Sometimes you just have to give things a go. Unfamiliar place? go there. Unknown people, meet them. Untried food? Order it.

And so I find myself on a Saturday, brunch-time, rolling up to Shuk in Chatswood, low key, relaxed, and the perfect casual and low pressure place to meet a rando bloke from the internet.

We find a table and peruse the menu. A slightly awkward silence ensues while we both study it with an unnecessary focus. ‘Will you be eating something?’ I ask hopefully, my stomach rumbling. ‘No’ he replies ‘I’m doing a shred, no food allowed’. We order coffee.

We sit down, and I begin to roll out my best chat, but no sooner have I opened my mouth than the shrill sound of his phone fills our airspace. I am promptly shushed by him as he holds his pointer finger in the air. He then proceeds to have a very aggressive sounding ten minutes conversation in another language while I look on awkwardly. Perhaps I should have walked then? But instead I politely wait. I guess I still have some work to do on my people pleasing tendencies.

The rest of our mercifully short coffee involved me asking questions, and him answering. I know a lot about this guy now. I know about his rock climbing injury and his near death experience. I know his father died quite recently and how that affected him. I know he’s about to compete in a fitness competition, he spent seven years as a pump fitness instructor and he has a PhD in business. I know that he wants to create a styling business because ‘women never know what to wear’, and he can charge $150 per hour in China or Dubai but not in Australia because ‘Australian women don’t care about fashion’. I know that he wrote his dissertation on how Amazon in America uses drones to deliver packages fast. I also know that he definitely, undeniably knows nothing about me, because he didn’t ask me a single thing. Maybe I should consider pursuing a career as an interviewer, seems I’m rather good at it.

Sure, we’ve all had bad dates from time to time, I’ve personally had a lot of them, and I won’t harp on about this one any longer, because actually, the most important thing about this story is the lamb.

Or more accurately, hummus with 12 hours slow cooked lamb, pine nuts, pickles, olives and pita bread ($29.15) from Shuk. I order it after he has left, but not before rebalancing my equilibrium next door in the fun Aldi centre aisle.

So, this is how I self soothe, with delicious creamy hummus, drizzled with olive oil and fresh herbs, cradling an abundant serving of melt in the mouth lamb, accented by black olives and my favourite salty and crunchy style of Israeli pickle. Fluffy pita nestled at the side, just waiting to be ripped and dipped. And rip and dip I do. There really is nothing like tearing into a pita pocket and demolishing a good plate of food to turn the day around. What date? Who? You really must try this lamb.

Shuk Chatswood – Shop R03/260 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067 – https://www.shuk.com.au/