Anyway since we were too lazy to bring any food, dinner was at one of the many eateries at the park. First we checked out Big Splash. No interesting restaurants there, although we did find out that Mingles (which I’ve reviewed previously) had closed down, while the café next door was enjoying a thriving business.

We scoured the pub area for more dining options before finally settling for Kebab Station. It stood out from the sea of restaurants with its unusual offering — exotic Turkish cuisine!

Chicken Shish
SGD10

You can choose between chicken, lamb and beef for the kebab dishes. These are served in a variety of tantalising ways such as rolls, shish, baked rice and even pizza.

Fresh off the grill is our chicken shish kebab, an extremely colorful dish. The meat is perfectly seasoned, with flavors that still remain even when you get to the center of the chunky breast meat. It also carries that smoky taste from the grill.

The kebab portion is quite substantial, and is accompanied by rice and pieces of warm pita bread. The greens, peppers, tomatoes and sauces on the side also provide a welcome reprieve from the meat. And colors, too!

Gravy Kofte chicken
SGD12

For our second dish, we were deciding between the gravy musakka or gravy kofte. In the end we opted for the latter, which is a tomato-based gravy that sounds more appealing than the eggplant-based musakka.

Served piping hot from the oven, the gravy kofte chicken is baked in a thick tomato cream sauce, with cheese too. Unlike the shish kebab, this one comes with a very teeny portion of meat. Instead, it comes with a whole lot of this:

Lots and lots of vegetables and shrooms! $12 is a hefty sum to pay for a dish that is more vegetable than anything else, don’t you think?

Well, for a place that brands itself as a fast-food eatery, the prices certainly don’t fit into the fast-food range. I guess in this case you are really paying for the experience of enjoying an unusual cuisine. There aren’t exactly many Turkish restaurants in Singapore. Even Turkuaz at holland village has closed down.

At Kebab Station, the food is prepared by Turkish chefs in an open-concept kitchen. The outlet is pretty small and cramped, so it does feel quite stuffy, especially in the sweltering month of June. In other words, this isn’t the kind of place where you would enjoy a long conversation with friends over a cold ayran or hot Turkish coffee.

But hey, with the beach just a stone’s throw away, does it really matter?

Posted by Veron in Food category | East Coast Park, fast food, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Turkish

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The first thing that struck me about the restaurant was how pretty everything was! Each table was clothed in turquoise linen and had beautiful flowers and colorful stained glass candle holders. The walls had been painstakingly sponge painted and adorned with paintings, pots and figurines. Turkuaz obviously has a lady owner, and one who certainly has her restaurant decor down pat! I especially liked the napkin ring; it must be one of the prettiest napkin rings around, with colored ribbons and a huge blue bead that I learned was the evil eye.

Burak began his long explanation on this popular Turkish belief. Despite its unfriendly sounding name, the evil eye is actually a talisman that protects its user from misfortune. For example, you wear a brand new pair of pants to work one day. Everyone notices and compliments you. You continue your day, feeling very good about yourself. Then all of a sudden, you hear “RIIIIIP” and realise you have overexerted and ripped your spanking new pants!

So in short, misfortune may befall the person that elicits envy. Perhaps the universe’s way of bringing balance! Apparently this custom is really big in Turkey. Within the restaurant alone there were many evil eye beads either hanging on walls, dangling off menus, or adorning the pretty napkins.

Turkey has never really been known for its wines. According to burak, their whites wines are better than the reds. I am no connoisseur of fine wines, but I’ll say I enjoyed what I had.

Check out the spread! It was all just appetisers! We ordered a fair bit, didn’t we? Appetisers are supposed to whet your appetite for the main course, but I got full on them because we ordered so much!

Baba Ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is eggplant salad and it came with tomato as well. I’m not exactly a fan of the salad, or any salad for that matter. You’re supposed to spread it onto pita bread, which I loved. It reminded me of pizza crust, and had been cut into cute trianglular pieces.

Humus

The humus tasted a little queer to me. Well I didn’t like it. Or maybe I simply can’t appreciate certain cuisines. I must say that for someone who’s accustomed to eating mostly Western, Italian, Chinese and Japanese food, Middle Eastern cuisine does take some getting used to.

Turkish Spring Rolls

The Turkish also have their own rendition of spring rolls. Among all the many different kinds of spring rolls I have eaten before, I declare that I love Turkish spring rolls the most! They are made up of all cheesy goodness!

Eggplant Dolma

Eggplant dolma, not a very attractive looking dish I must say. At this point I realise that eggplant is an ingredient that features strongly in Turkish cuisine.

Chicken Shish Kebab

Finally we make it to the main dishes. Most people would think of kebab whenever Turkish food is mentioned. And that was exactly what I ordered for my main course, the chicken shish kebab. The four huge glorious sticks of grilled chicken were accompanied by some very savory rice, and a mound each of tomato and onion. The rice had been nicely flavored and cooked, giving off a delicious whiff. The chicken though, had been slightly over broiled and was quite stiff as a result. It could also have done with a little more taste.

Eggplant Moussaka

The lady boss had recommended the eggplant moussaka from the vegetarian menu. Even with my strong bias against all vegetable dishes, I concurred that it was really good! Damn, I actually have half the mind to become a full vegetarian! Despite my frequent declaration of being a carnivore (simply because I love chicken so much), I realise I’m already a semi-vegetarian on the count that I don’t eat red meat! Look, there’s even an official term for it, “pesco/pollo vegetarianism“.

Throughout the entire meal I could not stop oohing and aah-ing over every pretty detail of the restaurant. There were even a couple of sheeshas on display. The waiter helpfully informed us that tobacco comes in many different flavors that include cappuccino and strawberry!

Of course, even when it comes to the check, it had to come in a beautiful exquisite box. I can’t recall the last time I went to a restaurant and the check didn’t come in a checkbook! Turkuaz is definitely one pretty little place. Her (yeah I decided the restaurant should be a female) owner deserves all the credit for paying attention to every meticulous detail of it.

Turkuaz Restaurant
26A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village Singapore 277685
(65) 6463 4610
Service:

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Winner of “Best Design”

Posted by Veron in Food category | alfresco/outdoor dining, Holland Village, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

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