Aside from a stroll by the harbour, the second reason I was in Balmain was to try out Kazbah, a Moroccan restaurant on Darling Street. Lunch time was ludicrously busy, but we were already fascinated by the distinctly Moroccan table-setting.

Then came the colourful drinking vessels. The mint tea was gorgeous, with not only dried mint, but warm cinnamon.

Finally, the food came, and it was worth the wait. The chicken shish kebabs were so good that they disappeared in a flash. The octopus in the salad was nicely cooked but I wished we had ordered some rich lamb to balance the acidity of the lemon and feta. But the star for me was the vegetarian breakfast tagine, a wonderful concoction of pumpkin, feta, spinach and egg (among other things). The subtle spicing was wonderful, and so different from the in-your-face spicing I’m used to in Indian and South-East Asian cuisines.