Istanbul Gourmet

Istanbul Gourmet at East Point Mall was recommended by my friend D a while ago so I decided to pop by with her yesterday to check it out. It was a tiny place with counter seating on the inside, and about 4 tables outside. Their menu was pasted on their glass door, alongside some newspaper cuttings about their chef – who was previously from Hyatt Hotel. After glimpsing through the articles, I raised my expectations a notch. I settled for their signature Chicken Roll ($7.50) after catching a whiff of chicken on the grill.

The portion turned out to be bigger than expected but I wasn’t complaining. I was pleased with how healthy my meal looked. There was chicken fillet stuffed with carrots and leek, topped with what appeared to be (and tasted like) tomato sauce. The sides consist of roasted potatoes with skin (yums), and a refreshing salad of shredded lettuce, cucumber cubes, diced tomatoes, celery, kidney beans and chickpeas drizzled with salad dressing.

The meat was tender and smooth, and wasn’t oily. The close-up here shows the individual pieces of the chicken roll. The leek wasn’t overpowering, and the salad went really well with the meat.

Unfortunately, I was a little full from brunch, so we didn’t order more. I’m keen to try their Beef Bomb ($8) and kebabs ($3.50-$4.50) which looked really appetising. Well, there’s always next time!

I give the chicken roll [****]!

/ all prices are nett

The I-wanna-know[s]:

Taste – 7/10
Price – $ to $$
Service – 6/10
Ambience – 5/10
Accessibility – 7/10

Legend:
[$]-cheap like peanuts: ($10 & below/person)
[$$]-average Jane ($15-$25/person)
[$$$]-you might wanna tke tht card out..($30-$60/person)
[$$$$]-extremely exorbitant ($70 & above/person)
[* to *****] – rating(s) for individual dishes

Tel: 6786 0509

Address:
#01-03, 3 Simei Street 6, Eastpoint Mall
Singapore 528833

Opening hours:
Tuesday To Sunday: 11.00am to 9.00pm
Monday: Closed

Dress code: Casual

Nearest MRT: Simei

Buses: 9, 38, 5, 579

Anatolia Turkish Restaurant

Anatolia Turkish Restaurant is one of the better known Turkish restaurants in town. They’ve been around for eons at Far East Plaza. Back in my school days, I used to visit them for their Turkish ice-cream – the good ‘ol ones where the ice-cream server will tease and taunt you before giving you the ice-cream. These days I crave meats…so I tend to order their shish kebabs or lahmacuns instead.  Lahmacun is simply known as Turkish pizza. It is often sprinkled with lemon juice, and then served rolled up with pickles and other vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions. This thin-crust version you see above is Anatolia’s Beef Lahmacun ($3.50) [***.] with minced beef, tomatoes, onions, cabbage and peppers. I like how the zesty lemon balances the strong taste of beef, and the vegetables, making this a very light meal.

Created to suit German taste buds by the Turkish, Doner kebab are typically served as sandwiches in a small pide (Turkish pita bread) accompanied by salad greens. Anatolia’s Beef Doner Sandwich ($7.50) [***] is pictured above in a wrapper. I found the pide too dry for my liking. Perhaps it lacked more sauce to go with the sandwich. The doner kebab itself was satisfactory. Personally, I prefer Sultan Kebab’s meats. There’s something about the way Anatolia’s meats are grilled that doesn’t quite match up to Sultan Kebab’s. I guess you’ll have to try it for yourself to tell the difference. If you’ve got space, you should try Anatolia’s Iskender kebabs - which consists of grilled lamb drizzled with tomato sauce, over pieces of pide bread, and slathered with yoghurt.

The I-wanna-know[s]:

Taste – 7/10
Price – $ to $$
Service – 6/10
Ambience – 6/10
Accessibility – 8/10

Legend:
[$]-cheap like peanuts: ($10 & below/person)
[$$]-average Jane ($15-$25/person)
[$$$]-you might wanna tke tht card out..($30-$60/person)
[$$$$]-extremely exorbitant ($70 & above/person)
[* to *****] – rating(s) for individual dishes

Tel: +65 6339 3740

Address:
14 Scotts Road, Far East Plaza, #02-58/59

Opening hours:
10 am – 10 pm daily

Dress code: Casual

Nearest MRT: Orchard

Sultan Kebab

Have you ever wondered what you should eat when you’re in a hurry? I bet you have. For the sake of maintaining the well-being of your tummy & tastebuds, I highly recommend that you avoid fastfood like the plague. Go for a healthier alternative instead, like Turkish sandwiches & meat rolls at Peace Centre.

Meet the brothers behind this Turkish takeaway joint: (from left) Suat and Safak

They hail from Antalya, Turkey, and have been living in Singapore for a year now. The brothers have made several trips to our sunny lil isle since 2001, and have since moved here to set up a food business with their uncle. Sultan Kebab was opened in June 2006. Their uncle Mehmet is an experienced chef, and the maker of their house sauce used in their dishes. Owner Safak spent 4 long months trying to find an ideal location, before discovering this lil corner at the edge of town. Some of the reasons why he picked this location include the proximity to offices, educational institutes and town. He disclosed that there are plans to set up another outlet once they find a good location.

Despite being small in size, Sultan Kebab’s space is effectively maximised with a sleek takeaway counter (complete with stools) for those who are on-the-go, and tables for dine-ins. The menu here consists of Turkish favourites like kebab rolls and iskender. Iskender is actually small cubes of bread with meat, yogurt & tomatoes topped with their secret-recipe sauce. Pick from a choice of chicken/beef -in a sandwich ($5.50), roll ($5.50) [*****], with rice ($7.50) or an iskender kebab.

Are you thinking that the menu is a tad too simple? Don’t be too quick to judge.
Their Beef sells out by 2-3 pm daily. Safak believes that it is better to focus on a simple menu, and have your food taste good. kudos to that. An interesting thing to note is how they prepare their meats. It takes
2 whole days to thaw & marinate their meats once their daily supply comes in. Yes, they prepare them on a daily basis. All this meat is then transferred onto skewers to be cooked & served by the kilos. 10 kilos worth of meat can feed an approx. 50-60 pax, according to Suat who adds that they offer a catering service on the side.

Personally, I loved their chicken roll (as seen below)..juicy morsels of tender chicken coupled with lots of lettuce, butter & that zesty secret-recipe.

image taken from www.chubbyhubby.net

I believe this place will go a looooong way with their good Turkish meats at affordable prices…so do drop by for a visit!

//all prices are nett. hooray to that!

The I-wanna-know[s]:

Taste – 8/10
Price – $
Service – 9/10
Ambience – 7/10
Accessibility – 8/10

Legend:
[$]-cheap like peanuts: ($10 & below/person)
[$$]-average Jane ($15-$25/person)
[$$$]-you might wanna tke tht card out..($30-$60/person)
[$$$$]-extremely exorbitant ($70 & above/person)
[* to *****] – rating(s) for individual dishes

Address:
1 Sophia Road, #01-15
Peace Centre
Singapore 228149

Tel: +65 6338 8750

Website: http://www.sultankebab.com.sg

Opening hours: Open daily from 11am till they sell-out
Dress code: casual
Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut
Buses: 65, 64, 857, 131, 139, 147…