Souk In the City

Marrakesh Bar with fancy martinis

Having April Fool day as a wedding date is a surely fun thing. Imagine if the marriage did not work out it, it really doesn't quite matter ( legally ) because it's April Fool! But so far, husband have been fool (and will be continue to) be fooled by my vow 3 years ago on an April Fool day , and that is really something worth celebrating!!

Since we love saffron, cous cous, tagine etc etc...so, I called up a well known Moroccan Restaurant named Souk In the City, and booked for a table for 2. The moment the phone have been answer, I knew it would be an interesting night. The person on the other side of the phone, Omar, ( later we realise that he was the restaurant owner ) speak with a heavy french accent, and was overly warm and have a wicked sense of humour. When I told him that the booking was for my wedding anniversary, he promised me he will personally see to it that we'll have a wonderful night, in Morocco. For a while there I really wish we are flying to Casablanca..

The restaurant have a strong Marrakesh design, and dimly lidded with lot's of candle. It's a very romantic restaurant, perfect for our occasion. We were given a table for 2 near the front door, but instead, I eyed the corner table at the back as it's cushion seated. The waiter apologized; which he really need not, and show us to the table at the back.

May be it was a midweek dining, there wasn't many diners. Upon being seated, we're being given a rose petal shower, which was a surprise and add a lot of romantic feel to the whole dining experience!

Omar, the owner came and sit with us and suggested a few of his signature dishes. We were delighted with the personal service, perhaps, it have nothing do with the anniversary, but more towards the big DSLR on my neck!!

I ask for a garlic and fennel bread to start, and continue to browse their extensive menu. There were lot's of exciting dishes in the entree section, and I am very keen to try his signature entree, b’stilla fassia , so i ask for this dish to be served as my main instead. He happily agrees to me and suggested that I also try his new vegetarian entree. Husband choose the famous lamb tagine as his mains and pairing it with saffron rice.

We really enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant, may be it's midweek so there are not much diners, or may be it's raining so we feel very cosy in the corner table, but whatever the reason, we're in a very comfortable place!

It didn't took long before our vegetarian entree arrive, I've forgotten the exact name of this new dish. It's a roasted tomato tartlet, top with Parisian feta and shredded cabbage, and drizzle with a sweet plum sauce. The dish looks amazing and I was busy taking photos before husband can sink his fork in. Omar was very keen to look at the photos that I took, and he wanted me to e-mail him all the food photos that i took and explain that they are new menu and he wanted to put them up in his web page. No problem with me, I'm loving all the attention!!

Perisian Feta Roasted Tomato Tartlet with cabbage $14.90

The tomato tart was delicious, I love the Parisian feta, it's rich and moreish, and the shredded cabbage add a totally different dimension to the tart.


b’stilla fassia filo pastry filled with fragrant almond chicken, infused with rose water and cinnamon and served with delicate orange saffron sauce $17.90

Shortly after, the famous b’stilla fassia arrived, it was a 12 cm round disc shaped filo pastry, with "Souk" inscript on top of it. Omar waited for me to finish taking photos before he cut the filo in half for the 2 of us to share. The filo pastry was filled with fragrant little pieces of shredded chicken, with little pieces of flake almond between each layers. There was also bursting of rosewater and cinnamon in every mouthful. The whole filo was drizzle with sweet delicate orange saffron sauce. The sweet and savoury was perfectly balanced. We savour every bite, and I really have the urge to order another one until I saw the size of husband tagine!

saffron braised lamb shank tajine with boiled egg, honey, cinnamon, prunes and roasted almonds $28.90

It was 1 boiled egg, cut in half and sit on top 2 huge saffron braised lamb shank. I'm not a lamb lover, but I'm eager to try. The lamb was soft as soft can be, and the sauce was sweetened with honey and cinnamon. Like all Moroccan tagine, there are also some whole prunes accompanying the sauce. It's another dish where the sweet and savoury was held perfectly balanced. Husband also pay much attn to the golden saffron rice, which he used it all up to mop the lamb sauce.

Saffron Rice $4.90

We were very sure we wanted dessert even though we were both already full. Perhaps it's a tad too early to say goodbye to such a beautiful restaurant. We were a bit surprise when Omar said there are no dessert menu available yet because he is still in the process of renewing his menu, but before disappointment hit us, he do serve dessert, just without the menu! Phew!!

There are only 2 selection available, the Moroccan pudding or the dessert testing plate. Of course we opt for the later. It was a totally of 5 different desserts, presented on a longish platter. We were eager to dig into the fast melting house made saffron ice-cream, hence the poor quality of photo! The ice-cream was so delicious and very unusual, and it was no doubt, our favourite. I also favour the millie fuille a lot.

5 diffrent types of dessert: $30

chocolate truffle cake scented with rosewater

mini Mille Fuille

House saffron ice-cream

strawberry mousse

cinnamon panna cotta




We really enjoy the night, but we really need to stop somewhere!! As the rain starts to drizzle again, we wave Omar goodbye, and brave into the fourth year of marriage.

Souk In the City

5/431 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

www.soukinthecity.com