Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Eating Sambusak at the edge of the world.


I've missed my blog. It has been a month since I last wrote here. All sorts of things happened in this month most of them not so good but I'm trying to make some sort of lemonade of the lemons handed to me. The life lesson I learned once more is that good health is everything. If you and your loved ones are healthy than all else is manageable. I've been to the far ends of Earth this past month and I'll share some of my impressions with you in my upcoming posts.


Sunday is market day in Nelson, New-Zealand, just behind the town's main road, in the parking lots. I wasn't in Nelson on a holiday, far from it. Not very pleasant circumstances led me to this part of the world but on that Sunday I allowed myself to relax a little and went exploring the town's market. It was beautiful and sunny, after a streak of  cloudy wet days, (the locals said it was a very unusual summer, too chilly and wet). The market was a collection of stalls: some selling fresh produce, some selling food and there were many garage sales that sold anything under the sun for example a used pair of pink bicycles only 25 NZ$. I endeavored tasting ethnic local food and bought a loaf of Maori bread. The bread resembles a doughnut as it is deep fried. I liked it very much, reminded me of the Tunisian fricassee that I usually eat in Ramle Shuk. 
Maori bread
As I munched on my steaming loaf I suddenly noticed a food stall with a name that rang familiar: "Melamed", not a common name in NZ. I approached the stall and happily noticed it sells all the foods I like best: Middle-Eastern delicacies like pitta with za'atar and sambusak (filled savory pastry). Since I was far from home missing it terribly it was both surprising and comforting meeting a fellow country woman that managed the food stand. We chatted a bit in Hebrew. Of course we bought za'ater pitta very happily. It was a bit of home after a week without any decent hummus or tahini salad.
It never cease to amaze me how one finds Israelis everywhere in the world. Even in the town of Nelson, NZ.



I've recently read a fellow blogger very different experience in NZ, check out "Eat like a girl" impressions.


Sambusack made in New-Zealand