A taste of Morocco in Adelaide

The beauty about cuisine is that it tells a story. It is a moment of communion: it is about exploring new flavours, awakening your senses, it is also about sharing and enjoying the moment.

One of my favourites flavourful destinations is moroccans cuisine and its couscous, tajine and all its delightful little pastries that are so popular and beloved in my home country. You see between France and Morocco, it is a long story as we share a past together and as a result of colonisation, French influence can still be found in the Moroccan fondness for cafés culture, patisserie but also in the language as French remains one of the top languages spoken fluently in Morocco. So today I want to take you on a journey by giving you a taste of Moroccan’s cuisine.

Nested on the west side of Adelaide CBD in the cute Sturt street, you will find the Tea House/Restaurant/Shop Sahara Moroccan Casbah. Every Fridays, just like in Moroccan homes, couscous will be cooked and served following the ancient traditions. This generous and very distinctive dish requires a long time preparation, love and efforts to prepare the stew as everything is fresh, homemade cooked and remember the secret lies in the broth! So traditionally couscous (semolina) would be steamed for hours in a special pot while at the same time a rich broth of vegetables, spices and meat will be prepared separately. But the beauty about this dish, using fairly simple ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, carrots, chickpeas and lamb, lies in its amazing and beautiful flavours!

Enjoying a delicious homemade couscous and a mint tea!

Stepping into the restaurant Sahara Moroccan Casbah to enjoy a traditional couscous will literally transport you in another part of the world where ancient traditions are still very much part of everyday life. One bite and you will start a flavourful journey in Marrakech following the frenetic rhythms of the market and the souks, bargaining your way for a colourful carpet, a typical pair of leather slippers or maybe one of those mesmerizing silver lanterns, tassels, tiles hanging joyfully all over the place. A second bite and you will be walking in the colourful alleyways of the village of Essaouira and its streets filled of barrels of spices, fresh baked products and beautiful aromas. Next thing you know you will be wandering on the top of the High Atlas Mountains visiting its typical Berber villages but the journey would not be complete without enjoying a traditional mint tea with some delicious homemade Moroccan pastries in the Sahara desert.

No wonder I absolutely adore the Moroccan cafés culture, sitting at the terrasse enjoying the sun

But this degustation trip would not be the same without Ali Arhbal, the owner of Sahara Moroccan Casbah, the perfect ambassador of his beautiful country: generous, warm, hospitable, friendly and always happy to have a chat in multiple languages. We actually often have a chat in French when I visit and I can’t get enough of his fresh homemade Moroccan pastries… I have always had a sweet tooth… so for me Moroccan cakes, full of honey, almond, figs, dates and orange blossom are just paradise! Besides, visiting Ali’s shop is like venturing into a souk (market) or a tea house, filled with littles gems that you can’t find nowhere else such as those beautiful glazed earthenware tajine pots or those beautiful iconic lanterns . And the best part for the Adelaideans is that you don’t have to pack your suitcase to have a taste of Morocco, its story and its people, all you need is to head to Sahara Moroccan Casbah on the South/West side of the CBD and you will be greeted by Ali with a traditional mint tea when the act of pouring is part of the culture and nearly as important as the actual drinking while conversing!

Thank you, shukran, merci Ali 🙂

 

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Sahara Moroccan Casbah,

187 Sturt St, Adelaide SA 5000

Tel. 0450 490 781

Facebook link

  • Tea House/Shop (all week)
  • Restaurant/Couscous (Fridays only – lunch time)
  • Private events/Group reservations (on request)
  • Cooking classes (on request)
  • Shop: Tajine, pots, lanterns, tiles, furnitures, decorations from Morocco

I tried the remedial massage for you

I know this girl, looking at her reflection in the mirror, thinking of the things she would like to change, judging her image, criticising, wishing she had more of this and less of that… Sounds familiar ?! When it comes to our bodies, we can be so hard on ourselves… so severe… that we tend to completely forget what our bodies do for us every single day! And the truth is that they do A LOT : these amazing machines allow us to move through life so we can experience and enjoy all it has to offer physically but also emotionally and spiritually! And true, our bodies are not perfect and we have different abilities when it comes to strengths and weaknesses but still we should learn to appreciate all the things they do for us. We should show gratitude more often to our bodies, ease their pains and assist them to accomplish all those activities that we require them to perform.

