Wining and dining at Rumi
15 March 2011
Last week with guests from interstate visiting we headed to Rumi Restaurant on Lygon Street Brunswick. We supped on some delicious Middle Eastern food and sipped on some wonderful wine.
There were nine of us and we shared an array of the Rumi offerings. We started with a cold yoghurt soup, that was tangy and with walnuts, Iranian green raisins, cucumber and dried rose had a wonderful texture.
Cigar shaped pastries filled with haloumi, feta and kasseri were next up followed by fried cauliflower with caramelised onion, currents and pinenuts - so good another plate was ordered. Next were vegetarian dishes of eggplant braised in tomatoes, a freekeh salad with almonds, feta and a pomegranate dressing, fried potatoes with lemon, garlic and sumac and a delicious shankleesh and silverbeet mante.
The highlight for me was next up, fresh fish nayeh, a Lebanese style fish tartare, the fish being kingfish, with fresh herbs, pickled radishes and crispy flat bread - a sensational combination crisp, crunchy and creamy.
Finally we polished off the spiced slow roasted lamb shoulder with a gorgeous pilaf full of pistachios, saffron and tangy barberries.
We only had two wines (two bottles of each!), and both were outstandingly good.
Firstly a Kiwi Pinot Gris the 2009 Tupari from Marlborough, the fruit and unctuous quality of this wine worked a treat with the savoury textural mouth feel of the food.
The second wine was a Chateau Musar Hochar Pere et Fils Cabernet Cinsault 2003 from Lebanon, what a wine! Very Bordeaux like, displaying lovely fruit with a spicy backbone, lean and yet powerful - with the lamb shoulder a match made in heaven. This wine was $55 on the wine list, a bargain!
Service was very good on a busy Friday night. Well worth a visit for an inspiring Middle Eastern food experience.
Cheers, Michael@wineseek