PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAFifi’s Cafe opened nine years ago when Fifi Fudda and her son, Mohammed decided that Sydney needed a Lebanese restaurant that kept the focus firmly on the food rather than the gyrating belly dancers that are a gimmick at so many Lebanese restaurants around town. The result is an elegant and contemporary restaurant on Enmore Road with cream coloured walls, polished wooden floors and crisp white-clothed tables that have grown accustomed to groaning under the weight of the lavish banquets prepared in Fudda’s kitchen.
With over 38 years of cooking under her belt, Fifi Fudda can certainly put on a spread. The ideal way to enjoy Lebanese food is to share dishes among the table, so don’t go past the banquet menus. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser is the aptly named “omnivore” banquet which includes a wide selection of both meat and vegetable dishes. Begin with dips such as baba ganoush and humus before moving on to chicken and lamb skewers, kafta, stuffed vine leaves, cabbage rolls and kebbah shells stuffed with lamb mince. The a la carte menu offers an array of delicious traditional dishes; the baked fish in tahini is a standout, as is the futoosh, a peasant garden salad accompanied with Lebanese bread and dressed with extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses, garlic and lemon juice. The food may be Lebanese but the wine list is distinctly Australian and BYO is welcome for wine drinkers.
Amy Looker, November 2007
