Breakfast at Efendy, Balmain

Last year in November the Run4Fun was held at Olympic Park. A few of my work mates participated, along with over 6000 other participants, altogether raising over $114,000 for organisations across the country, including The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network and the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.

My friends Mary and Paul and I, of course, had every intention of participating, until we discovered we'd have to wake up at 5am to get there on time.

HELL NO. On a Sunday?

Wild Orchid Salep Smoothie - $7.00

Of course, we still participated in the celebratory breakfast at Efendy. Our athletes arrived tired, worn-out and thirsty, so we ordered drinks straight away. The wild orchard powder in this drink had a sweet, earthy flavour that was emphasised by the nutmeg and cinnamon, and the salep ice-cream gave some body to the drink.

Sour Cherry Iced Coffee - $7.00

This iced coffee had a weaker coffee taste than I'm used to, but the inclusion of crushed sour cherries injected their own unique flavour to the drink.

Turkish Delight Salep Smoothie - $7.00

My Turkish Delight smoothie was awesome! Salep icecream was blended with rose syrup, small bits of chewy Turkish Delight, and almond flakes to create a cool, sweet drink with a silky texture.

Pide - $3.00 each

We ordered a board full of pide to go with our meals. They're made in house, and have a sort of authentic, rustic look to them. Apparently what we normally call pide is actually called "lahmacun"; the pide we received was what we'd call Turkish bread, and had a solid, wood-fired base and a dense interior.

Pastirma and Kashar Cheese Borek - $10.00

These were quickly gobbled up, and with good reason: the pastirma (air-dried beef) reminded me of prosciutto, except a bit less salty and more tender; the kashar cheese (a hard, sheep's milk cheese) melted beautifully, lending its ripe flavour. These were fried in parcels of filo pastry until golden brown.

Gozleme - $14.00

The gozleme were big, chunky triangles of thick dough filled to the brim with spinach and feta. They were supported by a little pot of olive tapenade and wedges of tomato and lemon to freshen the flavour up a bit.

Kallavi - $17.00

Also known as the "Big Breakfast", this dish includes a choice of eggs (we all chose scrambled), perfectly sauteed mushrooms, sucuk-merguez sausage (a dry sausage spiced with cumin, garlic and sumac), pastirma and tomato. It was filling and well executed, and the breakfast of choice for the poeple who ran the race.

Menemen - $14.00

We ordered this because it was described as a traditional Turkish breakfast . Gorgeous, fluffy scrambled eggs were cooked with juicy tomato and banana pepper, fresh red onion and parsely, and I much prefered this dish over the others.

After our visit I could definitely see why Efendy is so famous for their breakfasts. Every dish was beautifully presented, packed with flavour and immensly satisfying. It was definitely the place to go after running the Run 4 Fun - if there's one next year that starts after 10 o'clock, I'll be sure to participate, if only to partake of such a breakfast again ;)

The bill, presented in a Turkish comic book.

Efendy Turkish Restaurant

79 Elliot St
Balmain, NSW
2041

Phone: 02 9810 5466

http://www.efendy.com.au

Comments

[yummychunklet]

What interesting sounding names for dishes! They look delicious.

[Gaby]

That's cheating! You can't have celebratory breakfast if you don't wake up at 5 am! :)

[Alana @ alanabread]

Balmain's been rocking some pretty sweet, uhh, "ethnic" (for lack of a better term!) restaurants lately. The basturma/cheese borek looks exceptional (that meat holds a special place in my heart), as do those drinks. I'm going to have to check this place out as I've never heard of it before! Was it packed out on a Sunday?

[Hotly Spiced]

Yes, that's a very early start for a Sunday so I can understand you bowing out. Great that you got to enjoy a wonderful breakfast. All the food looks fabulous. Would love to try one of those turkish delight drinks.

[Joanne]

Wow that is INCREDIBLY early for a race. i think you made the better decision. Looks delicious!

[Joyti]

Ooo, delicious! Especially the Turkish Delight Smoothie.

[Juliana]

In spite of the name of the dishes they all look very tasty.
Thanks for sharing the pictures...
Have a great week Jasmyne :)

[muppy]

i love going out for breakfast!! you should invite me oneday when your having breaky on a weekend, would love to meet you and then there is an extra dish for your post :)

[InTolerant Chef]

Love Turkish food, and love going out for breakfast too, yumm!

[Vivian - vxdollface]

I've heard many great things about Efendy! Really need to make my way there, the smoothies sound intriguing