Lemon Jelly

Quick note about Lemon Jelly in the Latin Quartier/Blooms Quartier off the quays. It's real trendy and hip and has these awesome light-hangings and uber-hip chairs and tables. But a few weeks ago I got a tuna panini with pineapple and not only was it awful, they put like 2 pieces of pineapple in it.

When I decided to take a peek inside the sandwich to see why there was no taste of tropical pineapple-ness in my tuna-pineapple panini, I was horrified to find a chunk of ham wedged delightfully in between the ciabatta bread, snug as a bug. To put in perspective, for a Muslim kid finding ham in their food, is like finding a piece of dog in your burger (unless your Korean ofcourse, in that case whatever floats your boat). But the worse, worse thing of all was the attitude of the waiters and the managers there. They looked at me like I had just asked for a pound of their flesh. All I did was smile and point out the un-asked for ham in the fateful sandwich and they acted like it was my fault the pig flew in there.

Not only did they not apologise profusely they even charged me for the half I already ate, with god knows how many porky-pigs already in my belly.

My advice - skip this sub-standard, overpriced cafe with average food (they do smoothies, crepes, paninis, of which you can find better versions elsewhere) and head to the Epicurean, next street down.

The best Tuna-Pineapple panini ever can be found at Cafe Java in Donnybrook and Sandyford. It's like a hula party in your mouth!

Persian Delight

Haven't posted in a long while due to many reasons, but mainly cos FF has been taking up most of my time and I've stopped taking pics of food because I couldn't be bothered anymore (and people give me these weird looks when I whip out my camera to take a picture of my plate) but won't let that stop me. I'll be snapping away soon.

Anyway went to Sufi's last week a really cute, secluded Persian restaurant - more like a cafe (that does Italian food too. It's on Lower Stephen's street, right across Bia Bar) I've been there before and the best thing on the menu no doubt is the Chicken Kebab: "Delicious Mediterranean dish marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, spices, skwered with fresh vegetables, grilled and served with saffron rice and side salad." The saffron rice is the tie-breaker. Hands down. Anyway last week I had their beautiful almond cake and a moccacino. The coffee was sub-par but the cake was really aromatic and nutty.

They also do a range of pizzas, pastas and other Persian/Arabic cuisine. The best thing is the intimate, secluded location and cute, earthy decor. The smell of that rice will get you every time you walk down!