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Almond Bar

Almond Bar
Almond BarSupplied

13/20

Middle Eastern

Hospitality abounds in this long, narrow eatery, from the wooden tray of roasted, spiced and sugared almonds that awaits you on arrival to the chocolate-coated version that accompanies the bill. Sisters Sharon and Carol Salloum bring a Syrian sensibility to a Middle Eastern menu that offers a new level of sophistication when compared with better-known Lebanese fare. Fried pumpkin kibbe balls are falafel-like in texture but amp up the flavour with delicate vegetables and allspice; prawn and scallop cigars balance an intense muhamarra marinade with a light silverbeet wrap. Chef Sharon's childhood favourite is mukloubi with chicken, a dry-spiced rice dish with generous lashings of yoghurt. Her Syrian duck is decadently sweetened with a sticky fig jam tossed with plump pearl couscous, while pistachio-crusted booza (Middle Eastern ice-cream) is unapologetically gummy, in the traditional Syrian manner.

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