Mixed Dips – Tzatziki, Tarama, Split Pea, Olive Paste and Smoked Eggplant served with Pacimadia seasoned with sesame seeds and oregano, Mixed Pickles – Cabbage, Mushroom and Octopus, BBQ Marinated Artichokes

Brace yourselves. It could only be described as a feast of epic proportions. I lost count of just how many dishes we went through at the Tweetup dinner at Perama Restaurant in Petersham, but I think the official figure was about thirty-five. Head Chef David Tsirekas fed us until we were full to bursting with his banquet menu and other dishes, and all the wine we could manage, all for an unbelievable $50 per person. I was a little unfamiliar with Greek food but I can now say that I am converted.

Greek Salad – Dressed with Cretan Minos Olive Oil, Deep Fried Haloumi

This Greek Salad was far and away the best I’ve ever had, with a generous slab of creamy fetta. I also loved the deep-fried haloumi, and I had quite a few of these. The texture is so unique and lends well to being fried.

BBQ Haloumi Cheese – Char-grilled Cypriot haloumi cheese served with chopped tomato, olive paste and honey peppered figs, Graviera Crumbed Halloumi– Crumbed Haloumi and green tomato served with frisee leaf, capers, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate vinaigrette, Hand Rolled Spinach Filo Pie

More haloumi, a real treat as I love it. The honey peppered figs were absolutely beautiful and this was one of the dishes I liked best. The filo pie with spinach was also delicious with amazingly crispy and perfectly cooked filo pastry and a tasty filling. I didn’t get to try the Manouri salad but it’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to about going back to Perama. Yes, you heard right, even after this onslaught of food, we are definitely planning a return visit.

Filo Pastries – Danish White and Ricotta cheese, shredded lamb and white bean, rabbit stifatho and scallop and prawn. Sheftalies (Pork Sausage) & Chilli Mussels

Vine Dolmathes, Giouvesti Goat

An interesting addition to the banquet was the Giouvesti Goat, an experiment that David did in raising a goat for 3 months fed on beer and chestnuts, based on the same principle of raising Kobe Beef. Steph and I began referring to it as the ‘Magical Goat’ (“would you like some more Magical Goat?”). I had only tried goat meat once before and this was completely different and so much better. It was a delicious dish, a real treat to get to taste the end result of such an interesting experiment!

Hand Rolled Pumpkin Filo Pie – Baked hand rolled filo and pumpkin pie served with a roasted beetroot, leek and mustard puree, Zucchini Fritters, Bean Salad

Rustic Chips with Ouzo Mayonnaise, Fried Calamari – Calamari served with ouzo garlic mayonnaise, Pork Belly Baklava – Layers of flaky filo pastry, pork belly meat, date and pistachios, 
topped with crispy crackling and served with a date and mastic sauce

The chips were quite nice but I was a little undecided about the ouzo mayonnaise. In theory it sounds fantastic but personally I am not much of a fan of aniseed or Ouzo so I think the others may have enjoyed it more than I did. The pork belly baklava however was a masterpiece with so many flavours and textures working together in harmony.

Lamb Skaras – Slow braised lamb shoulder with oregano, olive oil, wine and garlic, served with baked oregano lemon potatoes and string beans, Roast Duck with cumin spiced quince and served with wilted greens, Lamb Kleftiko (Casserole)

I really loved the Lamb Skaras, and even though I was getting pretty full by this point I kept coming back for more and more of this delicious slow cooked lamb. The roast duck was lovely with the quince, but may have been just slightly overcooked. I didn’t get to try the Lamb casserole, but it was presented to us in a lovely way, the waiter cut open the paper at the table and told us a little story about how the Greeks used to cook this dish during the War of Independence.

Caramel Baklava Ice Cream, Mandarin Bougatsa, Ekmek, Kalamata Baklava

And finally, it was time for dessert! The caramel baklava layered between creamy vanilla ice cream was delicious, and went perfectly with the mandarin bougatsa, which had a lovely custard and mandarin segments inside the pastry, and this dish was one of my favourites from the night. I didn’t get a photo of the olive oil ice cream but that was also a surprise highlight and I am looking forward to trying to replicate this recipe at home with some good quality olive oil. The Kalamata Baklava and kalamata mascarpone ice cream did indeed have olives in them. I was a little undecided about this dish, though if you like your olives I think it’s safe to say you’ll love this one.

Another delicious dessert was the Ekmek, which was brioche soaked in syrup and served with cream. Steph loved it so much she went home and made her own version! There was also a nice rhubarb rice pudding and poached pears in red wine syrup that I didn’t manage to snap photos of on the night.

It was a great night with an awful lot of amazing food for an unbeatable price. I would definitely come back for more, but next time I think I’ll skip lunch beforehand.