Jasmins - feasting for next to nothing

This was a meal that was had some months ago and I'm now finally writing it up - looking at the photos again makes me think "yum!". We had headed out to Campsie one day to find that all our usual Campsie haunts were closed, from memory it was a public holiday weekend. So what better than to go somewhere that I'd been wanting to try for ages, Jasmins at Lakemba.

I almost felt bad, in the guilty sense, about eating here. Why? Because the food is fresh and delicious but so very cheap. Having read about Jasmins, I knew that every table gets Lebanese bread with their meal so we decided to order a couple of dishes to start and see how we went. After we placed our order, the complimentary bread basket came out along with 2 dipping sauces and a plate of fresh vegetables and pickles. The bread basket was huge and I remember thinking that we probably wouldn't even make a dent in it because there was just so much. I had also read about the Toum garlic sauce on Grab Your Fork and couldn't wait to try it so I dived right in and it was just as good as the description I'd read. The other dipping sauce was a little spicy and tasted good too but I found it hard to resist the Toum.

Lebanese bread, fresh salad and dipping sauces - all complimentary. Note the delectable Toum garlic sauce!

Then the Baba Ghannouj came out - mashed eggplant with sesame seed paste, lemon juice and garlic. It only costs $6 but it has got the most sublime smokey flavour. We couldn't stop eating it and I began to notice our pile of Lebanese bread disappearing as we kept on dipping into the Baba Ghannouj.

Then our meat dish of Kafta arrived - minced meat, parsley, onion and spices grilled on skewers for just $9. It was cooked nicely and not dry at all, the spices were just the right level to give it a nice flavour without overpowering the meat and it went really well with the rest of the food.

Baba Ghannouj - this eggplant dip was smokey heaven. Kafta - who would have thought mince could be so interesting?

We struggled by the end, giving up on the bread basket despite having gotten close to the bottom. It really was a tasty feast that cost next to nothing and I can't wait to try some more of their dips and dishes!

Don't be fooled by the simple decor, a feast awaits you inside.

What: Jasmins
Where: 30b Haldon St, Lakemba (02) 9740 3589
How much: Baba Ghannouj cost $6 and Kafta was $9