Perama, Petersham: A Greek lesson in gluttony

Split Pea dip: who would’ve thought there’d be 30+ dishes after this!

Meeting fellow food bloggers is so commonplace nowadays, that it's inevitable that we would start meeting fellow twitterers. And that is how fifteen of us came together at Perama in Petersham for what ended up being a hedonistic explosion of gluttony. Thanks to Fridley, we scored one hell of a feast with unlimited beverages – all for a mere $50 per head.

I admit I didn’t wholly appreciate Greek cuisine before tonight but after this orgy of a banquet, I’m now a changed woman. Adephagia (my kindred goddess of gluttony) has nothing on me.

Crusty Bread

Let me count it for you; fifteen people, 25 different entrées, tasting plates, mains and five different desserts. And some of them looked liked a meal for two. There were at least five more that I missed out on at my end of the table so the grand total came to around 35 dishes and about five hours of eating! We were warned not to eat so much during the day and I took it to heart – only ingesting one cup of soup to cure 3:30itis. If I knew what Perama was going to feed us, I would’ve placed my stomach in storage for a week. A feast is a severe understatement, my friends.

Mixed Dips: tzatziki, tarama (taramosalata), smoked eggplant, split pea and olive paste 
served with paximadia seasoned with white sesame seeds and oregano - $13.50

As people slowly arrived, we nibbled on crusty bread and a platter of mixed dips (oh how I loved the tzatziki and the smoky eggplant!). If the others didn’t remind me of the unnecessary carbs (i.e. stomach filler), I would’ve polished off the whole thing and licked the dip plates clean. Good thing I didn’t touch the Greek Salad.

Greek Salad (dressed with Cretan Minos extra virgin olive oil) - $11

Then it began. Plates of Ouzomezedakia (tasting plates) arrived. At our end of the table, we enjoyed the glorious tang of the pickled cabbage, pickled mushrooms, pickled octopus and BBQ marinated artichokes while others such as the vine dolmathes were very well received.

Clockwise from top-left: Pickled Mushrooms ($5), BBQ Marinated Artichokes ($5.50), Pickled Octopus ($6.50), Pickled Cabbage ($4)

Vine Dolmathes - $7.50

Rustic Grandmas Chips - $5

Apparently we missed out on the stuffed roasted eggplant (Imambaldi), deep fried haloumi (how did this happen?!), Graviera Crumbed Haloumi and the hand rolled Macedonian Filo Spinach Pie. My blame rests on the people sitting in the middle of the table who must’ve stopped the flow of food and kept it for themselves. Hey I might've done the same thing if I was sitting there!

Zucchini Fritters - $5.50 (cheers to Leona for her fabulous hands!)

Greek Meatballs

The entrées were a highlight in particular the pork belly baklava. The dessert-like sweetness of the date and mastic sauce was sublime with the light crunch of the crispy, flaky filo and the unmistakable flavour of pork. Everybody must’ve agreed as I heard the groans travel down the length of our table.

Pork Belly Baklava: layers of filo pastry, pork belly meat, date and pistachios topped with crackling and served with a date and mastic sauce - $17.80

Chilli Black Mussels: cooked in a white wine, coriander and tomato sauce and served with a currant and pistachio pilaf - $17.50

My favourite dish of the night had to be the BBQ Haloumi Cheese served with an olive paste and gorgeous honey peppered figs. I adore grilled haloumi and this love was just taken up a few notches when eaten with the sweet, sticky figs, which were cooked perfectly as to retain a slight crunch. Oh the restraint it took not to finish the whole thing off! I did ask how many more dishes were to come so I could gauge just how much haloumi and fig I could ingest.

BBQ Haloumi Cheese: chargrilled Cypriot haloumi cheese served with freshly chopped tomato & shallot, olive paste and honey peppered figs - $17.20

Of course there was the rest of the entrée menu to plough on through. Are you all getting full yet? Because we’re just getting started!

Fried Calamari: Lightly floured calamari deep fried and served with an ouzo garlic mayonnaise - $17

BBQ Lamb’s Liver: chargrilled & served with straw string beans & split pea dip. - $15

Mixed Filo Pastries: Danish white and ricotta cheese, shredded lamb and white bean, 
rabbit stifatho and scallop and prawn - $16.80

I love anything wrapped in filo and these pastries were incredibly moreish.

Lahanika Loukoumathes: Asparagus, shallot stems, oyster mushrooms, 
zucchini and white yam dipped in a yeast batter, 
deep fried and served with a tomato and honey syrup and crushed walnuts - $15.50

It’s hard to believe that after all we ate so far; we haven’t even touched the main courses yet!

The Lamb Skaras was immensely tender and it just flaked beautifully under my fork. Refreshingly zesty with lemon, can you really refuse meat and vegetables when it’s the middle of winter?

Lamb Skaras: slow braised shoulder lean lamb with oregano, olive oil, wine and garlic, then char grilled with a lemon, olive oil baste and served with baked oregano lemon potatoes and string beans - $17.70 (entrée), $28.50 (main)

Roast Duck: roasted with cumin spiced quince and served with wilted greens - $32.


