DENGON NET

少し足を運ばなかったら、いつも間にか知らない店になっていたなんてこともしばしば起こるメルボルン。店の入れ替わりが激しい中、1970年から人々に愛されるギリシャ料理店Tsindosがある。太陽の恵みをたっぷり受けた旬の食材の良さをシンプルに引き出すのがギリシャ料理の特徴。栄養豊富で食べれば元気になれそうだ。今回はギリシャの代表的な料理を中心にいただいた。

まずは温かいMezeを代表するSaganaki。「小さなフライパン」という意味で、名前の通り小さなフライパンを熱してチーズを溶かした料理。塩気が強いので、大量に食べるわけにはいかないが、つまみとしてみんなでシェアするのにピッタリ。これは、お酒が進みそう。

Saganaki $14

続いては、冷たいMezeからMixed DipsとPita Bread。Dipは魚の卵を使ったTarama、ナスがメインのMelinzanosalata、ヨーグルトとキュウリのTzatzikiの3種。Taramaは、塩分控えめでとってもクリーミー。オリーブオイルを使っているが、重くないのでいくらでも食べられそうだ。個人的に好きなMelinzanosalataは、ほんのりスモーキーなナスに程好くチャンキーな玉ねぎが入っていて、クリーミー過ぎないところが気に入った。Tzatzikiは、微かなハーブの風味が清涼感をもたらす。Dipが好きで、メイン料理の前につい食べ過ぎお腹いっぱいに…という悲しい過ちを繰り返す。今回はメインのことも考えてセーブしつつ食べたのだが、3つのDipのバランスが絶妙でやっぱり食べ過ぎてしまった。

Mixed Dips $14 and Pita Bread $2.5

メインには、伝統的なギリシャ料理のKlefitiko。オリーブオイルとレモンでマリネした骨付き羊肉を野菜と一緒に紙で包み、時間を掛けて蒸し焼きにしたシンプルで素材の鮮度がものを言う料理。素材の味がググッと引き出された滋味深い味わいになっていて、ボリュームたっぷりだが、くどくないのがうれしい。野菜には肉の旨みがしっかりと染み込み、肉はホロリと骨から離れて柔らかい。このメニューは水・金・土曜日だけの限定メニューなので、食べたい人は曜日に注意して。

Klefitiko $32

海の幸からは、にんにくの香りが食欲をそそるGarides。プリッとした海老とにんにくの組み合わせは、間違いなしのおいしさ。さっとレモンをかければまた違った味わいを楽しめる。キーンと冷えた白ワインと相性が良さそう。ちなみに付け合せの野菜Hortaは、青菜の総称だとか。こんな料理を、エメラルドグリーンに輝く海を眺めながら食べたら最高だろうな。ギリシャが地中海に面した国だと改めで思わせるひと皿。

Garides $34

市内中心地にあり、便利なロケーション。こってりした味付けではなく、食材の魅力をうまく引き出した王道のギリシャ料理を楽しむのにピッタリな店。2階席もあるので、パーティーなどに利用しても。ギリシャ式に、気の合う仲間とゆっくり語らいながら召し上がれ。ごちそうさまでした。

Simple cuisine that brings the ingredients to life

Living in Melbourne, there are plenty of times when you visit a regular haunt after a few weeks' break and find it gone. However, while some restaurants come and go with startling regularity, there are others, like Greek establishment Tsindos (founded in 1970), that build up a loyal clientele and manage to stick around. Greek cuisine specialises in simple dishes that make the most of the season's ingredients, meaning it's highly nutritious and helps boost energy levels. As a result, this month, we tried a selection of well-known Greek morsels.

First up, that most famous of Meze - Saganaki. Literally 'small frypan' in Greek, the cheese is, of course, cooked in a small pan. As it's quite salty, it's not something you can eat in large quantities, but as a snack to share with friends, it's perfect. Of course, that also means it's great with alcohol.

Next came some cold Meze in the form of Mixed Dips and Pita Bread. The dips consisted of Tarama (made with fish eggs), Melinzanosalata (made mainly with eggplant) and Tzatziki. The Tarama was low in salt and very creamy. It uses olive oil, but it's not remotely heavy and thus feels like you could eat it forever. I personally enjoyed the Melinzanosalata most, as it blended chunky onion pieces perfectly with the eggplant and wasn't cloyingly thick. As for the Taztziki, its faint herb flavour provided a fresh feeling. Given I love dips, I often make the mistake of eating too much before the main, so this time I tried to be careful. Sadly, the brilliant flavour balance of all three dips proved too tempting, and I again left too little space for the mains.

Speaking of which, we had two, starting with the traditional lamb dish Klefitiko. Marinated in olive oil and lemon, the on-the-bone lamb is wrapped, along with some vegetables, in paper and baked over several hours. It's simple, but it means the freshness of the ingredients is paramount. Thankfully, Tsindos does not disappoint: the dish extracts all the flavours of the individual components, creating a deep, rich taste, and, despite that depth of flavour, and the dish's volume, it never becomes too much. The vegetables had absorbed the lamb's meaty goodness, and the meat itself just fell off the bone. Tsindos only serves this dish on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so if you want to eat it, be careful when you go.

Our second main, Garides, went the seafood route. The mix of fresh, plump prawns and aromatic garlic is a proven winner, but squeezing lemon juice on top added another layer of flavour. Perfect with a chilled white. By the way, 'Horta' (served alongside the prawns) is a generic Greek term for green, leafy vegetables. Eating this dish overlooking a sparkling emerald sea would no doubt be incredible, and it reminds you of Greece's Mediterranean location.

With its convenient, city centre location, Tsindos is perfect for enjoying traditional Greek cuisine that makes the most of its ingredients. There's a second-storey too, which can be booked out for parties. Why not do as the Greeks do and enjoy a slow, relaxed meal there with friends or family? Gotchisousamadeshita.

Tsindos
197 Lonsdale St. Melbourne
03 9663 3194
Lunch Mon - Fri  11:30am - 3pm
Dinner Sun - Thu  5 - 10pm
           Fri - Sat  5 - 11pm
w: tsindosrestaurant.com.au