Moroccan food is extensively flavoured with spices such as cumin, aniseeds, tumeric, cinnamon, coriander, and paprika. What I love about the Moroccan cuisine is its lovely blend of textures and flavours... the unique contrast of sweet and savoury. Sumac Restaurant is spectacular in highlighting its cultural essence, from the dimmed lighting, to their fancy glass ornaments. The colourful mosaic tile design even extends to the toilets!

Each plate held a napkin which was wrapped tightly together with a bracelet of antique looking beads. And every time someone arrived, it was inevitable that they tried to squeeze their wrist into it.

Rennae and I shared the soft-shell crab which was so tasty! It was served with a salad of cucumber and coriander, and dressed in a mixture of lemon juice, garlic, cumin, saffron and peppers.

cumin battered soft-shell crab with chermoula dressing

selection of dips and breads

chargrilled grain fed beef fillet, zaatar potatoes, chakchouka and asparagus

chicken tagine: chicken, apricots, preserved lemons, olives, potatoes, almonds and couscous

I had the duck as my main dish. The duck was coated with a coarse mixture of pistatios, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, macadamia nuts and sesame seeds, then panfried to a perfect pink, and the falafel cake was rich and crunchy. This was topped up with a sweet pilaf which was a heavenly marriage of figs and caramelised onion.

panfried duck breast, falafel cake, caramelised onion & fig pilaf and pistachio dukkah

seafood paella for two: seafood, chorizo sausage, quail, peas, peppers and saffron

fish of the day: panfried, with roast vegetables, beetroot taramasalata and fried wine leaves

Although some did complain of the small portions, I thought my meal was splendid...

Sumac Restaurant
The Promenade, Harbourside
Darling Harbour

Phone: 9281 2700
Web: www.sumacrestaurant.com.au