Merrylands Culinary Tour: Exploring Afghan, Syrian, and Persian Flavours

Embark on a unique culinary adventure in Merrylands, Australia, and explore the vibrant flavors of Afghan, Syrian, and Persian cuisines. Discover the rich cultural heritage and hear inspiring stories of resilience and hope from the local business owners.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Granville Park Montrose Avenue, Merrylands - In the Merrylands Tour you will explore the tastes and cultures of Afghanistan and Persia. Enjoy dishes lovingly prepared, and shared with you by the newest Australians. Traditional recipes have come on long journeys from homes in Afghanistan and Persia (Iran), brought to keep homelands alive in hearts and bellies.
What's Included
  • Accompanied by a local guide
  • Inclusive of breakfast
  • Lunch provided
  • Snacks throughout the day
  • Enjoy food tastings
  • Tea and coffee available
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Merrylands is a melting pot for many recently arrived Australians, some of whom have sought refuge from their native lands. This excursion will reveal to you the delicious culinary secrets they are eager to share.
You’ll explore the rich tastes of Syria, Afghanistan, and the delicacies of Persia, including its distinctive use of dried limes and saffron….

Location
Al Shami Restaurant
Railway Terrace
We meet at Al Shami Restaurant at 102/106 Railway Terrace. It is across from the Merrylands train station. You will find our guide waiting for you in a yellow T-shirt. Please arrive 15 minutes before the tour start time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(186 Ratings)
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O4817mtgregh
Oct 8, 2024
Brilliant! - A brilliant experience, made all the richer by our wonderful guide, Latife. She was personable, knowledgeable, passionate about her subject matter, and had some very nice touches to the tour, such as providing us with tea and "mystery tastings". I would strongly recommend this tour to all comers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
209kyliek
Sep 2, 2024
DELICIOUS, GENEROUS, ENRICHING - Thank you very much to our brilliant guide Sahar of Taste Tours - I had an excellent time learning about delicious Syrian, Afghan and Persian food and culture. The brunch of fattah and foul mudamas at Al Shami was absolutely delicious, so fresh, light and comforting. I loved meeting the head chef/co-owner Ali Snoubar, whose love for his culture, I could taste in the food. Also enjoyed the silky, velvety, flavoursome Afghan lamb mantou, tikka palaw and bora banjan at Kabul House, and the freshly baked Afghan bread at Green Wheat Afghan Bakery was a treat. Your compelling storytelling, generosity of spirit and warm-heart combined with such beautiful food and fascinating food store stops along the way made for an enriching and highly informative experience. Thank you Sahar, I look forward to going on another one of your wonderful Taste Tours, Kylie Kwong
Review provided by Tripadvisor
23trudif
Sep 2, 2024
Intersting food tour - The food was delicious and so interesting to find out the origins of food and the restaurants. Our guide Sahar was wonderful :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sue
Aug 21, 2024
Fabulous experience - The food was fabulous & different to what we normally have. Our tour guide was knowledgeable & a gorgeous & interesting person too.
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Gregh04
Aug 19, 2024
A great tour - Really great mix of places and food. Farhad was n excellent guide with the added bonus of hearing her story of escape and resettlement. An amazing and woman
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bookshopgirl54
Aug 19, 2024
MUST DO EXPERIENCE FOR LOCALS AND TOURISTS - Fabulous, fabulous tour. What a marvellous way to step into another culture and experience the food, customs and have great conversations. Our tour guide was a mine of information and was happy to tell her story of how she came to live in Australia - a young woman of great strength and her inspirational story moved us all. A tip - don't eat before you go on this tour! We had a full breakfast and lunch and other tastes along the way. I'll certainly be booking another tour. I'm not going to post photos because it will spoil the surprises that you will experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P214nplindan
Aug 11, 2024
Fantastic! A fascinating cultural experience combined with the best food! - This tour was absolutely wonderful. We did Taste of Afghanistan and Syria, and we're already planning to work our way through all the tours. Our guide Sahar was warm, knowledgeable and generous, and created a welcoming and very special environment. As a non-profit social enterprise Taste Tours creates job opportunities for people who have come th Australia as migrants and refugees, They also 'mystery shop' to find venues and shops that are consistently excellent. The restaurants are paid the price that's on the menu, so the tours support locally run businesses as well as offering us an insight into the vibrant communities that make up Australia. And the food was soooo delicious and plentiful - I didn't eat for the rest of the day, and most of us took home the leftovers!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Judih51
Jul 30, 2024
Another fascinating side of Sydney. - Great variety of restaurants and shops visited. Food delicious and all shop premises impeccably clean and organised. Tour leader very pleasant and helpful, giving a lot of extra information on Syrian, Iranian and Afghani cultures and their food.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wcharng
Jul 17, 2024
An insightful and enjoyable experience. It was definitely worth doing. - Our guide Sahar was very informative and helpful. The foods we tried were all great, and gave us a good overview of Afghan and Syrian cuisines. The visits to 2 grocery stores were also very interesting, which showed us a variety of food stuffs that we had not seen before and would like to try now. We very much enjoyed our experience of the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J636wkgaryp
Jul 16, 2024
Tempt your taste buds. - This was a lovely way to spend a Sunday. The Syrian restaurant for starters (excellent) then a walk to a a couple of grocery stores and a bakery and on to the Afghan restaurant for a sumptuous lunch. Finally, dessert at a Persian patisserie, and all this was accompanied by expert commentary and explanation from our guide. A leisurely and filling experience - highly recommend. We will return for more in the near future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $76
up to 12 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).