wat (chicken curry) which was served with a little dish of cheese and a hard boiled egg. The mildly spicy sauce with berbere was perfection, just like in Ethiopia. The injera here is made from millet & rice flour (teff apparently is very expensive to import), still fermented to give the characteristic flavour and aroma. It is a bit more filling than the usual injera, a very good substitution indeed.
I'm busy telling all my friends to visit because I would love for this place to stay open for a long time. I also can't wait to return for breakfast where they have traditional goodies like chechebsa and injera firfir!
The shopfront is unpretentious, with a black easily overlookable sign . From the outside, it looks like every other bog-standard cafe with a coffee machine and a selection of cookies & muffins. When we got there mid-afternoon on a Saturday, there were lots of Ethiopian people lounging around drinking coffee and chatting - a good sign!
Entry through a little doorway leads to the backroom decked out in a huge mural. All around are Ethiopian knick-knacks like traditional servingware, scarves and paintings. It felt like my living room when I first got back from Ethiopia with all my souvenirs scattered around!
The owner comes from Addis and tells us that they had been thinking about opening up an Ethiopian place for some time, to serve the original flavours. His wife is a good cook, and they found this affordable prime-time spot in Merrylands. As they say, the rest is history! He was delighted when we told him about our Ethiopian trip and even more so when we showed him some of our photos.
The regular fasting days in the Ethiopian orthodox calendar mean that the cuisine is well accustomed to vegetarians. The beyanetu (selection) is probably the best way to try out all the different flavours. I would challenge any carnivore to appreciate the differences in the way the legumes are cooked in Ethiopian cuisine - the variety of flavours is just incredible. From left there is cabbage, collard greens, yellow lentils, green lentils, red lentils, vegetable curry, and down the bottom shiro (chickpea puree). How I missed shiro.. the buttery gloop that I ate with so much injera all over Ethiopia. I demolished it all.
I'm busy telling all my friends to visit because I would love for this place to stay open for a long time. I also can't wait to return for breakfast where they have traditional goodies like chechebsa and injera firfir!
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