Pharaoh – Dani Valent
 

Falafel fries and dips. Photo: Eddie Jim

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219 High St Northcote, VIC 3070

My score: 3.5/5

Stop everything. There’s a new chip in town. “Falafries” have landed! And just like many genius creations, these falafels in the shape of squiggly fries seem blindingly obvious now that they’re real.

This revolutionary creation comes from Khaled Sherbini, an Egyptian restaurateur who has been at 219 High Street for 12 years, running first a chocolate shop (Coco Loco) and then a Mexican restaurant (Papasito) on this site. He’s finally dug into the food of his heritage to open Pharaoh.

In Egypt, falafel are called ta’ameya and they’re made with dried fava beans instead of the chickpeas used for Israeli-style falafel. The key to great ta’ameya is that they’re crisp outside and fluffy within.

Pharaoh's golden hued interior.

Pharaoh’s golden hued interior. Photo: Eddie Jim

They’re a talismanic food for Sherbini, who used to eat them at the market with his extraordinary grandfather, a famous dancer, drummer, hotelier and chocolatier, as well as falafel connoisseur.

Sherbini makes his bright green ta’ameya with hand-ground beans, fresh dill and – of course – a secret ingredient he gleaned recently while kite-surfing and snacking on the Red Sea.

It’s the mix of authenticity and wild fancy that characterises Pharaoh and the falafries tell the story perfectly. The falafel mix is straight from the streets of Cairo but it’s turned into outrageously non-traditional falafries.

Koshari - lentil, macaroni and rice bake - at Pharaoh restaurant in Northcote.

Koshari – lentil, macaroni and rice bake – at Pharaoh restaurant in Northcote. Photo: Eddie Jim

Herby, hot and crunchy, they’re dipped into smooth, golden tahini that’s ground here in a steam-punky machine that Sherbini had made to his specifications in Russia. He calls it the kraken! He also mills black sesame seeds in this bespoke crusher, served as part of a snack plate with housemade wholemeal pita bread.

Sherbini is in Northcote not Cairo so we shouldn’t be surprised about his penchant for biodynamic plant-based living (the restaurant is vegetarian), nor that he filed a trademark for “cashew latte” in 2005.

That’s lapsed but Sherbini is still in love with cashews, estimating he’s handmade 150,000 litres of cashew milk, and he serves his nut “cheese” as the topping for a tasty eggplant casserole.

Eggplant casserole topped with cashew 'cheese'.

Eggplant casserole topped with cashew ‘cheese’. Photo: Eddie Jim

Koshari, often called Egypt’s national dish, is a sturdy colonial mish-mash of lentils, macaroni and rice baked in a tomato sauce. Sherbini adds chickpeas and sprinkles the dish with crisp fried onions. It’s simple, sublime comfort food.

Feeter, a many layered pastry that’s somewhere between filo, puff pastry and bliss is the kind of sweet delicacy that dessert stomachs were made for: it’s topped here with a vegan chocolate mousse bulked out with, of course, cashews.

The restaurant is beautiful, evoking 1930s art deco Cairo with a handsome walnut bar, cut glass decanters, green and gold details and an imposing hieroglyphic logo. If you ever have occasion to discuss Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, this is the place to do it. Photos of elegant relatives dot the walls, giving an inkling of the legacy Sherbini feels he’s upholding.

Layered pastry with cashews and chocolate mousse.

Layered pastry with cashews and chocolate mousse. Photo: Eddie Jim

Given that’s he’s so passionate about this food it makes sense that Khaled Sherbini is in the kitchen to make it. On the other hand, it’s a shame he’s not roaming the room to bestow the backstory on his customers.

As Pharaoh beds in, that should happen more and the grand stories of Egypt will be woven with new strands cooked up in Northcote and shared with all their warmth and spice.

First published in Good Food, 27th February 2018.

2018-03-14T20:18:39+11:00

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