Off To Mecca We Went

Our 3 day hiatus from responsibility proved successful. Will and I took a mini holiday, rented a car and went (and ate and drank) where ever our hearts desired. We shopped 'til we dropped at Chadstone, boozed our way through the Mornington Peninsula, dined at the Docklands and nearly bought half of Dan Murphy's. I really feel rested enough to make it through to my next holiday from school in September, but not quite rested enough to download photos and such.

I was set of having Middle Eastern food for some reason so we headed off to Mecca Bah at Melbourne's up and coming boardwalk area, New Quay at Docklands. It'd been ages since I'd been down to the area to eat, but the yum cha places I ate at seems to have since closed...

Mecca Bah kind of lacks the individual character and personality that the majority of Melbourne restaurants seem to have, but the interior is sleek, trendy and popular with diners of all ages. You have a great view from anywhere you choose to sit, the waitstaff is attentive, the kitchen seems to run efficiently and the menu is comfortably 'arabesque'. The menu as a whole isn't that vegetarian friendly, but the silverbeet rolls (which were unavailable) and fatoush are well worth trying. For entrees we settled on the dips and Turkish bread, which included hummus, tatziki and babaganoush. Nothing spectacular, but the the smokiness and creaminess of the babaganoush was enough to keep me spreading lashings of it the Turkish bread until my main came. For vegetarians, there were only two options: tagine or Turkish pizza. I don't think the tagine at Mecca Bah could have topped what I had in Morocco, so I opted for the roast pumpkin, feta, chili and pomegranate jam pizza.

I still have visions of pomegranate dancing around in my head; the pizza was that good. It was shaped like a miniature gondola topped with a bit of rocket splashed with balsamic vinegar. The size of it just about sparked a conversation on the ever increasing portion sizes in contemporary eating establishments until I discovered that the base is nearly paper-thin. Every topping was just the right bite-size and eat mouthful was just as good as the last. The slight tartness of the pomegranate jam blew me away with the way it went so well with the saltiness of the feta and the sweetness of the roasted pumpkin. At $15 for the dish, I'd go back again just to have another bite of vegetarian deliciousness.

Thumbs for a fantastic vegetarian option that doesn't include mushrooms, risotto or a stack of vegetables.

Mecca Bah
55a Newquay Promenade
Docklands, Melbourne (next to Livebait)