Melbourne 3000
03 9639 3444
www.krikri.com.au
I love Greek food – the flavours of lemon and thyme which make usually boring ingredients interesting, the salty fetta which ads life to a salad or savoury, the honeyed pastries that give an instant sugar hit. No, for me, Greek food is not typified by spit roasted meat
I was both eager and nervous about our big group banquet dinner at Kri Kri last week. Eager to dine at one of Melbourne’s historic Greek restaurants. Nervous that there would be nothing for me to eat.
The waiter shuffled beside the long table to find the one who had asked for the vegetarian banquet. He was then very obliging, explaining in detail the dishes he proposed to serve and checking with me that they were to my liking. Saganaki, dolmades, spanakopita, vegetables, melizanes saganaki (baked eggplant in a tomato base with fetta and olives) , salad and potatoes. It all sounded very appealing.
The spanakopites soon arrived. They were done as mini parcels with a light puff pastry casing and hot fetta and spinach inside. The meal was starting well.
Next, I was delivered a dish of stewed vegetables in a typically tangy Greek flavoured sauce. This dish was flavoursome but too concentrated on potato.
Next came the melizanes saganaki. It was delicious with a heavy tomato base, eggplant and lots of fetta. This one needed bread to balance the rich flavours and heavy texture. With a massive serve to myself (everyone else was already full by this stage), I felt bad about not being able to finish. Always looking for new ways to cook my favourite vegetable, I will be attempting to make a version of this at home.
The dessert was bougatsa – custard in puff pastry, dusted with icing sugar. It was delicious and I could not resist having two slices despite being too full.
Everyone had more than enough in the banquet, including me. The venue was perfect for a big group dinner with a pleasantly themed private room, accommodating staff and simple but enjoyable food.
