By: Phone Min Thant, Staff Writer
Last week, I had the chance to visit Fassil Ethiopian Restaurant, home to warm meals and located not too far from the hustle and bustle of the Commercial-Broadway skytrain station. It’s named after King Fassil (Emperor Fasiladas), who founded Gondar, a city in Ethiopia, after “tiring of the pattern of migration that had characterized the lifestyle of so many of his forefathers.”
As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a neat interior gracefully filled with paintings ranging from everyday Ethiopian landscapes to portraits. There were only two staff on the floor on that snowy Thursday night, and both of them welcomed me enthusiastically as soon as I entered. I was immediately entranced by the traditional Ethiopian music that played constantly from the two speakers right above the cashier corner. From the start, it felt like a warm visit to your grandparents’ house.
Once I sat down, I was given a menu and ample time and space to decide on what to get. Soon, the chefs themselves came out to greet all the tables. When I admitted this was my first time trying Ethiopian cuisine, huge smiles dawned on their faces. I was recommended to get a taste of everything, so I ordered a veggie combo, a serving of siga keye wot (beef stew with spicy sauce), and doro wot (chicken thigh stew with boiled egg, onions, garlic, and spices).
The food arrived — unexpectedly, in a huge silver platter with all my orders on it. Accompanying this platter was a plate of injera (flatbread) that was supposed to be eaten together with the stews and veggies. One thing I noticed once all the food arrived was there were no utensils. Fassil encourages the Ethiopian tradition of Gursha, which is the practice of eating using your bare hands. Understanding my unfamiliarity with Ethiopian cuisine, the staff, with their ever-appreciative courtesy, came up to my table and helped me figure out how to eat the other dishes with injera. Eating with bare hands was definitely a fun experience, and brought back many memories from my childhood back in Southeast Asia. I never thought a visit to an Ethiopian restaurant would open my eyes to the similarities in cultures and traditions from across continents.
The food itself was scrumptious, and the soft, slightly-tangy injera paired perfectly with the rich, spicy stews so much so that the plate emptied before I realized it. But fret not, the silver platter earlier came with its own huge portion of injera. My favourite was the doro wot. The onion and garlic base of the stew stood in contrast to the otherwise light accompaniments of vegetables, making an interesting but suitable match.
Getting the combo was a great idea. I was able to try out so many different pairings between the veggies and the two meat dishes — the combination of beef stew and chickpeas comes in a close second. Both meat dishes were unbelievably tender. The tiniest of pressure from your hand will break the chunks apart. Overall, the flavours were rich, spice-heavy, tangy, and heartwarming. My only regret was not being able to try their asa tibs (fried spiced basa fillet), mostly because the portions were already pretty huge even without it. Their menu also has a wide variety of drinks so don’t forget to grab a beverage to wash it all down! And the best part? You won’t have to break the bank. The combo with two meat dishes only came down to $50, and I got both dinner and takeout for days.
Fassil is an ideal place, whether you want to have a quiet dinner trying out a cuisine you have never had before, or want to split a huge meal with your friends. I do recommend going with friends though, because you are definitely going to need help breaking down the huge portions of food. I found this out the hard way. Plus, it is more fun when everyone is digging into the same platter recommending radically different combinations to each other — truly practicing Gursha without having to visit Ethiopia (yet). Dining at Fassil was such an unforgettable experience, and I can’t wait to go back.
