» Archive for the 'Turkish' Category

Uighur Cuisine

Saturday, September 5th, 2009 by Tina

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Shop 1/8 Dixon St, Sydney

Something has happened at the northern end of Chinatown. There is a whole block full of new places to explore that I have somehow managed to miss. The first trip in remedying this situation was to Uighur Cuisine, the more casual downstairs version next to the upstairs Apandim Uighur Restaurant. Confusing, yes. We sat upstairs for 10 minutes asking the lovely waiter questions while our friend waited at our ‘booked’ table downstairs. No harm done, just a few glasses of free water and a disappointed waiter.

When we finally got together at the same table we were quite excited as the menu was a mix of Turkish, Chinese and something resembling Cajun. Anyway, it was rich, lamby and delicious. This seemingly strange combination menu makes more sense when you learn the Uighurs (there are various spellings) are a Turkic people living mostly in Eastern and Central Asia.  See Wikipedia for a little more info.

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Shapanji (chicken & vegetables with rice noodles)
-this had a great sauce, very savoury and tasty with a bit of a Cajun flavour
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Koy Gosh Kawapi (lamb kebabs)
-some pieces tender, some chewy, but all good!
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Piti Manta (steamed lamb dumplings)
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Tawa Ban shir (fried lamb dumplings)
-I think the fact that we ordered two lots of dumplings was my fault, and in the end we decided they were too fatty. Definitely not as nice as traditional Chinese dumplings. However, the Polish-heritage girl liked them, so try for yourself and decide.
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Piyaz Poshkal (onion bread)
-this was a group favourite, very rich and soft and quite oily, but somehow we kept going back to break off  ‘just a little more’
Suzuk Jungol Kormisl (stir fried snow peas with garlic)
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Tawa Kawapi Uighur Style (lamb chops uighur style)
-the soggy bread underneath wasn’t my favourite on the menu but I imagine some people would find it comforting
Overall I think it was a great meal and something different. Even though we ordered a snow pea dish for some extra vegetables, that was oily too, so perhaps go for a walk and a cleansing lemon gelato afterwards 😉

Posted in Chinese, Restaurant, Turkish | 10 Comments »

Little Istanbul

Thursday, January 1st, 2009 by Tina

At The Spot in Randwick, opposite Arthurs’ Pizza is a small Turkish restaurant serving delicious fresh food at very reasonable prices. It was one of the few places in the area open on Christmas eve so we booked and hoped for the best. Warm and relaxed service is perfect for this cosy restaurant and is a nice change from the proliferation of Thai food in Randwick (as good as it is!).

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Chunks of Turkish bread, drizzled lightly with olive oil and baked until hot and crisp on the outside but still tender and moist in the middle. Perfect for mopping up the four dips that we have ordered, there are seven to choose from, but why choose?

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Hummous, Beetroot dip, Jajik, Babbaganoush

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Zucchini fritters drizzled with yoghurt

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Dolmades, these little rice filled vine leaves are yummy

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The Lamb Pide (pea-deh) is my favourite, the flavours are clean and moreish. We have it without cheese, and add mushroom to it.

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This one is called the Spot Special and came with the recommendation that ‘everyone orders it’, but although tasty I found there to be too much going on and I didn’t like it as much as the Lamb.

The lone piece of rose and almond Turkish delight didn’t last long enough to be photographed. 🙂

Posted in Bread, Restaurant, Turkish | 8 Comments »