The best gift you can offer to your body is a remedial massage

Once a wise woman told me “the best gift you can offer to your body is a massage, it is important to listen to your body, release tensions and understand what is happening in you” but the problem is that there are so many types of massages to choose from: reflexology, hot stone, relaxing… that it is hard to know which one is the right fit for you! I actually spend a lot of time sitting at my desk in front of my laptop, as a result I have developed a bad posture resulting in tensions on my upper back, shoulders and neck so occasionally a massage seems like a good idea but again which one to choose ?! A friend of mine suggested me to opt for a remedial massage as it is the most useful style of massages to pamper your body while releasing tensions and muscles tightness, relieving chronic pains, increasing mobility, improving blood flow etc…. it is actually performed by a trained remedial massage therapist and for these reasons it can be classified as a therapeutic or healing massage. No need to say more, a massage that combines relaxing and healing elements, that is what I call killing 2 birds with just one stone,  perfect I will book a session right away, exactly what I needed!

This is how I ended on a  cold Thursday morning at the Healing Arts Studio in Adelaide. When I stepped in, I was already won over by this beautiful brand new space, warm, full of light with pastel colours, inviting smell and enchanting atmosphere surrounding me in a bubble of serenity. My remedial massage therapist was Roxy, she took the time to understand what brought me here and how she could help me. I felt instantly comfortable, understood, taken care of and in good hands. The beauty about remedial massage is that they require a special training, meaning that it is a very different experience from the massage you would receive in a SPA. Remedial massage therapists are very knowledgeable about anatomy needs, physiology and pathology. They will literally read your body with their fingers and understand and locate what is causing pains or postural issues. Remedial massage looks at the entire body, focusing on treating pain, relieving stress, structural issues or helping in injury rehabilitation. They use a wide range of techniques to manipulate the muscles and soft/deep tissue such as: Trigger Point Therapy, Myofascial Cupping, Deep Tissue,  Dry Needling, Myofascial Release, Stretching techniques, Hot stone, Relaxation and sport massages. Your body, this wonderful part of you that is your everyday ally in every single tasks, will feel heard, understood, taken care of, soothed, helped, supported, eased, relieved.

I really enjoyed my remedial massage with my therapist Roxy as I believe she has a very holistic approach. I could feel that she is a very generous human being, passionate about helping people to feel better in their bodies and in their lives.  She explained to me how stress is manifesting in the body and how the muscles will tighten up, and how lifestyle factors like bad posture, sitting at an office desk can cause tensions. I even discovered that there were tensions  in my body I was unaware of  that were spotted and addressed during the treatment. We discussed about how adopting healthy habits and routines can make a real difference in our minds and our bodies. As my therapist was performing petrissage movements for deep manipulation of the soft tissue using the thumb and palm of the hand and cupping techniques, I could feel the pain and the stress flying away. But the best part is when Roxy explained me that the body has the capacity to heal itself, to regenerate, to adapt, to learn and to bounce back and massage treatments are a wonderful way to assist the body in this process. And this is exactly what my remedial massage session was all about: as said above one of my biggest issue is my posture due to too much time sitting in front of a laptop, so by applying the right techniques via massaging, the body can be soothed but also and most importantly re-learn the right posture to adopt to reduce pains and tensions in the future. I was literally amazed by the instant results, when I sat on the massage table right after the session, how good my posture was without any efforts: my shoulders were not bent forward at all, my neck was high and aligned, proud chest, my upper back was tall and strong and I felt so good in my body but also in my head. It was a magic feeling! I felt more balanced!

What a beautiful feeling when your body, your mind and your soul reach balance and harmony!

So if like me, you have a bad posture, you feel tensions in your muscles, you get backs spasms, you suffer from chronic pains…etc I   strongly recommend you to try remedial massages, it will make a massive difference.  And if you live in Adelaide or its surroundings, don’t hesitate to book a session with Roxy! You will be in good hands and she will provide you also guidance and exercises to maintain an healthy and happy lifestyle. Believe me you will feel great about yourself in no time as she will teach you  how to make the most of each session while building healthy habits and new routines to reach your goals! What a beautiful gift, what a wonderful way to express gratitude to your body, to support and ease this sweetest friend, that has and will never let you down.  It is not just a remedial massage, it is the beginning and the promise of a healthier and happier life ❤

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Healing Arts Studio

194 Wright St, Adelaide SA 5000

Monday to Friday: 10.00am – 6.00pm

Enquire · 0491 680 800 / booking link

Remedial massage therapist : ask for Roxy!

If you have a private health fund insurance, remedial massage is covered and you might be entitled up to a 20% discount 🙂

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If you want to know more about remedial massages and adopt new healthy habits and routines :

You can follow Roxy on Instagram: Massage by Roxy Healing Arts Studio

You can follow Roxy on Facebook: Massage by Roxy