Aalia Executive Chef Paul Farag is out to prove that Middle Eastern food has so much more to offer than kebabs and street food. Instead, at his acclaimed restaurant in Sydney’s new 25 Martin Place precinct, he celebrates the diversity of a region “hugged by various rivers, oceans and lakes, where seafood – not to mention most vegetables found along the more famous Mediterranean – are plentiful.” Farag’s cooking draws both on his Egyptian heritage and a fascination with the region’s rich history – the grandeur of its ancient feasts and a culinary legacy that can be traced across the Mediterranean and North Africa.” I love finding flavours and combinations long forgotten about and bringing them to light,” he says. “I want Aalia to change the perception of what Middle Eastern food is and can be. I want people to leave all expectations at the door and be open to delicious food from various regions along a coastline that spans from Mauritania in the west of North Africa to Iran.” Farag takes us on a jaunt along that fertile coast with a menu made for sharing.
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MALAWACH WITH LABNEH AND CAVIAR
SERVES 8 AS A STARTER
“This is a great party-starter with a malawach
