Fat Pasha

A Middle Eastern take on brunch that is fresh yet familiar.

Served in a cast iron skillet, the Shakshuka Plus consisted of sweet and hot peppers, tomato, poached eggs, wild leek relish, spicy lamb meatballs, and challah bread. Confession: I don’t really like tomatoes. Fortunately, the egg yolk tempered the tartness of the soup. Everything tasted very fresh. The lamp meatballs were gamey, but not spicy.  The bits of black olives were too salty and jarring in comparison to the rest of the ingredients.

My favourite part of my brunch meal was actually a dish we shared: the 1/2 Head Roast Cauliflower, covered in tahini, pomegranate, skhug, zaatar pita crumbs and accompanied by fried eggs. The cauliflower was unbelievably flavourful thanks to the roasting, and the sauce complemented it perfectly. Surprisingly, the pomegranate seeds did not distract the tongue. The green sauce was addictive. 

A close second in the race for my love was the Nutella Babka Bread Pudding, which I reluctantly agreed to order, because I was full. The Nutella came through strongly in the bread pudding, which was not too sweet. The bread pudding came with maple syrup, halva, yoghurt and hazelnuts. That is a scoop of cheese on top of the bread pudding, and not ice cream. The cheese was tart on its own, but when combined with the sweetness of the bread pudding and maple syrup, the end result was a flavour explosion in the mouth.

★ ★ ★ ★

Fat Pasha, 414 Dupont Street, Toronto, Ontario

Dined May 2014 – Junggugeo Kaenada