Cafe Lalibela
Phone: 03 9687 0300
Cafe Lalibela has been a Cheap Eats stalwart for many years now, taking out the 2007 “world food dish of the year” for it’s doro wat (pictured above, bottom left). The national dish of Ethiopia, this wat is basically a chicken stew marinated in herbs and spices, simmered with hardboiled eggs, berbere (Ethiopian hot pepper seasoning), garlic, onions and niter kebbeh (spiced clarified butter). Whilst the chicken meat itself was barely discernable (the bones were well present though), the taste was akin to a friggin bomb going off in your mouth. Seriously, this thing had some heat and some flavour!
The wat is served on the one plate to signify the bonds of friendship and loyalty. And there is no cutlery as such, you use the injera, which is a slightly tangy and spongy pancake, to pick up morsels of stew/salad. It is your plate, your utensil and your food all in one.
Along with the doro wat, we also had:
- meser wat - a stamina booster of lentil stew simmered in hot peppers, onions, garlic and spices.
- shiro wat - stew of powdered peas cooked with spices, berbere, garlic and onions.
- yataklt kilkil - carrots, potatoes and onions cooked with garlic and seasoned with turmeric and spices
- garden type salad
The place itself is bright and airy and strays from the usual “cramp as many in as possible” attitude. The service, well, it is a little “relaxed”. But don’t be put off by that, just allow a little extra time and a little extra patience for the experience. And if it’s your first time dining here, let them know so they can advise on how much to order, and even how to master the right hand eating technique!
Written by mellie on
March 15th, 2007 | Tags: Ethiopian, restaurants | Category: Uncategorized
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March 19th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Mmmm… I first heard of wat and injera bread from, of all places, a Wilbur Smith book: The Seventh Scroll. It prompted me to seek out this culinary delight. Thankfully I lived in Canberra at the time and the international festival, with it’s dozens of food tents with cuisines from all over the world lined down Garema Place, obliged. Yumm-o
March 21st, 2007 at 7:11 am
Heh…you wouldn’t think to find somewhere serving injera in Canberra!! Thank god for food festivals
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:55 am
I keep meaning to try this place. Lovely photos and great review!
March 24th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
It’s definitely a must do. We were at the Alderman midweek. Given how booked they are even on a Wednesday it seemed so close yet so far away.