Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Koshari Korner puts Egypt's national dish on the map

Koshari Korner puts Egypt's national dish on the map

The national dish of Egypt, koshari is made up of many elements, including spiced tomato sauce, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas, rice and deeply fried onions. It is deeply delicious, but it's also a dish best left to the professionals, such as Walid El Sabbagh who runs Koshari Korner.

It's here that he draws on a recipe from his grandmother, whose kitchen in Alexandria, Egypt, is where El Sabbagh learnt how to cook. His version of koshari is flavoured with garlic vinegar, topped with fried onion flakes and comes with extra chilli oil if you need some heat. But it's already punchy and satisfying without it.

El Sabbagh didn't set out to sell koshari in Australia, he's a marine engineer by trade. But when he arrived in Sydney in 2015, he couldn't find any work in that field, despite five years of international experience. People only wanted to hire someone with locally acquired skills.


Koshari Korner has the compact appearance of a food truck, but it packs a lot in.  


After being advised by the NSW government's Small Biz Connect program, El Sabbagh came up with the idea for Koshari Korner. He first launched it as a market stall at an Eid event, and it gained a permanent location last May in Marrickville.

It has the compact appearance of a food truck, but El Sabbagh has packed a lot into its small footprint, with a cleverly maximised kitchen that serves up an extensive menu of Egyptian street food, including falafel that's super crunchy on the outside, while impressively soft and herb-green on the inside.

Unlike other parts of the Middle East (where falafel is formed from mashed chickpeas), Koshari Korner's version is made with broad beans, which is how they do it in El Sabbagh's homeland.


The tomato-rich shakshuka comes with tofu instead of eggs. 


Add some to your koshari order – or better still, get a mixed platter, so it's served with wonderfully fried eggplant, bracing pickles, green salad, tahini dip and a stack of flatbread you'll happily envelope around these ingredients.

Koshari Korner also serves ful, another popular Egyptian staple made from mashed broad beans. It's translated from his grandmother's recipe and, like everything else on the menu, it's vegan. El Sabbagh didn't engineer this to be trendy – it actually reflects how he grew up eating.

"Egyptian street food is already vegan," he says. "Meat is very expensive."

That said, he's tweaked certain dishes to make them plant-based – his tomato-rich shakshuka comes with tofu instead of eggs and his vegan cashew baklava relies on coconut butter and a light syrup to create that trademark finger-coating stickiness, without being too intensely sweet.

The drinks are well-modulated, too: the Turkish coffee is like a good filter brew that's spiced with cardamom, while his rosewater hot chocolate is floral and delicious without being overloaded with sugar.

Koshari Korner's lo-fi set-up might leave you slightly exposed – and with the odd raindrop landing in your coffee – as you dine in its outdoor seating area, but it doesn't matter as El Sabbagh is incredibly personable.


The vegan baklava relies on coconut butter and a light syrup. 


(But should you prefer eating his dukkah-seasoned hot chips on your couch while wearing sweatpants, you can get his food home-delivered, too.)

People will travel great distances to eat at Koshari Korner, with diners arriving from the Blue Mountains and Wollongong. It's not surprising: the food is good and it means something – it's a tribute to El Sabbagh's grandmother, even though she's passed away.

"When I cook, I remember her," he says. "When you do something with love, people remember it."


The low-down

Koshari Korner

Where: Addison Road Community Centre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville, kosharikorner.com

Main attraction: Excellent Egyptian street food with a vegan focus

Must-try dish: The signature koshari – load it up with extra falafel and fried eggplant or go for the mixed platter.

Instaworthy dish: The mixed platter or the gloriously sticky vegan baklava 

Drinks: From $3 for espresso to $8 for Turkish delight smoothie with almond milk

Prices: From $2.50 for vegan cashew baklava to $22 for a mixed platter with the works: koshari, falafel, salad and pickles, tahini and flatbread. 

Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×