One afternoon a couple of months back we dropped into the Kampong Glam Arab Street enclave.
Somewhere along the way, in the midst of wandering past the indie boutiques, the ice-cream parlors and the stores selling quirky decorative knick-knacks, we decided it was a good idea to do an early dinner.
Now, the Arab Street enclave is the place to be when you want a shot at Middle Eastern food (and if don't know where to look). No worries if you're unfamiliar with the cuisine- this place offers you a myriad of introductions that the uninitiated will be able to appreciate.
There're many places here that you can choose from. Lebanese, Persian, Moroccan, Turkish etc.
We took a walk along the paved streets, studied the menus from a couple of restaurants, and after some deliberation, decided on Maxim Grill near the Beach Road side.
Maxim Grill serves Turkish food, and with us being familiar with the cuisine of the land, it was a choice that we gravitated to.
At first we thought we might stick with our favorites- beef wraps, kebabs and lentil soup- but a quick look at the menu made us think otherwise.
There were very interesting dishes, and many choices. We could have hot appetizers including Halloumi and Falafel, the first of which is grilled goat's cheese, and the second of which is fried chickpea and mint fritters. We could also have Lavas, which is Turkish balloon bread served with roasted sesame seeds, or Yaprak Sarmasi, which pickled rolled vine leaves with a rice filling.
But a bit of discussion after- there always is one- we settled on the Pide, the Beyti Kebab, and the Babaganoush.
I had wanted to have the Tereyagli Ekmek- homemade Turkish bread with butter) or the Lavas plus the baklava for dessert but got subtly reminded that we already had a lot of bread...
Which, of course was true.
Beyti Kebab is a dish of flame-grilled ground meats wrapped in a Turkish flat bread topped with homemade sauce, and Pide is the Turkish version of pizza that is really a flattened loaf of bread that we chose the toppings of lamb, and cheese.
Also I had forgotten that the portions here weren't going to be small.
In fact, both the chicken beyti kebab and the pide turned out to be rather large for just us two- and even the babaganoush- supposedly an appetizer of roasted eggplant, yogurt and garlic- could by itself have been a full meal.
It was a wonderful dinner we had.
The beyti kebabs, warm to the fingers when they arrived at our table, were hearty and delicious, full with the juices from the grilled chicken. Sliced so carefully that it was easy to pick up with our forks, every bite had the tender of the meat mixed with the soft, melty textures of the bread.
The pide- served to us on a beautifully plated platter- was just as lovely. Decorated with parsley and onion (artistically) strewn across the boat-shaped bread, the dish arrived at our table delicately sliced, with each piece hugging tight the chopped lamb beneath a layer of richly melted cheese.
We ate mostly everything with our hands.
I don't know whether that's good dining etiquette in Turkish culture, but sitting on a bench with colorful cushions surrounded by tall palm trees and balmy late afternoon winds, somehow, that seemed the most natural thing to do.
Except for the babaganoush, of course, which I happily scooped up with my fork, and which in fact was a requested order of mine, because I love everything eggplant, and I love roasted eggplant better.