A new place has just rather quietly opened its doors near Osmanbey Metro station. The branding and interior decor is minimalistically slick (almost hipster), placing itself in the market of urban, sophisticated diners. The centre piece of this place is their lava stone grill, with a much smaller traditional charcoal grill placed next to it. There is seating in the entry-level area as well as upstairs, and it’s all kept very open. If you manage to get a spot by the upstairs bannister, you will have a clear view into the kitchen and can watch the chef at work. As the name suggest the cuisine is Hatay-based, and you will be spoiled for choices. It has all the classics on the menu plus many dishes I didn’t recognise. All manners of kebab, pirzola (cutlets), kanat (chicken wings), ciğer (liver), Antrikot, Tuzda Tavuk (chicken in a salt crust), to name just a few. We were only moderately hungry, so we ordered only one Muhammara meze that arrived alongside a complementary kısır, a bulgur dish native to Hatay that is traditionally served to guests, and Balon Ekmeği, balloon bread, not that it needed translation. The bread was wonderfully light, and the top dome deliciously crunchy, and we dug into it unrestrained. From the vast choices of mains we settled on a Sını kebab and the house special Daş Kebab. Sını kebab is a mince dish that cooks in a Sını or tepsi, a deep dish, and was kept moist by an oil-based, yet light tomato liquid. At the tail end of a head cold, I enjoyed the richness of the meat packed with garlic and spices, without being hot. The Daş kebab was also served in a ceramic dish. The meat was pre-grilled, then added to mashed roasted eggplants, closed by a layer of pastry and slowly cooked. Come to think of it, this was the closest Turkish cousin to an Australian meat pie. I loved fishing out big spoonfuls of eggplant mash and mopping up the last bits of Muhammara, a great combination. The mains were huge, the pans almost the sort you would set out in front of a family. Unless you are a really big eater, I would recommend ordering 2, 3 meze dishes, and share one main course. With the place barely open a week, we were treated to complementary künefe which was nicely cooked and despite the state of advanced stomach fullness very much enjoyed, and to the famous Hatay Kömbe Kurabiye biscuits, baked with butter, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, sesame and many more aromatic treasures. They get intrinsic patterns thanks to wooden moulds that shape them uniformly. We couldn’t manage these cookies anymore, and I packed them to take them home. As I am writing this blog entry on a rainy cool evening, I am eating the Kömbe that are wonderfully crumbly, fresh, and the spices reminiscent of a German Christmas. If you are looking to eat traditional Antakya food but in an unflinchingly modern setting void of any references to Ottomans or the homeland, this place is worth a visit. Halaskargazi Cad. No 76a, Osmanbey-Şişli
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AuthorInnate curiosity, learned (discovered) deep love and appreciation for Turkey, a bit of time at my hands, and always hungry: voila, a food blogger! Archives
September 2019
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