I gave up eating duck for years but lately the craving for duck meat has hit me hard. Perama’s was tender and sublimely matched with the quince.

Lamb Kleftiko: clay pot lamb with potatoes, olives in a spiced tomato sauce and melted kasseri cheese - $30.


Incredibly comforting and hearty, this clay pot lamb is the perfect winter fodder. It also made for some great leftovers, so says The Captain.

Handrolled Filo Pumpkin Pie: Baked village style hand rolled filo and pumpkin pie served with a roasted beetroot,
leek and mustard puree - $26

Giouvetsi Goat

This was a dish made especially for us from a goat that he fed beer and chestnuts for three months. To be honest, I wish I didn’t hear that story and I was a little uneasy about it knowing that this was a goat he cared for and eventually put to sleep. Don’t get me wrong, I love my meat but I prefer not to know where the meat actually came from. My head is very comfortable in the sand, thank you very much. But the experiment must’ve been successful as the goat meat was so tender. Another perfect winter dish (just don’t tell me where it came from!).

Bizelia: casserole of peas cooked with tomatoes and herbs - $6

We couldn’t believe our ears when one of the waiters told us that Chef David Tsirekas wanted us to try more and there were still dishes on the menu that he wanted to send out. Later as I found out, there was Lobster Moussaka! Oh my gawd, why couldn’t that come out first! I suppose this just means we’ll have to go back again. Crying for mercy, we had to put a stop to the flow of savoury dishes, as we really wanted to try the desserts without killing ourselves.

(foreground) Caramel Baklava Ice Cream: Sliced layers of vanilla bean ice cream, caramel sauce and baklava.
(background) Bougatsa: mandarin flavoured milk semolina custard wrapped in filo. 
Served with a tahini and mint cream sauce (both $13.50 each)

Photos had to taken quickly as this gorgeous ice cream will wait for nobody. And everybody else on the table didn’t want to either! There’s nothing more I can say about it without sounding like a lovesick fool, but darn it…I’m in love! Especially when eaten with the Bougatsa. Oh. My. God.

Kalamata Baklava: Chopped almonds with sugared kalamata olives and shredded mixed citrus peels served with a kalamata and mascarpone ice cream - $12.50

Kalamata and Marscapone Ice Cream

Normally olive and desserts would’ve raised an eyebrow or two but after enjoying the Balmain’s Pastry King offering of an olive dessert, this is now a perfectly normal combination. I loved the ambrosial baklava but the ice cream was a different story. I sent my tastebuds into shock mode when I took a bite of the Kalamata Ice Cream, as I didn’t expect it to be so salty. But I admit that the after-flavour was great once the saltiness subsided. It’s definitely an acquired taste.

But I can’t rave enough about the olive oil ice cream (unpictured). I'll take that with the Kalamata Baklava instead!

'Ekmek’: oven fired brioche soaked in a spiced sugar syrup and served with kaymaki (clotted cream) - $13

You can almost feel the girls salivating at this! How can you not? The sweet brioche was made even more wicked with the sticky, spicy sweetness of the syrup and the sugar onslaught was tempered by the cool clotted cream. I want to eat this in copious amounts, in front of a fireplace with angels singing heavenly choruses. That’s how good it was.

Rice Pudding: 
Milk, vanilla and cinnamon rice pudding served with rhubarb poached in sweet brandy syrup - $13

I’m not the biggest fan of rhubarb or rice pudding but I quite liked it. This dessert has The Captains’s name written all over it!

Pears in Red Wine Syrup: pears poached in a spiced wine syrup,
 served with fresh strained yoghurt and pasteli (sesame honey biscuit) - $13.50


It wasn’t until towards the end of the night that I finally got to try this as it was held hostage at the other end of the table! But I can’t blame them, as this one was a clear favourite amongst many. This dessert epitomises all there is to love about winter desserts.

There were some who were clutching their stomachs and one that I know of that was in real pain. The relief that this dinner, nay, this feast was over was palpable but it’s clear from the self-satisfied smiles that we were simply overfed. The Greek Gods must’ve been smiling on us tonight as I left happy and tingling - libations all round!

David Tsirekas of Perama hereby known as the Greek God of Gluttony

I still stand by the notion that given another 30 minutes or so, we could’ve started on the leftovers and still have room to try that elusive Lobster Moussaka!

Ah, the art of gluttony.

- - - - -

On an unrelated topic, I've been featured on I Eat I Drink I Work (and of course my photo just had to feature me eating, as you do!). Come check us out!

- - - - -

Read about my other feast:

• Chefs of Merivale Gala Dinner
  

Other food blogger guests (in no particular order):

• Not Quite Nigella
  
• Foraging Otaku
  
• Pigged Out
  
• I Am Obsessed With Food
  
• Raspberri Cupcakes
  
• Spicy Ice Cream
  
• The Hungry Girl
  
• Betty's Bites
  

PERAMA
88 Audley Street
Petersham, NSW 2049
(02) 9569 7534

Open Tuesday to Saturday 6- 10:30pm
B.Y.O. wine $6 per bottle.


View Larger Map