I believe in karma-of all kinds including and not limited to strange things such as karma of lifts. For not having a license for several decades means that I have gotten several lifts over the years and I probably owe the universe several thousand. So when I was confirming plans to meet with Laura at Janani she mentioned that she didn’t have her car. I offered to pick her up and drive her there in Purdie the Prius.

Slowly I fought my way through peak hour city traffic where I tried to find the lane markings which were slick and glistening with what looked like oil. We finally made it to Janani with a combination of the GPS and Laura’s instructions and fell upon it gratefully.

Laura is a regular here and she and her friend NQN reader Maddie have been going here for years so she gets a warm greeting when we enter. “I always order the same thing so let’s order weird things tonight and let’s order lots of food!” she says eagerly. We peruse the plastic coated pages and start at the drinks. The two owners, a husband and wife team are here 7 days a week and the wife answers any questions we have about the menu items.

Faludha $6 on left and Butter milk on right $3.50

The closest description of the faludha is a thick, rose scented milkshake drink with scoops of kulfi ice cream and faludha seeds. It’s is sweet, thick and delicious without being too overpowering with rose. In contrast is the butter milk-not buttermilk, the by product of butter making, but an entirely different entity. Here they blend coriander, curry leaves, cumin seeds and ginger with milk and serve it cold. It’s unusual and definitely savoury and your brain, especially after having the faludha thinks  “No” but when yo think of it like a cold soup like a gazpacho through a straw then it tastes better. It’s kind of like the first time I tried a salty lassi or ayran. Now I love them both but the first time I didn’t.

Ginger Milk tea $3.50

“That’s three drinks right?” she asks us and we both nod. I always love going out to dinner with people that love to sample a lot. The ginger milk tea is my favourite of the drinks, not just for it’s warming properties on this cold and wet night but once I add a couple of teaspoons of sugar it gives a bit of spicy, milky sweetness that is like a little hug.

Chicken 65 $8

“Don’t ask me what Chicken 65 means” the wife says to us laughing. “What does it mean?” we ask. They say  that it is called that because it has been made since 1965. The dish is made up of tender pieces of chicken marinated in what looks like a spicy yogurt marinade and grilled until juicy and charred on the edges. It’s similar to a Tandoori chicken in smaller, bite sized pieces.

Hopper: coconut milk and jaggery $3.50

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There could probably be reams of paper wasted on how hopeless I am at following directions. Even though the eatery 13B has the very street number in the lane, I was the person looking around confused and scowling with a facial expression that reads “Where is that damn place?”.

I finally figure out where I am and enter the black walled and small eatery with some quirky, whimsical touches. The lunch menu has a total of 14 items including some version of pizzas and sandwiches which do sound awfully good. But me I’m just besotted by the current slider and mini burger trend and the fact that the burgers come with fries (which I feel all burgers really should). Formerly called The Safe House it has been renamed to 13B because of course that is the number where it sits on Burton Street in Darlinghurst (not that that helps me). There are black walls and ornate gold candlesticks and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm.

Chai $6

The chai tea comes in a teapot with a milky loose leaf Elmstock chai tea. I had to ask for the honey which was quickly furnished and a teaspoon was all I needed for a sweet, aromatic cup of milky chai.

Mini burgers $13

The burgers come out on toasted slightly hard buns with a herbed pork and veal mince which is moist and juicy like a sausage mince filling with a good amount of garlickly aioli sauce, caramelised onions for sweetness, tomato, lettuce and melted tasty cheese. They’re very good and even though I only meant to eat one of these I ate both quite happily. The only thing that I would possibly change is the buns to be a softer bun as they were a little harder to bite into. The chips are more oven baked wedges which have just the right amount of seasoning via some rosemary and salt on top.

Prawn risotto $18

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It wasn’t a great morning. It started as all ungreat mornings do with a  6am wake up call and a loud groan coming from me.  The internet went down as it seems wont to do lately and I cursed irritatedly. I was running late so I contemplated driving into the city for a breakfast event but parking would be a bother. My stomach, awoken unexpectedly started to protest and growl in hunger as if to say “What have you done to me?”.

