Sydney’s tasty little piece of Lebanon: Jasmins Restaurant

Written by Tim Blight

Writer, traveller, amateur photographer, teacher. Based in Melbourne and Lahore.

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June 25, 2013

Jasmins Restaurant

How do they do it? Despite being thousands of kilometres from the fertile shores of Lebanon, the taste is still the same. You will often hear expats comment that favourite recipes don’t taste quite the same in foreign countries as they do back home. It may be because of the ingredients – sourced locally, the flavour profile of certain dishes doesn’t exactly match what they’re used to. Yet for years, Jasmins Restaurant in Sydney’s southwest has done just that – or at least come pretty damn close, according to some discerning Lebanese-origin patrons.

The chicken mixed plate at Jasmins Restaurant

To begin with, this is no fine dining experience; it’s Lebanese food, on the slab. Don’t expect silver service – although the steel water pitchers on each table are very shiny! But that might just be the point – the focus here is on the food. And what glorious food it is. No-one leave Jasmins any less than stuffed. The mixed plate is a highlight – grilled chicken skewers, falafel, tabouleh and pickled vegetables, all slathered with rich, creamy hummus and lashings of olive oil. But that’s not all – you can have it all as a shwarma if you like, tasty and to take away. (Many Australians incorrectly call shwarma “kebabs”; a kebab is a style of cooking, whereas the kebab meat and salad wrapped in bread that we all know and love is correctly called shwarma in Arabic). All dishes are halal and heavenly.

Turn up for a late breakfast and you can tuck into fateh, a Lebanese specialty comprising cooked chick peas and pine nuts smothered in yogurt. It’s an acquired taste – especially for breakfast – but it’s one worth acquiring! In keeping with Islamic sensibilities (many patrons are Muslim) and generally to fit the convivial family-friendly atmosphere, no alcohol is served on the premises and BYO is not appreciated. For drinks, just help yourself to the cans and bottles in the fridge at the back of the room, and choose between the standard range of soft drinks, or freshly squeezed juices, tamarind drink, or the tart yogurt-based ayran. All meals are consumed under the gaze of gaudy but lovingly painted artworks, depicting scenes from the home country. Dessert is also available at Jasmins – milk pudding, baklava and turkish delight are all on offer – but many patrons prefer to continue along Haldon Street to Arja Patisserie for the mind-boggling selection available.

It has been a long time since the name Lakemba conjured up thoughts of a sleepy southwestern Sydney suburb. However it has also been a long time since the events which gave it its notorious reputation for crime and ethnic tension. Like all reputations, it was based on some truth, but has always been much much more to the Lakemba story than the headlines would have you believe. Jasmins is perfect evidence of that – the restaurant comfortably offers its patrons authentic Lebanese cuisine and culture without the need to leave Sydney. The proof is in the shwarma.