Xanthi – Westfield, Sydney

Wednesday, 1 Feb 12

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“Do you keep track of how many months you’ve been with Tim?”, Ms M asked.

Me: “Uh…oops. Forgot.”

Then of course, he piped up “Yes, today is very special, we’ve been going out for 1497 days.”

oO;;

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So since he was in Malaysia on day 1500, we thought to have a belated celebration on the 1509th day we’ve been going out (who keeps track of these things anyway?!). While we had initially planned for a quiet night in, I suggested we visit Xanthi, because I’ve been meaning to try it ever since I heard rumours of pork belly baklava at the now closed Perama. Happily, Tim agreed.

A sucker for eggplant, I could not go past the hot smoked eggplant dip, with coriander, cumin, lemon juice and a lovely richness offered by the bechamel and grated kasseri folded through. Major props too for the service, as when we had finished off the pita bread and were looking longingly at the remaining dip, a waiter noticed our forlorn looks and offered us more bread. Yay!

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The fried calamari, served with lemon ouzo mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon was tender to the bite and deliciously moreish. We found ourselves fighting over the last scraps.

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Onto mains, and while we tossed up between the pork belly baklava and lamb from the spit, eventually, it was the lamb skaras which caught Tim’s heart. Falling apart at the touch of a fork, the slow cooked shoulder of lamb was flavoursome and heady with garlic, lemon and paprika, though we would have loved just a touch more sauce. Crisp potatoes and green beans rounded out the dish.

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We were worried we’d under-ordered, but the arrival of the piping hot truffle and mushroom moussaka soon proved us wrong. A rich creamy bechamel veiled glorious slivers of eggplant, potato and wild mushrooms, while the aroma of truffles washed over us and sent us into a dreamy food coma, alleviated only by the fresh crispness of the green apple and cucumber salad.

Full and defeated by the last few mouthfuls of the moussaka, we ambled down through the empty shopping centre to face day 1510…and many more to come, I hope.

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Xanthi

Corner Pitt Street Mall & Market Street, City
Level 6 Dining Precinct

Open Fri–Sat 8am–midnight, Sun–Thu 8am–11pm
Bookings 9232 8535 or manager@xanthi.com.au

 

6 Comments

  1. Ok, now I’m going to need to try and work out how many days my husband and I have been together for. LOL. Food at Xanthi looks great…it’s on my (ever growing) wishlist.

    Comment by Miss Piggy — February 1, 2012 @ 2:11 pm

  2. Love the food here – and it’s so (surprisingly) reasonably priced when the little share plates are involved! The moussaka looks SO good.

    Comment by Tina@foodboozeshoes — February 1, 2012 @ 3:03 pm

  3. It looks sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. I’m drooling right now because it’s lunch time :(

    Comment by Tina @ bitemeshowme — February 2, 2012 @ 10:32 am

  4. Congrats on the milestone!

    The moussaka is oh-so-good. It’s making me salivate just thinking about it :)

    Comment by Simon @ the heart of food — February 4, 2012 @ 12:00 am

  5. Nawww…everyday is an anniversary to celebrate if you make the effort! You guys are just too sweet =)

    Comment by Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) — February 6, 2012 @ 8:22 pm

  6. Aww that’s so cute! Happy 1497 or 1509 day anniversary! These photos are fantastic! :D

    Comment by Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella — March 1, 2012 @ 2:50 pm

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