And then I stopped myself. I was definitely having first world problems and the irony was that I was on my way to the media launch of a pop up restaurant that was designed to address a community issue and help a sector of society: refugees. The idea of setting up a restaurant that helped train former refugees interested in entering the hospitality industry was that of 22 year old Elle Formica she was mentored by actress Mirando Otto and her entry was chosen by the public to be brought to fruition. The original idea called Room For Thought was from American Express and is part of their Realise Your Potential campaign.

The restaurant is open for a mere three days and is located in the centre of the Sydney CBD. The idea behind the location and idea was to humanise and make the refugee situation more real for the public and doing it through food which is a common interest. Apart from a community project there is a fashion project with fashion category winner Kate Applegarth and mentor Peter Alexander and music category winner Dee Dimmick paired with musician Paul Mac and each of the three winners will get the venue for a three day period. Each category mentor selected the three finalists and it was up to the public to choose the ultimate winner in each category via facebook votes.

Community mentor Miranda Otto

Fashion mentor: Peter Alexander

Music mentor: Paul Mac

The restaurant on the ground floor is a Sudanese restaurant that seats 30 people and on the top floor is a Burmese themed restaurant which seats about 20 people with the centre level being the kitchen. The two cuisines were chosen as the two countries are in the top 10 of refugees coming into Australia. Elle tells us that she researched the cuisines and visited restaurants in Sydney that specialised in these cuisines as well as soliciting input from the refugees themselves. She tells us that she liked the idea of doing this in the CBD as it would expose people to these cuisines which may be unknown to them or not available in the CBD area. They also have professional waitstaff so that diners can stop and talk to the former refugees if they want.

The Burmese themed restaurant upstairs

All of the food has a suggested donation amount so that you can pay what you feel is appropriate but even the suggested donations are a very reasonable price with a three course dinner having a suggested donation of $20 or a lunch dish for $10. The suggested donations go back to training for the refugees on location and extra RSA certifications and all gratuities are donated to the UNHCR Famine Relief. A surprising challenge according to Miranda Otto was sourcing camel meat-they wanted local but unfortunately camels are a little scarce in NSW and they had to scratch that idea. The menu is a feature too-it is printed on seeded paper, you can soak it in water until soft and then plant it in a pot or in the ground and it should germinate in 7-12 days and should grow to become a Swan River daisy. Also the placemats have a background story and photo of the staff.

Roasted peanut biscuit (Sudan); Spiced orange syrup and pistachio cakes (Sudan) and Fenugreek and currant cookies (Burma)

I had to be honest, I thought that the food would be more a secondary consideration and the experience and idea behind it was the real attraction but I was very pleasantly surprised by the food. We get to try a good range of food from the menu. We start off with some items from the breakfast and afternoon tea menu which is available from 7:30am-11:30am and 4pm-6pm. There are biscuits and sweet morsels just begging for a cup of tea and I think they’re more of morning tea items than breakfast items. The roasted peanut biscotti has a lovely flavour which I prefer to almond biscotti and would be great dipped in a cup of tea or coffee. The spiced orange syrup and pistachio cakes are moist and sweet and very moreish and the fenugreek and currant cookies from Burma look just like those currant cookies you would get in a box of assorted biscuits yet the fenugreek lends a lovely, unexpected flavour to them.

Lunch & dinner main course: Spicy goat stew with black eye beans, spinach and white rice (Sudan)

The lunch meals are served between 12pm-3pm and we start with the goat stew was slow cooked until the goat was soft and it was served with black eye beans, cashews, tomato, spinach and had a rich, robust flavour to it. It is paired with some brown rice which is sticky and wetter than I’ve had but I don’t actually mind it with the stew.

Lunch & dinner main course: Steamed fish fillets with coconut, tamarind and peanuts (Burma)

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