Now how often do you see a restaurant called "Turkish Cuisine"? Imagine something so overtly simplistic was applied to your regular zi char stall, - "Chinese Cuisine".  The most appropriate response to that would surely be: "Simi lai eh?".  They could have called it "Istanbul" or "The Turk Perks" or "Sheesh!", but no, they called it "Turkish Cuisine".  But all the same, the restaurant's bold, red neon letterings caught my attention when I was in a cab along Upper East Coast Road one day and I finally got the opportunity to check it out last week.

The first thing that strikes you upon entering their East Coast branch is that it smelled like a spa.  Yes, one of those places where you get your shoulders kneaded like dough and your body scrubbed with mud and sand and other weird stuff.  The other thing that strikes you is the beautiful little ornamental decorations that lines one side of the wall.  Not things that would remind you of anything Turkish but very aesthetically tasteful indeed.  I liked the simple menu too - restaurants which have over-zealous menus tend to have under-zealous food.

 We were treated to a surprise complimentary starter, or more accurately an amuse bouche.  Well-seasoned bulgar wheat or what was described to us as "broken wheat", served on top crisp lettuce.  A nice start indeed!

One of our mains was a "Incik" or baked lamb shank.   The meat was absolutely gorgeous, a true melt-in-the-mouth delight.  A good way to start.  The sauce was commendable; was adequately tasty but was lacking a bit of body.  I do prefer my sauces a little heavy and thick.  But it did go well with the rice though I think they could have used a more fragrant type of long-grain like basmati to enhance the entire dish.  This dish, as described in the menu, was supposed to be served with swiss chard, a type of lettuce related to the beetroot and has red stems.  But interestingly they used baby kailan as a substitute here ("Wah lan, simi lai eh?!") as the vegetable garnish given the high cost and highly perishable nature of swiss chard.

 Another one of our mains which kept me trembling in anticipation which thus explains the poor quality of the photo was this beef shish karavan.  Marinated and grilled meat cubes served with mashed smoked eggplant and yoghurt.  The meat cubes were quite excellent, not too tough and well marinated.  But what stood out was the eggplant and yoghurt mash, quite unlike anything I've tasted.  I've never had cooked yogurt before (except maybe in tandoori chicken, which is indistinguishable anyway) and to have it in such a manner was quite a pleasant surprise.  The pita that accompnaied the dish too was excellent, doughy yet tender, a bit like good quality naan.

And to top off an excellent evening was this house specialty called "Kune fe".  Our waiter was quite courteously insistent that we try their specialty so we gave in.  And I'm glad we did!  Made of crispy wheat flex (like crispy deep fried tang hoon) with a warm cheesy (mozarella?) centre and the whole thing sits in heavy cream and ground pistachios.  "Eat hot! Eat hot!" we were urged.  Yum heaven!

Service was excellent here, our waiter was courteous, warm, affable and knowledgeable.  When asked which was his favourite dish, he did give us an honest opinion (the lamb shanks).  More importantly, it showed he has actually eaten the food served here.  Our water was topped up frequently, food arrived promptly and not too long after our starters.  two thumbs up.

The decor and ambience was fantastic, a perfect setting for a nice date.  Not too posh as to put some off and the tables were spaced adequately apart to allow some privacy.  The nett bill for two with drinks will come up to be about $50 a head.

The location of this place was a bit of a drawback though, a little inaccesible but I guess they serve the high-end crowd living nearby.  If you do want to try the food, you could try their Suntec, sky garden branch, though no guarantees that standards or noise levels will be agreeable.  Maybe being inaccessible has its advantages after all....

Food 8, Service 9, Atmosphere 9, Value for money 8

Turkish Cuisine

www.turkishcuisine.com.sg

162 Upper East Coast Road

Tel:6244-9891

Fax: 6244-8981